Just Something about You

Part 3 - Life on the road

The plane hit the runway so hard it bounced! Spilling Dex' coffee into his lap

"Ouch! Jesus! Why does it always have to fucking do that!" He exclaimed, pulling his sleeve over his hand and using it to try and mop up some off the coffee that had pooled in his crotch. The weather in Europe had been awful for most of the tour, which made for some turbulent flights and bumpy landings. The rain was just as bad arriving in Denmark, as it was when they had left the UK and it hadn't made for an enjoyable flight.

"I'll be glad to get off this plane" groaned Dex, he looked up at Jesse slumped in the seat next to him, snoring.

"How the hell do you sleep through a landing like that" said Dex, nudging Jesse. It may have been something to do with the 6 empty beer bottles on the tray in front of him. Jesse jumped, slowly opening his eyes he licked his dry lips, with a dazed expression, looking around the plane as if trying to figure out where he was and how he'd got there, finally looking Dex in the eye.

"G'mornin" smiled Dex

"Where are we?" Asked Jesse mid-yawn

"Denmark" replied Dex

"Oh yeah" replied Jesse as he began to fidget in his seat trying to find all his stuff to disembark the plane without knocking over the beer bottles on his tray.

"You knocked back a bit!" Joked Dex

"Helps me sleep" smiled Jesse, hanging out of his seat to peer down the aisle, hoping to catch the attention of a flight attendant to come and take his beer bottles so he could move.

Taxiing to the planes parking spot seemed to take forever, every minute they kept Dex on the plane felt like an hour, it was hot, the windows had steamed up, beginning to feel claustrophobic Dex stood up in his seat, stuck in the middle of the plane in a crowd of people, he couldn't stand waiting around, he wasn't the most patient person in the world and after a disappointing end to his night with Millie he wasn't in the best of moods.

Once inside the terminal building Dex and band mates Jesse, CJ and Zach were ushered through customs quickly, spotting the crowd of fans and paparazzi waiting in arrivals ahead of him Dex pulled his baseball cap down over his face as low as it would go, he felt Mac, his security manager's, reassuring hand on his shoulder. As they got closer to the crowds, cameras began to flash from all directions and fans began to shout his name, he kept his head down and looked at the floor, he knew the attention was something he was never going to get used to! The band and their crew were rushed through the terminal and straight into a waiting tour bus outside. Finally Dex could breathe. He watched out of the window as fans ran out of the airport towards their bus just hoping for another glimpse of him before he was driven away.

"Everyone alright?" Sighed Mac as he climbed aboard the bus and it immediately sped away.

"Yeah" three of the guys replied. Dex nodded.

"Great. So we're gonna go straight to the hotel, you have day rooms for a few hours, get showered, eat and then I need you at sound check at 2pm ok" explained Mac as he took his seat at the front with the driver.

Dex pulled out his phone and called Millie he hated that she'd left so early and he'd not had the chance to properly say goodbye. The long distance thing was tough! On both of them, he worried that if it was this tough this early on in their relationship how tough was it going to get?! It was a thought he had to constantly silence in his head. It was not going to break him this time, not like it had done with all his relationships in the past or maybe be just didn't care enough to try harder before, but this time he really wanted it to work. He was genuinely happy for the first time in a long time.

The phone rang for a long time before Millie picked up.

"Hello" answered Millie

"Hey you" he replied

"Hey, where are you?" She asked

"Somewhere in Copenhagen, on the way to the hotel" he replied, his head resting against the bus window, staring blankly as the bus passed through the blurred city.

"Oh" Millie sighed. This morning he was in her bed, it seemed impossible that he was already so far away

"Where will you be at the weekend?" Asked Millie

"Uh, Stockholm, I think" he replied

"Ok, I'll try to get there, no promises though, I'm going to be stuck in the office till late most nights this week" said Millie

"Ok baby" he replied

"Hey what were you saying about Aria getting married last night?" Asked Dex

"She just got engaged to Craig and they've set a date for October" explained Millie

"Next month! Wow they don't waste any time do they" replied Dex

"Do you think you'll be able to come?" Asked Millie

"I checked and you don't have a show that night, the wedding is in Greece though!" Explained Millie, not holding out much hope that he could make it with his crazy schedule, he rarely got a full 24hrs off.

"I'll try, depends on where I am and where I have to be next" he added

"Ok" replied Millie, quietly, not feeling very hopeful that she'd have a date for the wedding, even having Ricco as a back up wasn't looking all that likely with him stuck in Japan!

"I'm going to have to go, I'm about to go into a meeting" said Millie

"Ok" Dex replied, unenthusiasticly

"I'll call you later tonight" he added

"Yeah, make sure you do" replied Millie

And she was gone again

Dex sighed heavily again, slouching down into his seat he leant his head against the window, staring into space, lost in his thoughts, wondering how long he could do this for.

He loved that Millie had her own career and was working hard at something she loved but there were times like this when he was sat alone, bored and missing her he wished she would just give it all up and tour with him, despite travelling with his friends in the band Dex often felt alone on tour and somewhat isolated from the rest of the band, the others always seemed to cope with their long distance relationships a lot better than he felt he did.

He took a deep breath to snap himself out of his own head. He got up and went to sit closer to the other guys, integrating with them was going to be better for his current state of mind than sitting alone and stewing on the negatives. This was currently his life and it needed embracing, he had everything he'd ever wished for, but the reality of life on the road wasn't quite what he'd imagined. As the bus pulled into a bar for a rest stop a drink would fix things for now