Under Her Skin (24 page)

Marlo threw herself into preparing for the concert. She had a lot of pent up energy to get rid of, and did so by running around the auditorium, making sure everything was in place for their set.

An hour before the show, it was all she could do to sit still for hair and make-up, but the only thing helping her was the fact that she wanted to look extra good for the concert. In her mind, she needed to show Tobias that she could be hot too, and maybe even show him that he threw away the best thing to ever happened to him.

As she looked in the mirror, her confidence faded fast. She'd never look like some of those girls that he had been attracted to before, like the ones that are always back stage for the after parties. She'd never be as skinny as them, even though she wasn't fat. And they were model-type women whereas she was more the girl next door. Marlo realized that she just couldn't compete. Defeated, she left the dressing room to go and rehearse.

*****

The concert went well that night. Her and Tobias put on a show for the crowd with some light-hearted banter, but it wasn't the same as usual, and it wasn't real. Neither one had been overly happy to be on stage with the other, but the average concert-goer couldn't tell by their performance.

At the party after the show, the former lovers kept to opposite sides of the room. Tobias made sure that his female admirers were kept at an arm's distance away from him, not wanting them to cause any more problems than they had already. Marlo on the other hand, was flirting with every man in sight, as if she needed the reassurance that someone found her attractive.

There was one guy though, that she realized she got in over her head with. He was staring at her with lecherous eyes that never went higher than her chest. As many times as she tried to excuse herself, he followed her wherever she went. She was beginning to understand what Dusty meant when he said that they couldn't offend the fans. As much as she wanted to yell at the sleaze to get away from her, she knew that would only cause more problems.

Once he had her backed into a corner, Marlo knew she was in trouble. He leaned in for the kiss, and just as his lips met hers, she felt them leave again. She looked up to see Tobias pull the man off her by the back of his shirt. The anger in his eyes was unmistakable.

"What the hell do you think you're doing kissing my girlfriend?" He yelled at the man.

As much as Marlo wanted to be away from the fan, she knew she had to step in. "I'm not your girlfriend anymore, remember?" She bit at him. "And if you seem to recall, you were in the opposite position last night and couldn't understand why I was upset. It's fine when it happens to you, but not me, is that right?" She asked, not expecting an answer.

Tobias's face fell. He knew she was right. In that instance, he saw red when he looked over at Marlo and saw the guy trying to kiss her. "Lola! I'm sorry!" He yelled to her as she tore out of the room.

She stopped quickly and turned around, tears filling her eyes. "Don't. Just don't." She growled with her hands up in resignation. The hurt in her eyes was unmistakable as everyone in the room watched her turn and leave. All was quiet for a minute, no one knew what to say.

Tobias broke the silence by throwing his glass at the closest wall, hearing it smash into tiny pieces and rain onto the floor. AJ went over and put his hand on Tobias's shoulder. "Come on man, let's get out of here and cool off." AJ led him to the exit and pushed him outside.

"Are you happy now?" AJ asked him, glaring.

Tobias looked up at AJ. "What do you think, man?" His voice wavered. "I understand that she was upset last night, and I understand why. That's not the problem. The problem is that she doesn't trust me, and without trust, there is no relationship." He ran his hands through his hair. "And I just made things so much worse." He shook his head, trying to get his thoughts together. "But I will get her back. I'll show her that she can trust me, and that we can be together and be happy, if it's the last thing I do." Tobias promised.

AJ looked at the determination in Tobias's eyes and knew that he was right. He would do everything he could to get her back, and eventually they'd be alright. How he was going to do it remained to be seen, but it was something AJ looked forward to sitting back and watching.

Chapter 26

It had been five days, five very long days since the last time Marlo and Tobias had spoken. One hundred and twenty hours had passed since their last exchange of words. In a normal world, it would have been undesirable, but alright. Living together in a house, it would have been annoying. But living together on a tour bus where the quarters were tighter than a pimp's grip on his ho, five days of tension and silence was insufferable.

