“What the hell is wrong with you guys?!” Mackenzie screamed as she opened the door to the back of the bus then turned to shield her eyes. Justin quickly pulled up his basketball shorts while JC grabbed a pillow as his face turned red. In a corner, Chris covered his whole body with a blanket as he broke into a fit of laughter. The increasing moaning from the tv did not help matters.

“We’re unwinding,” Justin protested but was having trouble keeping the smile off his face.

“You’re masterbating,” Mackenzie protested.

“Yeah, and? Like I said, unwinding,” Justin countered.

“Together. You’re masterbating together!” Mackenzie pointed out.

“I mean, not exactly together…” JC sheepishly piped up.

“I’m riding with Joey and Lance next time,” the young Production Assistant huffed as she turned around to leave.

“Oh you think we’re bad? You’ll be scarred for life over there,” Chris peered his head out from under the blanket.

Mackenzie rolled her eyes and started back down the corridor of the bus. “Zie, wait!” Justin was quickly behind her, grabbing her shoulder. She stopped, turning to look in disgust, knowing where that hand had just been. “Sorry,” Justin now blushed and, lack of knowing what else to do, wiped his hand on his shorts.

“Look, you guys wanna play circle jerk, it’s fine. Weird, but fine. Just a little warning next time, ok?” Mackenzie tried her best to act professional. Her first job out of college and lucky to work with the biggest band in the world on their nationwide tour, she certainly didn’t want to blow it. She had a degree in sound engineering and had been promised the opportunity to work on the live shows but three weeks in, she mostly found herself wrangling the twenty something pop stars and tonight seemed to be no exception.

“It’s not that weird,” Justin told her.

“It is most definitely weird,” Mackenzie tried not to shout. “You’re watching porn…together! You can’t just whip it out when you feel the need!”

“Why not?” JC was behind Justin now, having pulled himself together. “We’re in private. Everyone’s on the same page.”

“Are you asking me a real question?” Mackenzie shot back incredulously. “You seriously don’t see a problem here?”

“It’s a guy thing, you don’t get it,” Chris emerged last, flopping into his bunk but watching the trio.

“I’m pretty sure I don’t want to get it,” Mackenzie shook her head and tried to retreat again.

“Look, we don’t…” Justin started, trying to find the right words. “Sometimes after a show, you know, you’re still pumped…”

“So you gotta pump something else?” Mackenzie interjected sarcastically.

“I miss my girl, alright,” Justin was starting to get pissy. “Touring gets lonely. You’ll learn soon enough.”

The sudden anger in Justin’s tone struck Mackenzie. “Justin,” she softened her tone. “I’m not judging you for getting off. I’m judging you all for doing it together.”

“Beatles did it,” Chris chirped in from his bunk.

“Excuse me?” Mackenzie asked as they all turned to face him.

“Paul McCartney just talked about it in his book. Him and John and a couple of their friends used to have like masterbation sessions. At least we’re watching porn when we do it. They’d just turn the lights out and go to town.”

“Wow, you can read?” Justin remarked and quickly dodged the pillow that came flying at him.

“So is this some bonding thing? Like, cuz you’re as big as The Beatles, you have to carry on their weird sex rituals?” Mackenzie questioned.

“No one will ever be as big as The Beatles,” JC informed her matter of factly. “Come on, you never watched porn with your friends?”

“Yeah but I didn’t shove my hand down my panties with my friends around,” Mackenzie explained. “You guys can’t wait until we get to the hotel?”

“Hotel is still three hours away,” Justin stated.

“And when we get there, we’ll be walking zombies anyway,” Chris added. “The Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders could be naked and cheering “We love you, Chris” and I’d still pick the bed.” Justin and JC starred their band mate down. “Ok, that’s a lie but you get my point.”

“Ok, fine,” Mackenzie acquiesced. “You gotta take the time where you can get it but together?! Just, I don’t know, hang a sign next time or something,” she shook her head.

“You could always join us,” Justin teased.

“Because that would make it less weird?!” Mackenzie nearly laughed. “I should have asked about how HR works around here before taking this job.”

“Melinda is HR,” Chris told her, “but disciplinary action is just smacking one of us.”

“Chris's whole personality is a walking HR violation,” Justin jabbed at him.

“Ok, lay off, guys,” JC already had his hand extended to push a rising Chris back into his bunk. “Zie, we’re sorry. We definitely should have warned you for the times you ride with us. Normally you go to sleep pretty early so I don’t think anyone thought to tell you. We’ll be a bit more…discreet, moving forward.”

