“Of course, you would. You can’t miss seeing RCR—and from the VIP section, no less.”
“Fuck the VIP section,” Reed says. “I’ll take you backstage, Kat. You can watch the show from there.”
“Really?” I say. “Wow.”
“Thanks, man,” Josh says.
“No problem, bro. Just text me when you know who’s going tomorrow,” Reed says. “Jonas, Henn, whoever’s in your group. Just lemme know. Speaking of which, where’s Henn? I miss that little fucker.”
“I called him. He’s still working,” Josh says. “He said he might be able to break free tomorrow night, depending on how the work thing goes. It’s all really up in the air.”
“Okay, lemme know. So, Dean,” Reed says to the dark-haired hottie, “2Real’s been writing songs for his debut album. Wait ’til you hear what this guy writes. Fucking brilliant. Game-changing. I’m not exaggerating. You’re gonna wanna get in on this. I was thinking you two might set up a writing sesh when you’re back in L.A. after the tour? I have a feeling if you guys lock yourselves into a room together for a day, a number one hit’s gonna come out of it.”
“Sure,” Dean says. “I’d love to.”
“Sick,” Will says, his face bursting with excitement. “Looking forward to it.”
The two guys exchange numbers.
“You guys just didSNL,right?” Will asks.
“Yeah. Last week. Surreal,” Dean says.
“Were you shitting your pants the whole time?”
Dean laughs. “Totally.”
Everyone laughs.
“I’d totally shit my pants, too, no doubt about it,” Will says.
“Well, then, you’d better invest in some fucking Depends, 2Real,” Reed says. “Because you’ll be doingSNLone of these days, too—sooner rather than later, I predict.”
Will pulls Carmen into him. “That’d be so fucking insane.” His face is on fire.
“There’s no doubt in my mind,” Carmen says, nuzzling into him.
Josh begins chatting comfortably with the RCR boys and Will about music and the tour, but I’m completely mute. It’s totally out of character for me, but I can’t seem to think of anything witty to say, so I figure I’d better not talk at all. How did I get here? Red Card Riot’s hit “Shaynee” was playing in the taxi on the way to Reed’s club, and now two members of the band are standing here, swigging beers and chatting amiably with Josh about their show in Dallas earlier tonight?It takes a lot to make me speechless, but, by God, I am.
Josh puts his arm around me. “Are you okay, PG?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“You’re awfully quiet.”
“I’m just... stunned.”
He laughs. “How ’bout a drink?”
I nod, though I’m already feeling extremely buzzed, truth be told.
“A martini?”
I shake my head. “Surprise me,” I say. “I love surprises.”
He winks. “My kinda girl.”
After Josh leaves, I unabashedly eavesdrop on Will’s conversation with Dean and C-Bomb. They’re talking about their musical influences with incredible passion. God, I wish my youngest brother, Dax, were here. Listening to these guys talk would be his dream come true.
