Page 76 of Reverb

“Not really,” I said. “I’m just a guy.”

“Sure, you’re just a guy,” she said with some sarcasm. “A dime a dozen. There’s a Stone Zeeland on every corner.”

“I have a few singular qualities. But mostly I’m just a guy. Take a nice break, Angie. Turn your phone off. You won’t hear from me.”

After she got up, Will took her place next to me. Apparently, I was the Godfather tonight. “Where the fuck have you been?” I asked him.

He ran his hands through his hair. “My flight was delayed, then cancelled, then rebooked. My assistant screwed everything up. The whole thing was a disaster.”

“You missed a good show.”

“Don’t remind me.” His dress shirt was unbuttoned at the throat and his tie was loose. “I’ll only get a few hours’ sleep at the hotel before I go to the airport again. I have meetings in Dallas tomorrow.”

“Why are you going to Dallas?” I lowered my gaze to his collar in distaste. “And why the fuck are you wearing a tie to a rock concert?”

He sighed. “I left for the airport straight from a meeting with the lawyers and didn’t have time to change.”

I shuddered at the mention of meetings with lawyers. “Better you than me.”

“You’re welcome,” Will said. It was universally acknowledged that he was better at meetings than I was. I tended to be an hour late and piss everyone off. “Everything’s just fine, in case you were wondering. I have to go to Dallas to wrap up the last few things for Tower VC.”

“And then what?” I asked him. “Everyone’s taking a few weeks off. What are you gonna do?”

He scratched behind his ear, thinking. I’d never imagined I could like a guy like Will Hale, but it turned out I didn’t mind him much at all. The stiff, nerdy exterior was a bit of a front. We’d had some good times since he came into my life. His starchy, success-driven side was at war with his wild side. As his rock star older brother, I made it my mission to ensure that the wild side would win.

“I don’t know what I’ll do,” Will said, answering my question. “Rearrange my closets, maybe.”

Oh, come on. “Find a woman and get laid,” I suggested. Will had had a long-term girlfriend back east, but that was long over. He was good-looking and obviously had money. Women gave him signals all the time when we were out together, but he never picked up on it.

He gave my suggestion serious thought. “I don’t know how to pick up a woman for that sort of thing.”

“You don’t,” I said. “You let them pick you up.”

He looked confused and a little horrified. “No. That sounds complicated. I’ll be fine, Stone. Have fun with Sienna. I’ll see you back in Portland.”

I was going to argue with him some more, but then Sienna walked in. Tank top, dark knee-length skirt, tights, boots. She scanned the room for me from behind her glasses and when she saw me, she winked. Actually winked. Damn, she was ridiculous. She made me weak in the knees.

I stood up and crossed the room toward her.

“That’s your happy scowl,” she said when I got close. “That means the show went well.”

“It was all right,” I replied. “There are a few things I need to work on.”

“Well, you’re not working for the next few weeks. We agreed.” She held up the keys in her hand. “The rental car is out back and ready to go.”

I crossed my arms and stared at her, waiting.

“What?” she asked.

“You’re really not going to do any work during this road trip, Maplethorpe? At all?”

“I’ll make some notes.” She looked at my face. “What? I said I wouldn’t do any writing, not that I wouldn’t make notes. Notes are allowed. And don’t give me that scowl, as if you aren’t going to bring a guitar with you.”

“Just an acoustic,” I said. “So I can do some practice.”

“See? I’ll make notes while you practice. And I’m going to pitch a few stories. Seven Dog Down broke up, and I’m going to try and get some interviews about it. And there are a few people who are supposed to call me back, and—”

“Maplethorpe.”

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