She

Calendar Countdown

The calendar counted down the days of his release as his notebook was filled with pages upon pages of new material. As the sun crept over the horizon on the thirtieth day, he felt more optimistic than ever before. Mike and Tre were there the moment he was checked out, their equipment packed and ready to go in the bus. He smiled softly at them, pulling his two best friends into a hug.

Nothing truly had changed over the month, nothing that material anyhow. They were still on tour, still living in crappy apartments, and still having to face a disappointed and anxious crowd of fans. He should've been ready to have some kind of panic attack, but instead it was like he was no longer swimming in concrete. He'd come up for air, and the world looked pretty damn peachy. His eyes was on the tour bus, and mind was travelling across the country to his awaiting stage. Him, the boys, their instruments, and the open road.

The fans welcomed them back with open arms. No one asked, and they no longer talked about the drug and rehab incident. Just good vibes and energy surrounded them. That was what he needed anyway. Sure, he missed Alex. He thought about her laugh, her eyes, and her body constantly. Not a day went by without her somehow crossing his mind. Yet, it no longer stung like a digging knife. He no longer saw her face in strangers, and the things they once shared no longer brought tears to his eyes.

The moment they stepped off the plane in Oakland, his mind switched back to creative mode. Mike and Tre tagged right along with him. Crossed out dates on the calendar increased from weeks to months as a couple of songs and an idea became an album and a goal.

He taped yet another strip of paper with a song title written across it onto his already crowded wall. Twenty-seven songs were in the running for the album. Too many to make the cut. He gnawed at his bottom lip, looking over what they had. Only fourteen of which were actually done, and he was satisfied with that. He reached for another strip of paper when her hand grabbed his wrist.

"You still obsessing over the album babe?" she asked, turning him around to face her.

Her black lace bra and underwear were the only things she had on. Tattoos covered her arms and chest with an array of colors. She bit her pierced lip, tugging on his arm to urge him back into bed. His eyes drifted back to the wall. The album needed to be finished. That was his main goal. She, on the other hand, was a way to pass time between practices and songwriting. He sighed, brushing her off.

"I've got a deadline, sweetheart. You know that," he explained.

"Yeah, but I'm bored," she whined. He rolled his eyes. The woman wrapped her arms around waist, hugging him from behind. Her hand slipped below the waistband of his boxers. His eyes widened as his breath caught in his throat. "Come play with me."

How could he think with her distracting him every ten seconds? The frustration began to build quickly. He took a deep breath. Shouting would be unnecessary. It was just so easy to be cruel in that moment, then the damage would be done. So many times he'd wanted to tell her to take a hike so he could focus. Then, of course, when he got lonely at night, he would want to eat those words. Instead, he spun around, gripping her wrists in his hands.

"I'll play with you later, Erica. I need to focus right now," he said, his voice slow and patient.

She crawled back onto the bed, pouting. He smirked at her. As annoying as she was, the girl sure was damn fine. Totally out of his league too. Like Alex once told him, being the lead singer of a upcoming band has its perks. He sighed as the memory of his first night with Alex passed through his head. His attention instantly drew back to the wall, bringing him back into work mode to escape the oncoming thoughts of his ex.

Minutes turned into hours and days to weeks as songs were written and recorded, or stripped from the wall and scrapped. Twenty-seven dropped to fifteen, then to ten, and right back up to twenty. Erica came and left within weeks. He did nothing to stop her. She needed constant attention and he needed constant focus. After her, Ashley came strutting into his life, along with three more songs. She stayed longer than Erica did, but eventually walked out too. Once again, he didn't stop her. The last one was a brief stint with a stripper named Gloria, before he shut the door for relationships completely. Too much work to do, too little time for anything else.