Page 19 of Half Notes and Highlights
A laugh made Ethan’s shoulders bounce, which made his manly chest inflate and deflate, and that’s all Tyler could focus on.
Ethan opened the door, revealing something that looked like a small arcade. It contained several pinball machines, about a half dozen arcade games, and an air hockey table. “I don’t believe it.” Tyler stepped into the room, trying to take it all in. “This is incred—there she is!” Tyler ran to the Ms. Pac-Man machine and did a little happy dance in front of her, and then hugged the machine. “I’ve missed you Ms. P!”
“Ms. P?”
“We’re on a cute nickname basis.” Tyler quickly turned back to the machine and checked the front of it. “Do I need quarters, or can I just play?”
Ethan hit a button, and the screen came to life. The familiar fun little jingle played, and then it switched to the fast static beat as Ms. P made her way around the track and gobbled up little ghosties.
Tyler brought his fingers to his cheeks and watched, in awe, as the adorable little lady munched her way through the dots. “Look how cute she is!”
“You better hurry before she gets eaten.”
Tyler quickly grabbed the controller and fell into a rabbit hole that brought him back to his teenage years. He could have played all night, but the butler’s voice came through a speaker and announced that lunch was ready. “I can’t believe I hogged the machine this whole time. I’m sorry. That was rude. Why didn’t you tell me? I didn’t even let you play once.”
“Are you kidding?” Ethan wore a mesmerizing smile, and a light flickered in his dark eyes. “I loved watching you. I alwayslove watching you. You bring life to everything you do. You’re vivacious and filled with energy. And you’re so positive. It’s really a pleasure to be around you.”
“Thank you.” Tyler stood there while he absorbed the lovely compliments, his heart filling with warmth.
Ethan laced his fingers with Tyler’s, they walked back down the long hallway, descended the winding staircase, and returned to the outside deck with the magnificent view. A table for two was set with a crisp white covering and two dome-covered plates. A server stood next to it in a black suit and assisted Tyler with his chair.
“How polite,” Tyler commented. “That’s very nice of you.” To which the server, or butler, or whatever this man’s job title was, responded with a nod.
The man lifted the domed lids and described the meal in amazing detail. In short, it was a porter house steak with a red wine and cherry sauce, glazed carrots, and fancy potatoes. The server also poured wine for Ethan to taste, and upon approval, filled two glasses, then disappeared into the house so they were alone.
Ethan held up his wine glass but didn’t make a toast, so Tyler did. “To this wonderful day we’re having. I hope there are many more just like this one. I know it’ll be hard to live up to such a magnificent and romantic day, but that’s OK, because I’ll never forget this one.” They clinked their glasses together, sipped their wine, and dined on the spectacular meal.
CHAPTER EIGHT
The afterparty in Seattle was off the hook. It was one of Ethan’s favorite cities, and he was feeling the effects of the alcohol. Add in the adrenaline rush of tonight’s show, and he was flying high. But his good time was cut short because they needed to leave for Spokane.
The guys all stumbled onto the bus and plopped onto the couch, except Marshall, who went to the refrigerator and grabbed four bottles of beer. The bus took off as he was heading back to the guys in the living area, and he almost went flying. Somehow, he managed not to drop any of the bottles in his hands because Harris, who had the reflexes of a cat despite his alcohol consumption tonight, jumped up and steadied Marshall, saving their beverages, and Marshall, from crashing to the floor.
“Whoa! Take it easy,” Harris called to the bus driver, who apologized before returning his attention back to the road.
With Harris’ help, Marshall distributed the beer. The guys clinked their bottles together, except Ethan and Wolf, who had their own ritual of nudging their shoulders together instead of their drinks.
“That was a killer party,” Wolf commented. “I can’t believe we had to run out of there so fast. Did you see that guy with the long blonde hair who was all over me?” he asked Ethan.
The beautiful man had Wolf’s attention from the moment they arrived at the club, and the two had been going at it on one of the couches. “Sure did,” Ethan replied. “I thought you were going to bring him back to the bus with you.”
“I wanted to. We could’ve had a really good time.” Wolf smiled at Ethan, because Ethan was definitely included in thatgood time. “I asked him,” Wolf continued. “But he didn’t want to take the ride to Spokane.”
“That’s too bad.” Most fans would jump at the chance to accompany the band on the tour bus, especially with illicit intentions, and wouldn’t care which city they ended up in. No one was being dropped off to fend for themselves. Everyone knew they were getting carfare home. This guy probably had someone to go home to, so it was better off. Ethan couldn’t keep count of the number of times a fan slipped into their dressing room or tour bus after the show for a quickie, only to run out in a frenzy because some poor unsuspecting partner was waiting for them. He hated when that happened because it was fucked up, but it wasn’t his responsibility to check the morals of guys offering a blow job or begging for a threesome.
A loud ear-piercing shriek came from the back of the bus, and everyone jumped. It was Harris, who was standing near his bunk jumping around with arms flailing and screeching. Wolf was hysterical, rolling on the couch and falling into Ethan, while Ethan and Marshall watched their friend freak out.
Harris finally calmed down and started huffing deep breaths. He marched back toward the guys and threw something at them that looked like a black rope. “You fucking suck! You almost gave me a fucking heart attack!”
Ethan saw the mechanical snake and burst out laughing. He remembered Wolf had pointed it out in the window of the gift shop in the hotel lobby, but he had no idea Wolf purchased it and planted it in Harris’ bunk.
Wolf was slapping Ethan’s knee now. “Did you see him dance like his boots were on fire?”
“Not funny!” Ethan stopped laughing long enough to reply, pointing to his burned arm, but it only made Wolf laugh harder. The guy couldn’t even catch his breath to speak, so he put onearm around Ethan’s neck in a hug and took Ethan’s arm in his other hand and kissed the scarred skin a bunch of times.
Marshall picked up the mechanical snake, which was still writhing and sticking its tongue in and out, and taunted Harris with it, who let out a few more shrieks and jumped back.
Wolf couldn’t stop laughing, and now Ethan was laughing so hard his eyes were tearing. The two fell into one another, enjoying the prank way too much.
