Merch Girl Page 7

  “Shhhh,” I said, nodding my head to the fans surrounding us.

  “They don’t know what we’re talking about. Don’t worry.”

  I followed her back to our bus to start setting up for the show.

  “We are living the dream, baby!” She yelled, hugging me again.

  “I think Logan and Griffin are living the dream, we’re just along for the ride.”

  “Are you kidding? I always dreamed about dating a rockstar and so have you.”

  “I wouldn’t call it dating. The more famous they get, the less we’ll get to see them, and we can’t be seen with them in public…”

  “Stop being so negative! You made out with Logan Shire. Please, celebrate!”

  Very true. Why was I worrying about going out in public when I could have him all to myself in private?

  “Okay, you’re right, as usual,” I said, surrendering to her celebratory mood. I jumped up and down with her in the bus and squealed with excitement.

  After we finished our mini freak-out session we unloaded the merch boxes from the bus. Someone tapped my shoulder as I was about to enter the venue. It was the same girl I met at the Providence show who shared her incriminating photo of Jenna and Jeff with me.

  “Oh, hey!” I greeted her. “I’m sorry, I never got your name”

  “It’s Devin,” she said quickly. “So, did you get that blonde girl in trouble?”

  “Um, well…it’s complicated.” I didn’t want to air out all the drama to a blogger.

  “How is it complicated? That girl is a ho and Ryan needs to know,” she said, sternly.

  I wanted to be nice to her since she was a fan, but she was really getting on my nerves.

  “You don’t know Ryan or Jenna, so I really don’t need to explain this to you.”

  “Well, if you were really their friend, then you would let them know what’s going on,” she lectured.

  She had a point, but, we already made a deal with Jenna, and she would make my life living hell if I broke it.

  “I’ll do my best,” I told her, and went inside the venue.

  “I saw you talking to the Ryan lover, what’s her deal?” Trina asked as I made my way over to the merch table.

  “She really wants us to bust Jenna.”

  “We can’t. Once that gets out, she’ll definitely find a way to get us kicked off the tour.”

  “I know, but, maybe we should let the guys know what’s going on. I hate keeping secrets.”

  “Do you really want to risk having to go home?”

  I couldn’t go home now; I’d miss visiting new cities, meeting interesting people, and I’d especially miss spending time with Logan. I guess I wasn’t really lying to him, but I also wasn’t being completely honest. I decided to keep quiet on the situation and changed the topic.

  “So, kissing Logan was amazing,” I whispered.

  “I bet, isn’t there just an incredible energy that you feel between yourself and him? That’s how I feel when I kiss Griffin. It’s hard to describe, but I know there’s something between us, like this isn’t just a summer fling.”

  We unloaded the last pieces of merchandise on the table, and explored the venue further. It was a large place, with an upper and lower level.

  The guys came out on stage to do their soundcheck where they sang bits and pieces of songs and checked their instruments. I’d watched them do soundcheck a couple of times already, and Logan’s voice always pulled me in, but there was something different about watching him tonight. Now that my feelings for him were being reciprocated, I really felt like he was singing to me, no matter how many fans filled the room later.

  “How do you stand it?” I asked Trina.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Don’t you wish you could be closer to Griffin while he’s on stage? It’s killing me that we can’t be up there with them right now.”

  “It’s hard, but you’ll get used to it,” she said. “I know what you mean though, I just want to rush the stage and rip his clothes off sometimes.”

  The guys ended their soundcheck and went backstage to do some meet and greets with fans. Trina and I took a peek outside. It was insane; there had to be at least four hundred, maybe even five hundred people out there. I looked over at Trina who had the same worried expression as I did. I hoped we didn’t get trampled to death at the end of the show for merch!

  Once the doors opened the fans raced in for prime spots on the floor. A fight almost broke out for the front row as the girls pushed and shoved into each other. It looked uncomfortable to be squished up against the metal gate that separated the fans from the stage, but I’m sure it was well worth it. Whoever made it to the front, center stage, would have Logan singing right over her, with his body so close she could almost touch him.

