Page 51 of Strike A Chord

“I am now. Have my own personal cheering section.”

“Dude, you already have that,” Marley jumped in. “You hit that guitar solo on ‘Break It Up’ and the audience melts every time.”

Josh blushed. “Awe, does my man have fans? Will he be the next poster on a bedroom wall?”

“Only if it’s yours, baby.” Josh’s hands didn’t leave me whether they were on my waist, holding mine, touching my shoulders, he craved the constant connection, and I was right there with him. Little over three weeks apart, how would we survive months on end when they hit the road for real? At least having him fly back with us versus driving cut the time by a couple of days.

“We met with River earlier, he said our social media was blowing up and we’ve gained thousands of followers with each show.” Jason was proudly on top of it. “By the time we get home we may have a real fan base.”

“I’d say hate to tell you that you already do,” Jeremiah announced as he came in, “but I don’t hate it at all. Your music is great, and your stage presence is even better. Zero drama and the fans are loving it.”

The guys high-fived each other, all smiles. “Thanks for taking a chance on us.”

“You owe that thanks to Sal, but I’m glad he did. Thanks for making my initiation into band management an easy transition. Granted, our long haul will happen later this year and I’m not foolish enough to believe there won’t be bumps in the road, but as long as they’re nothing major and not caused by us, it’ll all work out.”

Jeremiah was a smart man, young, but clearly well trained by Easton. “Where are you staying tonight?” Josh asked as the others chatted around us.

“In a hotel room with you that Easton booked for us?”

“No shit?”

“No shit. I get the impression you’ve passed their test, well, most of them.”

“Most?”

“I think there are a couple of guys that require a bit more proof before they jump on the Josh bandwagon. But you’ve got it.” I knew without a doubt they’d come around. How could they not? My man worked hard and toed the line. They’d be assholes if they never saw it.

“Yeah, I believe I know who you speak of. Ryder will be the big one. I think he feels the most betrayed since we worked closest together. We never hung out or anything outside of tuning and practice and I could be wrong, but I don’t think I am.” Given the history, I believed Josh was spot on. “And likely, two very large, very angry drummers.”

We have a winner!

“Well, Rockstar, go out there and give them hell.” With a final kiss, I followed the guys out and watched as they took the stage.

“Come on, I’ll take you around front to watch.” Diamond shocked the hell out of me with his offer, but I wasn’t going to look an over-muscled gift horse in the mouth. Guards lurked nearby, though I was sure Diamond could hold his own if need be. They had a section corded off for us away from the public with a perfect view of the stage.

“LA, how the hell y’all doing tonight?” Jason screamed into the mic and the crowd met his enthusiasm ten-fold. “Right on. That’s what we like to hear. We’re Chaotic Abyss and we are here to rock. Your. Mother fucking. World!” Holy shit, I should invest in ear plugs when they played the larger venues ‘cause my ears were already ringing. Meh, what’s a little hearing loss between partners?

Jason, Marley, Josh, and Nigel set the bar high for Embrace as they rocked the shit out of their six-song playlist and never missed a beat. Jason was right, Josh captivated the audience with the killer riffs on his guitar solos. Hell, I was mesmerized watching his fingers move with grace and ease. Had I tried that, mine would be a tangled mess.

“Thank you, Los Angeles. Give us a few minutes and we’ll be out at the merch tables killing some Sharpies.” The crowd cheered as the guys threw out pics and drumsticks. Josh winked and tossed a pick to me before Diamond and I followed them backstage.

“Great show,” Diamond told them and then walked off.

“Well, that’s better than his usual growl,” Marley pointed out and they all agreed.

“That was awesome. You guys are so in sync with each other, and the crowd was wild.” Adrenaline rapidly coursed through my veins. You’d have thought I was up on stage with them. I wanted to scream and shout, which I pretty much did as I sang along with Jason. Headbanging wasn’t something I’d ever done before but I was right there with them, likely with a sore neck tomorrow but it was more than worth it.

“Great show, guys,” Jeremiah said as he neared us. “After you’re done at the merch tables, you’re free to watch Embrace or hit the bus. Josh, you can leave with Reagan after that. The driver waiting knows where to take you. The hotel manager has the key to your room.”

“Lucky duck.” Marley downed a bottle of water and wiped away the sweat with the towels Jeremiah handed them. “Someday.” Didn’t need a degree to figure out what he meant by that. The rest of the guys did the same, tossed their empty bottles in the trash and handed the towels back.

I followed them and Deuce out to the table. The line was as far as the eye could see, which was hard to believe given the number of bodies still on the floor. Off to the side I stood as they posed for pictures, signed shirts and just about anything the fans sat in front of them. In the end, the merch was gone, the guys were tired, and the fans were ready to watch Embrace.

“You gonna fall asleep on me, Rockstar?”

“Not a chance in hell. Gotta grab my bag before we go, though.”

“Cool, show me your bus.” I thanked Easton and Diamond as we walked past them, and Easton asked one of the guards to escort us to the bus. “Holy moly. This is incredible.” The rig was massive, black on black, with blacked out windows. There was no way anyone could see who was inside. Wider, longer bunks than I’d expected. Loved the heavy privacy curtains and storage on the inside. Two bathrooms, one in the main hallway and one attached to the back bedroom. The finishes were not standard by any means. This wasn’t a drive off the showroom bus, it was custom ordered from start to finish. Glad to know Josh wasn’t slumming it in a beat-up old-school bus.

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