Page 33 of Strike A Chord

“You ready?” Josh asked.

“Are you?”

“About as ready as I will be. Let’s do this.”

By the time we reached the oversized double entry doors, they flew open and on the other side stood Joey and Stoli. I only hoped to keep the fanboy inside me under control. “Nice car.” Stoli peeked around us at Josh’s baby.

“That’s my baby girl. Joey, Stoli, this is my boyfriend, Reagan.”

“Reagan, nice to meet you. Please, come in,” Joey said as he and Stoli shook my hand.

We walked into a vast, open concept first floor. “Your house is amazing. Thank you for having us over.”

“No problem. We completely gutted it when we first bought it years ago. The damn thing was like a dungeon, and I swear the appliances were straight out of the dark ages,” Joey smiled. “Come on, we’ll give you guys the grand tour.

“It took months to renovate, and we were on tour the entire time. When we got home it was done and we finally moved in. The backyard was a jungle, no one had lived here in ages. We changed the first floor completely. Knocked out the bedrooms and made an office, enlarged the living room and kitchen. All the bedrooms are on the second floor. Let’s head down to the basement.” Joey was quite the host, all smiles and made eye contact when he talked to us.

“Holy shit. You have a studio in your basement?” Josh’s enthusiasm came through loud and clear and for the first time, Stoli grinned.

“Yup and a game room. Diamond and Derek have studios, too. Diamond’s is similar to ours, but Derek has an actual separate building on his property with state-of-the-art equipment. It’s big enough for the entire band to play in and has a separate meeting room, too.” Was Stoli envious of another? Sure sounded that way. “Diamond has a dungeon we’ve been invited to but passed on.”

“Why does that not surprise me?” Josh shook his head and Joey and Stoli laughed.

“Because you know Diamond.”

“Reagan, I’m sorry. We haven’t given you two seconds to talk. What do you do for a living?” Joey asked as we headed back upstairs.

“I own a bar near SeaTac.” Their home was amazing, comfortable. Not like one of those showroom ones where you’re afraid to sit anywhere, let alone touch something. And here I was the lowly bar owner, no musical gifts to my name. Jesus, I felt like a peasant.

“We played there a few weeks back. Was my first time on stage with Chaotic. Reagan is in the middle of renovating the bar and even added a new menu.” Pride. That was what Josh’s words filled me with. He was proud of me and that meant the world to me.

“You were fantastic and learned their songs fast.” I was amazed by that. He was like a prodigy or a musical genius. Knowing Josh, he didn’t sleep the entire time until he was confident he had them all down.

“You guys want something to drink? Water? Tea? Soda? Beer? That’s about all we keep here.” Having read the story of Josh’s demise and what it did to Joey, I fully understood the reason they didn’t have a fully stocked bar or hard liquor in their home.

“I’m good with tea.” Josh asked for the same and we sat down on what was the largest sectional sofa I’d ever seen. “I didn’t realize sofas came this big.”

Stoli winked. “Custom ordered.”

“You guys good with steaks for dinner? Guess we should’ve asked if you’re vegetarian or vegan first.” These guys were cool as fuck and from what I’d seen so far, the perfect ones to mentor Josh and help break him in. Guidance and support would help him succeed, and it felt right to have him in their capable hands. So far, Sal had impressed me with his decisions and plans for Chaotic.

“We both eat meat.” Josh snickered. “That sounded better in my head.”

“Well, you’re in the presence of four gay men. Ain’t no way in hell that comment would go unnoticed.” And just like that, the final piece of ice was chipped away. Stoli and Josh started talking shop and I followed Joey to the kitchen.

“What can I do to help?”

“Steaks are ready to roll, and the potatoes are in the oven. How are you at throwing a salad together?” Everything this guy said was with a smile and I liked him already.

“Damn good. Been cooking with my mom for as long as I can remember, not that there’s cooking involved where a salad’s concerned.” Could I sound any more like a dumbass?

“All right, there’s the fridge, poke around the cupboards and grab what you need. I’ll throw the steaks on and will be right back.” Out the door Joey went while I searched for a bowl and utensils. By the time he came back in, I had it all laid out on the island and steadily chopped away.

“Nice. I’m a big fan of a kitchen sink salad.”

“Kitchen sink salad?”

“Mixed lettuces and a variety of veggies. Sometimes I even throw in olives. Top it off with sunflower seeds, feta, and a hearty vinaigrette and I’m a happy man.” I swore I heard Joey’s stomach growl.

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