My heart is beating a million miles a minute as I breeze through the hotel lobby.  It must still be early because I have yet to pass by another person.  It’s a good thing since I look like a wreck and my mind is sinking into a hazy fog.  I knew there was only one person I could talk about this to who would listen, but it looks like I am going to have to wait a few hours for him to wake up.  In the mean time, all my body wants to do is sleep.  I pass by the driver having a cigarette in the parking lot as I make my way over to one of the buses.  He gives a nod and I open the unlocked door to the tour bus, practically sprinting to one of the bunks.  I rarely sleep on here, but when necessary this is the bus I prefer as there are no distractions in the form of the very sexy but clearly disturbed object of my desire.  I slip under the sheets and close the curtains behind me.  I am just going to take a quick nap to clear my head and be ready to go before everyone checks out.

**

I wake up to the curtains being pulled open.  “Stowaway, you awake?” I hear a familiar voice call out.  I groan in response as I roll over.  

“Joey, what time is it?” I ask sleepily, feeling the motion of the bus moving for the first time.  I must have been in a really deep sleep to not have woken up when they got on the bus. 

“I think it’s like 3:30,” he shrugs as he heads passed me down to the other end of the bus. 

“3:30!  Why didn’t anyone wake me up?  Is Johnny freaking out?”

I hear a deeper voice chime in.  “Sadie, I told him you weren’t feeling well and let him know that you were on our bus.  He said not to worry, he’ll check in when we get there.” 

Lance is always rescuing me. 

I sit up in the bunk as he pokes his head in.  “Hey sleepy, are you feeling okay?”  I sigh as I bring my hand to my forehead.  The throbbing feels like it has gotten worse and it feels like I am running a fever.

“Not so hot.  Hey, do you know what happened last night?”

He turns to ensure that Joey is out of earshot and then leans in.  “Did you sleep with JC?”

“Well, I…think so…”

“What does think mean?”

“Lance, I totally blacked out last night.  I have no idea what happened.  I woke up half-naked in his bed, but I can’t remember a thing.  Did I get trashed or what?”

He shakes his head, “No, I don’t even think you were drinking.  I just saw the two of you go off together and I heard your voice in his room last night so I connected the dots.” 

 My eyes widen a little bit.  “Did everyone else?”

He laughs, “Hardly, they’re all oblivious.” 

I slip out of the bunk and stand up to stretch.  A wave of nausea hits me like a ton of bricks.  I unzip my hoodie to try to fight my fever and I hear Lance gasp.  “What is that?”

“What?”  My eyes move frantically around the bus. 

He points, “On your neck.  You must have really hurt yourself last night; maybe that’s why you can’t remember anything.”

I wince as I head over to the mirror, expecting the worst.  I open my eyes and stare into my reflection.  I look like a hot wreck – a shower is imperative.  But my neck looks normal, not even a blemish.  “What are you talking about Lance?”  I put my hands on my hips as I turn and shake my head.

He stands up and puts his hand on my shoulder.  “Sadie?  Are you being serious?  You don’t see the huge bruise on your neck?”

I shake my head as he takes his digital camera out and clicks a picture of me.  “Look, Sadie,” he says, showing me the screen.  Sure enough I can see a huge bruise on my neck in the picture.  Not to mention the huge welt in the middle that looks like a severe cut or bug bite of some kind.  The room is starting to spin again and I can’t help but have this bad feeling that a certain someone is behind this.  I throw my hoodie back on and slink back into the bunk.

**

I can feel the bus coming to a stop as I turn over in the bed.  Please, just a few more hours of sleep.  There is nothing worse than being sick on the road.  There is no way to take a sick day and no way to escape my work as it is a 24/7 commitment. 

I can hear the light rustle of someone else moving towards my bunk.  It’s probably Joey getting ready to wake me up again.  I hear the footsteps coming closer and then a familiar chill starts to run down my spine.  My pulse starts to race again and I can feel a cold sweat forming on my skin.  The curtain slowly opens and there he is.  His blue eyes stare at me with concern.  “How are you feeling, Sadie?” he asks shyly.  Just the sound of his voice is forming a lump in my throat.  His fingers slowly trail over my forehead and he stops for a moment, sensing my fever.  The heat is making me light-headed and all I want to do is get out of these clothes and take a cold shower.  He slides next to me and his eyes dart around the bus before closing the curtain once more and cupping my chin with his hand.  He pulls me towards him and presses his lips to mine and I start to feel the room spinning.  I feel him unzipping my sweatshirt and I am too weak to push him away as I can feel his eyes focusing on the marks on my neck.  He stops for a second as he stares at the bruises inquisitively.  He licks his lips and I can see the lust burning in his eyes once again as I lay there submissively.  He takes my hand in his and interlocks our fingers and that’s when it happens.  I sit up abruptly as I find myself gasping to catch my breath.