Page 42 of Final Serenade

“Yeah, they mainly play grunge. So they’re the ones hosting the awards. It’s the second year they’ve done it and it’s pretty low key so far…”

“Any interesting bands?”

“Oh, there’s going to be tons.”

I went on to list all the artists. Frank watched me with fascination, his eyes set to my lips.

“Zombie Annihilation?” he repeated the name of the last band I said. “Well, how the hell am I going to compete with that?”

“Maybe some other time?”

“Yes, has to be some other time when the zombies aren’t throwing a show.”

We stared at each other. The music stopped.

“So…tell me the truth.” My gaze roamed his face and body. He was eye candy for sure. Raw and radiant with a pinch of dark. “There are no demos, are there?”

“There are. We have most of the new record tracked. Just hasn’t been mastered yet.”

My spine stiffened. “So the new album is already written?” I clarified.

“Pretty much.”

“The press release said something different.”

“To hype up the crowd.”

“Will there be a tour?”

His chest rose, and thin fabric stretched across his firm pecs. He was holding a breath and I felt his fear at that moment. I couldn’t explain it yet, but it crawled through my veins like a spider.

“Frank?” My gut told me it was time to ask the questions I’d been wanting to ask. He’d opened the door today, and all I needed to do was to walk in and take a look around.

“Yes.” I heard his whisper. “We have a few one-off shows booked later this year and a US tour is in the works. The information just hasn’t been released to the public yet.”

I wanted to ask why because “later this year” was very close. Too close if you looked at it through the lens of a music business insider. Shows and tours for a band like Hall Affinity, especially under the circumstances, were announced many months, sometimes even years in advance. Intuition told me there was a lot more going on behind the scenes than Frank led me to believe.

“Why is the label holding out then?” I asked carefully.

He looked at me with a faint smile. “It’s not the label. I’m waiting for the doctors to clear me.”

“Oh.” My breath came out in a gasp.

“Want to hear something sexy?” He smirked, bringing his face to mine.

“S-sure.”

“Right now, there’s more metal in my body than in the periodic table, Cassy.”

My eyes widened with shock.

“Titanium,” he added, pulling back.

I was still. The words I wanted to say had deserted me.

“After the accident, I had to learn everything all over again. How to walk, how to hold a spoon, how to brush my teeth… How to sing.”

“But you were magnificent during Douglas & Krueger.”

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