Page 29 of Love on Tour
“Hands off, man. She’s mine.”
Without acknowledging Austin’s comment, Jackson looked at Christine. He put his hand to his ear in a “call me” sign. Then he laughed and lightly punched Austin on the shoulder. “Just messing with you. Great show tonight. You’re the perfect artist to get the crowd going. You’ll be middle slot before you know it.”
“Thanks, man. Can’t ever thank you enough for this opportunity.”
Jackson turned back to Christine, reaching out to shake her hand. “Nice to meet you,” he said, acknowledging her before turning to greet others. She was impressed.
“He seems so down-to-earth. So normal for a superstar,” Christine said.
“He is.”
“The first time I heard his debut single, I was sold. Then, when he released his second single . . .” Christine continued naming Jackson’s hit songs.
“If we go through every song he’s ever released, we’re going to miss the rest of the party.” Austin gestured to the room full of people.
Christine looked around the room, recognizing Jackson’s band members.
“His whole band is in here. It’s so rare that a touring band is also the studio band, but they’re on every album. Best band in the business,” Christine said.
“That’s why they’re called The Bad Ass Band.”
A young, stunning blonde walked past, and without uttering a word, Austin turned and followed her.
“And Julianna wonders why I don’t want to go for you,” Christina said aloud.
She came off her concert high as her standard awkwardness began. She’d never felt comfortable at parties, and this was no different. She wandered over to the snack table. She popped a couple of peanuts in her mouth, realizing she hadn’t eaten in hours. She looked for Matt but didn’t see him. The production crew still had to tear down the equipment and probably couldn’t join the party until later. Austin’s band members had come in and were mingling. She didn’t see Alicia but knew she was countingmoney and merchandise and then had to load everything back in the truck.
A loud laugh got Christine’s attention. She turned around. It came from a tall, pretty woman with long black hair. The sound was infectious. Her smile never ended, and when she talked, she used her entire upper body. Her hands moved nonstop, back-patting the people around her and gesturing to accompany her words. She flipped the bird twice and clapped her hands at something funny. The people around her stared like she was the only person in the room. Christine felt like they were at two different parties. Just once, she wanted to be the life of the party. She never was in high school. Even in college, she had been happier playing games in the dorms with her friends than going to frat parties. But now, she was in an industry that thrived on events. She could learn from this woman. She walked over to where Austin was talking to the blonde and tapped his shoulder.
“Who’s the girl over there?”
“Brandy, Jackson’s record rep. Come on—I’ll introduce you. She’s a trip.” He told the blonde to wait for him and walked Christine over to where Brandy was standing.
“Brandy, this is Chrissy. She works at my publishing company. Chrissy, this is Brandy.” They shook hands.
“It’s Christine,” she said, wondering why he’d reverted to Chrissy after twice introducing her as Christine.
“I’ll see you two later,” Austin said, returning to the woman he’d been flirting with.
“You seem like you’re having the time of your life,” Christine said.
“Aren’t you?”
“Not like you are.”
“That’s ’cause you’re not doing it right. Come on.” Brandy grabbed Christine’s hand and pulled her to the liquor table. “First, we do a shot of Fireball.”
“Oh, I’m not sure that’s a good idea.” Christine shook her head, remembering how fuzzy Fireball had made her the last time.
“Which is why you’re not having as much fun as I am.” Brandy handed Christine the shot and counted to three.
They slammed it down.
“One more.”
Christine started to protest but thought,What the hell?And took it.
They slammed down number two.
