Blu Dream - 3. Chapter 3

“Where have you been?” Tara asked the moment I entered the apartment an hour later.

“Getting my car,” I said jingling my keys at her. “Got a ride from a friend and left it at the arena parking lot last night.”

“You’re working too hard.” Tara complained from her perch on the couch. She was still in her purple scrubs, nursing a mug of coffee. The television was tuned to a rerun of the Munsters. She’d obviously just come home from work. Dumping my jeans on a small stool by the door, I joined her on the couch. I stretched out with a sigh resting my head on her lap.

“You look wiped out.” She combed fingers through my hair. “How is Milo Kai? I haven’t seen you to ask.”

“He’s good.”

Tara tugged my hair gently. “That sounds so anticlimactic, did something happen?”

I’d had time to think during my round trip around town to get my car. I kept thinking of the empty feeling I’d felt after Lucas the night before. It wasn’t the same with Milo; I could still feel his hands on me. Remember every kiss, and touch, Tara scratched my scalp and I met her inquiring gaze.

“Nothing important,” I answered denying my emotions. They weren’t allowed to make a decision until tomorrow night when Milo left.

Tara sipped her coffee giving me a speculative glance. “I’m going to go pass out in a few minutes, but before that. We need to talk about you and dad.”

“I’m going to pay back every cent of his money.” I’d pick my papers from school after receiving my paycheck on Monday, day after the band was gone. “I can’t forgive him so easily.”

“He’s having a hard time, Liron.” Tara’s tone had me sitting up. I knew that tone; I’d heard it when mom died. She’d used it to keep me calm, gentle, comforting. She was using it now to try and get me to forgive Dad.

“What’s going on?”

“Dad was at the hospital a month ago.”

I closed my eyes afraid. “Is he dying?”

“No, Liron,” she said shaking her head. “He’s not dying, I’d have told you right away. His doctor wanted him to take a few tests and change his diet. He’s healthy, but that expression you’re wearing right now is the reason why you need to talk to him. I told him the same thing.”

The large wave of relief flowing through me made me scowl. I was angry with Dad, but having him get sick was another thing. Mom had died when Tara and I had been young; watching Mom struggle through her short illness had been hard. It was probably the reason why Tara had ended up a nurse.

Clearing my throat, I sat back on the couch and shook my head. “I don’t know what to say to him.”

“You can thank him for paying off your school.”

“He refused to pay it in the first place.”

“You managed to get through four years, Liron. He’s proud of you,” Tara countered.

I scoffed. “If he’d helped, I might have finished my courses last year, Tara. I’d be so far right now.”

Tara sighed and raised her hand in surrender. “Fine, obviously that’s a sore subject. Why don’t we take baby steps? Since you’re working nights, we can go over to his house for lunch.”

“Today,” I asked skeptic about family reunions. It seemed kind of sudden; I needed time to get used to the idea of talking to my father.

“I see the wheels turning in your brain.” Tara stood up and took her mug into the kitchen. She returned a few minutes later biting back a yawn. “We can go Monday after you pick up your transcripts. I’m off then.”

I nodded and waved her down the hall. “Go get some rest, I’ll clean up.”

“Are you sure everything is okay? You’re kind of subdued; I’m surprised my ears are not ringing right now about Dad’s faults.”

I shrugged. “I’m in shock.”

“Shock my ass,” Tara laughed. She headed to her room and left me watching the Munsters. Allowing my head to go blank, I lazed around until one of my college buddies called me out to the beach an hour later.

I spent the rest of the day hanging at the lake with the guys. We hit the coffee house on my street for lunch, and I worked on keeping myself grounded to reality. Milo seemed too good a dream and that’s where he was going to stay.

I showed up for work at four, Lucas stood at the entrance again. This time however, he stepped back when I got close and allowed his partner to check me in. I couldn’t bring myself to meet his gaze. I told myself I deserved the guilt I felt after the past week of flirting with him. I’d led him on probably like Milo was leading me on. Tomorrow evening, I’d be in Lucas's shoes too, watching Milo drive away from this city for good.

