Merch Girl Read online

  MERCH GIRL

  By Rebecca Lewis

  Copyright © 2013 by Rebecca Lewis

  All rights reserved.

  The Author holds exclusive rights to this work. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited. No part of this book can be reproduced in any form or by electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without the permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer who may quote short excerpts in a review.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

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  Dedicated to Justin, my real life rockstar

  Table of Contents:

  Chapter 1 – VIP

  Chapter 2 – Mallrats

  Chapter 3 – Practice Makes Perfect

  Chapter 4 – Boston

  Chapter 5 – Providence

  Chapter 6 – Hartford

  Chapter 7 – New York City

  Chapter 8 – New York City – After The Show

  Chapter 9 – New York City – Record Release Day

  Chapter 10 – Philadelphia

  Chapter 11 – Washington, D.C.

  Chapter 12 – Atlanta

  Chapter 13 – Fort Lauderdale

  Chapter 14 – New Orleans

  Chapter 15 – Houston

  Chapter 16 – Kansas City

  Chapter 17 – Denver

  Chapter 18 – Denver Day Two

  Chapter 19 – San Francisco

  Chapter 20 – Los Angeles

  Chapter 21 – Return To Boston

  Acknowledgements

  Chapter 1 – VIP

  I sprawled out on the padded seat, rested my head against the window, and took a deep breath in. Squeezing my eyes shut, I counted to ten and exhaled slowly, but my heart continued to beat at a marathon pace.

  My best friend Trina lay casually in the seat across from me. Plugged into her iPod, she nodded her head and mouthed lyrics, oblivious to everyone else on the train around us. I envied her ability to stay calm at a time like this.

  I leaned over and tapped her foot to wake her from her musical trance.

  “What’s up?” she asked, taking out one earbud.

  “Are you sure we’re not going to get arrested for this?”

  “Don’t worry,” she responded. “Just act like you’re supposed to be there and everything will be fine.”

  I nodded and sat up straight, wiping the sweat from my palms onto my jeans.

  The train soon came to a jolting halt, and an automated voice came through the speakers, announcing the name of the stop as Kenmore Square.

  “Come on,” Trina said. “We’re here.”

  Climbing the steps up out of the hot, sticky station, we emerged onto a busy sidewalk in Boston. I hastily combed my fingers through my thick hair; humidity was not a friend to my frizz-prone waves, and tonight was not the night to look like a hot mess.

  My stomach did back flips and somersaults as we approached the night club. I’d been dreaming of this moment for weeks, and now it was finally here. Lansdowne, our favorite band in the entire universe was inside this building, and all that remained between us and them was a big steel door, and a towering, muscular security guard.

  “Names?” the guard asked, peering down at us over his clipboard.

  “I’m Trina Thorne and this is Lacey Kind,” she said, clutching my arm. “We’re on the list.”

  Trina’s confidence always astounded me, and I aspired to be as self-assured as her by the time I started college, which was only a few months away. My shyness was probably the main reason I’d never had a boyfriend in my whole seventeen years of existence. Although it’s been fun to hear about all of Trina’s adventures in dating, I’d love to have a guy of my own sometime soon.

  The large guard looked through the first page of paper on his clipboard, and then went on to scan the second. Moving his head slowly from side to side, he obviously wasn’t finding our names. We were so busted.

  I poked my head through the small opening in the door to take in as much as I could of the venue; it was probably as much as I would see that night. How could I believe we would really pull off sneaking into a private concert?

  I spied a blue wall, grey carpet and a few employees mingling around the lobby. A familiar looking guy walked over to the wall with some posters in his hand, and I immediately tapped Trina’s shoulder.

  “Look over in the corner. Is that Jeff Brady?” I asked, pointing to the tall, skinny guy with shaggy blonde hair.

  “I think so,” she said, leaning in for a closer look. “Yep. Definitely him.”

  We met Jeff at our school’s spring dance a few months ago when our ex-best friend Jenna brought him as her date. It was painfully obvious that Jeff was staring at Trina all night, which probably made Jenna hate us even more.

  “Jeff!” Trina yelled through the door, waving him over.

  He caught a glimpse of her and instantly ran over to our rescue.

  “Hey man, it’s ok, they’re with me,” he said, showing the bouncer his ID badge. “They didn’t win tickets until a few hours ago so I didn’t have a chance to add them to the list.”

  The grizzly guard nodded with a grunt and let us in. Wow, that was easy; I guess we wouldn’t end up in the slammer for breaking and entering after all.

  The bouncer opened the door and I had to forcibly restrain myself from throwing my arms around Jeff’s neck in gratitude as we followed him inside. He returned to his small stack of posters, which had a new, hot photo of Lansdowne on it, and tore off some tape to hang up the last few.

  “So, what are you guys doing here?” he asked.

  Truthfully, we’d been calculating plans to sneak into this concert ever since we heard about it on the radio last month, but I didn’t want to confess; we’d look like huge losers.

  “We could ask you the same question,” Trina replied.

  “I’m interning for K103 FM this summer,” he answered proudly, twirling the laminate pass around his neck.