But with their next concert being played that night, Tobias had a plan. He was sure that it would make everything alright. His first course of action would be the hardest, but the most crucial part. He needed to get Marlo back on his side, even if it was just as friends, just a short stop on the way to his final destination.

He saw her, sitting at the front of the bus, reading again. She was alone, he knew that because the rest of the guys were in the back playing a video game. It was the perfect opportunity for him, and he wasn't going to let it pass. He slowly approached her, like a man hunting his prey. He didn't want to make any sudden movements to alert her and send her scurrying back into the woods…or the back of the bus.

He quietly and cautiously approached her, taking in the sight of her sitting there, calculating his best plan of attack. Should he come at her from the side, or from the front? Should he be gentle, or attack with the full force to stun her? He decided on the gentle, frontal approach.

Tobias sat on the couch opposite the one that she was sitting on so that they were facing each other. "Marlo?" He asked gently, using her full name so as not to anger her early in the conversation. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Marlo was surprised by the gentleness in his voice. It almost sounded like he was afraid or nervous. That wasn't like Tobias at all. She looked up hesitantly from her book, almost afraid of what she would see. Thankfully, she didn't see a man who was broken, even though that was how he had sounded. Sure, he looked a little worse for wear, but that happened when you got stuck on a tour bus for weeks at a time. Other than that, he was still the same stunning Tobias. "I guess, but I really don't want to fight right now."

"I know. I don't want to fight either. I actually wanted to apologize to you." He told her. He leaned a little closer so they didn't have to talk too loud. This wasn't what he wanted the rest of the guys to hear. He put his elbows on his knees and leaned into the aisle separating the two couches, and finally looked up at Marlo's face. "I am so sorry for over reacting to that guy the other night. I know that you think I was doing the same thing you had been the other night, and in a way I was, but all I could see was that guy attacking you a few months back, and it scared me. I didn't want it to get too far, I didn't want that guy to push you to that point, or take you somewhere unsafe. I completely flashed back to that night, and I acted without thinking. I'm sorry if I hurt you, or if I embarrassed you."

Marlo thought for a moment. She didn't realize that he had still thought of that night. "So it wasn't just about some guy kissing me? You weren't just trying to stake your claim?"

"I'm not going to lie, part of it was the fact that I still see you as my girlfriend, and I didn't want to see another guy kissing you, but that was such a small part that it barely registered. I saw the look on your face before he kissed you, and it sent my adrenaline flowing. From that point, all I knew was that I had to protect you at all costs."

Marlo was at a loss for words. More and more, she was realizing that the night she was almost raped affected more than her, it affected Tobias too, and he was still living with it, while she was trying to move past it.

"But I didn't come up here to talk about that. I came to say that I was sorry, and ask if we can at least be friends. I get that you don't want to be with me right now, but I can't live without you in my life. It's only been five days, and I feel so lost without you. If I can't have you as my girlfriend, can I at least have you as my friend?" He asked her.

Marlo was stunned. Not only had he admitted that he still thought of that night, but now he just wanted to be friends? She definitely wasn't expecting that. "I-I guess." She uttered.

"Great!" He smiled. He stood up and leaned over her, placing a soft kiss on her forehead. "I'll let you get back to your book now."

Metaphorically, her jaw was on the floor as she watched him walk back to the rear of the bus where the rest of the guys were. He was happy now, but he was happy being her friend. She wondered how they could have gone from being happy and in love less than a week ago to being happily just friends? It was all too confusing for her, but if that was how he wanted it…

Tobias walked into the back of the bus, all smiles. They guys hadn't seen him this way since before the big fight between him and Marlo, so they were curious as to what happened. "What's your problem?" Sammy asked him, voicing the thoughts in the rest of the guys heads.