  When Lansdowne finally took the stage, the crowd screamed so loud that I had to block my ears. A million camera flashes went off, and people jumped up and down.

  Robyn ran up to us. “Hey! Did you hear? The show sold out!”

  “Wow, that’s amazing!” Trina said, hugging her.

  What an accomplishment, a sold out concert in New York City. They were becoming hugely successful, and I was sort of dating the lead singer. It was all pretty unreal.

  “Are you excited for the album release tomorrow?” Trina asked.

  I had completely forgotten about their record coming out since I was so wrapped up in my thoughts about Logan.

  “What are they doing tomorrow?” I asked.

  “They’re really busy, I don’t know if we can tag along or not,” she said. “They have interviews on a morning radio show and a TV show, then they’re taping for a night show, and then signing autographs at a music store in Times Square later in the day.”

  I hoped we could be a part of it somehow.

  As the show came to a close, we readied ourselves for the rush of fans that would soon be charging in our direction. And charge they did, as soon as the guys left the stage it seemed like the whole theater ran out for merchandise.

  My phone vibrated as I brought the first box back out to the bus after we were done. It was a text from Logan.

  “Meet me backstage.”

  “Look.” I said, showing Trina the text.

  “You better go,” she said, grinning. “I can handle the rest of the boxes. I’ll see you later.”

  I threw my arms around her quickly and ran backstage to the band’s dressing room. I knocked on the door and Griffin opened up.

  “Hey,” he said, looking around. “Where’s Trina?”

  Before I had a chance to answer, Logan ran over and grabbed my hand. He led me to the back corner of the room, away from the other guys.

  “You were amazing tonight,” I gushed.

  He was wearing a deliciously clingy white V-neck tee and tight, dark blue jeans. His hair was wet, but smelled clean. His eyes were a brighter blue than usual, and I couldn’t stop myself from staring into them, they were very hypnotizing.

  “Thanks, it was always a dream of mine to perform to a sold out crowd in NYC, and I still can’t believe it happened.”

  I tried to respond, but he stopped me with his lips. He crushed himself into me with an intense kiss. He was on a performance high and I went with it.

  He pulled away after a few minutes, but kept his arms wrapped around me. “I better get ready, there’s a bunch of people that want to do interviews with us. I just had to see you before the night got too hectic. I’ll find you later.”

  Amazing, he was absolutely amazing. I was sure my face was flushed, my whole body was probably like a tomato, but I didn’t care. I was having the most incredible day and night. I only hoped I would wake up tomorrow and it would still be real.

  Chapter 8 – New York City – After The Show

  Crap. This wasn’t good. This wasn’t good at all. My mind raced to think of some sort of way to get out of the situation, but it was already too late.

  The crowd around us parted ways, and three security guards rus
hed through. “Break it up! Break it up!”

  Why did Trina have to be such a bully sometimes? I should have tried harder to stop her.

  “I did nothing wrong!” the fan shouted as her four friends lifted her up off the ground and back onto her stiletto-heeled feet.

  “It was their fault!” she screamed, pointing at Trina and me.

  “You’re all coming with us, and I don’t care whose fault it is,” one of the bouncers said.

  We followed the guards back inside and entered the club’s office. The groupie-looking fans with their short skirts and cleavage-bearing tank tops shot us nasty stares.

  I wasn’t mad at them though, I was pissed off at Trina. We were about to go back inside the club when we passed the group of skanky fans. One of them was very outspoken about wanting to hook up with Griffin, and it rubbed Trina the wrong way. I told her to ignore it, but she didn’t listen, and now we were in for it.

  “Can I just make a quick call?” Trina asked the guard.

  He nodded and she scrolled to Griffin’s name in her address book.

  “Hey, um, I’m in the club right now, in the manager’s office, and I might need your help,” she said, quietly. “I, uh, sort of yelled at some dumb girl outside, and she pushed me so I pushed her back.”

