Don't Let Me Be Gone (Twenty One Hours)

After Party

The hotel suite where the party pumped was bangin'. There were three or four different areas with couches and tables for drinks. There was a bar with a huge Smart TV mounted behind it and it was playing a hockey game on mute. There were people dancing in a small tiled area that had been cleared off and looked like it was supposed to be part of the kitchen. The fridge was stocked with beer and wine and servers walked around making sure everyone had enough to drink and eat.

Stressed Out still blared over the speakers. 

Tyler and Josh had followed Kevin over to one of the groups who were sitting around and laughing. Jenna was there, sitting in between a very large black man and a very pretty red-head. She looked up at him and they made eye contact. Tyler felt his cheeks go hot, he so didn't want to do this right now.

But he smiled and waved. 

"Mike! Off your ass, let these boys take a load off." Mike was Kevin's bodyguard and the big black man who was sitting beside Jenna. The enormous black hulk gave Tyler and Josh the once over and raised his eyebrow. Tyler couldn't tell if he was pissed or just curious.

But he got up and turned to face Jenna. "It was nice meeting you Miss Jenna, I hope things work out for you." He turned and gave Tyler the evil eye. So he was pissed.

Tyler felt a lump build up in his throat and a tinge of jealousy pierced him. He couldn't believe that Jenna had been talking to some stranger about their problems. He hadn't even brought it up to Josh who was his best friend and they had just spent an hour alone together getting here on the tour bus. But she goes and tells this guy?

He gave his head a bit of a shake and sat down next to his wife. "Hey, babe." She said and she gave him a kiss on the cheek but didn't really look him in the eyes. Mike had left a big enough space on the couch for Josh to fit in next to Tyler and the armrest but instead, Josh decided to sit on Tyler's lap. He got a few giggles from the people surrounding them. "Hey Josh," Jenna added with a smile. When the laughing stalled, Josh slid off Tyler's lap onto the couch.

"Beer!" Kevin exclaimed as one of his servers came with a new round of drinks.

"Oh, Josh!" Jenna reached over Tyler and grabbed Josh's arm. "I want you to meet Stephanie, switch me spots!"

They both stood up and awkwardly shimmied around each other. Before sitting down, Jenna introduced them. "Josh, Stephanie, Stephanie, Josh." Jenna plopped back into the opposite seat next to Tyler and grabbed a beer of the table. "Are you drinking tonight?" she asked her husband.

Tyler looked at her sideways, then he looked down at the floor. Something felt different, not quite right. He felt anxious and really didn't want to be there. He wanted to take Jenna somewhere private to talk things out.

He rubbed the back of his head with his hand. He noticed his hands were still grey, he hadn't gotten all of his make-up off before leaving the show. "Nah, I'm good," he replied as Jenna took a big swig of Moosehead.

"Suit yourself."

"Tyler! Man, so how was the show?" Kevin interrupted.