"Me and Marlo are friends now. Hopefully it will get rid of the tension on the bus and put her and me one step closer to reconciling." He told them, still with a ridiculous smile on his face, as he plopped down on one of the couches. In his head, he was going over how the rest of the plan would work out, as he tuned the guys out and set his full concentration on getting Marlo back.

*****

Over the next few hours, things seemed to be getting better on the bus. There were no awkward silences, no murderous glances, and no threats on Tobias' manhood. But the only one who seemed to be the least bit annoyed with it was Marlo. Of course, she loved that they were all getting along, but it annoyed her that Tobias was fine with just being friends with her when all she wanted to do was kiss the living shit out of him.

Most of the time, Tobias was either in his bunk or in the back all alone, probably writing a new song, but when he was with the rest of them, he was always in a good mood.

The happier Tobias got as the day wore on, the more disappointed Marlo got. What had happened to the undying love between them? The passion? Had it all been an act on his part if he could get over it so easily? Was she really just a conquest for him, and since she gave it up, he was satisfied?

Marlo was going crazy with her thoughts. The more she sat on that bus, and the happier she saw Tobias, the more insane she became. It was getting almost to the point where she dreaded the rest of the tour because she didn't think she could live on the bus anymore.

Finally, they rolled into the concert venue, and just as every other time recently, Marlo was the first off the bus. The guys all watched her beat her retreat, then looked to Tobias for answers. "What's she so freaked about? I thought you said it was going to get better?" AJ questioned him.

Tobias smiled, knowing that he was getting to her. "It will get better, I promise. This is just phase one of my plan. Two and three will be tonight, and depending on how she reacts to that, four will be at the next concert. But I have a feeling she'll feel a little better on the bus after the show."

"Why can't you just leave her alone and quit playing these games with her?" AJ snapped. "She deserves better than this. You need to quit fucking with her head!"

Tobias lunged at AJ. "Hear me now and understand this." He snarled, grasping him by his shirt and pushing him back against the wall. "I am not fucking with her head. I love her more than anything and I'm willing to do whatever I have to do to get her back. I would never hurt her, but I won't rest until I have her back. Got it?"

AJ looked into the fiery eyes of Tobias and pushed his hands off his shirt. "Yeah, I got it. Just don't do anything stupid." He pushed past Tobias and left the bus, the other guys trailing behind him.

*****

Half an hour before the show, Tobias put phase two of his plan into action. He walked through the halls until he got to the wing on the side of the stage. Just as he'd predicted, Marlo was standing there, peering through a small slit in the curtain.

"Nervous?" He asked softly as he walked up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"This's by far the biggest crowd I've ever played in front of." She answered, not turning around to look at him. Instead, she kept her eyes on the rapidly filling seats. To her, it looked like one of the scenes you see on TV, where they show a crowd filling into their seats in fast forward…where the stadium goes from empty to capacity in about ten seconds flat.

Tobias then had both hands on her shoulders, giving her a soft massage to ease her tense muscles. "Just relax. Remember, it's just us up there, with no one else around. If you get scared or lost, just close your eyes and picture it being just the five of us. Or if that doesn't work, just look over at me and I'll take care of it."

Marlo rolled her head forward and concentrated on the feel of his hands kneading her muscles. Slowly, the tension left her body, entering a world of peace and satisfaction. She felt light and loose, thankful that Tobias was there for her.

All too soon, his ministrations stopped, but they had served their purpose. Though she was no longer floating in the land of oblivion, she was still feeling considerably better than before, and she had only Tobias to thank for it. But as she turned around to thank him, she noticed that he wasn't there anymore. He was already gone. Though she was a little disappointed that he had left, she was grateful too, that she could avoid the awkward moment of thanking him while not knowing what he was feeling towards her.

*****

The concert played out well, and even though Marlo was nervous before, she got through the show just fine. Tobias noticed her close her eyes a few times during the first song, but after that, she was fine. She looked relaxed and confident, but sometimes it just took a little while to warm up on stage.