  “Cool,” she responded. “We were in the city tonight, heard that Lansdowne was playing, and wanted to check them out.”

  She sounded very convincing. If I didn’t already know we were up to something I would have believed her.

  “Oh, they’re great guys, you’ll love their music. I’m actually heading to an after party for them at the lounge upstairs tonight; wanna join?”

  “Sure, sounds fun,” Trina answered.

  I was still trying to wrap my head around the fact that we were seeing Lansdowne in concert soon. The thought of being at a party with them was almost too much to handle.

  “Can I borrow her for a moment?” I asked, pulling Trina off to the ladies’ room. Closing the door behind us, I quickly scanned the stalls to make sure no one else was around.

  “An after party with Lansdowne!” I screamed. We jumped up and down in the middle of the bathroom, unable to contain our excitement any longer.

  “Oh my God, this is insane!” Trina gushed. “We have to stay cool and not freak out in front of them, and we can’t let them know we’re fans. If they find out, then they won’t take us seriously.”

  I nodded in agreement, although it wouldn’t be easy. Leaving the restroom, I held in my squeals
of joy and found Jeff waiting for us in the lobby.

  “Follow me, the show’s going to start soon,” he instructed, leading us upstairs to a roped off, VIP section of the large club. We stood near the front and watched the radio station winners pile onto the dance floor below, pushing each other to get closer to the stage. My stomach churned in anticipation.

  The radio station’s DJ strolled on stage with a microphone in his hand. “You’ve been requesting their song for the past few months, and now they’re ready for their first live show. Are you guys ready for Lansdowne?”

  The crowd erupted in cheers. I bit my lip to keep from screaming and squeezed Trina’s hand.

  “I can’t hear you!” the DJ yelled.

  The roaring sound that followed was almost deafening. The DJ left the stage and the club went dark. As the crowd continued to shout, spotlights appeared, and the three members of Lansdowne took the stage. Ryan Lane ran out with his shiny black guitar slung around his lanky body; Griffin Mack took a seat at his drum kit, twirling a stick swiftly in his large hands; and my favorite band member, Logan Shire, found his spot in the center of the stage behind the microphone, with his red bass guitar hung low across his hips.

  Goose bumps shot out of my skin as they started their first song. The bass thumped deliciously through my body, and Logan’s raspy, sexy voice had me hypnotized. I savored every sound that spilled out of his mouth.

  Trina and I tried our hardest not to look like dorks in front Jeff, but at times I couldn’t help sing and dance along with the band’s infectious melodies. I thought we were very well behaved, considering the fact that we were actually huge fans.

  “That guy right there,” Jeff said, pointing to Ryan. “The one with the guitar, he’s dating a friend of mine.”

  What? I thought they were all single! I should have figured their record label would make them lie about having girlfriends. A knot formed in the bottom of my stomach. What if Logan had a girlfriend too? I would just die.

  “Really? That’s cool, what’s her name?” Trina asked.

  “Jenna,” he replied. “She was my date when I first met you at that dance.”

  Ugh, Jenna? Of all people, it had to be her. She’s held a vendetta against us since tenth grade when Trina dated a guy that Jenna supposedly liked first. In Trina’s defense, we had no idea that Jenna was really into him since she had a crush on every guy in school, and hooked up with plenty of people we liked. I guess it only made sense that if I loved Lansdowne, she’d go and snag a band member before I had a chance to even meet one.

  “How did that happen?” I asked.

  “Yeah, I mean, I thought you two were dating,” Trina added.

  “We weren’t really that serious. We broke up a month or so ago, sometime after I introduced her to Ryan. We’re still friends though. I’m sure she’ll be at the after party tonight.”

  Trina and I turned to each other with the same expression of disgust.

  After thirty minutes of pure ear-bliss, Lansdowne’s set came to an end. The general public filed out of the club and Jeff led us to the stairway up to the after party. Trina and I walked up the steps behind him arm in arm. He flashed his VIP pass to the security guard at the top and nodded back at us.

  This was it, the pinnacle of my entire life, VIP status at a concert and the chance of possibly meeting my rock gods.

  Trina looked over at me reassuringly and squeezed my arm tight. “Remember, stay cool, no freak outs.”

  We emerged into the dimly lit, noisy room and a few people lounging on plush couches in the corner waved over to Jeff.

  “Come on, let me introduce you to some industry people.” He brought us over to the group. “This is Carson, the band’s manager; Holly, their publicist; and Kimberly, my boss at the station.”

  We smiled and shook their hands.

  “Inviting fans up here Jeff? You know that’s not allowed,” Kimberly said.

  “Oh, no, they’re friends of mine. Actually, they’re friends of Jenna’s too.”

  I tried not to gag at that comment.

  “Really?” Holly asked, eyeing Trina and me. “I’m a little concerned about that girl. I don’t want her interfering with the band’s hard work, and I’m working my butt off making sure she doesn’t appear in any photos with the guys. I can’t afford for the fans to find out that their crush isn’t single, not at this point in the game anyway.”

  “Don’t worry, we won’t let anyone find out about their relationship,” I told her.

