Night Moves (The Night Songs Collection) by Kristen Strassel Read Free Book Online Page B

that, I felt like a teenage girl watching the show.
    Drake strapped on an acoustic guitar after maybe about a dozen songs, and introduced the next song as the new single. I’d never heard it before, and I had a good feeling that a lot of the crowd hadn’t either from the amount of people who swarmed the bar and lined up at the bathroom. Some even made their way out to the parking lot for a smoke. Even from my barstool, I could see the steam seething from Drake’s eyes. This had to be killing him. No one wanted to hear their new stuff. The crowd considered Soul Divider a nostalgia act.
    Ryder played with his eyes closed, sometimes squeezed shut, probably wishing he was anywhere but here.
    I knew where I wanted to be. Back in the bunk, alone with Ryder.
    Somehow I hoped that I could make this nightmare better for him in some way. That I could be a bright spot in a never-ending night.

W e never discussed anything after Detroit. I felt oddly presumptuous heading back to the bus after the show as if I belonged there. For all I knew, Ryder could kiss me goodbye and ride off into night without me.
    I stopped at the door of the bus, ignoring the girls lined up along the side trying to get Ryder’s attention. “So what happens now?” I asked him, bracing myself for the worst case scenario.
    Ryder looked at me quizzically, holding my hands. “We go to Milwaukee?” He asked me like he wasn’t sure himself. My knees weakened with relief. “Milwaukee, right, Tommy?”
    “I don’t bloody know. Some other Godforsaken place that’s colder than a witch’s tit. Oh hello, lovie.” Tommy stopped to chat up an admiring fan and take pictures.
    “I guess we go where Ralph takes us.” Ryder winked. “Let’s get on the bus. You must be freezing.”
    “Are you going to sign any autographs?” I sympathized with those girls, standing in the cold in short shirts and halter tops. How many times had I done the exact same thing with Erin?
    “Sure.” Ryder slapped my ass as I made my way inside. “I won’t be long.”
    “Hey Ralph.” I needed an excuse to watch Ryder out the window. Besides the windshield, the rest of the windows on the bus were blacked out.
    “You’re sticking around, I see.” Ralph sighed, heavily.
    “Am I that bad?”
    “No, just the opposite.”
    “Listen, I know what I’m up against.” My tone was heavy with meaning, and I wasn’t surprised when the color drained from Ralph’s face. “I don’t know if this is a great decision, either, but I’m not ready to go home yet.”
    Turning back out the window, I watched Ryder work the crowd. He posed for pictures, laughed at jokes I couldn’t hear, and talked to someone on a stranger’s cell phone. If he wasn’t happy, these girls would never be able to tell. After some girl pulled up her schoolgirl skirt and he’d signed her ass, he joined me on the bus.
    “What are you doing?” He kissed me when he reached the top of the stairs.
    “Watching you in action.”
    “I’d think you’d be getting sick of that by now.”
    “I don’t think I’ll ever be sick of it.” I slid my now warm hands under Ryder’s still cold jacket. Pressing my face against his chest, I again faced Ralph, who watched our exchange in disgust.
    Was he really that concerned about me, or did he just hate what his employers truly were?
    It didn’t really matter what he thought.
    “We leave in two hours.” Ralph called out as we made our way down the aisle.
    We joined the rest of the band, minus Drake of course, in the common room. The party had reached full swing already. Thomas invited his new friend to join us. She sat on his lap as they both passed a bottle back and forth between them.
    “What do you want to drink?” Ryder asked, reaching for the small bar area.
    “Whatever you’re having, I guess.”
    “Tell me what you want, babe.”
    I raised my eyebrows at him and looked back down the aisle towards the bunks. He half smiled, knowing exactly what I was