Sam woke up with a killer headache and his mouth felt like a herd of buffaloes had camped out in it. He had gone over to Georgie's room after Gisette had left. He wanted to tell Trish not to read too much into what she had seen. Trish had eyed him skeptically, then told him it was his own business who he screwed. Sam knew she disapproved of what happened. Getting involved again with Gisette would cause a shitload of problems that he didn't think he could handle. He had to stop it now.

He had sat up late with the band in Georgie's room. They went over the songs he had written and talked about adding music to them. A bottle or two of Jack Daniels had been passed around, along with the joints and then Leon brought out some coke. They all snorted a couple lines, and washed it down with the whiskey. He couldn't remember how many times they had repeated that process.

Gisette had been there, in the background, shadowing her father as he explained their list of upcoming play dates and the cities they were hitting. Julien had made the announcement last night that Gisette would be temporarily replacing him while they were on tour. He had other businesses to take care of and couldn't travel with them. She would step into his role as tour manager, reporting back to him if there were any major problems. All of the other band members agreed to it, but Sam. He objected quite strenuously, he remembered. But he was voted down and therefore had to go along with the plan.

Sam grabbed his head as a knock soundly loudly on his door. Stumbling out of bed, he pulled on his jeans, trying to get to the door before whoever it was knocked again. He held it open as Georgie walked in and handed him a cup of coffee.

"Thanks man, I need this." Sam grabbed the cup and took a gulp.

"I just wanted to let you know that we are going to be spending the afternoon, practicing." Georgie stopped short and looked over at Sam, he motioned towards the bed, "It looks like you had a later night than I did, little brother."

Sam looked confused then glanced at his bed, doing a double take when he saw the dark hair fanned across the pillow beside his. "How the hell does she keep getting in here?" he mused.

He looked at Georgie, questioning, "Did she come back to my room with me last night?"

Georgie raised his hands in the air, shaking his head and laughing as he backed out of the room, "You two left together. You were the last ones to leave and you were very loudly telling her she had to go back to her room." He looked at Sam with a smirk, "I see she changed your mind."

Sam closed the door behind Georgie and crossed over to Gisette's side of the bed. He sat on the bed beside her, looking at the dark sweep of eyelashes. He reached out and drew back a strand of hair that lay across her cheek, and she stirred in her sleep. She snuggled into his pillow, and with a sigh, she drifted off again.

"You are one stubborn little bitch." He said quietly.

Sam looked at the long, slender leg that was hooked over the covers, revealing a bare hip, and pulled the covers off her lightly, admiring her body as he uncovered it. He knew every soft spot on her, his hands and mouth had tasted them all. He wondered if what they had before might have had just a whisper of love in it.

Looking at her now, Sam admitted to himself that he still felt a kernel of affection for her. He certainly had to admire her tenacity. He ran his finger lightly over her, tracing around the bump where her hip bone protruded. She slowly rolled over, allowing his finger to trail across her stomach, and raising up slightly to allow him to drop farther down. His hand grazed over the soft, velvety skin, his thumb slipped down to tantalize.

"It's all yours, you know, anytime you want." She said, breathlessly. She arched her hips, inviting his fingers to roam, then gave a frustrated groan when he pulled his hand away.

"Gisette, you are tempting." Sam said. He stood up, fighting the urge he was feeling. "But we are nothing but trouble together."

She sat up in his bed, and reached for his coffee. She took a sip, then set it on the night stand.

"That's not what you told me last night." She said slyly as she slanted her eyes at him.

"No way, we didn't do anything. Not again." Sam was trying to sound like he knew for certain, but it came out like a question.

Gisette got out of bed, and walked towards the bathroom, seeing the uncertainty in his face. "Oh, yes, we did." She smugly assured him, and slid a long fingernail down his chest, laughing when she saw him shiver. "And you enjoyed it, Sam, a lot." She walked away, well aware that he was watching her. She stopped at the bathroom and turned to face him, smiling, then entered and closed the door.

