Not This Time

Jon: August 23, 1986

     The Bozz tossed me a towel as I came offstage. The crowd was still screaming for more, but that unplanned encore had really worn me out. I rubbed the towel across my face and let it hang on my head as I led the way back to the dressing room. The tour manager came trotting up behind me and matched my stride.
     "We've got to get on the road as soon as we can. The hotel you'll be sleeping at in Sapporo has a security team waiting for us, but we all want to get you there before the crowd starts getting out of hand," The Bozz explained. I looked over at him and nodded, but didn't say anything at first. I was too tired. I had yet to catch my breath.
     The Bozz started to turn away, but I tapped him before he could. "What about my notes?" I asked, only glancing over my shoulder at him as we walked. I stepped aside and let the rest of the band file into the dressing room as The Bozz and I spoke.
     "You mean Nina's notes for you?"
     I nodded.
     He made this face and looked down the hall. "I'll see what I can do about getting her down here sooner," The Bozz assured me, "Just get changed, get comfortable, and get to your bus so we can go. The crew will come for the rollaways later."
     I nodded again and took the towel off my head as the tour manager walked away. We'd been in Japan for a little under two weeks, and the whole time had been great. We loved Japan and they loved us right back. They always had, since the very first tour. It was nuts. We had to have security at hotels because the fans would crowd the doors and trap us inside. It was off to Germany after tomorrow's show, though. Two more mornings and then we'd be gone.
     "I think that girl in the second row was crying," Alec chuckled as I stepped over to my rollaway. I smirked at him and dropped my towel on the nearest counter.
     "She might have been getting crushed  by all the people," Tico suggested, "That standing room in front is a hazard."
     I nodded, exchanging my sweaty stage shirt for a clean one. "I don't know why we even bother with those barricades," I laughed, "They just shove them forward and paw at us anyway."
     "I know, I love Japan!" Richie agreed.
     I held up my water bottle in silent toast before taking a few glugs. I dropped into a chair and removed my boots, tossing them into my rollaway with the rest of my stage clothes. The cold tiles felt good against my feet as I peeled off my socks. If I was just headed onto the bus, there was no way I was gonna wear shoes any longer than I had to.
     "Does anyone know what happened there at the end?" David asked, not really speaking to anyone in particular. I glanced over at him.
     "With my mic?" I asked. He nodded. "Yeah, I wanted to know that too. Nina should have notes for me."
     "The Bozz wants us to get to the bus," Richie pointed out.
     "I'm aware," I said, changing out of the spandex pants I'd worn out there tonight. I pulled the sweats I'd been wearing before show out of my rollaway and started putting those on. "Nina should be here any minute. If she's not here by the time we're all ready to go, then she'll have to meet us on the bus, that's all."
     In the mirror, I saw Richie smirk at the idea. I hated that he thought he was going to be able to coax Nina into sleeping with him. I knew I had nothing to worry about as far as her safety was concerned, Richie wasn't that kind of guy, but that didn't mean I wanted to see him hitting on my girlfriend.
     I set my sneakers on the countertop and made sure my concert jackets were all on hangers before shutting my rollaway case. I knew the crew would check before they took the rollaway out to the truck, but I liked to make sure myself. The bag I took with me on the bus was sitting on top of my rollaway, ready to go as always.
     With a glance at the clock on the wall, I turned around to check how far along the rest of they guys were. Tico was ready to go. David still had stuff hanging out of his rollaway. Alec was tying his shoes, but seemed ready otherwise. Richie had yet to put on a shirt.
     There was a knock at the door and The Bozz stuck his head in. "Hey, five more minutes," he said, "Then I need you on that bus."
     "Cool."
     "Okay."
     "You got it."
     "Yeah."
     "Five minutes," I mumbled as The Bozz closed the door again. Five minutes seemed like plenty of time for Nina to get backstage. I couldn't imagine what was taking her so long. There wasn't anything different about the setup that need special attention. Normally, the notes were just props so I'd have an excuse to see her after show, but this time there was actually something to discuss; I'd have thought she'd have gotten here quicker.
     Nope. Nina was still nowhere to be seen when the boys and I took our carry on bags to the bus. I was a little frustrated that she was late. It was unlike her, and I wanted those notes before we took off for Sapporo. I tossed my bag into one of our extra bunks and returned to the front of the bus with the rest of my band.
     Tico was all set to go on one of the bench-style couches, headphones on and eyes closed, his head leaning against the window behind him. Richie was seated opposite the drummer, leaning on the wall behind the driver with one leg stretched across the seats next to him. Alec was seated next to Tico, across a small table from David, who had pulled out a deck of cards. Our driver, Pete, was already in his seat, preparing to go.
