Page 48 of Higher Notes

“He insisted I go to college and work for him. Said I’d never make it as a musician or be worth anything. So, I got better at the bass but never serious about it. It was learned out of spite. The problem now is, I love it. I want to be a part of this, of Chaotic. Not only to prove my old man wrong, but to prove to myself I’m not the worthless piece of shit he claims I am.”

Parents could be cruel. The ones who were genetically built in to love you were the worst kinds of fails there were.

“Fuck, man. I hate hearing that but why’d it take me losing my shit for you to come around? We’ve been playing together for years and never once have you opened up about anything other than getting laid.”

“Well, there’s not much I’m good at besides fucking.”

“You’re a great bass player, too,” Josh chimed in. “I vote we quit hearing about your dick and focus on your job as a bassist. Deal?”

“Deal.” Josh and Marley bro hugged then Marley turned to me. “What do you say, Jase? Can I keep my job?”

“Band decisions are just that—made by the band. There are only two of us here and you need three votes.”

“Fuck, man, you’re not gonna make this easy on me, are you?”

“No. You’re a grown ass man. Accept responsibility for your fuck ups and either fix them or move on. While you’re hellbent on pissing off Daddy, the rest of us have been working our asses off to get the band off the ground and keep a roof over ourheads.” Marley nodded but said nothing. “If you’re serious about the band you owe Mickey a huge fucking apology, too.”

“Jase, you’re my friend and I hate that we’re fighting.”

“Am I? Really? Because you sure as hell never acted like it. I put my heart, soul, and hard-earned money into this band while you sat back and raked it in. Now it’s time to put up or shut up because I’m done with this shit.” I spun around, took a sip of my beer and dug into my wings. This conversation was over as far as I was concerned.

“Remind me to never piss you off,” Josh said a few moments later and it hit me all at once. I nearly choked on my food laughing as hard as I did.

“I second that,” Snipe added.

“You handled that very well. I don’t blame you for being pissed at all.” Sikes was always the voice of reason but had that whole convo escalated he and Snipe would’ve jumped right in. Marley wasn’t stupid enough for that and if he wasn’t upset about the whole ordeal he wouldn’t have bothered to apologize. Now, he had fences to mend and shit to prove so it was game on.

Meanwhile, I was gonna enjoy my fucking wings and have myself another beer.

When we walked into Mickey’s house it was to a round of claps. There stood Mickey, Diamond, and River.

Fuck. Me.

“Round of shots for the man of the hour!” Diamond called out. Benny came around the corner carrying a tray and handed them out.

“What’s this all about?”

“Got a call from a very apologetic Marley tonight. Said you handed his ass to him.” Mickey was all smiles.

“That he did,” Snipe gripped my shoulder. “Rather proud of him if I do say so myself.”

“Same. Thought he was gonna rip Marley’s throat out at first but instead used his words which had an even better affect.” Sikes kissed the side of my head and grabbed a shot from the tray.

Once we each had one, Mickey held his up. “To frontmen with brasscahones!”

We slammed down the sweet, smooth, silky cordial and I was instantly ready for another. “This is fantastic. What is it?”

“A loganberry liquor Benny insists we pick up each time we visit a distillery on Whidbey Island.” Benny wiggled and refilled our glasses and Mickey once again raised his. “To Benny and his sweet temptations!”

“To Benny!”

“The sweetest temptation!” Benny cheered and launched himself at Diamond. Good thing D was used to that or they both would’ve split their heads when they hit the tile.

“When do you meet with Marley?”

“Tomorrow at ten a.m. If he’s not serious about this I won’t waste my time, but his words tonight led me to believe he was.” Mickey was a great guy and if Marley fucked him around it would be the end of his career with Chaotic. “You’ll be the first to know if he does, Jason. I’ll let you handle your team your way.”

“Thanks, Mickey. I appreciate that.” Marley better hope like hell he didn’t fuck this up.

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