“You’re late,” Krista met me at the docking zone. “Milo has been asking for you.”

I sighed. “I don’t have to go in there if you have work for me. Are you sure the dressing rooms are taken care of? I can-

“I need you in Milo’s dressing room. There's plenty of work in there, go now.” Krista walked off toward the production office.

“Jeez, what’s wrong with a simple hello around here,” I grumbled.

Knocking on the door, I walked in to the dressing room and stopped when I found the room in disarray. Pizza boxes, plastic cups, empty water bottles, clothes piled in the corner and no Milo in the vicinity. There was a small pang of disappointment, but mostly I decided to concentrate on cleanup. Looks like Blu Dream’s crew might have had a lunch in Milo’s room, or some kind of party.

I was busy stuffing pizza boxes into a trash bag when Milo walked in. He looked…my heart could have stopped if that were possible. He’d changed from the leather pants I’d left him in at the hotel. He’d replaced them with rugged blue jeans and a sweaty green faded t-shirt. His feet were in sandals, and his hair was a wild mess. He drank water deeply from a bottle in his hand and I watched him swallow.

“Liron,” Kardis said jolting my thoughts away from Milo. “You’re here, where have you been?”

“I just came in,” I said continuing my work. When the last of the pizza boxes were in the trash bag, I got started on the plastic cups and empty water bottles. “No hangover today?”

Kardis laughed. “No, I learned my lesson. I drank plenty of water last night to keep me hydrated. We missed you at breakfast this morning. I heard you ducked out of the hotel pretty fast.”

“I had some errands to run.” My gaze skipped to Milo who stood leaning on the wall by the door reading the label on his water bottle.

“So you guys have one more day in Colston,” I prompted Kardis working fast.

“Yeah, Colston is unexpected. Great crowd last night, at the concert and for the after party,” Kardis said dropping onto the couch. “We went over to a bar called Wilson’s late in the night. I didn’t expect such a good time considering the size of the place, but the crowd was entertaining.”

“Wilson’s can get rowdy, depends who you go with.” Finishing with the trash, I stopped by the clothing rack and started hanging shirts. “Where are you headed next?”

“Chicago,” Kardis answered. “We’ll drive out tomorrow on the bus right after the concert. The crew has been planning packing logistics all day.”

So soon, I frowned pausing in the act of hanging clothes. Milo was still leaning on the wall. The label on the bottle was torn down to shreds. I scowled at the small pieces on the floor. I’d have to get that cleaned up before I left.

“Well, it’s been great having you guys here.” I told Kardis with a small smile.

“Kardis,” Milo said quietly. “Can you give us a sec?”

Kardis turned to look at Milo with a frown. “Why? Liron and I are having a nice talk-

“You can have it later.” Milo snapped his eyes burning when he turned to Kardis.

I picked up familiar leather pants and clipped them to a hanger. I placed the hanger on the rack, keenly aware of the uncomfortable silent communication between Kardis and Milo. It was obvious I was missing something when Kardis got up abruptly and stormed out of the room without a word to me.

The door slammed closed and I jerked my head up to find Milo staring at me.

“I hope your breakfast was good?” I said hoping to diffuse his bad mood.

“Is that what you want to talk about?” Milo asked pushing off the wall. He walked to the couch and placed his empty bottle in one of the trash bags I had sitting on the coffee table. “Don’t you want to discuss why you practically ran away this morning?”

“I had errands, Milo.”

I gave him my back and concentrated on picking up clothes and hanging them.

“Liron, I’m not stupid.”

“I never said you were.”

“Then why are you lying to me? Did you go to that security guard’s house?”

“What?” I turned to find he’d moved around the couch and was now standing right behind me. “Why would you think that?”

He ran fingers through his hair, messing it up more, made me want to reach out and brush it away from his face. “What am I supposed to think when you looked so guilty leaving my hotel room this morning?”