  I couldn’t hear his response, but Trina didn’t look too happy.

  “But, maybe you could just explain to them…”

  She hung up the phone and I looked at her for an explanation.

  “He’s coming.”

  The manager entered the office and sat down at his desk across from us. My heart raced, we couldn’t afford to cause any drama right now.

  “These girls were brawling outside your club, do you want to press charges?” the guard asked.

  Press charges? Are you kidding me? It was hardly a brawl, just a few shoves. This was ridiculous! The club manager looked the five skanks up and down and then moved closer to us; what a creep.

  He placed a hand on one of the fan’s shoulders. “You girls aren’t going to fight at my club ever again, right?”

  “No, we just…oh my God!”

  I turned and saw Logan and Griffin standing in the doorway. Logan had his hand pressed against the wall and Griffin’s arms were crossed against his chest. They sure looked hot when they were angry.

  “We just really wanted to meet Lansdowne, and these two girls over here were very rude to us and started pushing us around. They seem like psycho fans,” she said.

  What a load of bull. Logan had to know she was lying. Why would we start something for no reason? But before we had a chance to respond, the fans ran up to the guys.

  “Can we take a picture with you?” one of them asked.

  “I don’t think we should. We wouldn’t want to reward bad behavior,” Griffin said.

  “But we weren’t the ones causing trouble, honest,” she said.

  “Okay, I guess, but don’t tell the other fans that the way to meet us is to get into fights.”

  The manager snapped a picture of the group of girls with their arms around Griffin and Logan. Trina looked ready to punch something as the girl who started this whole mess clung tightly to Griffin’s side.

  It made me sick; these kinds of bratty, big-boobed bimbos always find a way to get what they want.

  The manager handed the camera back to the fans. “Okay, you’re all allowed to leave, but please, no more catfights on my turf, alright?”

  Logan pointed at me and Trina “You two can hang back.”

  The fans left, and Trina and I took a seat. My palms began to sweat and I braced myself for the worst.

  “What were you thinking?” Griffin asked. “What if you really hurt one of those girls? You have to remember you’re working for us right now. We can’t have one of our employees beating up our fans!”

  “Holly is going to be wicked pissed when she hears about this,” Logan said, shaking his head.

  “I’m so, so sorry,” I apologized.

  “No, I’m the one that should be apologizing,” Trina said. “Lacey was trying to hold me back, so if you’re going to blame someone, blame me. And if you want me to leave the tour I understand.”

  She hung her head down to the ground and placed her hands over her eyes.

  Griffin put his arm around her and kissed her cheek. “I don’t want you to leave. Just try not to piss off our fans anymore, okay?”

  Trina lifted her head back up and nodded. I was surprised how quickly they let us off the hook; I guess they really did like us.

  “We were about to leave anyway,” Logan said.

  “Alright, we’ll catch up with you later,” I replied.

  The guys left to meet up with Ryan, Robyn and Carson in the hallway. Trina and I stayed back so we wouldn’t have to answer to Robyn or Carson; I’m sure they wouldn’t be as forgiving. We slipped out the door a few minutes later, and the fans were still outside with their sharpies and cameras out and ready.

  “Want to take a cab back to the hotel? I just don’t want to be around this craziness right now,” Trina said.

  I agreed.

  “So, let’s just pretend none of this ever happened, okay?”

  “Sounds good, but you have to promise not to upset the fans, no matter how slutty, cruel, or bitchy they might be.”

  “Fine…” she said, rolling her eyes.

  I wasn’t tired enough to go to sleep, and by the size of the crowd at the club, I knew the band wouldn’t be back for a while.

  “I think we should do something special for the guys,” I suggested.

  “Like what?”

  “Let’s buy them dessert, and we can have a little celebration for them in their room. Plus, it wouldn’t hurt for us to kiss up a little right now.”

