Page 60 of Higher Notes

“Holy shit.” Marley was right. Holy shit. The line wound around the lobby. With this being our first real tour, the four of us had no clue what to expect. Well, Josh might have but then again he toured with a mega band and was mostly behind the scenes.

“Gentlemen, please take your seats.” Folding table, four chairs, band posters, and markers. They literally had everything set out for us.

Sikes, Snipe and the new guy, Bones, whom we’d just met, stood guard next to the table. I wondered if Bones’ nickname was military related, too. And if so, had he actually broken people’s bones or was he a medic?

Why did my brain dwell on useless things?

We signed until Embrace came out. The fans were relentless in their pursuit to get both bands’ signatures, and I swear we signed enough shit to cover the headcount in the venue. At least no boobs were thrust at us, though that might have made Nigel’s night.

“I’ve got two words for you,” Marley said as he plopped down on the couch in our bus. “Carpel. Tunnel.”

“I’ve got two words for you,” I countered. “Wrong. Bus.”

“Shit, sorry. Used to all of us being on the same bus. Mister Domesticated got his own now.”

“Pull your head out of your ass and settle down, and you just might, too.”

With a nod, Marley hopped off the bus. Hopefully he’d take my words to heart as he had the last time. Jesus, I’d never met a man in more need of a caretaker in my life. Had his parents let him run wild his entire life?

I grabbed a quick shower while the guards made sure the bands were on the right buses and everyone was accounted for. Considering all the Embrace guys were partnered up, and from what I’d seen they weren’t partiers and were actually pretty chill, they likely were. The only ones they’d have to worry about, well, the only one they’d have to keep an eye on was Marley. Nigel was chill as fuck and with everything he had going on he wouldn’t dare risk it. His daughter was his number one, as she should be.

Did we pay our guards enough to babysit? I sure as hell hoped so.

Fingers crossed the dumbass didn’t pull any stunts.

“Ready to roll, Andy,” Sikes notified our driver as he stepped inside then slid the partition between us closed.

“Mmm, freshly showered.” Snipe stole a kiss. “Nice.”

“What a great way to kick off a tour. I’m pumped and playing in front of my mom was like the ultimate high. And I remembered to keep the foul language to a minimum with the kids around. Kudos to me!”

“She was ecstatic but felt bad she didn’t know the words to sing along.” Sikes took a seat beside me and handed me a bottle of water. “Hydrate.”

“Sir, yes, sir.”

“Hmm, now I’m thinking of ways to make you scream those words.”

Hell to the mother fucking yes!

Chapter Seventeen

Sikes

Snipe and I had been on the road with Embrace the Fear before and had a good idea of what to look out for. But for Chaotic, this was their first time out and exhaustion hit them hard, which was both good and bad. The good being it kept Marley’s ass from getting into trouble but the bad was dealing with their grouchy asses.

“Ugh,” Jason wandered out of the bedroom in his boxers. His normally perfectly spiked hair was a rat’s nest. “Must. Have. Coffee.”

“Right here, Princess,” Snipe handed him a cup. “Have a seat and I’ll heat up your breakfast.”

Jason deeply inhaled the nutty aroma. “I bow to the coffee gods.”

Never had I been more thankful for a catering team than I was on this trip. Ely and Jordan fixed breakfast each night while theguys were on stage and stashed them in the bus fridges for the next morning. Most days we stopped for lunch and both bands ate together, then we took off again. Gave the guys and the drivers a chance to get some fresh air and walk around a bit. If there was a show that night, we would have eaten dinner at the venue and if not we stopped again. Rarely did we eat anything that wasn’t made by them, and they kept the meals as healthy as possible.

Fine by me considering Snipe and I had zero chances to work out more than stretches and push ups while on the road.

“Is that a whole wheat tortilla?” Jason groaned as Snipe slid the plate in front of him. “For a breakfast burrito? Who does that?”

“Chefs tasked with healthy food choices to keep the talent at their best.” Sounded simple enough to me yet still he groaned.

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