The Tour. | +18 | BWWM

𝄞 15 | Strategically Avoiding Like a Hero - Part 2

I was running early, but the drive back into Sacramento proper from UC Davis was quicker than I thought it was going to be. Parking near Asher's bus was the best way to return the jacket. I just had to psych myself up for it. I took off his jacket, and it still had a smokey, spicy scent. Asher distilled into a leather jacket. In the back of my mind, I could hear my brain telling me. If you bring that jacket up to your nose and sniff it like a creeper, you will be slapped. I took my brain's advice. Barely.

The tour bus shadow was long in the early morning Sacramento light. A quick check for the Asher Van or bike and it wasn't there. I breathe a sigh of relief. It's not that I'm avoiding him. I'm strategically taking advantage of opportunities when he's not around. Ya right, keep letting that college-level vocab lie for you. My self-chiding was vicious and but the point with how right it was. The self-recrimination was a hundred percent correct. I had to get over whatever I felt for Asher. The way he does intimacy and relationships isn't the same way I think about it. What I feel for him is a big deal for me, but it might be something completely different for him, like messing around. I also need to realize that I might see things we do as important and not casual. If I had the capacity to not, this would be fun, but I'm setting myself up for a fall. I can't help liking Asher. From the first time, he called me Birdy, he had me. But it has to be casual, hit it, and quit it at any time for someone like him. Otherwise, why else would we keep getting reset to nearly zero every time we take one step forward?

I carry Asher's leather jacket heavy in my arms. It would have made me feel better to kick a rock, but instead, I head for the back door of the arena. Time to get this music sheet to Megumi and make sure Paulie doesn't get a second chance to screw us over. Then leave the jacket in the dressing room, maybe. I wave as I pass by the music tech prepping for rehearsals later today.

My hand extends to open the backdoor, but it bursts open. A little girl with a ponytail to the side in full 80s with punk-style clothing runs out. Her cherubic looks don't match the punk aesthetic, but it's still cute. I shift my footing left, but we both seem to have the same idea. She slams into my legs at full speed.

"Ouuhgfh, whoa slow down," I say with a smile. The hit hurt a little, but she couldn't have been more than seven or eight. It wasn't a huge deal. The little girl flashes me a pixie grin mixed with a little bit of mischief. She needed a steadying. Her smile finds a way to get bigger. But then a look of terror crossed up her expression. "What's wrong?" I ask her, but before she can answer Paulie comes rushing out of the backdoor. He was followed shortly by Megumi.

"Mia! I told you more than once this isn't a playground." I felt like an intruder listening to the conversation between the little girl and Paulie. Something felt off deep in my bones. Besides, I'm not sure where this kid came from. I simply wouldn't trust Paulie with house plants, let alone a child. Paulie grabs hold of the little kid's arm. His hand dwarfs her thin arm in his hold. I hand the paperwork to Megumi and she's so obviously upset with her stiff expression. Maybe she's as iffy about this situation as I am.

My stomach turns and I just couldn't let this go on.

"Mia?" I said her name as a question, but it seemed to stop Paulie's berating. "Do you have a parent or guardian here?" I assumed maybe she was a performer's kid who got lost.

"This is between me and her," Paulie says with a smiley reply.

"I think unless she's your daughter that we need to find her parents." That seems to silence Paulie. His plastered smile slips from his face.

"Megumi, you handle this." He walks off without looking back.

Megumi scowls at the suit-clad back of Paulie, saying everything it needed to loudly. But there was patience in her eyes for the little girl in front of her. Megumi's gaze came up to meet mine, and we shared a concerned look.