Phoenix Rising - S. R. Watson Page 0,2

told the guys that he and his brother exchanged places in the house. He simply told the guys he had a twin brother, but it couldn’t be made public for personal reasons. Nobody outside the band was allowed to know. The guys all respected his need for privacy, especially since it was Sevyn who connected them with Desiree. Of course, Asher wanted to keep me in the loop, so he told me after swearing me to secrecy. If he only knew how I really found out. I stayed quiet for the sake of keeping the band intact.

Surprisingly, it was Irelyn who talked me into saying yes to joining Asher on tour. She pointed out that I didn’t have to stay the entire time. I only needed to stay long enough to get the gist of life behind the scenes. She pleaded with me not to let Phoenix ruin this for me.

“I like this strong woman standing here next to me,” she continues. I snap out of my reverie. I don’t know how strong I am, but we’re about to see.

“We’ll see,” I begin. “Besides, it will give me a chance to get to know Lily. She and Asher are getting kind of serious, I think. He didn’t tell me this, but he asked her to join him on the tour as well. That’s huge!”

“Yeah, it is. It means no groupie pussy for him.” Irelyn snickers. I don’t want to even think about seeing Phoenix with all the groupies. I just have to keep telling myself that chapter of my life is closed.

“Asher’s not like that anyway. He’s always been a one-woman kind of guy. At least from what I’ve seen.” I’ve never witnessed him having player tendencies, so that’s all that matters.

“Wish more men were like him.” Irelyn huffs. “Most guys just want to see how many bitches they can bang.”

“What about Mike?” We met James and Mike at the club while the guys were performing one night. She and Mike have been seeing each other for about three months, a change for Irelyn. She doesn’t usually keep the same guy around long. She gets bored with them quickly.

“Oh, I’m sure he’s a dog like the rest of them. He just hasn’t shown his true colors yet. I have my eye on him, though. Any sign of bullshit and his ass will get benched.” She winks.

“You can’t look for stuff, woman. Give the guy a chance.” Fancy me trying to give someone relationship advice. I couldn’t even sniff out if I was being played. Whatever, we can’t both be pessimistic.

“Come on, girlie. We can’t just stand here talking about these guys. You have a bus to get on tomorrow, and we have some shopping to do before then.” She’s already grabbing her purse off the bed.

“I do need to get a few things,” I agree.

“Girl, you are going to be on tour with some hot-as-fuck men. I’m sure you’ll get to go to some awesome celebrity parties and meet some new prospects. We can’t have you looking plain Jane,” she says with a giggle. “Just so you know, every break I get, I’m joining you. I’m inviting myself.” We both laugh, but I know she isn’t kidding.

“I like plain Jane,” I tease. “It’s better than being skanky. There will be enough of that, I’m sure.”

“True. Okay, we’ll find you a happy medium. Now come on, woman,” she says, pushing me out the door.

Phoenix

I take in the sweetness of this bus, and I feel like I need to pinch myself. Desiree spared no expense because we’re hitting the road in style. It’s like we have a luxury hotel on wheels.

“I take it you like?” Desiree appears behind me. I’ve been so busy checking out all the bus's cool features that I didn’t even hear her get on. The guys are outside, loading the last of their equipment and waiting for Harlow to arrive.

“Hell yeah, I do!” I grin. “But can we afford all this? This fucker is huge.” I don’t even want to think about what this is hitting us for.

“The tour is sold out. You guys touring with Wild Silence is the best move we could have made to get your name out there. Trust me, you guys can afford this, and if everything works out as planned, you all will be climbing the charts in no time.”

Wild Silence is the rock band we will be opening for on the tour. They are killing the Billboard charts right now. Desiree