Page 57 of Bassist With Benefits
The waver in Felix’s voice was totally unexpected and the amount of emotion in his face made Jeremy choke up. This was probably the most serious conversation they had shared. The most human. The most real. What a fucking emotional day.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Three days in the hospital and four days in a cushy hotel suite should have made Alan relax enough to stop worrying about Jeremy, but he couldn’t shake the memory of almost losing the love of his life. He fluffed the couch pillow for Jeremy and lowered the volume on the sound system.
“Hey!” Derek protested. “That’sSerotonia. You don’t just turn down Highly Suspect.”
“Jeremy’s trying to relax,” Alan replied, which made Jeremy roll his eyes. “What are you complaining about?” he asked Jeremy. “You’ve got a tough afternoon ahead. I don’t want you stressed out. You sure you’re up to dealing with all the questions at the press conference? You know how rough the paparazzi can be. They’re gonna grill you like a rack of baby back ribs.”
Jeremy waved off Alan’s concern. “Stop worrying. They’re legit journalists, for reputable publications, not gossip rags.”
Alan sat next to Jeremy and peeked under his shirt at the wound. There was still a row of staples over the incision, but they’d be out in a few days, and the bandage was off. Jeremy’s strength was back and he looked better every day, but Alan was still concerned. “I’ll never stop worrying about you, Jeremy. I almost lost you. I’m keeping you close from now on.”
“You’d better,” Derek said. “He’s the most accident-prone dude on the planet. How many times are you gonna scare the shit out of us, Jeremy?”
“I’m a cat with nine lives!”
Alan took Jeremy’s face in his hands. “You already used up half of those nine lives, so try to play it safe from now on, huh?”
Jeremy gave Alan a sweet nod and kissed his lover.
“Geeze. Would you two knock it off?” Derek teased. “It’s bad enough I gotta watch Brandon and Cam suck face all the time. Now I gotta watch you two as well?”
“Don’t be jealous.” Jeremy snuggled up against Alan. “You can always kiss Brandy.”
The dog’s ears perked up and she ran over to Jeremy. “Not me.” He ruffled the fur around her neck. “Go kiss Derek.”
She looked around the room, and Derek waved at her. “It looks like it’s you and me, girl, until I find a guy who can put up with my shit.”
Felix knocked on the door once and walked into the suite. “Greetings. I’m glad to see everyone ready to go for a change. How are you feeling, Jeremy?”
“Like I want to get back on stage.”
Felix’s eyes hardened. “The doctor said two weeks, and the tour isn’t resuming one day earlier. The fans are very supportive. We just want you well.”
“I’m well!” Jeremy plucked an imaginary bass. “See? I can play sitting down. Just like this.”
“Yes, that’s very nice. You can do that when the two weeks are up.” Felix pulled a chair over to the couch and sat down. “Let’s talk about the film. I spoke to Twin Media this morning, and they feel they have enough footage. They’ll be at the press conference for some final questions, and then that’s it. Their cameras won’t be following you around any longer, and no more staged episodes of fans rushing at the car or the bus. That being said, Twin Media feels that this rockumentary is going to be an unbelievable success. And I agree. Although I would rather the incident never happened, of course, Twin Media caught the entire shooting on camera, including Jeremy’s heroic act of jumping in front of a bullet and Brandy taking down the shooter. All of that drama, plus unprecedented firsthand footage of the most incredible heavy metal band on the planet, ensure that this film is going to be a blockbuster.” Felix had never smiled so wide. “We’re all going to be rich!” He let out a rarely-heard, genuine laugh. “Well, richer than we already are.”
“Woo hoo!” Jeremy exclaimed, raising a fist in the air.
Alan brought Jeremy’s arm down to the couch. “Will you calm down, you nut.”
“That was my good arm,” Jeremy gave Alan a crooked smile. “You’d better stop babying me.”
The teasing spark in Jeremy’s eyes was a taunting invitation, but Alan wasn’t falling for it. He kissed his lover’s knuckles, instead of returning some lighthearted banter.
There were probably 60 journalists at the press conference sitting across from the band. No one expected the room to be filled to capacity, and it was a little overwhelming. Alan was worried it would get out of hand with so many members of the paparazzi, all probably ready to bombard Jeremy with a shit load of questions, but Felix assured him that he had everything under control.
Felix was standing at a podium at the end of the table, acting as the moderator. He had already instructed the media not to shout out questions and to wait to be called on or they’d be evicted. “First question?” Felix pointed to the journalist from Twin Media. It was Brittany Werthers, the woman who had interviewed them in Brandon’s suite at the beginning of filming, when Alan had a meltdown and ended up punching Jeremy in the jaw.
She stood and flashed a bright white smile. “Thank you, Mr. Osbourne. My question is for Jeremy Kagan. You’re a hero. What was going through your mind when you lunged at the shooter and saved Alan Delgado?”
“Nothing. I saw a guy pulling a gun on my best friend, and I reacted. I’d do it again, for everyone in my band.”
“Alan, you and Jeremy seem to have an especially close relationship. What would you like to say to him about saving your life?”
Alan smiled and stared at Jeremy. He’d been thinking about what he would say to the journalists all day, so he had an answer already prepared.
