Free Rock Me : Wicked by Arabella Quinn Page A

guitar in the spotlight while he was singing.
During my favorite Cold Fusion song, Alex let his guitar hang around his neck
by the straps while he grabbed the microphone stand with two hands. He rocked
the crowd and ended the song to thunderous applause.
    As the set ended,
my emotions were all over the place. My adrenaline was pumping, I was excited
for him, proud of his talent, but intimidated at the same time. Rosie came back
to get us and we headed back to Cold Fusion's backstage dressing area. The guys
were still hyped up about their performance.
    Tommy grabbed
Melissa and spun her around. "How'd we do girls?"
    "You guys
absolutely killed it!" Melissa said exactly the right thing based on their
responses.
    Nick grabbed some
beers from the refrigerator and passed them out. Alex took two and pulled me
over to the couch. "We've got to help break down. I'll be busy for about
an hour. The guys are all going out after to party with Warning Shot. I thought
maybe we could just hang out here unless you want to go party with them."
    It would be our
last few hours together and I wanted to spend every last minute with him.
Alone. "No. Here is good. Melissa will probably want to go out with them
though."
    Alex gave me a
quick kiss. "Good answer. I'll see you soon."
    He stood up and
addressed the band. "Come on. Let's get our shit done."
    The guys all
grumbled but eventually headed out leaving Melissa and I sitting alone.
    "I'm going to
hang back with Alex while you go out and party with the guys. Is that okay with
you?" I knew she would do it even if she didn't want to, but I was pretty
sure it wasn't a tough assignment for her.
    Melissa laughed.
"No problem. I'll take one for the team. Just make sure you make good use
of your time!"
    My heart sunk a
little. This was it. The last bit of time I had left with Alex. Melissa left me
sitting with my dark thoughts as she used the bathroom to primp.
    The band members
all came back about 45 minutes later. Tommy threw his arm around Melissa.
"You ready to have some fun?"
    "Yeah. Let's
go!" Melissa grabbed her purse, gave me a wink and then left with the
band. No one made mention of the fact that Alex and I stayed behind.
    Alex wrapped his
arms around me and kissed the top of my head. "I thought I'd give you a
tour of my home away from home."
    "What's your
home away from home?" I wasn't sure what he meant.
    "The tour
bus."
    I was curious to
see where he spent all his time. "Yeah. I'd like to see it. Where is your
real home anyway?"
    He grabbed my hand
and started leading me out of the room. "I share an apartment with Tyler
in Texas."
    Alex led me past
the busy road crew, who were packing up and hauling boxes. Texas was so far
away. It may as well have been on another planet. My mind was already rebelling
against our inevitable parting later.
    It sounded like Warning
Shot's show was winding down. Alex took me behind the theatre to the large open
lot filled with huge rigs and buses. His tour bus was pretty non-descript on
the outside. I could have passed it hundreds of times on the highway and never
glanced twice at it.
    We climbed inside
and Alex gave me a quick rundown. It was quick because there was not much to
explain. There was seating at the front of the bus, a small kitchen area, and
some entertainment equipment. Bunks lined both sides of the bus toward the
middle section. Down past the bunks was a closed door.
    Alex passed
through the door into a casual lounge area. A decent sized flat-screen TV
connected to a video game system was mounted on the wall. There was plenty of
vinyl seating and two small tables.
    Making a face,
Alex said, "I know it's not much..."
    "No, it's
great. Except for the bunks. They're tiny." I couldn't believe that four
guys lived in such tight quarters together for months on end.
    Alex ran his hand
through his hair. "Well, we all take turns and rotate back here. Tommy's
been in here for the last couple weeks. These tables fold down and the chairs
turn into a