Page 32 of When We Fell Again
“Hey, with some of the support these bands already have, they can probably return the favour!” Levi grinned. “Their fan bases are pretty strong.”
“Remember the ones we had a uni? There were those two girls who followed useverywhere. Even to that gig in the Isle of Wight.” I laughed, remembering the two constant faces who were front and centre in almost every location we played.
“Didn’t Jude have a thing with one of them?”
“Probably.” I swallowed some tea to wash down the delicious greasiness. “Have you seen him this morning?”
Levi shook his head. “No. He got chatting to some bird last night and it all lookedverycosy, if you know what I mean.”
I grabbed my phone from the table.
Jordan: Where the fuck are you? We’ve got a gig tonight and I don’t want to find a replacement drummer.
Tossing it back where I’d found it, I carried on eating, Levi and I reminiscing about some of our early tours—if you could even call them that.
Jude: On a hunt for food. I’m knackered, man.
I twisted the device around so Levi could see the message. He shrugged.
“Tell him where we are.”
Jordan: We’re in Munchees getting breakfast. Come join.
Jude: What sort of a name is that?!
Jordan: Fuck the name, the breakfast is
Now we’d sorted out three-quarters of the band’s whereabouts, there was only one left to locate. “And where’s Robbie? Surely he’s not out with a bird as well?” I directed the question to his brother.
Levi waved his fork. “You know there’s a big, fuck off guitar place near the railway station? He was waiting on the doorstep when they opened this morning. Apparently, they have, and I quote,the most orgasm-inducing bass on sale.”
I tried not to snort tea out of my nose; it didn’t surprise me. Music shops called to Robbie like a siren. Even though he’d already got two bass guitars on tour, a third seemingly wouldn’t go amiss. Where it would fit in the van only Eric would know.
As if on cue, the door to the cafe swung open and Jude stepped inside. In his right hand, he carried a new guitar case and sported a grin that covered almost his entire face.
“You getting off with that tonight?” Levi jerked his chin at the case.
Robbie sank into one of the spare chairs at our table. “You wouldn’t believe how beautiful she is.” His eyes held a dreamy expression that wouldn’t have been out of place if he were talking about a woman. It was quite disturbing when you realised he was describing a guitar.
“Eric is going to have a breakdown when you show him that.” I shook my head, wiping the remains of my bean juice off my plate with the last bit of toast.
“S’okay. I’ll have her on my lap.” He ran a loving hand over the top of the case.
Lost for words, I waved the waitress over to get more tea and whatever Robbie wanted.
Ten minutes later, Jude barged through the door.
“And didn’t I look like a total prick asking everyone where Munchees was?” He plonked himself into the last remaining seat. “When it’s like a two-minute walk from the hotel.”
The waitress brought over Robbie’s breakfast—the full English. Jude’s eyes widened.
“Yeah, I’ll have one of those, please. And a black coffee.” He rubbed his eyes. “Need to get some energy back.” He nudged me in the ribs.
“Will your latest conquest be joining us at the gig this evening?” I asked.
“Dunno, mate. She’s a bit older than the university crowd and definitely not a student.”
I cringed. “Oh, God. You’ve hooked up with someone’s mum again, haven’t you?”
