No Curtain Call

Chapter 4

By now, we were nearly pressed up against each other, and my lips were less than an inch away from his. I tried not to think about how less than a week earlier, those lips were pressed against mine, and how my legs were wrapped around his waist, and how I felt the burn between my legs with my back pressing against the hard surface of a wall as we kissed each other. Closing my eyes, I whispered, "Yes. Because I believe you are better than that, Acton. You don't need to lash out at people. You don't need to treat people like they are the dirt beneath your feet because everyone matters, Acton. Everyone. And I know you would have rather kept her on the bus instead of me, but you don't need to treat people like that because of your anger."

"Look at me," Acton murmured against my lips, and slowly, I opened them to look directly into his emerald green eyes. "Who said I would rather have her on the bus than you?"

"Don't play games with me, Acton," I whispered back just as his hand reached up to twirl a lock of my hair between his fingers. "I know you don't like me. You've barely looked at me since we met, and you haven't spoken my name once. I doubt you even know it."

"Anya," he murmured against my lips, and I felt my eyelids flutter shut as I registered his deep, manly smell. "Anya, Anya, Anya," he whispered hoarsely, and I tilted my head back to give him better access to my lips.

"Oh, well that's a relief," I heard Vance say from behind us, since we were now back in the far corner of the bus. "Mikayla's been picked up by someone. We can leave without worrying about leaving a young woman to be abducted on our conscience."

"That's some wicked humor, Vance," Nick's voice filtered through the small, sheltered world Acton and I had created. That was all it took for me to snap out of my trance. Was I just about to kiss Acton? Was I just about to let Acton kiss me? I quickly spun around and walked over to where the guys were still seated, though oddly quiet, probably because of the scene Acton and I had created. 

"Anya," Acton called out before reaching out to grasp my wrist gently. "Wait."

"I'm going to, uh, clean up the mess I made. I'm sorry about your beer," I apologized, not daring to look him or any of the guys in the eye. "I'll get you another one," I offered, as though getting him another beer would make up for my behavior and the feeling inside my chest that felt like betrayal. 

"No. That's okay," Acton said hoarsely, "I'll get it myself." He gently squeezed my hand before walking away from me to get another beer. I stood still, frozen in the same spot, unable to move. What does that mean? What did any of that mean? Acton was the most confusing guy I had ever met, filled with double meanings and secrets. And by God, I think I had wanted to kiss him, just over a minute ago, in front of the rest of the band, after I had told them I was not after Acton. Why had he treated me that way before? And why had he acted like he wanted to kiss me now?

Slowly, as though I were in a trance, I walked over the area where beer and glass were strewn across the small, tiled space of the kitchen. I knelt down on my hands and knees after grabbing a towel, and started to sop up the mess. Before too long, I felt someone's leg brush up against my side and a shadow fall over the area I was cleaning.

"Don't let him get to you, An," Colton said beside me, using another towel to absorb the beer and gather the glass into a pile. "He likes to play games with people. I know he can be intoxicating, but don't let him in. I've seen what he can do to people. He... gets inside your head."

"And you would know this how?" I asked, not daring to look him in the eye. 

"Because I had a friend who came on this bus, about six months ago, and he wrecked her," Colton sighed, reflecting back on his memories as he stood up to grab a dust pan and sweep all of the glass into it.