Girl on Tour (Kylie Ryans) by Caisey Quinn Read Free Book Online Page B

I’m not the one who was—”
    “Okay, everybody smile,” the photographer interrupted. On cue, Trace and Gretchen turned and smiled wildly. I am a fucking puppet of epic proportions , he thought to himself. Just what I always wanted to be when I grew up.
    He kicked his pride along as he posed with Gretchen at the bar and at the pool table. The photographer had him blatantly check out Gretchen’s ass while she bent over and pretended to take a shot. Then he had one of the assistants step in and stare at her ass as well. They did a little scene where Trace caught the guy staring and he got to throw a few pretend punches at the dude. Sadly, that was the highlight of his day.
    The photographer got pissy when Trace demanded his shot glasses be filled with water instead of alcohol during the part of the session where he and Gretchen were ordered to pose like they were taking body shots off each other. This is not going to go over well. Sorry, Kylie Lou. He’d have to be sure and tell her Gretchen was hungover, had breath from hell, and smelled like a homeless guy.
    If he ever got time to talk to her that was.

“K yyliieee Ryans, is that you?” a female voice shouted over the noise on the street. The girls had just finished their sound check in Oklahoma City. She looked up and saw Lulu crossing the street and heading towards the bus. Kylie squealed, actually squealed, and ran to her friend like they were a couple in a Hollywood movie.
    “Lulu! Damn, I didn’t realize how much I was missin’ you, girl!” Actually, she did. It felt so good to see a smiling face she could have cried.
    The girls hugged and then her friend pulled back. “Yeah? Those wenches giving you hell? Need me to cunt punch one of them? Or both of them?”
    She laughed, even though the tension on the bus had gotten so bad she was probably one more dirty look or rude comment away from a nervous breakdown. “I can handle it. But it’s really good to see your face! Speaking of faces, where’s Carmen?”
    Lulu grimaced. “She’s with her new fella.” She shrugged and shifted the enormous knock-off designer bag she carried to her other shoulder. “Remember Harley Hudson? Worked at the gas station in town?”
    Kylie racked her brain but came up with nothing. “Um, no.”
    “Yeah, no reason why you should. Anyways, him and his dad opened a body repair shop and hired Carmen as a receptionist. Pretty soon Carmen was doing more than answering phones and filing receipts. If you know what I mean.” Lulu waggled her eyebrows.
    “Ah.”
    “Yeah, well. They’re a thing now. He’s all right, I guess.” Suddenly her friend’s eyes lit up and she smiled. “Oh! Actually he has a house between here and Pride. Supposed to be having some big party tonight to celebrate the success of the new business. You wanna go?”
    “Good God, yes. I need to go. If I don’t get off that bus I might go in-fucking-sane. Three girls were never meant to live like that. It was so much easier with Trace.”
    Lulu snorted. “Yeah, I bet it was.” She let out a dramatic sigh. “Guess all my bitches got dudes now.”
    Kylie slapped her friend lightly on the arm. “Hey, I’m no one’s bitch.”
    Lulu giggled. “Uh, I think you might be Trace Corbin’s bitch. Maybe a little?”
    She bit her lip to contain the grin his name brought to her face. “Nah. He’s my bitch.”
    “Hey, speaking of bitches, want to take a drive to Pride and go roll Darla’s new house?”
    She struggled to make sense of what her friend had just said. “What do you mean, her new house?”
    Lulu’s panic-stricken expression made her stomach tighten. “Um, I’m sorry, Ky. I thought you knew. She sold your old house and bought one on the nicer side of town.”
    So that was what she’d done with the money Trace had paid her to keep quiet then. Rage flooded her and she struggled to breathe normally as not to alarm her friend. “I can’t believe she sold my daddy’s house. No, wait, I can