“I didn’t mean anything by it-,” I stopped because I had no idea how to explain the panic threatening to suffocate me. He was so bloody intense, making it impossible to take this…fling casually. What did he want from me?

“Liron-

“You’re leaving tomorrow,” I reminded him meeting his gaze. “We had great sex last night, mind blowing for me. I need to make sure that it stays just that.”

Milo stood so still for a moment I thought he hadn’t heard what I’d said. I shouldn’t have worried, I thought a minute later. He closed the distance between us, and fused our lips together. My fingers bunched his t-shirt helplessly when my arms went around him. Clinging to him, every cell in my body humming with excitement, I returned his kiss hungrily. I’d spend the day trying to forget the feel of him. Hoping to forget how tight he held me when he kissed me, how good he tasted, I could kiss him all day.

A soft sigh escaped when his lips trailed hotly along my jaw, changing to teasing bites at the curve of my neck and shoulder. He moaned. “You went to the beach without me; I can taste the salt water on you.”

“My friends called me,” I said softly in apology.

He lifted his head to kiss me again and I gave up logical thought for the next hour when he directed us to the couch.

*~*~*~*

“We’re insane,” I said lying under him on the couch, my fingers combing through his hair. “This is insane.”

Milo lifted his head slightly to kiss my shoulder. “Admit that you ran away this morning.”

When I didn’t respond, he bit my shoulder gently and my fingers tightened in his hair. “Fine, I did runaway.”

“Were you even going to school to pick your documents?”

“No, I came here, picked up my car and drove to my apartment.”

“No security dude?”

“Promise,” I said with a small chuckle when he licked the spot he’d bitten.

Milo shifted slightly to the side and with his head propped on his right hand, he said quietly. “Will it help if I tell you that I don’t do this with all my dressing assistants?”

I wished I could believe him. I wanted to so badly, but I knew my own habits. I’d practically been with Lucas a day ago. If Milo hadn’t noticed me, I figured Lucas and I would probably know each other better.

“Fine,” Milo said before I could reply. “I haven’t had it this good with anyone in a while. Is that an easier confession?”

“For me too,” I said truthfully.

“That’s a start.” He touched my jaw and smiled.

“You’re still leaving tomorrow.”

“Then come with me,” he said casually.

Like it was that easy, I scoffed silently. Get on a bus with Blu Dream and head off to Chicago, for the rest of the summer. Forget trying to get an actual job and dealing with my father. What about Tara and the rent-

“I can’t do that, Milo.” I shook my head. “I have things I need to do here.”

“Just for the summer, until the tour ends in September, then I’ll bring you back to Colston myself.”

I frowned turning to look at him. He seemed serious, his expression stubborn and set.

“You’re crazy, Milo.”

“That wasn’t the response I was going for, but at least it’s not an outright refusal. I have until tomorrow to change your mind.”

“What if I don’t change my mind?” I asked him quietly.

I could swear I saw sadness flit in his eyes, but it disappeared as fast as it came. So fast, I could have imagined it. Shrugging, I decided that kissing was better than talk. I had until tomorrow to get as much of him as I could.

Minutes turned into hours, hours into one absolutely magical night. Milo was magnificent to watch on stage, his energy spilling so wide into the crowd, the audience was in frenzy that night. After the concert, we went out with the band, Kardis and Ron bought drinks for the crew. Milo and I, well-, I got lost in him and didn’t surface until the next day during the final concert.

My heart, after the hours of fighting to keep it untouched, broke when I helped Krista and the band’s crew drag Milo’s bags to the bus before the concert ended. Blu Dream had checked out of the hotel earlier and all their gear was packed in three loaded tour buses for the next leg of the tour.

Milo kept asking me to leave with him, but I just couldn’t right now. I hauled two coolers into the bus Milo was going to be using and took them to the kitchen.

Krista was already in the kitchen area checking a list.

“Where do I put these?”