Standing in the bathroom, she laughed and shook her head at her reflection in the mirror. She had the satisfaction of knowing that he didn't remember how their evening had ended. She would never tell him, now that he had found the strength to turn her down. She liked the idea that he thought he had slipped up again.

Sam stood, speechless and panicked. Sarah was coming in today. He had to figure a way to keep Gisette from talking to her.

***

Sarah rolled over and looked at Pete's side of the tent through dry, puffy eyes. His sleeping bag was open and rumpled so she knew he had come back and stayed the night. She didn't know what she would say to him when she saw him. But she knew that before she committed to Pete, she wanted to see Sam again. She stood up and squared her shoulders, taking a deep breath, she left the tent to face him.

Pete was sitting at the table, drinking coffee and smoking a cigarette. He watched, silently, as Sarah walked towards the coffeepot and the mug sitting beside it. She poured a cup then sat down opposite him.

Neither of them said anything, each waiting for the other one to speak first.

Pete broke the silence first. "I have some stuff to do today, I'll meet you back here around noon and we can leave for Cleveland."

Sarah stared at him, open mouthed. "You're not going to Cleveland with me!"

"Oh yeah, I am. I think you're going to see a different Sam tonight. You're going to see what his life is really like."

"I think I will handle it just fine. I don't want you there." She stated, stubbornly.

Sarah saw the pain flicker in his eyes. She bit her lip, lowering her head. She wished she could take those words back; but they were out and no matter how hurtful, she had spoken the truth.

"Pete..", she began again but was cut off by him, his voice was low and gravelly.

"No, Sarah, don't say anything else. You've said enough. I understand you perfectly."

He walked towards his car, meeting Midgie on her way in.

"Have a good time tonight." He bit off, angrily, as he walked by her.

"What was that all about?" Midgie watched in confusion, as Pete drove away, then turned to see Sarah sitting with her head in her hands. "What happened here last night?"

Sarah recounted all that had happened since they had seen each other the night before. She skirted around telling her about Pete and any other guys, letting Midgie believe that it was other girls he had left her for. No matter how mad she was at him, she still felt loyal to keeping his secret.

"Sarah, this is your decision to make. You'll know more after you see Sam again. There's always been that spark between you and Pete. I think Pete is just seeing that someone else could move in on you and he's being all territorial. Who ever you decide on, Pete could never break the bond between you two." Midgie patted Sarah's shoulder. "Now, you have to stop stressing over it, girl. We have a road trip to plan."

Sarah listened as Midgie talked about their trip to Cleveland, eventually warming to the idea of the two of them going alone. They agreed that Midgie would drive since she was the only one of the two who had her own car, a yellow '69 Volkswagen Beetle. They discussed what they should wear, then decided to go check out their closets together to come up with outfits.

"Oh!" Midgie turned to Sarah as they headed for Dave's office to pick up Midgie's car. "Did you take that speeder, yet?"

"No, I forgot all about it." Sarah checked her cigarette pack, seeing that it was still there.

"We'll take them together when we get to the office." Midgie promised.

The girls were ready and on the road by 2:00, late as usual, but they knew they could gain time once they hit the freeway. The black beauty was working on them and they chattered non stop as Midgie drove, speeding by cars without a break in their conversation.

They had just smoked their second joint in two hours, the windows were down and they were singing loudly along with Queen, when Midgie checked her rearview mirror. She let out a whoop as she spotted the red flashing lights.

"Quick Sarah! Hide the pot!" Midgie threw her friend a side glance as she pulled off onto the side of the road. "Unbutton the other button on your skirt." She was busy, herself, with the top of her shirt, pulling it down to show more cleavage.

Sarah looked down at the buttons on her blue jean skirt, "If I undo another one, that's getting awful close to my crotch!"

"Nothing will show, just do it, quick! He's getting out of his car." Midgie watched as the state trooper approached their car, noting happily that he was young. She smiled pertly and opened her blue eyes wider, looking up at him as he leaned in the window.

"Is something wrong, Officer.." She looked at his name badge, and cooed, "Dawson."

