“Tell me what?” Johnny said as he stumbled out of the bedroom, hair sticking up on one side, eyes half open, and a red mark on his cheek where his hand had been resting while he slept.
“Nothing,” the three of us said as one before laughing.
Johnny took a deep breath before walking over to the refrigerator. “Pizza should be here any minute,” I said just as Jeremy jumped up and ran to the door.
“Perfect timing,” Mateo said, and I hoped Johnny didn’t press for details about what we were talking about when he walked in the room.
Johnny slid onto the stool next to me and passed me a beer. “Really?” Neither of us drank while we were playing. It ended up causing way more issues than it was worth.
“We have a few days before Rocktoberfest. Today’s already a wash. Let’s relax and hit practice hard tomorrow,” he said.
“That sounds great.” I took a drink and relaxed a little bit more and appreciated how important it was to take a break from the music as it was to practice.
“If you’d told me three months ago, we’d be sitting in this kick ass house eating pizza and not rushing off to practice or a gig, I would have told you to fuck off,” Mateo said around a mouthful of pizza after Jeremy put it on the island.
“I know it’s been a rough few months, but it’s been worth it. We’re playing Rocktoberfest,” Johnny said and chose his piece of pizza.
It had been rough, but with Johnny and the guys it wasn’t that bad, and the nights were definitely better sharing a bed with him. He grinned at me, and I would have sworn he’d read mymind, but more than likely he was still blissed out from being thoroughly fucked and the nap he’d had. Either way, I loved that grin and I wouldn’t mind repeating this afternoon again tomorrow.
Four
Johnny
I’d overheard them talking before they knew I was there, and I had suspected Devon had made plans for us when we were off, but so far, he hadn’t brought it up to me. In all the years I’d been playing in a band I’d never met someone like him. He was younger than me, but he had shown me how serious he wasabout the band. Even when things had been strained between us, he never stopped giving everything he had for the music.
“You’re deep in thought,” Mateo said.
“Just hungry,” I lied. “I hope you ordered enough.”
“There’s wings too,” Jeremy said, and opened that container to prove it.
“Has anyone heard from Easy or Liam?” Devon asked. The guys in Blinding Light had always kept in touch with us even if we weren’t playing with them, and Easy and Liam were usually the ones we heard from.
“Not today. I’m sure they want a day or two to get their shit together before they arrive,” I said.
Typically, Easy would talk to me to coordinate when and where we were playing and if we were warming up for them or playing at a different venue. Glen stayed out of that part of the band’s business. Even more so since he’d returned after having time off. I knew he’d been considering leaving Blinding Light, but I wasn’t sure what that looked like. Would they replace him or would they dissolve the band. Either seemed possible.
“I’m happy to have one night to relax,” Mateo said around a mouthful of pizza. I gave him a critical look before taking another bite. Proving once again we were all tired. It bothered me to hear that, but it was impossible to maintain the schedulewe’d set for ourselves continuously. Burnout was real, and we were all in the middle of it.
“We can go over the playlist for Rocktoberfest later if you want,” Devon offered. That gave me a sense that they did care, but we really needed time away from the band to make the band work.
“Sounds great. I know I’ve been pushing you guys, but after all the shit of the past it’s just been nice to know all of you will show up for every show,” I said.
“It’s all good, right, guys?” Mateo said and Devon and Jeremy nodded. None of us were thrilled with more work but Mateo and Jeremy were both in the same headspace as Devon was and didn’t seem to want to rock the boat.
“I think after we come back from our time off, we need to have a serious meeting and come up with a few boundaries and guidelines about how much we work,” Devon said, and I continued to stare at the pizza, not willing to meet his eyes.
“That might be a good idea,” Jeremy said. “My parents have been asking me for some help around their property, and I haven’t been able to commit because we’ve been going full out. They understand but I’m all they’ve got unless they hire someone.”
“I can help if you need it while we’re off,” Mateo said.
“That would be great. Maybe then we can get enough done so we really can have some time off.” Jeremy grinned at Mateo and—there was something there. For a split second I wondered if there was more between them than friendship, but I’d only seen them with female fans and even that didn’t happen very often.
“That would be nice,” Mateo said, and glanced off to the side so I couldn’t see his face.
I cleared my throat, bringing us all back to the subject. “So, we’ll practice tomorrow. Nothing too heavy, just enough to make sure we’re all happy with the songs we’ve chosen to play. I know we chose them to compliment what Blinding Light is playing but I also know they won’t mind if we want to change them.” The three of them glanced at me before once again going back to eating. “Sorry, guys. I’m trying.”
“Babe, finish eating and we’ll watch a movie,” Devon said.