“Yeah, we’ll lock the door,” Chris smiled.

Mackenzie let out a heavy sigh. “I mean, I guess that’s the best I’m gonna get. You guys are still fucking weird but that’s on you.”

“Well, don’t knock it till you try it,” JC winked and headed to bed.

“Door’s always open,” Justin shrugged as he headed to his bunk.

“No it’s not. We just agreed to lock it,” Chris stated before being hit in the head with his own pillow being flung back at him by Justin as he walked by. Chris blew a raspberry before shutting his curtain for the night.

Mackenzie climbed into her own bunk and tried to sleep but couldn’t shake the image of what she’d seen out of her head. Not that she’d really seen anything in detail, it was all so fast, but the idea of three grown men getting off in the same room like it was no big deal…she absolutely couldn’t wrap her brain around it. Guys were fucking weird.

Two weeks later and Mackenzie was starting to come around to Justin’s mode of thinking, at least the part about needing to “unwind”. She was starting to get used to road life and the times they stayed in one city for two nights were almost magical as they were now on a stretch of a new city nearly every night. With the show running smoothly, she was getting the opportunity to take over the board for a song or two at each show and coupled with her regular responsibilities, she was finding it hard to get some down time in any manner.

“The Rose Bowl!” Justin came shouting onto the bus one night, practically jumping on Chris who’d just entered before him. “Can you believe we just played the fucking Rose Bowl?!”

“We played where the Steelers won their 4th freaking Super Bowl!” Chris was equally as excited. “That Steel Curtain defense was unmatched!”

“Wasn’t that their last Super Bowl win?” JC teased as he hopped onto the bus, the door quickly closing behind him as the bus lurched into motion. “At least my team had their first of three Super Bowl wins there.”

“You old fogeys like these relic ass teams,” Justin joked. “Nobody’s doing it like the Packers.”

“Yeah, since they choked two seasons ago and haven’t been seen in contention since,” Chris retorted back.

“I’m switching buses. Lance gets me. You two idiots can deal with Joey and his smelly ass,” Justin huffed.

Chris and JC made horrified faces as Mackenzie interjected. “Well, you’ll have to suffer for one more night. It’s six hours to Oakland so you might wanna shower and rest.”

“No way! I’m whopping both your asses at Madden before bed,” Justin ran to the back of the bus.

“Can you at least shower?” Mackenzie yelled after him. “Joey isn’t the only one with a smelly ass, you know?”

Chris pointed and laughed down the corridor at Justin while JC tried to hide a chuckle. “Thanks Mom,” he smiled as he pulled his shirt off, figuring he’d be the first to get clean.

“Ugh, please don’t,” Mackenzie found the hamper and held it out to him. “I’m like a year younger than you. Don’t make it weird.”

“You tell us all the time we’re weird,” JC joked as his pants were removed next.

“You are, don’t make it weirder,” Mackenzie warned him.

“Oh, we can make it much weirder,” JC teased back, his fingers hooked into the waistband of his boxer briefs.

“Of that, I have no doubt, but don’t,” she turned him around and pushed him towards the shower, her palm hitting him squarely in the back with a resounding splat. “Eewwww!!!” she made a wretched face as she shook JC’s sweat off her hand. JC could only laugh as he entered the bathroom, reaching out to discard his used underwear in the trash can on the other side of the wall. “Now that actually makes sense,” Mackenzie thought as she went to collect the other guy’s stage costumes before they got engrossed in their game.

After about an hour, all three performers were clean and Mackenzie was settling into her bunk having made her final notes on the show to use for the next one. She was almost asleep when she heard it. Soft, at first, so soft she thought maybe she’d imagined it but then she heard it again, lower in register this time. A moan. The excitement of the evening was dying off and the unwinding had begun.

Mackenzie’s breath caught as she looked back at the closed door. It was still exceptionally weird and yet a small part of her was jealous. She wasn’t blind; she worked daily with five of the most sought after men in the world, who were constantly performing or roughhousing that kept them in great physical shape. She couldn’t lie and say she hadn’t noticed or thought about it. And now three of them were mere feet away, getting off to some nameless girl getting railed and she was stuck by herself.

Another moan. Longer. Was that, ok? She wondered what the rules were of this arrangement. Back in college, it was all fun and games until it got quiet, when everyone got fully engrossed in the movie and inevitably started thinking the same thing, that’s when the night ended. Everyone could go home and take care of themselves. Why didn’t they just go to their bunks or excuse themselves to the bathroom? Why did they all think this was ok?