     Just when I was starting to think she'd forgotten, Nina came rushing up the stairs. Everyone watched her as she threw Pete a breathless greeting and then turned to us. She took a minute to catch her breath and then launched straight into it.
     "I've got," she held up her wrist to look at her watch, "Less than two minutes to give you notes so-"
     "Do you know what happened with my mic?" I interrupted, crossing my arms and leaning on the wall next to me.
     Nina smiled and pointed at me knowingly. "Ha-haha," she laughed humorlessly, "I knew that was coming. Yes. I do know what happened. Your battery went out." She held up a hand to stop any protests that I might have had. "The matter has already been taken care of. I've already spoken to the guy who was supposed to check that. He didn't get to it before show, and then he didn't tell me that he hadn't." She paused and shook her head with those adorable tiny shakes. "Believe me, I'm not happy about it either."
     "But it's not going to happen again?" I asked for show. I knew the answer, because I knew her.
     "Of course it's not!" she scoffed. I smirked. That was one of the reasons I'd asked for her for this tour. She was just as dedicated to putting on a good show as I was, and she was always on top of it if something went wrong, even if it happened so rarely.
     "Of course it's not," I repeated, "That's why we like you." I gave her a knowing grin as I stepped around her to sit next to Richie's foot.
     Nina rolled her eyes at my comment, shaking her head as she turned to face me. Hands on her hips, she tried once again to start into the notes that she was supposed to give me, but I cut her off again.
     "I only wanted to know about the mic," I said. She scoffed and dropped her shoulders, narrowing her eyes at me as she nodded.
     "Really?"
     Suddenly, the engine roared to life and the bus started moving. Nina caught herself on the counter next to me and frowned in surprise.
     "No, wait!" she called to Pete, pushing off the counter and darting toward the front of the bus. "What are you doing?" she asked, hanging on the wall behind the driver's seat.
     Pete didn't even look up at her when he answered. "Rich says to go."
     "Tell him I'm still here!" Nina demanded, waving her hands in front of her frantically. I glanced over at Richie, who was seated closest to her. The guitarist was watching everything with a very amused smirk. David and Alec had even paused their card game to see what was happening. Nina rubbed her hands up and down the front of her pants anxiously as Pete picked up his radio.
     "Rich, this is Pete. I've still got Madame Sound Tech on board," the driver said into the radio, "am I good to stop and let her off? We're already on the road." I glanced out the window and scoffed at his exaggeration. We were literally pulling out of the parking lot into traffic as he said that.
     There was a moment of silence and then a second or two of static. Then The Bozz's voice could be heard over the radio with his answer.
     "No, Pete, just go. Tell her she gets a night off."
     I grinned. Pete looked up over his shoulder at Nina. I only barely heard her annoyed grumble over the road noise. She turned back to us, frowning at the floor. Nobody  spoke as she took a few steps into our circle and sank onto the couch between Richie and me, forcing the guitarist to move his leg.
     "Looks like you're stuck with us, Madame Sound Tech," Richie joked. Nina glanced over at him, but didn't really react. I turned to her a little with an amused grin. She glanced at me too, but again, said nothing. Staring at her, I rested my elbow on the back of the couch and leaned my head against my hand.
     "You're the only person I know on this tour that's annoyed about getting a night off," I mused.
     Nina gave me a sidelong glance and sighed. I grinned again. I was probably annoying her more. It was great. She couldn't really retaliate without giving away our relationship, so it was a lot of fun for me.
     Finally she smiled a little.
     "There she is," I chuckled.
     Nina groaned and leaned her head back against the window. "It's not about the night off," she said.
     "What, you just don't like us?" David teased, glancing up momentarily from his hand of cards. He grinned at her when she looked his way.
     "It's not even that," she said, as if that were true. Richie and I caught onto the insinuation and laughed. Tico opened his eyes and sat up slowly. When he noticed Nina, he removed his headphones, seemingly confused. Nina smiled a little and then went on. "It's just that I'm very particular about the way I strike my set," she explained, "And I have very little faith that the crew is picking up on my ridiculous idiosyncrasies."
     "Say that five times fast," I joked.
     David slapped his hand of cards down, sat up straight, and, staring at the space above Alec's head, spat, "Ridiculousidiosyncrasies. Ridiculouseedioseecrasies. Idicular. Ridiculo." He paused and shook his head, looking over at me. "Nope."
     We all laughed. Tico crossed his arms, settling back against the back of the couch. He seemed content just listening to our conversation. Nina shook her head at David's silliness, even if it had earned him a smile. David winked at her as he picked his hand back up.
     Nina looked over at me, her eyebrows drawn together in confusion. Then she looked around at the other guys, and finally over at Richie.
     "Aren't you guys tired? After that show?" she asked, shaking her head a little.
