Page 23 of Under the Ink

“I’d like that. I want to make sure I’m doing it the way you want.”

“It’s not too difficult—you’ll get it.” But here they were on the stage now—where the opening act’s road crew was already arranging amps. “To be successful in this job, you just gotta do two things: make sure the equipmentsoundsright and make sure itworksright—nothing loose, everything moves the way it should, all that good stuff. You do that and you’ll be a great drum tech.”

“I can do that.” At first, Naomi had thought it might be boring at times but she knew, deep down, that she’d prefer boring to a lot of other emotions she could experience. At least boring wassafe. “Is there anything extra I should do to help out?”

“I’m sure there’s always something…but get your job down first. Then you can ask the other roadies if there’s something you can do. More than likely, though, you’d just be getting in the way. These guys have their shit down pat.”

“Fair enough.”

“Check this out,” Sage said, holding out his arm and moving it across, indicating the audience area. “Can you believe that in just a few hours this place will be packed? It’ll be total chaos. In the best of ways, of course.”

The size of the place was breathtaking. Massive. Gargantuan. “How many people does this place seat?”

“No fucking idea. Over ten thousand, I think.”

It was hard wrapping her mind around that total…considering the number of kids in her graduating class was under two hundred—but they filled part of the football field and the guests took up what seemed to be one whole side of the bleachers.

But maybe she was misremembering.

Sage looked dreamy as he continued gazing out over the audience area, making Naomi in the space of a few short minutes completely reconsider him. Suddenly, she viewed him as an idealist, his face relaxed, his eyes calm, and now she could understand why women went gaga over him.Notthe guy she saw last night. This man here had potential.

When he started talking again, she focused on his words instead of her thoughts. “There’s nothing like it…an arena full of people. It’s more than just seeing or hearing them. You can actuallyfeelthem, you know? You can feel if they’re digging your show or if they think you suck. You can feel their excitement and energy. And when I’m up here drumming, I feel like a fucking vampire, ‘cause I’m sucking up their energy, devouring it.”

He sounded like he felt guilty.

“But you’re giving it back, aren’t you? Performing songs that they love?”

After a second, he turned and faced her, and his expression nearly took her breath away. “Yeah…I guess you’re right. Itismore of an exchange than a theft.” Inhaling deeply through his nose as if he were on the seashore, he said, “Thanks for that.”

Naomi grinned, shrugging her shoulders slightly. This guy right here was not the same guy who’d shown up last night, a drunken asshole lashing out at anyone dumb enough to get in his way. No…thisguy was a bit of a dreamer, a romantic.

Aniceguy.

Maybe working for him for a few months would be okay after all.

“Anyway, we should get out of the way so these guys can get set up. I can go over stuff with you before the show if you want.”

“No, but thanks. I think I’ve got it. I imagine you kind of have to get in the zone.”

“Yeah, probably. But if you have a question or forget about something, tell me. I’d rather you come interrupt me than do something wrong or just guess.”

“Will do.”

He showed her around the entire arena, eating up the better part of half an hour…and somehow he managed to completely change what she thought of him.

It was nothing short of a miracle.

Just like the text she got back from her mother:That sounds like fun, sweetheart. Maybe we can talk this weekend if you have some free time.

That was way nicer than she’d expected. Maybe taking this job had been a smart move after all. Only time would tell for sure.

DENVER, COLORADO

JUNE 8

In the wee hours of the morning, the party was still raging on in a back room of the concert venue. In fact, the fun had barely just started. The opening act was hanging with the band, not to mention both bands’ road crews, and quite a few fans.

Before he had too much to drink, Sage had something he had to do. Spending quality time with his new drum tech earlier in the day had repaired a lot of the damage he’d done the first night he’d met her—but the truth was a little more kindness could go a long way. After all, his fate was somewhat in her hands. If he pissed her off, she could wreak a lot of havoc.

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