“Fuck,” a breathy growl made its way to her. Was that Justin? She was actively trying to listen now, curiosity getting the better of her as her mind started to imagine what was going on behind the door. She thought back to the other week, remembering the sight of Justin, his shorts pulled down just enough to hug his hips, his thick cock gripped firmly in his hand as his eyes focused intently on the screen, mouth parted slightly as he breathed heavy. Mackenzie blushed as she realized she remembered quite a bit more than she initially thought she did.

The back door suddenly opened, breaking Mackenzie from her thoughts, the sounds of flesh hitting flesh filling the air before it closed once more. She retreated further into her bunk, hopeful she wasn’t seen. She heard footsteps, then the familiar sound of the bathroom door opening and the sink running. “Gross,” she thought to herself, realizing what was most likely being washed clean but at least thankful they weren’t using the upholstery or a napkin they’d forget to throw away.

“You ok in there?” she finally heard a soft voice tease.

She pulled her curtain open to find JC smiling down at her. “You certainly seem to be doing better.”

“Definitely ready for bed now,” he chuckled then studied her face, trying to figure out what she was thinking. “You still think we’re weird, huh?”

“JC, it is very weird,” she told him bluntly. 

“You aren’t a guy, it’s different for us,” JC tried to explain. “First of all, there is one tv in this bus so not like we can watch anything in our bunks. Secondly, we’re all just…there. I mean, it’s not like we’re talking to each other or even paying attention to what someone else is doing. We’re watching the movie, we’re feeling the movie, seeing it through to fruition, so to speak.”

“I guess but it’s still weird. I’m not getting off with my friends, I can have some self control and wait it out.”

JC chuckled. “Trust me, we have self control, otherwise there would be a lot more fans on these bus rides. I get this sounds self centered but when you have women constantly throwing themselves at you…look, we have needs too and this is the best way we’ve come up with to deal with them.”

Mackenzie bit her lip, wanting to argue more but not seeing the point. “Well, good group bonding activity, I guess.”

This time JC made a louder laugh. “One way to look at it. Guess it is an exercise in compromise when we actually agree to something to watch.”

“Fine, but it’s still weird to me,” Mackenzie rolled her eyes.

“As I said before, don’t knock it til you try it,” JC said, amused.

“I’m good, thanks,” she tried to be as flippant as possible.

“Are you?” JC questioned, his hand carefully moving into Mackenzie’s bunk and gently grabbing her wrist. She looked down as JC tugged her hand loose from between her tightly clenched thighs, realizing instantly she’d inadvertently been enjoying her memory of Justin too strongly. “Don’t be afraid to unwind with us if you need to,” he smiled and headed to bed.

That was the thing, Mackenzie realized; she was very afraid.

Two nights later, Mackenzie found herself curled up in the back of the bus with her three travel mates in their usual spots; Justin closest to the tv, JC in the middle and Chris tucked into the back corner. They were two and a half hours into a twelve hour bus ride and just finishing up watching American Psycho.

“What the fuck did we just watch?” Justin asked as the credits started to roll.

“And does Willem Dafoe just play a creepy detective in every movie now?” Chris chimed in. “Thankfully this wasn’t as weird as The Boondocks Saints but I’m definitely getting a theme.”

“I’m never listening to “Hip To Be Square” the same way again,” Mackenzie shook her head.

“I liked it,” JC offered. “The excess of the 80s and the message of wanting to be someone, which subsequently makes you indistinguishable from the majority, the vague ending of if any of it was real…”

“Did we watch the same movie? Cuz I got none of that,” Justin turned and looked at JC.

“Sorry some of us understand alagory,” JC teased.

“Or we’ve just confirmed JC is a psychopath. Who the fuck uses the word alagory outside an English class anymore?” Chris wondered aloud.

“That makes far more sense then I care to think about,” Justin shook his head, getting up and removing the dvd from the player. “I need a palate cleanser.”

“Did you guys see 28 Days?” Mackenzie asked. “It’s the new Sandra Bullock movie; supposed to be pretty good.”

“Not exactly what I had in mind,” Justin chuckled as he started looking through the dvd collection.

“Oh! Who’s that new girl? The one you liked from Penthouse,” Chris pointed at JC.

“Tera Patrick,” JC stated. “I got her latest but I haven’t watched it yet.”

