Page 44 of Higher Notes

“Um, it’s been cleaned, right?” Jason sputtered. “Sorry, don’t mean to be rude.”

Benny giggled. “You’re funny. But yes, our housekeepers are ah-may-zing.”

Sikes headed straight for the bathroom, likely checking that very scene out. He’d waited a long time for this day.

“Snipe, Jason, can we get this in our new house?”

I rolled my eyes. We’d been over the bathroom layout with him more times than anything else.

“I like him. Are you guys by any chance into voyeurism?”

“No!” the three of us shouted as one.

“Well then,” Benny was slightly put off. “Closet is over there.” I meandered over to make sure no naked bodies would jump out at us.

“Holy shit. That’s the size of the living room in our old apartment.” Yeah, the measly boxes we brought with us would store just fine here.

“Hey, Jase, did you let Mom know we were back?” Okay, so maybe now it rolled off the tongue a bit easier but when face to face with her I’d likely revert back to Dana.

“Good call.” He slid his phone from his pocket and fired off a text. “I should probably call her soon and make sure everyone’s okay and she doesn’t need us for anything.” More like he was hoping for an excuse to get out of Benny’s line of sexual fire.

“Oh, cool. Mom started a group chat with the three of us. That will make it hella easier.” Jason typed away and my phone pinged. “Looks like we’ve been beckonedmañanafor food.”

It would be great to have a brain break while I play with the kids.

“Sounds great. All right, let’s get washed up and on with the tour,” Sikes announced as he reappeared. How big was that damn… Oh shit, this bathroom was huge.

“Not sure the new house has enough room for a bathroom this size.” Holy crap. This bathroom was a house in itself. That might be an overreach but dayum, this was palatial. Sikes’ nakedass would be permanently parked in that jacuzzi tub for the duration of our stay. And yes, it would easily fit four hulking men comfortably in it.

Benny waited while we washed up and I made a mental note to lock the door behind us each night. It wouldn’t surprise me to wake up and find the sneaky little sprite in bed with us. Naked as the day he was born.

We finished the tour in the basement which low and behold housed not only a home studio but their personal dungeon where Benny once again invited us to watch. Was it hot in here or was it just me? Not gonna lie and claim I’d never indulged in porn but those were nameless, faceless bodies. These three we worked with and yeah…not too comfy with that vision.

“Smells great,” Jason quickly changed the subject as we re-emerged in the kitchen. Thank fuck that tour was over. “Your home is amazing.”

“Thanks. We remodeled every inch of it after we bought it. For years we lived at River and Benny’s original house then when Social hit it we sold it and bought this one.” Mickey was so down to earth for a millionaire. “I hope Benny behaved himself during the tour?” Mickey side-eyed him but the three of us said nothing. “Yeah, I figured as much. Sorry about that. He’s a bit too passionate at times.”

Passionate, Mickey said. More like a mini horndog on a never-ending adventure to climb new trees.

That little man was far too excited for whatever punishment was coming his way.

“Food?” Jason managed to say a single word.

“Sorry, yes.” River busied himself making a salad and pulled a dish with potatoes from the oven. “Dinner is ready. Come fix your plates.”

“Jason, we’re thrilled with how Chaotic’s social media has blown up.” River took a seat beside Jason.

“Probably due to Social mentoring us. Joey and Stoli appearing when we do last-minute shows has really drawn the crowds in.”

“Dude, after dinner I’ll show you the comments. Sure, there are some fucked up ones but honestly most of the comments have to do with you and Josh and the haters have been silenced. I bet when the record drops Chaotic’s following skyrockets.”

“I’ve met up with Marley a couple of times, but that guy is hard to lock down.” Mickey shook his head. “You know who his dad is, don’t you? They live just around the corner.”

Jason’s fork dropped and hit the plate with a loud thud. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

“No. I take it you didn’t know his folks were loaded?”

“Not a fucking clue and all these years we’ve been playing with old ass shit we constantly had to fix and never once did he offer to help replace anything.” Jason sighed. “Sorry, that sounded selfish, but I put my own money into this band while working multiple jobs. I knew Marley was a player and had a tendency to get into trouble but didn’t feel that was my business. Maybe none of this was but fuck, man.”

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