Page 42 of Giving Up My Chance at Forever

I don’t really think anything of his questions, other than he’s just trying to be friendly. But when he approaches me at the bar a little while later, I get what all the questions are about.

“You want a beer?” he asks me after I’m handed another bottle of water.

“Na, I’m not twenty-one, and my dad owns this place. He’d kick my ass for putting his bar at risk.”

He picks up his beer and takes a long drink. “How old are you?”

“Almost eighteen, but I live on my own.”

“That blonde girl over there belongs to you?” he asks, pointing at Alissa.

I look over my shoulder to see her talking with Mark. “Yeah, she’s mine.”

“Look, I’m sorry about all the questions earlier, but I have a proposition for you.”

“What’s that?” I ask, turning to face him.

“In a couple weeks, our lead singer will be leaving. His girlfriend is about to have their baby, so he won’t be able to finish the tour. We’ve been looking for a new lead singer.”

“You want me to come on tour with you?”

He nods. “I mean, if you’re interested. I know you have your own band and a girl here, but we’re getting really close to signing with a label.”

I sit back in the barstool and think it over. This is exactly the kind of thing I was hoping would happen. A chance to make it big.

“I’d have to leave my band?”

“And your girl too, I’m afraid.”

“Leave Alissa?”

He nods. “We have a strict no girls policy on the tour bus. There just isn’t room, and it really bums the single guys out when they’re trying to get it on with a groupie and a girlfriend gets offended by walking in on a pileup, if you know what I mean.”

What do I say?The lead guitarist for Busted Lip is asking me to come on tour with him and his band. They’ve had record labels chasing them for months. It’s only a matter of time before they’re signed and making big money. Not to mention the fame that comes with a world-wide tour. How can I pass up a chance like this? This could set me up for life.

I look over at Alissa who’s laughing carelessly at something Sean is saying.

The band would be pissed, but I know they’d understand. Alissa, though… Can I leave her? Even if she agrees to wait for me to get back, I’d constantly be worrying about Sean.

“I don’t know, man. I’ll have to think about it.”

“No problem. Give me a call, but don’t wait too long. We only have a couple of weeks to find someone.” He hands over a card with his number on it. “We better hit the road. We have a twelve-hour drive to our next gig.” I stand and give him a hand shake.

“Thanks, I’ll think about it and give ya a call.”

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