A Shady Place

2

I hollowed my cheeks, sucking the smoke into my lungs and letting it linger there.

I breathed out, the smoke tumbling from my mouth, and crushed the blunt on my plastic plate to extinguish the embers. There was something about early mornings that I liked, which was a problem since I also loved late nights. The first five minutes after waking up at 5am this morning had fucking sucked, since we'd only gotten back to the hotel room by 3. For two hours, we'd all eaten hamburgers and smoked in a dark park, the grass already damp with morning dew, while swapping stories of first kisses. I'd kissed Kevin. He was the kind of person who fully invested himself in all of his endeavors, which was clear in his work ethic. That quality also translated into the way he kissed.

The bus jolted. My headphones were yanked away and I cranked my head to the side to see Kevin listening to the Black Uhuru song that had been blasting from my little MP3 player. "Aye seriously? I think this shit is older than I am."

I smacked my lips, but smiled nonetheless as I reached up and adjusted the headphones in his ears properly. "Just listen a little bit. Here, lie here. It's best when you're horizontal." Kevin let out a surprised laugh, but reclined in my lap anyway, folding his large body as best he could into the cramped booth. I brought my hands up to close his eyes with light fingertips and then held the sides of his face. He popped one eye open.

"You're so fuckin' stoned, aren't you."

"Just shut up and close your eyes."

He chuckled again, but did as he was told. While he listened, I studied his smooth, tanned skin, the heavy eyebrows, and the way the bone at the bridge of his nose arched, creating a hooked shape when viewed from the profile. He really was beautiful. I'd thought about having sex with him last night, and I got the impression that he would be down as well, but in the end I decided to prioritize sleep, even if it was only a little. Over the years of traveling with my dad, I'd found out that it wasn't wise to burn oneself out right at the beginning of any tour.

When the song finished, he removed the headphones and passed them up to me, but didn't move from my lap. "Eh. It's not my style."

"To each their own." I leaned back against the window and moved one side of the headpiece over my ear, while keeping the other free, just in case Kevin felt like talking more. I glanced down to see that his eyes were closed again. The drive to Anaheim was only two hours, but that was also two hours without the normal responsibilities. Most of us took every opportunity to sleep when we could. I shifted slightly, pressing my forehead against the cold glass while watching roadside gas stations and one-story residences flash past the window. I'd always found it hard to go back to sleep once I had fully woken up.

My cellphone let out its default jingle from where it lay on the table, and I answered it quickly before it disturbed the rest of the bus too much. "Hello?"

"Hi Megan," the voice scratched. She'd just woken up.

"Lucy, hey. Sounds like you got my message." I murmured, shifting my torso around as best I could, so that I wasn't simultaneously talking into Kevin's ear.

"Yeah, I had to get up early for work today anyway. How's the tour so far?"

"Opening night was good. Still working out some of the kinks, but that's normal. We've got a lot of chances to get it right," I smiled.

"Can I still come to the show? I mean, I don't want to make it awkward. So... I don't know." she trailed off and I frowned.

"Of course, Lucy. I've already got you two backstage passes set for June 24th. Bringing anyone special?"

Lucy sighed. "A family friend." She let the silence grow for about half a minute, her breathing the only indication that she was still on the line. "It's weird, I don't get why it feels like I never got any closure," her voice cracked and I heard her sniff sharply. She paused. "Sorry, I didn't mean to start talking about this. I know I was the one who, you know... I don't know, it's just—"