Justin found a still wrapped dvd case and tossed it to JC but Mackenzie intervened, examining the pictures and description. “Farmer’s Daughters Do Beverly Hills. Are you hoping this is a documentary?”

“Shut up,” JC laughed, taking the case.

Mackenzie got up, pushing Justin comically to the side as she began to shuffle through the collection. “White Panty Chronicles 10. Up and Cummers 73. The Video Adventures of Peeping Tom 22.”

“That’s one of JC’s favorites,” Justin interjected. “Told you; psychopath.”

“From what I’m seeing, you’re all psychopaths,” Mackenzie stared wide eyed at the vast selection in front of her. “You guys wanna get off after watching that?”

“There was a threesome,” Justin reasoned.

“Which one? The one where he tortured them with a wire coat hanger or the one where he ran after the woman with a chainsaw while covered in blood?” Mackenzie questioned him back.

“This feels like a trick question,” Justin’s eyes narrowed at her.

“Why don’t you pick something?” JC offered.

“For you guys to watch?” Mackenzie questioned. “Didn’t I say don’t make this weirder?”

“Well, I was thinking you could…stick around,” JC admitted bashfully. 

Mackenzie stared at JC for a long minute, trying to unpack all his sentence implied. Chris and Justin also stared at their band mate, then across the small room at each other to silently figure out JC’s angle. Justin finally gave voice to what everyone was thinking. “JC, if you just want to bang her…”

“No!” JC shouted and chucked a pillow at Justin full force. “I’m not trying to…”. JC turned his attention back to Mackenzie. “Look, I know you need to…unwind. I was just trying to offer a space to do that in.”

“I…I don’t even…how would that even work?!” Mackenzie asked. “It just feels like an absolute recipe for disaster, or an orgy.”

“Yeah, no, neither one of you is allowed to touch my dick,” Chris pointed at his two band mates.

“That is definitely not what I’m saying,” JC scowled a bit, getting a little offended that’s where everyone’s minds jumped to. “Look, to put it bluntly: we’re gonna watch some porn and get off. You wanna do the same, great. If not, no offense taken. Just wanted to offer.”

Mackenzie believed JC didn’t have an ulterior motive but it was still odd nonetheless. Her immediate thought was to run from the room horrified but she also knew they were still at the beginning of a summer long tour. Their antics certainly weren’t going to stop and listening to them jerk off every other night was taking a toll on her.

“What exactly are the rules here?” she asked.

Justin and Chris couldn’t contain their shock as they both excitedly looked at each other. “No touching,” JC quickly said. “No looking either. Eyes straight at the screen. Uh, no, like getting naked, or rather removing of clothing. Sometimes you gotta get to your…”

“Yeah, I get it,” Mackenzie stopped him.

“No conversation either,” Justin added. “Comments, fine but nothing that breaks concentration.”

“I wasn’t aware you had to concentrate,” she lightly teased.

“It’s like dancing. You gotta find the right rhythm to match the beat,” Justin explained.

“Well, I mean technically, you’re the one doing the beating,” Chris replied to Justin, who in turn made a face.

Mackenzie looked at all three men eagerly anticipating her answer. She mentally mathed out how much longer the bus ride would be and how she knew there wasn’t a chance she would get to sleep before they did. “And I get to pick the movie?”

“I think that would only be fair,” JC told her.

“Hmmmm,” she pondered out loud as she returned to the video collection. There was a lot of the same as she’d seen previously. Nothing that exactly shocked her but the sheer volume was a little concerning.

All three men watched her like hawks as she rifled through, wondering what was about to happen next. Each vowed in their head to behave but also were very aware a woman in their midst was guaranteed to change the normal dynamic.

“Ok,” Mackenzie breathed, having made her choice and standing up. “I want to watch this one.”

“Goddammit,” Justin groaned, “that one is like soft core shit. Some Skinemax feature, I don’t even know how we got it.”

“Is it not good?” Mackenzie asked.

JC reached for the case and Mackenzie handed it to him. He looked it over and rolled his eyes at his young band mate. “Justin, quit your bitching. This one is fine, just has more plot than we’re used to.”

“Let me see,” Chris said and JC tossed it over. “Jewel of the Desert,” Chris read aloud. “Research Assistant Elisa is on her first major archeological dig when she makes the discovery of a lifetime; the famed High Priestess necklace of Mesopotamia. Her crew goes to great lengths to secure the artifact, knowing what great power it possesses, but what happens when the High Priestess decides she wants to possess Elisa?”

