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Moving to get two waters from the mini fridge, he throws one to me and keeps the other for himself.
“Bluejay Airways was set to charter a trip for Haven Rivers. Her new tour that starts next week, but they backed out last minute.”
I’ve heard the name Haven Rivers a few times; she’s a pretty popular pop star, but our paths haven’t ever crossed.
“How long?”
A tour is new for us. Celebrities, not so much, but full tours aren’t standard.
“It’s broken up into three phases,” Duke says firmly, not leaving any room for confusion.
“Damn, so many stops?”
“The first leg is twelve, then another six for the international leg.”
Not too bad.
“Any break?”
Being gone for that long is a lot, but for a guy itching for a new normal, it doesn’t sound all that unappealing.
“There’s a small break when they stop in Nashville. The turnaround between shows is typically two weeks with a few days in between, but there’s a month off before the three shows here.”
That’s bearable. Plus, taking myself out of the environment that’s been molding me for decades is only going to help my lingering self-discovery project.
Before my brother wastes his breath on a list of pros and cons, or gets out his fucking PowerPoint on why this would be a huge move for the company, I spare him.
“When do I have to be packed?”
Confusion and excitement define his responding expression.
“You’ll do it?”
His eyebrows freeze high on his forehead in shock, and frankly, my agreeing shocks me too. I didn’t think I’d want to commit to a trip so long after two years away, but this sounds different from what I’m used to, and god knows I need different.
“Yes, dufus, I’ll do it. When do I need to have my shit ready?”
CHAPTER 4
FIA
“A world tour… I can’t believe you’re really leaving.”
Sienna sits in front of me, tears in her eyes, a table full of our favorite brunch food spread out between us.
“Yeah, me neither. What am I going to do without these blueberry bagels?”
Stuffing my mouth with the last bite of my favorite cream cheese-filled treat, I smirk at my friend as she sniffles.
“I’m serious. You know how much I fucking love these things,” I mumble with my mouth full.
“I’m sure you’ll be able to find a bagel shop in the billion cities you’re about to take off to.”
The reminder settles before my food. My mood wavers daily about this tour. Before I met Sienna for brunch, I said goodbye to my third hookup this week. A regular occurrence for me—a resistance to solution, if you will.
Some people survive on alcohol or drugs. I do so with sex, and lots of it.
“Yeah, but they won’t have you.” I half smile, forcing my mind to stay in the present and not drift as my heart sinks and reality sets in.