     I closed my eyes and leaned my head back. "Absolutely dragging," I replied, "But I don't think I could sleep if I tried." I turned my head and opened my eyes to find her pretty blue eyes paying attention as I spoke. "I think it's because you're here," I muttered.
     "Am I a bad luck charm?" she guessed.
     "No," I sighed, still looking at her, "It's because I know you're a fan." I rubbed a hand over my face and up into my hair.  "What would you do to us in our sleep?" I concluded, bringing my gaze back to her.
     For a minute, all Nina did was stare. She might have been confused, but she almost looked a little offended that I'd suggest such behavior. I smiled a little at her expression. Her smile appeared on one side first and she let out a laugh.
     "So you're telling me you don't sleep when you bring groupies back to the bus with you?" she challenged.
     Richie shook his head. "None of the girls we bring back travel with us," he answered simply.
     Nina, still amused, gaped at him. Her gaze drifted around the bus at all of us before she brought her attention back to Richie.
     "So you just screw 'em and boot 'em?" she laughed, shaking her head.
     She tossed her head back laughing, giving me a great glimpse of that gorgeous smile she had. I could never get enough of it. With a small smile of my own, I closed my eyes and threw my arm over my face to block out some of the light.
     "That's..." she trailed off, her laughter fading as well. I could still hear the grin in her voice when she finished, "...actually not a bad policy, I don't know what I'm laughing about."
     "Mmhm." I mock scoffed, trying to give her the impression that she'd misjudged us. I knew she was giving me a look, so I smirked.
     "What about you, Nina?" Alec asked, "You're not tired?"
     Nina sighed, "Oooh Funk."
     We all giggled at her nickname for him. She had given us each one at the beginning of tour. David was 'Keys'; I was 'Rockstar'. She'd let Tico keep his famous moniker 'The Hit Man', and she called Richie by his last name. But Alec. Alec she had dubbed 'The Funk', and none of us could keep a straight face whenever she called him that. Nina even giggled this time.
     "Why do you call him that?" Tico laughed. Nina, a sympathetic giggler, couldn't stop laughing either. I could still hear it in her voice when she responded.
     "Alec plays the bass," she snickered, "And the bass is the funkiest part of almost any song. What else am I supposed to call him?"
     "You could call me 'Al'," Alec offered with a snicker.
     "What about 'Root Note' or just 'Root'?" Nina debated. I grinned.
     "'Root'?" Alec spat.
     David spoke up before Nina could. "She means like the root of a chord, doofus. The bass usually plays the lowest note."
     "Exactly!" Nina chirped, "Thank you, Keys."
     I shook my head, but didn't raise it. "Nina, call him Lemma," I said.
     "Why?" Nina laughed. Her voice was louder like she was looking back at me.
     "That's his nickname," I told her, "That's what he's called." I paused for a minute, then added, "And 'Keys' is stupid."
     Nina scoffed. David laughed, but agreed with me. I heard Nina make some weird indecisive noise before she sighed, "I guess."
     "And call me Al," Alec's voice said too, "I don't like 'Root' either."
     "Fine!" Nina agreed with exaggerated reluctance. I didn't know what happened to make Nina giggle, but that was all I heard next.
     "So you were saying, Madame Sound Tech?" Alec's voice prompted. Snickers could be heard from other members of the band. I just grinned at the nickname we'd picked up for her.
     Nina snickered too. "I was saying that tired is my default setting," she said, "just so you know."
     There was a long silence and then, as if he was just realizing it for the first time, Richie said, "We don't know anything about you."
     To be honest, it was true. The band new next to nothing about Nina. We had never been formally introduced, she hardly spoke to us through the whole first tour, and she was always busy during this one. We'd never really had the time to sit and chat with her about herself until now. This sort of moment was a rare occurrence.
     "Well that's sort of fun, isn't it? Not knowing?" Nina suggested.
     I didn't even move my arm from my eyes when I growled, "No."
     I knew from personal experience that not knowing was absolutely terrible. I hated not knowing. Why were we a secret? What was she so afraid of? Why did I feel like there was still so much I didn't know about her? Why couldn't she just tell me? God, I hated it so much.
     I could feel Nina glaring at me, but I didn't uncover my eyes until she'd looked away. When I looked over at her, she was looking at Richie. Richie, however, was looking at me. He was making one of those faces that made it difficult to tell what he was thinking.
     "Well, what do you want to know?" she asked.
     Richie's eyes shifted from me to her and he raised his hand. His face was so straight. I couldn't tell if he was just tired or if he was being serious. All his speculations about Nina went flying through my mind. He suspected. I knew he did. Shit, I should have been paying attention to him whenever she looked my way.
     Nina scoffed and pointed to him. His eyes flicked my way for an instant before he spoke.
     "Are you and Jon together?"