Page 18 of Strike A Chord

“Good luck with the guys. You've got this.” His words were heartfelt, though I wished I believed them.

When I got to the practice site, their cars were already there. The old me would have had a devil may care attitude and not gave two shits what they thought of me. The new me cared way too fucking much. “Well, there he is, the man of the hour.” Jason at least smiled as he said it when I walked inside.

“Hey, guys.” I plugged in and took my place in the lineup. “What song are we gonna start with?” I almost brought my notebook with me but given how our last conversation ended, I wasn’t ready to give that side of me if I was getting the boot. I had no clue where I stood with these guys now. Focusing on doing what it took to make them happy and prove myself was a must.

“First, we need to address the elephant in the room.” Yup, that’s why Jason was in charge. “Are you in or not?”

“I’m one hundred percent dedicated to this band, and I promise I won’t fuck it up.” Could I make that any clearer to them? Jason nodded, Marley fist bumped me, and Nigel stayed put behind his kit and snarled. Well, two out of three were better than what it was Saturday night.

After that, band practice went smoothly without anybody trying to choke me. I’d call that a win even if it was short lived. “Don’t forget we have a show tomorrow night, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, too. Also, I got an e-mail from Sal. The bus will pick us up a week from Thursday and we should get to Black Rock City for Rocktoberfest sometime late Friday night. We play Sunday at noon.”

Was I ready for this quest? Great question, only problem was the answer was irrelevant. I had to be for my bandmates, to prove to Sal I was worth taking a chance on, and for my pride.

“Hey, handsome,” Reagan greeted me with a kiss when I walked into the bar. “How was practice?”

“A hell of a lot more painless than I thought it would be, and nobody tried to choke me.”

“Well, that’s a good thing at least.”

Who knew how long that would last. At some point, I rubbed everyone wrong.

Chapter Eight

Reagan

My staff and I had been so busy at the bar I hadn’t had a chance to go to anymore of Josh’s shows and they were leaving for Rocktoberfest in a few days. Between hiring and training a part-time chef along with another server, I was all over the place. Holly and Della didn’t mind the extra hours, but Holly had a three-year-old son and being away from him a lot was hard on them both. She was originally hired for three nights a week, which had turned into five and occasionally six. To me, family came first and making sure that those I employed had that balance was a must. Now Della, that girl was a workhorse and wanted all the hours she could get so because of that and her strong work ethic, I promoted her to lead server and trainer.

Growth was thy name.

Both personally and professionally.

Josh and I only saw each other a couple of times this week when he came into the bar. By the end of my shift, fighting the yawns was fruitless and we went our separate ways after a few stolen kisses. Sunday came with a promise to spend the day together but what he didn’t know was that I brought a change of clothes with me. The less Josh pushed us having sex, the more I wanted it. Not only was I learning about him, but about myself as well it would seem. And for me, tonight was the night to take that next step.

It was around noon when I got to his place. We both slept in after working late last night. Mom teased me as I left and tossed me a box of condoms. Nothing that woman did surprised me, she was a one of a kind. I’d texted Josh that I was on the way and when I pulled up to his building, there he sat on the stairs waiting. His bright smile lit me up from the inside out. So much better than the scowl he once wore, though I did understand why. Josh seriously had no clue how adorable he was. “You trimmed your beard.”

“Ha, yeah.” Josh shyly stuffed his hands in his pockets. “Debated on a haircut, too.”

“Looks great.” I gave it a tug and leaned in for a kiss. “Waiting for someone?”

“Nah, no one important.”

“Smartass.” Josh opened his mouth and just as quickly shut it. “What were you going to say?”

His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed hard and drew in the strength he needed. “But I’m your smartass.” He peeked up at me through those long lashes, hiding beneath them. Love. Ownership. To belong to someone. The desire to be all those things was clear in this reaction.

“Yes, sweetheart, you are.” The pet names freely flowed with Josh, though I still paused to gauge his reaction each time. Pinkened cheeks and a shy smile, yeah, this worked for us.

Caregiver? A new role for me, but it felt right. Josh felt right. And while I’d ignored him for as long as I had, coming together now, when we’d both matured, was the right move for us. Josh was calmer, not as reckless with his words or actions, and I hoped that his bandmates saw the same change and gave him a fair chance. There was so much more to him than met the eye.

“So, what’s in the bag?” Curiously, he eyed it as I sat it down.

“Well, I hoped to be here for breakfast in the morning.” I waited for that to sink in, and when the corner of his lips curled, I held up my hand. “Please don’t ruin it with one of your usual sexual innuendos.”

“Duly noted. So,” he reverted to unsure Josh, hands crammed into his pockets as he rocked on his heels. “Plans for today?”

“Do we need any? Can we just relax and enjoy each other’s company? See where the day takes us?” Idle Josh didn’t know what to do with himself. “Any new series you’ve wanted to binge?”

“Oh, I, um…I only have the free channels my TV comes with. If home improvement or cooking shows are your jam, I can hook ya up.” Josh was embarrassed he couldn’t afford cable or any streaming services.

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