The officer eyed Midgies chest then his eyes slid over to Sarah. She shifted in her seat, crossing her legs so he could view them better. He grinned broadly at them, "Well, sweetie, I just clocked you at 70 miles an hour. You do know that the speed limit is 55, right?" He spoke to her as if he would a child.

Midgie bit her lip and looked at her speedometer in confusion. "Really? Now how could that be possible? I could have sworn the speedometer said 55." She looked up at him, her eyes round, and an innocent look on her face, "Honestly, I thought I was only going 55. I promise I'll be more careful. Please."

The officer chuckled and stepped back, "I'll let you two girls go now. But you better slow down, there are other patrolmen on this road who might not appreciate how pretty you are. Keep the speed down." He winked and swaggered back to his car.

Midgie drove back onto the freeway, waving brightly as the state trooper passed her up. "What a pig!", she laughed and looked over at Sarah, "Where did you put the pot?"

They burst into uncontrollable giggles as Sarah pulled the baggie out of the front of her underwear.

"It's the only place I could think of!" Sarah giggled. "I panicked!"

"You're in charge of that bag now, girl! Roll one up, we need it after that performance."

They pulled up in front of the hotel at 4:30, only a half hour later than they were expected. As they entered the old lobby, they looked around, in awe, at the antique furniture in the lobby and the tall marble columns that flanked the check in desk.

"Sam's dad is rich, didn't I tell you? He pays for their expenses, I think." Sarah whispered. The atmosphere in the place didn't call for anything louder. Even the busboys, pushing the gold luggage carts, did so silently.

Sarah approached the desk clerk and requested the key for Celeste Carrettiere's room. The clerk reached around for the slot with the extra key, then turned to look at Sarah. "I'm sorry, both keys have been given out." He eyed her balefully. "Are you a friend of Mrs. Carrettiere?"

"Yes", said Sarah, she looked confused, Sam had made it sound so simple. Ask for the key by that name and come to his room.

The clerk nodded and picked up the phone. "I will call the room and see if you have permission to go up."

Sarah waited while the clerk held the phone to his ear, listening. Then he hung it up and said in a dismissive tone of voice, "There's no answer in the room. Perhaps you can come back later."

Sarah and Midgie walked away, dejectedly. They had been so excited to finally get here, and they had been turned away. Sarah couldn't understand why Sam hadn't left the other key as he had promised.

They were almost to the door when Sarah heard her name called. She turned and saw a girl with curly black hair and large expressive brown eyes, coming towards her.

"Sarah?" The girl asked, smiling. "I'm Trish, Georgie's fiancee. Sam said you would be here, come on, I'll take you upstairs."

Before Sarah knew it, she and Midgie were being led to the bank of elevators and taken to the 4th floor. All the while, Trish kept up a steady stream of conversation, barely letting either girl reply.

"Sam is with the band right now. Julien found a place for them to practice this afternoon, then they have sound check. Sam felt bad that he couldn't be here. He made me promise to watch for you. I was just going down to get a newspaper. It gets so boring sometimes. But lately I've been getting into photography. I've been making up a photo album of the tour, to pass the time." She rolled her eyes and stopped to take a breath. "I'm sorry, did you have a question?"

"Do you know when they will be back?" Sarah laughed. She instantly liked this girl with the easy smile and friendly attitude.

Trish opened the door, letting them in to her room. Sarah looked around, it was much like a regular room, with two double beds and a low table set by a chair. She thought the rooms would be much grander in this hotel. But actually, it looked more outdated than she expected.

"They should be here soon. We're going to get something to eat before the show." Trish walked over and opened the curtains, revealing the view of the city. "I thought Sam told me that you would get the key and let yourself in."

"We tried, but the clerk at the desk said there were none." Sarah said, then she turned and introduced Midgie, who had been patiently waiting beside her.

Trish sat on the bed and motioned towards the chair. "Sit down, yeah, that's ok, sit on the table." She laughed as Sarah looked around the room. "Yeah, I know, it's a bit shabby. Hopefully, our new road manager will get us better rooms at the other places. I'm learning that life on the road is something else! We never know what our rooms will be like." She went on talking and keeping the girls entertained for the next hour.

