Page 14 of Half Notes and Highlights
“Yeah.”
“Who were you texting?”
Ethan hesitated. “The bass player in my band.”
Tyler stiffened but didn’t say anything.
“I told him I’d be back soon. My bandmates are starting to freak out that I’m not there.” Ethan thought about telling Tyler that Harris and Marsh also texted him but didn’t want to open a dialogue as to why he chose to text back Wolf instead of one of the others.
Tyler relaxed and cuddled into Ethan’s chest. “Thanks for dropping everything and coming to see me. I’m glad we straightened everything out. I want to continue to see you too.To be clear, I’m OK with an open relationship. It’s what I prefer actually, as long as we’re honest and there are no secrets.”
This guy was too good to be true.
***
The constant traveling was bad enough but flying back and forth to LA in less than 24 hours, then performing for 90 minutes, did a number on the body, and Ethan was exhausted. Sacramento was a hell of a show, though. A night to recoup in a cushy hotel suite would have been nice, but the bus left for Eugene straight from the venue, so Ethan had to settle for his tiny bunk.
An earthquake woke him out of a sound sleep, and he jumped. Rolling over, he almost fell out of his bunk, and that’s when he realized the boom and shaking wasn’t an earthquake. It was from the bus hitting a pothole. People would think that you got used to being on the road, but half the time he woke up thinking he was home in his own bed.
An itch tickled the back of his throat, and he wondered if he overdid it last night. Back-to-back shows and long tours could irritate the vocal cords. He tried to clear his throat, but decided he needed juice and headed to the refrigerator.
A light from the TV brightened the otherwise dark bus, and he saw Wolf sprawled across the couch, but didn’t know if the guy was asleep or awake. He poured himself a tall glass of O.J. and walked toward the front of the bus. “You awake?”
Wolf tilted his head back to look at Ethan, then sat up. “Yeah.”
Ethan sat next to him. “Have you been up all night?”
“I think I got about an hour in before I woke up.”
“Bad dream?”
“Nightmare.”
The poor guy was still a terrible sleeper. They’d shared a room growing up, and Ethan couldn’t keep count of the number of times he’d woken up to Wolf’s screams. Wolf never told Ethan why he woke up terrified, no matter how many times he asked. After a while, he stopped asking and just consoled his friend as best he could. But tonight, he decided he’d try again. “What was it about?”
“Not important.”
Ethan placed his arm over Wolf’s shoulder and pulled his friend closer. “If you talked about it, maybe you could get back to sleep.”
Wolf snuggled into the pit of Ethan’s arm and rested his head on Ethan’s shoulder. “No. It won’t.” He was quiet for a moment and then said, “It’s not really what the dream was about. It’s how I felt in the dream. If I told you, it’s not scary at all. But in my dream, I was terrified. Immobilized. I woke up covered in sweat with my heart pounding so hard my chest hurt.”
Ethan didn’t know if he should push Wolf to talk more or not, so he waited, but Wolf didn’t continue. “It’s over now. You’re safe.”
Wolf nodded and looked up at Ethan. “Thank you for always being there for me. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“I’m not going anywhere.” Ethan’s heartstrings pulled so tightly he didn’t know how they didn’t break. “I’m here, Wolf. Everything’s OK.” He gave his friend a reassuring smile, then a small kiss, hoping to offer comfort and show how much he cared. Wolf deepened the kiss and cupped Ethan’s cheek with his hand, then they shared a tight embrace. They stayed on the couch for a long time in each other’s arms, just hugging one another and burying their face in the other’s shoulder. So much warmth passed between them and solidified their bond.
It was late. They were about halfway to Eugene and had a full day once they arrived, and Ethan was tired. “Let’s go to sleep. You can sleep with me tonight.”
Wolf nodded. Ethan finished his juice. And they both crammed into the single bunk together.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Eight a.m. on a Saturday morning was obscene. Tyler almost hit the snooze button on his phone but remembered his date with Ethan. That was reason enough to make him roll out of bed at this ungodly hour. He washed his hair and showered, using his new body wash that left his skin smooth and luxurious with a hint of wildflowers and hoped Ethan liked it. Next, he finger-combed product through his long hair, trying to decide what to do with it. He pulled out the hair dryer and decided to freestyle it. It ended up cascading over his shoulders and framing his face in a cocoon of light brown waves.
He chose a pair of dark blue leather pants that made his butt look extra sweet, and he decided to wear a lavender button down graphic silky shirt opened to his navel, so it revealed tons of skin. The open shirt also showed off the tiny curve of his pecs, which he’d worked really hard to get that way in the last few months, so he enjoyed putting them on display.
When he got downstairs, a big black SUV was just pulling up in front of his apartment. The rear window lowered, and Ethan’s smiling face appeared. “Need a ride, gorgeous?”
