Never As It Seems

Chapter 5

As she came to the last corner before the meeting place she had agreed with Jay would come into view, she drew in a deep breath. She felt sick with nerves. This was crazy! When she rounded the corner, he wasn't there. There were a few people milling about but most of the crowd for tonight's concert had already been seated and were enjoying the warm up acts. Amber had purposely arrived a minute or two after seven, knowing that if she had to stand around waiting for Jay, she might chicken out. She looked around seriously considering that as an option. The barbecue at the lake seemed very tempting right now. As she turned to make her escape, she walked straight into Jay who was just about to make his arrival known.

"Whoa! What is it with you and bumping into people!" He grinned.

Amber's nerves melted away in an instant. "It's only you I bump into. You must have a habit of getting in the way."

He laughed softly. "You ready?" He said as he set off toward the street.

"Err yeah but we're going the wrong way!" Amber caught up with him, "Where are we going?"

"Well you didn't think I was going to show you the same stuff as yesterday did you?" He replied as Amber struggled to keep up with him. They walked right around to the back of the enormous building coming to a stop at a solid metal gate. Within the gate there was a smaller one. Jay pulled a bunch of keys from his pocket and used it to open the smaller gate. He swung his arm toward the opening gesturing for Amber to go in.

"Now this is where the real exciting stuff happens." Jay said as he followed her through the gap into a large car park.

"What here?" She looked around skeptically. There were a few large trucks, a couple of coaches and several cars. Nothing to get excited about or to find interest in for a whole evening.

"Oh ye of little faith." Jay mused and he began to cross the tarmac. As Amber followed, it seemed for all the world like he was heading toward one of the coaches. Again he pulled out the bunch of keys and put it into the lock on the door of the coach, which was in the middle of the massive vehicle. With a hiss, the door swung open and Jay turned around with a grin. He said nothing, just climbed the few steps that led inside. Amber felt a little nervous again. Why had he brought her to a bus? She came to the sudden realisation that she didn't know this guy at all. She looked back toward the opening in the huge gates. Jay had locked it behind them. There were doors into the main building but there didn't seem to be any way of opening them. As Amber lingered at the foot of the steps and the realisation that there was no escape dawned on her, Jay reappeared at the top of the steps. "Are you coming?" She didn't have any choice but to go with it. She put her hand in her pocket and unlocked her phone, keeping her hand on it as she climbed onto the bus. As she reached the top, she stopped in her tracks.

"Oh" She let out as she began to relax. Before her was not anything she had imagined she would see. No rows of seats in sight. This didn't even feel like she was standing on the inside of a coach. She had walked into the middle of a kitchen... a really nice kitchen! To her left there was what seemed to be a lounge complete with black leather couches and a gigantic TV. It dawned on her that Jay had brought her onto a tour bus. "Are we allowed in here?" She whispered.

"Of course. This is home. Well for the next few months at least." Amber's eyes widened as she took in the plush furnishings. "The reason I brought you here is because I am ashamed of the coffee I served you last night. I intend to redeem myself." He said as he crossed the small but well equipped kitchen. He filled a very expensive looking coffee machine with water and pressed a button. Turning back towards her, he smiled. "Want to look around?" Amber nodded but instead of turning left, into the lounge area, Jay led her to the right and up more stairs. At the top of the stairs was what seemed to be a bunk. Amber wasn't sure as purple curtains covered both the top and bottom. Jay turned right at the top to reveal another sitting area, this time even more luxurious. The plush couches almost cried out to be sat on and covering the whole of the back wall of the bus was a plasma screen. Amber still couldn't find any words so she turned around and looked behind her. Running the whole of the rest of the length of the bus were more bunks. She turned back to Jay, who was now right behind her. Suddenly aware of his proximity and again the scent of his aftershave, Amber looked away. "Let's get that coffee." He said and he turned and headed back down the stairs.