  I’d rather poke my eyes out with a fork than let Jenna’s relationship with someone famous become public information.

  I scanned the room searching for the band, but it was too dark to distinguish people’s faces in the distance. Looking around again, I began to feel a little funny, like the room was slowly closing in on me. The lights grew darker, and the music and chatter of all the people crowding into the room became louder. It probably wasn’t the smartest idea to skip breakfast and lunch, but I was so nervous about seeing Lansdowne that I didn’t have an appetite all day. I prayed I wouldn’t pass out in the middle of the coolest party I’d ever been to.

  I tugged on Trina’s elbow and whispered in her ear. “I think I need to get out of here, I’m feeling sort of claustrophobic.”

  “Now? But, we haven’t even met the band yet,” she said.

  I knew she was disappointed, but I’d rather faint on the hard concrete sidewalk than in front of all these music industry people.

  “I’m feeling a little light headed, please,” I begged.

  Trina took my hand and turned to Jeff. “We’ll be back in a bit.”

  “I’m so sorry,” I apologized, as she guided me out the door. “I didn’t see the guys in the room anyway, I’m not even sure they were there.”

  “Hey!” Jeff called out, running after us. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing, we just needed some air,” Trina said.

  The temperature dropped since the sun went down, and the cool breeze felt nice against my hot skin.

  “Jeff!” a familiar sounding voice called out in the distance.

  I turned my head to find who the voice belonged to and my body instantly froze. It was Logan Shire, and he was walking straight towards us. Even though I’d just seen him on stage, it was entirely different to see him up close. He looked too perfect; like there was absolutely no way he was part of the same species all the other males on this planet were part of.

  His long, shiny, dirty blonde hair was impeccably tousled, and his eyes were so bright blue that I could see them glisten, even in the dark. He wore tight, deep blue jeans and a snug black t-shirt. He was thin, but I could see the outlines of defined muscles on his chest and upper arms. He’d appeared in the majority of my dreams during the past few months, and now I was finally seeing him in the flesh.

  I was still frozen, staring like a fool, as he quickly approached us and appeared in front of me. Butterflies flew around my insides and my hands shook uncontrollably.

  Jeff greeted him with a fist bump. “Hey man, great show tonight.”

  “Thanks, glad you liked it. You heading up to the party?”

  “I was already up there, but my friends here couldn’t handle it and needed a breather,” Jeff explained with a laugh.

  This was not the introduction to the guy of my dreams I had envisioned.

  I rolled my eyes and glared back at him. “It was just really hot in there; I needed to get outside and cool off a bit.”

  “Yeah, it can be a little overwhelming sometimes,” Logan said, placing his hand on my bare shoulder.

  I couldn’t believe his skin was making contact with mine, and he talked to me! I could swear my heart stopped beating, yet it was all I could hear pounding in my ears. I was positive he could hear it too.

  “Yeah, just a little,” I replied, nervously.

  “What’s your name?” he asked.

  His speaking voice was just as amazing as his singing voice, a little gravely, and not too deep, but manl
y enough that you would know he was at least in his late teens.

  “Lacey.”

  He stuck out his hand. “Nice to meet you, I’m Logan.”

  His hand was big and warm, and a little rough. I glanced up at him with a smile, and hoped that I didn’t look like just another adoring fan. He was so beautiful it was hard not to stare.

  “Well, I better get upstairs and join the party; the record label would be pretty pissed off if I missed the whole thing,” he said.

  “Yeah, probably,” I stammered out.

  “I’m going back upstairs too, it’s not every day I get to go to an industry party,” Jeff said. “And if you girls think you can handle it, you’re still invited to join.”

  I suddenly felt a hundred percent better, and I didn’t even have to say it out loud before Trina grabbed my arm and practically forced me back inside and up the stairs. When we reached the top I saw Logan cross the room, but I didn’t want to follow him too closely; he might think I was annoying if I hovered around all night. Jeff quickly pulled Trina and me aside anyway.

  “I’ll introduce you to the rest of the band,” he said, guiding us over to the corner of the room. I spotted the other two members of Lansdowne, and Jenna too, gross.

  “Trina! Lacey!” Jenna screamed, jumping up from Ryan’s lap and hugging us both. She was so fake it made me sick. “Girls, this is my friend Griffin, and my boyfriend, Ryan.”

  It was such a lame excuse for an introduction, more like showing off her new-found “VIP” status.

  “Nice to meet you,” we said, shaking their hands.

  “Very nice to meet you,” Griffin replied, hanging on to Trina’s hand.

  Poor Jeff, he seemed to really like Trina, but he didn’t have a chance against an up and coming rockstar like Griffin. With his dark curly hair and deep brown eyes, I could see why he was Trina’s favorite.

  “This is my friend Trina,” Jeff explained as he put his arm around her waist.

  “Any friend of Jeff’s is a friend of mine,” Griffin said with a smirk.

  She was so lucky having two guys interested in her, although, it wasn’t an uncommon occurrence. Besides her insane confidence, she had the figure of a model and long, stick-straight dark brown hair. If she wasn’t my best friend I’d probably hate her.