“Boring,” Justin bemoaned.

“Well, if you don’t want to watch it,” Mackenzie headed to the door.

“Screw him, I remember this one,” Chris pointed out. “The researcher chick is a hot redhead and the priestess has really nice tits.”

“Five star review then,” Mackenzie chuckled. 

JC reached for the case again and as Chris handed it back, JC tossed it to Justin. “Put it in,” he stated. Justin gave an audible groan but did so, then took his regular seat in front of the tv. “You’ll live,” JC teased as Mackenzie sat back down next to him, though notably making sure the distance between them was greater this time. “You ok?” JC asked quietly as the dvd loaded. “I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable.”

“Oh, I’m definitely not comfortable,” Mackenzie chuckled, “but I’m ok.” Mackenzie still couldn’t believe she was agreeing to this. She was never offended by what they were doing but she sure as hell didn’t understand it and she figured either she would after tonight or they’d at least hopefully stop teasing her about it.

The movie started up with terrible gold script explaining the legend of the High Priestess a la Star Wars. “Ugh, I forgot reading was involved!” Justin complained again.

“Didn’t we say no talking?” Mackenzie teased. 

“Forgive him, he only has ninth grade education,” Chris added on. “He gets upset by big words.”

“Why do I need to know some made up back story? I don’t need any story!” Justin argued.

“Some people like to be immersed in a story, it builds the excitement,” JC explained. 

Justin gave a loud humph as the scene opened on an office with stereotypical Egyptian “artifacts” strewn about. A buxom blonde woman entered into the office, followed by a gentleman in very tight pants. “Professor, I don’t know what to tell you,” the blonde stated sternly. “If this dig doesn’t turn up something substantial, we will have to pull your funding.”

“But I have a new research assistant starting today. Can’t we get an extension?” the man pleaded.

“You have one week, Professor. That’s all I can give you officially,” the blonde said sternly. She went to leave but instead locked the office door. “Now, unofficially, I’m sure I could be persuaded.”

Mackenzie fought not to laugh over the course of the next ten minutes as the two actors onscreen very quickly disrobed and went to town on each other. Mackenzie always found it funny the only real difference in soft core porn was the lack of seeing a penis as the woman was out on display for every viewer to see while the man was always at an angle. Even the “sex” was only slightly raunchier than you’d see in a typical movie.

Finally the scene progressed to the “excavation area”, which looked suspiciously like a beach. A cute red head dug carefully in the sand as the man from the previous scene joined her. “Ah, Elisa. Hard at work already, I see, I trust your flight was well.”

“Oh goodness, hello Professor,” Elisa stood up quickly, brushing sand off herself and shaking his hand excitedly. “Yes, it was great, thank you. And thank you for this amazing opportunity.”

“Well you came highly recommended,” the professor smiled. “I see you’ve gotten yourself acclimated so I’ll let you get back to it.”

“Thank you. Excited to see what we can discover,” she told him and went back to digging. A swipe of the camera stated “A Few Days Later” but since the actress was still in the same clothes and in the same spot, Mackenzie doubted anyone checked that detail. The camera zoomed in as Elisa continued to brush away sand and suddenly found something red glistening out of the sand.

“What is it you got there?” the professor appeared and knelt down next to Elisa.

“I’m not sure. It looks old though,” Elisa pulled out a brush that looked similar to a water color brush you’d get as a kid and moved the sand around. 

“Oh come on!” Justin shouted.

“Shut up,” JC quickly scolded him, causing Justin to cross his arms and sulk.

Carefully, Elisa uncovered a necklace made of gold with a huge sparkling ruby in the center. Both she and the professor looked at it in awe. “I don’t believe it,” the professor examined it, stunned.

“What is it?” Elisa delicately picked it up, her gaze never leaving it.

“This is the fabled necklace of the High Priestess of Mesopotamia,” the professor informed her. “Rumored to wield great power and influence to the wearer.”

“Oh,” Elisa said simply, too captivated by the beauty of the necklace to really respond further. “It’s so…pretty.”

“Indeed it is,” the professor took it from Elisa’s hands, drawing her back to her senses. “This is just the thing we need to ensure our project continues. I must make a few phone calls but Elisa, do know you’ll be credited with the find.”

“Oh Professor, and on my first real dig! I can’t believe it,” Elisa said excitedly.

“Neither can we,” Justin said sarcastically as everyone ignored him.