Sam stopped at the clerks desk, while the rest of the group entered the elevator. He asked if a girl had been there, asking for Celeste and was happy to see the desk clerk nod. He rushed for the elevators, before the clerk had a chance to say anything else and quickly walked down the hall to his room and unlocked his door, expecting Sarah to be there. He called out her name as he entered the darkened room, stood there looking around, then left and walked down to Georgie's half opened door.

As usual, the room was jammed with everyone from the band and whoever they may have with them. People were sprawled on the beds and the floor. He could smell the pot and located several joints being passed through the crowd.

"Close the door, Sam!" Georgie's voice came from the direction of the corner where the chair was. He looked over and saw Georgie sitting at Sarah's feet, looking up at her, laughing, as they talked.

Sam walked over to Sarah and pulled her up by her outstretched hand.

"Hey beautiful!" he wrapped his arms around her and gave her a kiss, smiling broadly at her as he looked in her eyes.

Sarah had seen his eyes light up when he saw her, and had felt the butterflies start up. Now, standing this close to him, they were fluttering like crazy in her chest.

Sam greeted Midgie when he spotted her sitting on the table. She was in an animated conversation with Trish and Clea, Leon's wife. Tex had a girl cornered, and they were sharing a pipe between them. Barry, the new guitarist, was on the bed, sharing a joint with Leon and a girl that Sam recognized as one of the groupies that followed their band.

He was about to ask Sarah where Pete and Dave were when he saw Gisette, sitting against the headboard of the other bed. She was looking at him as he held Sarah, and he clearly saw the hurt in her eyes.

Gisette got off the bed and glided over to them, putting her hand on Sam's arm.

"Sam, introduce me to your friend." She said. He noticed she laid on her accent heavier than usual. Sam introduced Sarah to her, eyeing Gisette, suspiciously.

"Come over here, Sarah." Gisette tugged Sarah's arm free from around Sam's waist. She smiled sleekly at Sam. "We are going to talk for awhile."

Sarah looked at Sam with an amused expression and started to follow Gisette, only to be pulled back by Sam.

"I'm going back to my room. Sarah is going with me." He said firmly, then he started for the door.

Sarah said goodbye to Midgie, raising her eyebrows in a silent question. Midgie nodded, smiling, and motioned for Sarah to go.

As soon as they got to Sam's room, he backed her against the wall and began kissing her. Sarah felt her legs go weak and she wrapped her arms around Sam's neck.

He stepped back, startled, "Why do you seem so much taller?"

Giggling, she kicked up her foot, showing him the 3 inch platforms that made her taller than her petite 5'1".

He stepped back and eyed her from head to toe. She had deliberated long about her outfit, finally choosing a snug yellow tee, with blue flowers embroidered across the chest. It hugged her body, ending at her navel, exposing a swath of tanned skin.

Her short denim mini skirt, hung low on her hips and combined with the 3 inch platform wedges, made her legs look even longer. She had left her hair down and it floated over her shoulders, skimming her butt. She knew she had made the right decision when she saw the sparkle in Sam's eyes.

"You look hot, Sarah." He pulled her up into another deep kiss, their tongues reacquainting and beginning their long slow dance.

Finally, Sam pulled back, "I'm going in to take a shower." He grinned, wickedly. "Care to join me?"

Sarah laughed and shook her head, "No, I think I'll wait here."

Sam kissed her neck, his hand creeping under her shirt. "Are you sure you don't want to come in with me? I can make it a lot of fun." He cajoled, his hands roamed over her breast, and his thumb teased her nipple.

Sarah just laughed, shaking her head. He kissed her harder, as he tried to coax her towards the bathroom, but Sarah held firm. After several minutes, Sam gave up with a growl and headed for the bathroom.

Sarah looked at Sam's room while she heard him getting his shower. It was identical to Georgie and Trish's, but a lot messier. She started to straighten things up, picking up and folding Sam's clothes, laying them neatly on the chair.