She opened a cupboard built into the wall by her feet and I stuck the coolers in. When I was done, she stopped me with a hand on my elbow.

“In case I don’t get a chance to say it, thank you so much, Liron.” She smiled and leaned to hug me. “You’ve been a great friend to have in Colston.”

“If you’re ever back here,” I said although I doubted that very much, “don’t hesitate to call me.”

“You got it,” she said and pulled back.

I left her in the bus and went to sit on a bench by the docking zone. The concert was still going, a few more minutes left before it ended; music instruments and Milo’s voice filled the night air, mingled with screams from his audience. I leaned my head back to stare at the clear summer night and wondered at the blinking stars.

Milo had repeated his request for me to go with the band again today. We’d made love all morning in a frantic pace, greedily trying to burn the passion quickly. Instead of burning out, we’d only managed to fan the flames. Unfortunately, Krista had arrived too soon to break us apart. The band had spent the rest of the day answering questions from Colston journalists, and meeting a gazillion groups that wanted to take pictures with them.

I’d left Milo doing an interview with a local reporter in order to make it to the arena in time to help pack up the buses. Now here I sat, I closed my eyes.

“Liron,” Kardis said softly.

I opened my eyes to find Kardis and Rob standing a few feet away. Blinking back tears I hadn’t known were coming, I pasted on a smile.

“You’re done.” I tried to keep my voice cheerful.

Kardis and Rob sat on each side of me on the bench.

“So, I heard you got an offer to come along.” Rob tousled my hair with his fingers. “What’s stopping you?”

“My life,” I joked with a small laugh. I needed to find a job, and I couldn't leave Tara in the lurch for two months. I had responsibilities here.

“I can understand that,” Kardis said gently. “I know we just met, but we’re going to miss you.”

“Don’t get piss drunk,” I told him in turn.

“Milo’s going to miss you.” Rob supplied bumping his shoulder into me.

I dropped my head, hating how sad I felt. “I’ll miss him too.”

“Here,” Kardis held out a black narrow plastic card. “Don’t lose it.”

I stared at the card with the band’s name stamped in the back and a barcode at the bottom. “What’s this?”

“A backstage pass,” Kardis declared with a smile. “The last concert on the Kaleidoscope tour is at the MSG in New York. In case you change your mind about coming.”

Security poured out into the docking zone, and both Rob and Kardis stood.

“I hope you show up at the concert, Liron,” Rob said just as Milo appeared at the exit. “You’d better get in his bus if you want to say goodbye.”

I felt cheated. There wasn’t enough time to say all I wanted to say. I entered the bus first, and sat on the couch waiting for Milo. I wished I could leave with him. I wished I could believe that there was more to us than inexplicable great chemistry. I wanted to leave Colston and find out what we could have, but-

The door opened and time ran out. Milo walked in sweaty from his performance, wiping his hair with a towel. He sat on the couch across me when he finally saw me.

“So,” he asked with a raised brow. “Are your bags in the bus?”

I shook my head no, and watched his eyes turn a dark stormy blue. “I can’t leave, Milo. I have-

“Things to take care of, you keep saying that,” he said quietly. “What about you and me? Don’t you want to find out if we can make it together?”

"You and I, it could be nothing,” I said and instantly cursed my big mouth for the callous comment. This wasn’t ‘nothing’, we weren’t ‘nothing’, and I knew that. “I’m sorry, that’s not what-

“It’s what you meant, don’t take it back.” Milo bunched his towel and stared at the floor. “I understand, Liron.”

He stood up and held out his right hand. I took it without hesitation, the hot thrills that ran up my arm familiar. I closed my eyes when he hugged me and pressed a kiss on top of my hair. I tipped my head back slightly when he leaned to kiss my lips. A soft comforting kiss that had me holding on to him afraid to let him go. He stepped back and I gasped at the hollow feeling in my chest.

“Not too many have the courage to leap off the edge, Liron.” Milo smiled and held out a small folded paper. I took it with trembling fingers. “In case you change your mind.”

****