I stood alone in the back of the bus, relieved to be free of that scene but concerned about what might come next. I had now met all four Fiery Boys, and they were certainly a letdown. Chuck and Gabe were, if anything, even more worthless than Jason had warned. River was obviously hiding from me, and Buck had emerged long enough to fight with Chuck then go back to into hiding as well. I might have once dreamed about Buck, but his anger doused that flame. He could stay in his cubicle for all I cared.
I noticed muffled giggles of delight coming from the bedroom door. That groupie might not have any shame about running around the tour bus naked and jumping into multiple band members' beds, but I felt a little embarrassed listening to her. I went back to the living room.
Gabe was still there, now working both a phone and a tablet. He didn't look up when I sat down across from him, and I felt alone again, even sitting with the famous guitarist. Sure, they had better things to do than talk to me all day-I could handle that. But the band had barely acknowledged me. Only Chuck seemed pleased to see me, and his pleasure extended only as far as his groin.
After a few more seconds of silent treatment, I decided to regroup. I muttered at Gabe, not expecting him to hear me. "Well this sucks." Then I stood up and got off the bus.
I was about to call Kira and tell her what a bunch of jerks these boys were, when Gabe came bounding out. I watched carefully, wondering what had motivated the zombie to move his body. Probably hungry for some brains.
Gabe walked up to me with a tiny smile. He seemed about to speak when he noticed the women standing by the fence and stopped with an exasperated look. He raised a finger at me and leaned closer. "Don't go anywhere."
He walked to the fence, slowly pacing the line. I couldn't blame him, really. These women had everything on display. And Gabe, the reputedly horny member of the band, was definitely shopping. After a few seconds, he pointed to two tall women standing next to each other. "You two. Come on in." He nodded to Bigger Tim.
The security chief flashed him a grin. "Sure thing, Chip." Gabe darkened and folded his arms, apparently unhappy with this nickname. Bigger Tim just shrugged. When he opened the fence, the two women came screaming in, surrounding Gabe with a well-rehearsed coordinated grope.
Being this close to the Fiery Boys was eye-opening-they were jerks and whores. Did Gabe want me to stick around for an even more epic sexual encounter? Besides, where would the four of us go, now that the bedroom was in use? I felt slightly sick when I considered that the Fiery Boys might pile in there with as many hot bodies as the room could hold. No wonder Bigger Tim was reluctant to let me get on the bus right now: it was orgy hour.