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They both seem excited for me, or maybe excited to have a romance begin on the tour. Entertainment for all.
“What about you two? All this time talking about my date with someone who isn’t even my boyfriend yet, meanwhile you both are on tour with your partners,” I redirect the conversation.
Carter looks away from me and out toward the pool, pulling her sunglasses back over her eyes before I can get a good read on her face. Sensing her hesitation, Naomi jumps in.
“You said, boyfriend yet. Meaning he will be,” Naomi says with a smirk, but before I can cut in, she continues, “It’s been so much better being on the road with Boone with this tour. His schedule is always so crazy and even though he has always put me and our relationship first, it’s taken a toll. Even with me moving to the States last year, it’s still been a struggle to get quality time together.”
I nod in understanding, knowing how much of a strain Boone’s career has been on the both of them.
“And also I was getting lonely here when he was off playing shows. All of my friends are back home in Tokyo and it’s been hard to get to know people in L.A. Besides you, Scar, and now you too, Carter.” She turns and places a hand on Carter’s arm. “I don’t have a lot of girlfriends here. I’m really grateful to have you both.”
I smile and clink my water glass with hers in agreement. Boone will always be my mentor, but Naomi will always be one of my best friends.
“I’m grateful you two invited me along today and have welcomed me into the fold,” Carter says, checking her phone discreetly for the third or fourth time since we’ve been down here at the pool before continuing. “It can be intimidating being the new girl around a group of people who have known each other for so long, and especially girls can be cliquey, but I’m really liking getting to know you both.”
I hadn’t really thought of how daunting it might have been so far for Carter to be on this tour too. This is her first big job she’s ever been on with Daniel and while they both do photography and videography, Daniel has gone out and done larger festivals on his own, which is how he met Boone. When it came time for the tour, Boone was the one who called him up and offered him the job, but knew it would be a tall task for just one person, and that’s when Daniel offered up Carter’s help as well.
They’re both really talented and I’ve been loving the shots they've been getting each night of shows. Vik is always bugging me to post them to my socials but I keep forgetting. Last time I logged on, I had gained 15,000 new followers and had a bit of a panic attack, so I quickly closed out the app.
“How did you and Daniel meet?” Naomi asks Carter, shifting in her chair so her back is slightly to me, giving Carter the same attention she gave me.
Carter leans back in her chair with a heavy sigh, as if she’s been anticipating and dreading the question. “We met our senior year of high school at a party. Different high schools, same city. We connected over our love for photography, wanting to hopefully get into the industry one day. Before I knew it, we became inseparable and a package deal, at least when he wants to be…” she mumbles that last part under her breath.
One of my eyebrows jumps up at that, curiosity piqued. I’m not one to pry, but Naomi…
“What does that mean, when he wants to be?”
I sit back, letting Naomi dig deeper for the both of us.
Carter’s face looks worried for a moment, as if regretting that she said anything at all. But the crease in her forehead eventually smooths out as she takes a deep breath. “He likes to do his own thing, get all of the credit, you know, at work. But it’s also a lot for one person to do, so he likes to have me there to compensate for where he falls short, even if he’d never acknowledge that he has any areas where he isn’t one hundred percent. So he likes to work together, but he also likes to be the star of the show. Which is fine by me honestly, just as long as I get to do what I love.”
Carter’s phone buzzes again and this time she throws it into her pool bag before tossing a towel over the top of it.
“Everything all right?” I ask.
She shakes her head, running a hand through her short hair. “He must’ve known we were chatting about him,” she tries to joke.
I eye her, waiting for more.
“He’s just going through the files I edited from last night and I must’ve slacked a bit with the editing on them. Said everyone’s unhappy with the quality.”
She’s trying to act casual about the whole thing, but I can see the way her spine has gone rigid and how she’s picking at the loose strings of her towel, nervously running them between her fingers.
“You mean the ones Boone posted today?” Naomi pipes up, grabbing her phone and pulling up Boone’s social media. “Those looked killer; I know he was happy with them this morning when he was posting them.”
Carter shrugs. “I don’t know, maybe it was some of the other guys.” She shoots me an apologetic look at that.
As far as I know, Walker’s been nothing but happy with the work Carter and Daniel have done so far, so I can’t offer her much insight. Although I do wonder if it’s truly everyone that is unhappy with them, or if it’s a certain someone’s boyfriend.
Sensing Carter doesn’t want to dig any deeper into it, I leave it be. Even when I do see her take her phone back out of her bag and watch as message after message rolls in, although I’m too far away to be able to read any of the contents.
Naomi picks up on the same energy I do, so she settles back, moving the straps from her bikini to hang off her shoulders to watch her tan lines.
I do the same, lying back and turning my face directly toward the sun, letting the heat melt over me and bring with it a desire to close my eyes and take a little snooze. Kids splashing in the pool, soft country music floating around the fenced-in area, ice clinking in glasses. The white noise of it all puts me to sleep and just as I feel myself about to doze off, a jolt at the front of my chair startles me upright.
I’m met with one embarrassed-looking woman and a guy rubbing his shin, a red welt already forming. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you if you were sleeping,” the guy apologizes.
“Are you all right?” I ask him.
