Page 22 of In the Shadows

“Dude,” Joey said, sitting down beside me, “Her Embraceis intense and long as fuck. When did you have time to learn it?”

“When we were on our last break.” I took a bite of the Tex-Mex concoction they were serving which tasted surprisingly good.

“Impressive,” Joey said, doing the same. “My man’s a prodigy.”

His man…

By the time we ate, mingled with some of the bands we hadn’t run into in a while, it was time for Maiden to take the stage. The four of us grabbed ring side seats by the curtain, jamming out in typical fashion as though we were the ones on stage playing. Sure enough, when it came time for them to playHer Embrace, they called me up on stage.

“Wow, this is a packed fucking house tonight,” Derek yelled into the microphone. “We got a little something special for you crazy fuckers out there. Our good friend Stoli from Social Sinners is gonna join us on stage.”

Much to my surprise, the crowd went fucking nuts. We had nowhere near the following Maiden had so I wasn’t sure if they really knew who I was or if they were just excited that Derek was talking to them. But either way, I grabbed my guitar, waved to the fans as I crossed the stage and bumped knuckles with Ryder when I joined him.

“All right, Stoli, my man, are you ready to rock?” Derek spoke into the mic, addressing the crowd but was looking at me.

“You know it,” I yelled as loud as I could.

“There you have it, Albuquerque, the man is ready so here isHer Embrace,” he told them, but you could barely hear his words over their screams.

Derek and I broke into the opening riffs in unison, our fingers moving with an unnatural speed across the frets. It was like time stood still and the world was ours. All eyes were watching us, waiting to see if my skills were anywhere near Ryder’s while playing their platinum awarded song.

I’m not sure what it was, but when I felt like I was being challenged, I was at my best. Lost in my own world, my fingers knew what strings to pluck, what frets to glide over. My body locked in a beautiful embrace with my beloved guitar as I stroked her in the ways she loved best. It was orgasmic.

The song was long as hell, five minutes and thirty two seconds, but it went by in a flash. As it ended, I looked over to Ryder who was grinning like mad back at me. At that moment, it hit me that I’d arrived. I’d finally become who I wanted to be, and my life was falling into place. Not how society saw fit, but how I did, and with Joey by my side I felt invincible.

Leaving the stage, Ryder, Derek, and Jaxson one arm hugged me while Shadow gave me a two drum stick salute from behind his kit. The crowd was out of fucking control and I was in heaven. My bandmates shot me high fives, but the heat in Joey’s eyes paralyzed me.

“Dude, watching you play is mind fucking blowing. You fucking nailed it. And…yeah…just…fuck.” Joey reached down, adjusting himself.

Seems I’m not the only one who found that to be or-fucking-gasmic.

“Not again,” Diamond groaned.

I gripped the back of Joey’s neck, yanking him to me. Our mouths instantly parted, our tongues swept across one another in their own erotic dance. Not giving one fuck who was around, that is until I heard the catcalls and throats clearing behind us.

“Oh shit, sorry, guys.” I turned findingMaidentrying to exit the stage around us.

“Ha-ha, no worries.” Derek clapped my shoulder as he walked past.

That’ll kill a hard on really fucking fast.

“Time to head over to the hotel.”

After both bands hopped in their respective busses, we took the short twenty minute ride to the hotel where we were immediately shuttled up to the floor Maiden had rented. When the elevator doors opened, our ears were filled with the sounds of laughter, music blaring and the sight of Maiden’s security staff flanking the halls.

“Here are the keys to your rooms across the hall, boys. Party’s this way,” Derek beckoned us to follow him.

“We’re gonna drop off our bags, be right over,” I told him. Our rooms were directly across the hall from party central. We literally opened the room doors, tossed our bags inside before turning and finding Derek still standing in the exact spot we’d left him.

“Everything all right?” I asked him.

“Yeah, just taking a breath before the insanity awaiting inside consumes me.”

He laughed, but the tired look on his face told me he was growing tired of the extracurricular nightlife. But when you reach that plateau in your career, these things become expected of you. They want you to partake in moderation, but the powers that be don’t really give a fuck if you’re tired or not. You’re expected to make an appearance, meet and greet, but keep yourself in check. Some bands could do it, others didn’t even try. I was afraid the guys from BOD would end up being the latter of the two if they didn’t get their shit together quick.

We made our way through the group, making idle chit chat with those we knew. There were easily a hundred heads in the crowded room. The music was bouncing off the walls, the drinks were flowing and the bedrooms off the main room were filled with hormone fueled bodies.

I grabbed a beer each for Joey and me as we walked past the alcohol shrine. After a bit I noticed he was pacing himself with it. I was so proud of him for the control he’d taken over his addiction. Granted, it was Lucas infused pain filled addiction, but still it would be easy for something to set him off and send him into a relapse. I couldn’t help but lean over and kiss him.

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