21
Jem
As the days pass,the tightness of Ruby Riot places me further on the edge of Ruby’s life. This allows me to back off, which means asking her to leave will be a ton easier. After two weeks and ten gigs, the band holds up well.Thisis what I needed to see. There’s no real friction apart from what comes out of Ruby’s mouth before she goes on stage and the guys are used to that. In a weird way, Ruby breaks the tension.
Liam and Bryn came to a couple of the gigs and their approval reinforces this is the right decision. We only need Steve’s thumbs up now, but he hasn’t been in the UK recently. His wife has him tied down to their house in the States so he’s asked for a full demo instead. The excitement on the guys’ faces when I tell them I have studio time booked after the tour is priceless. Even Ruby cracks a smile.
Tonight Ruby Riot play their last gig of the tour to a crowded venue in Oxford. Their sets get tighter, the audiences bigger. There’s a weird fatherly sense of pride toward them, although my feelings for Ruby remain increasingly un-fatherly. The bad thing is, the more I resist my brain’s attempt to develop an emotional attachment to her, the more I want her in my bed. Yeah, I want her out of my house but in my bed; I’m still a selfish bastard.
Guys hit on Ruby after gigs every night and I watch with a combination of jealousy and amusement, depending on how she responds to them. Curiously, Jax intervenes most nights and gives outsiders the impression the guitarist and lead singer are an item. I’ve heard her thank him for getting rid of unwanted attention and he shrugs her off but this gnaws at me. I know the four of them share a room at each hotel—who knows what happens following the late night, drunken sessions that I keep out of. At least those thoughts reinforce that my dumb, sober brain needs to find someone else for sex.
Yeah, right, apart from Ruby is cock blocking me, Jem Jones passing on groupies who inevitably pass themselves onto the other guys.
Heading back to my room after the gig, I find Ruby sitting on the floor in the hallway, resting against my suite door with her eyes closed. I pause, wishing the sight of her didn’t fire up the irritating mix of my desire to screw her and the longing for her attention. We’ve barely spoken in days.
Ruby’s plain grey top is scooped across the neck and slipped on one side, past the ink to the top of her black lace bra.Not helping. Her amazing legs stretch in front of her, wrapped in black yoga pants, barefoot, toe nails painted bright red to match her fingernails. I pull the room’s keycard from a pocket, fighting the usual image of those legs wrapped around my body.
“You okay?” I ask.
Ruby opens an eye. “I’m too tired to deal with people. The guys are really going for it tonight and I want to sleep.”
I laugh at her. “It’s ten p.m.”
“Two weeks of this and I’m fucked. No idea how you guys tour for months on end and don’t burn out.”
“The current state of Blue Phoenix answers that question.” I slide the keycard and push open the door. “I’ll find you a drink and you can hide out here for a few hours.”
“Thanks.” Ruby stands.
I hold the door like the gentleman I’m not and catch her fresh-showered scent as she passes, rewinding me to our days alone in my house.
“Shit, if I’d know your rooms were this big I would’ve asked asked to stay before,” she remarks as she crosses the penthouse to look over the skyline. “This is an apartment, not a hotel room!”
Stay?
“I like my space,” I say as Ruby sits on one of the sofas opposite the bedroom.
“Yeah, I noticed.”
Was that a loaded comment? “Did you want a beer?”
She looks at me curiously. “No, I don’t like drinking around you. Hadn’t you noticed?”
I hadn’t but now this explains why she avoids me after most gigs. I convinced myself she avoided me for other reasons.
“Yeah. Okay. Coke?”
She nods and I return with a can to where Ruby’s stretched out on the cream cushioned sofa, legs crossed at the ankles. Resting her head on one arm, Ruby’s scarlet hair flows behind almost touching the floor as she gazes at the ceiling.
“It’s been a while since we talked,” I say.
“I see you every day.”
“I mean, since we chatted, me and you.”
Ruby twists her head towards me. “I guess not. Maybe because you’re hiding behind Jem Jones again?” she suggests.
“And you’re Ruby again.”