  “Good idea, I saw a cute bakery nearby,” Trina said, leading the way.

  I peered through the glass at the huge cupcakes sitting in the window. “We need these!”

  Thank goodness everything was open late in New York City. It was almost midnight, but the store was still crowded. We bought a dozen of the frosted goodies in all different flavors and went back to the hotel.

  Trina ran up to the front desk. “Hi, we work for the band Lansdowne. They’re guests here and they lost their key cards at the show, would you be able to give us a copy so I can have it for them when they arrive?”

  The front desk agent shot her a look of disbelief.

  “Here,” Trina said, pulling out her VIP working pass. “See, I work for them, and I can call their manager if you really want me to.”

  She pulled out her cell phone and started dialing a number.

  “Okay, but if I get one phone call about any funny business I’m calling security immediately,” he warned, swiping us a new key and handing it over.

  “Thank you so much, and I promise we’re legit.”

  “That was too easy,” I commented. “He probably thought you were hot.”

  She shrugged her shoulders and we ran to the elevator.

  Trina knocked on the door to the band’s room to make sure no one was there before we went in. We chilled in their room for what seemed like an eternity. I knew it was selfish of me, but I wished the fans would leave right after the shows so I could have more time with Logan.

  My stomach ached with hunger pains and the cupcakes were calling my name. Trina caught me eyeing the box on the table.

  “Have one, they might be a while,” she said, pushing the box towards me. I opened it up and smelled the sugary goodness. I grabbed a cookies and cream flavored one and began to unwrap it when I heard the door open.

  “Shit! Shit! Shit!” Griffin yelled as he slammed the door behind him.

  He jumped back into the door when he noticed us in the room. “Woah! You guys scared me! What are you doing in here?”

  “Um...surprise?” Trina said, holding out the box of cupcakes.

  “It’s not my Birthday, baby,” he replied, reaching out to take one.

  “I know that, these are cong
ratulatory cupcakes for your first big show in New York City!” She gave him a kiss on the cheek as he bit into a chocolate one with peanut butter icing. “And another way to say we’re really sorry about what happened tonight.”

  “Aw, thanks,” he said, kissing her back. “And, you’re already forgiven.”

  Was she just going to ignore the fact that he just came in here swearing up a storm? What the hell?

  “Um, is everything okay?” I asked.

  “Yeah,” he responded, licking his fingers. “Why?”

  “It sounded like you were pretty angry about something.”

  “Oh, yeah, don’t worry about it,” he said, getting up from the table. “Ryan, Logan and Jenna should be up here any minute.”

  “What about Jeff?” I asked.

  “He, uh, wasn’t feeling well, so he’s going to stay on the bus.”

  It seemed a little fishy to me, but I had no reason not to believe him. The door opened and sure enough Logan, Ryan and Jenna entered the room.

  “Surprise!” I yelled, holding out the cupcakes.

  “It’s not my Birthday,” Logan said. Trina, Griffin and I laughed.

  “What?” he asked, as Griffin passed him the box.

  “Nothing dude,” he said. Logan reached for one and took a big bite. “They’re congratulating us on the killer show we just had.”

  “Thanks, that’s really nice of you,” he said, smiling wide.

  I swear his eyes actually twinkled when he smiled like that.

  Jenna walked by us quickly. She didn’t make eye contact with anyone and remained quiet. Ryan grabbed a cupcake before meeting Jenna on the other side of the room, pulling her onto the couch. She sat on his lap, but she was fidgety, and played with her hair more than usual. I wanted to decipher their body language some more, but when Logan sat down next to me I couldn’t ignore his presence.

  “Mmm, that was great,” he said, licking his luscious, frosting covered lips.

  “No problem,” I replied. I had to hold on to the arms of my chair to keep from lunging at him.

  He inched towards me, leaning off the edge of his seat, and brushed my hair behind my ear with his hand.

  “I wish I could see you when I’m up on stage. It’s too bad you have to be all the way in the back to do your job.”