Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
River
The Ritz, San Jose
Far too early on Friday morning, I had my suitcase on the ground by the bus to be stowed underneath when Clancy came down to unlock the compartment.
I was riding the bus from San Jose. The night before, we’d played at The Ritz, a dive bar where we’d rocked hard, playing no acoustic songs because it wasn’t that kind of crowd, according to Olive.
The place we were originally scheduled to play had suffered an electrical fire the previous week, so Olive—or the miracle worker, as we’d started calling her—had scrambled and found another venue.
The crowd had been hyped, especially for a Thursday night, and we’d fed off their energy, banging our heads until I thought I might need a neck brace.
Thankfully, my sweet boyfriend had massaged it after we sixty-nined when we finished jacking each other in the huge shower of the Westin San Jose.
It had been such a fantastic day, but with Kit in my life, I could say that about almost any day.
Between the flag football game Kit had organized for the band and crew earlier in the day, and the enthusiasm we’d put into performing, we were all exhausted and didn’t even stop at the bar in the Westin.
Our next stop was Laughlin, Nevada, and then back to Vegas for two shows at Brooklyn Bowl on the LINQ Promenade.
They’d be our last shows before Rocktoberfest.
After the break in August, we’d played Vancouver, Seattle, Portland, and San Francisco before last night’s show in San Jose. In Seattle and San Francisco, we’d added an extra night after the venues sold out the first day, so we were developing a larger following and continuing to get good reviews.
After the shows, Kit and I would shower together at whichever hotel we were staying at and read the reviews before we wore ourselves out with mind-blowing orgasms filled with lots of steamy, dirty kisses.
I would miss riding with him, but the guys and I needed to finalize the playlist for Black Rock, and the only way I could get them to concentrate on the matter at hand was to be in their faces.
“I’ll miss you, sweetheart, but I understand. I’ll see you in Laughlin.” Kit then kissed the hell out of me, making me regret deciding to ride with the guys.
When we parted, he patted my ass, bringing a heavy sigh from me. We needed to talk about sex again because I was to the point where I really wanted him to fuck me.
He’d penetrated me with his fingers, which I’d done to him too during blowjobs, and hearing the noises he made brought on my orgasm like a freight train. Maybe we wouldn’t like it once we tried it, but I wanted to give Kit my cherry ass at least once before we ruled it out altogether.
“I made an appointment for you this afternoon when we get to Laughlin, so don’t make any plans after you finish with those clowns, okay?” He pointed to three of my bandmates, who were roughhousing as we waited for Clancy and Arlo to make an appearance.
“An appointment for what? Lauren’s going to trim my hair before the show, she said.” Lauren really was a jack-of-all-trades. She did our hair and makeup at every venue, and the pictures we’d seen on social media looked pretty damn good, if I did say so myself.
“It’s a surprise. After, I’ll take you to dinner, just the two of us. Deal?”
I grinned. “You got it. Love you,” I said as Clancy showed up at the bus, unlocking the door and the luggage compartment.
He stowed our bags, and I grabbed my acoustic to take on the bus, putting it on my bunk that I hadn’t used since before the break.
Riding with Kit was a much more enjoyable way to travel.
“The lady graces us with her presence. What gives?” JD asked.
Goldie and Hardy got on next, and Arlo came running out of the hotel with his suitcase wobbling behind him. He looked quite harried, so I worried about what the hell was going on now.
Arlo ran over to Clancy, who was waiting for him with a stub of a cigar in his mouth as he stared at his watch. We were running a little late, but we didn’t have a show tonight, so it’d be okay.
I heard the grinding of the diesel engine as Kit came around the corner of the hotel and honked before he went ahead of us to get on the road. My heart yearned to be in the truck with him, but I had a job, and I needed to do it.
“Did you and Kit have another fight?” Arlo asked as he flopped into the bench seat at the table across from me.
“Not at all. We need to talk about the set list,” I said as I pulled out my notebook.
Much to my surprise, Olive got onto the bus with her assessing gaze. “Good morning, gentlemen. River, I’m glad to see you’re joining us. We have a few things to discuss.”
That sounded ominous. Before I could ask her what, Arlo banged the table. “Me first. I’m sorry I’m late, but I was talking to Ant. Last night, Brittany and her mother came to the show to talk to me. At first, I said no, but her mom begged me to listen to Brittany, so I gave in.”
“I didn’t see them.” But then again, as soon as Coaster took my guitar after the encore, I had Kit beneath me as we made out while the truck was being loaded.
“Yeah, we know you had your mouth full, but anyway…” Arlo glanced at the others.
“I met them at the bar, and we had some hot tea. Brittany told me she’s not pregnant.
She said it was her father’s idea to try to get money out of me by threatening to charge me with statutory rape, and her mom, Annette, told me her husband had a history of doing shit like that.
He’s currently on probation for stealing copper wire from a construction project where he worked.
” Arlo smiled for the first time in weeks.
“Okay, so how are you gonna get out of the statutory rape charges?” Olive asked.
“Annette said if I threatened to turn him in for extortion, his probation would be revoked and he’d go to jail.
They’ve been divorced for several years, and he’s got a pregnant girlfriend who won’t want him behind bars.
We called Ant about it, and after he bitched at me for ten minutes about talking to the women without him being present, he said it was worth a try. ”
“You still had sex with an underage girl, Arlo. The judge won’t—or shouldn’t—turn a blind eye to that.” I could see that Olive wasn’t happy at all about the idea of Arlo getting away without any repercussions.
“Ant says that because she presented herself as an adult over the age of consent, I should be able to get off with paying a fine—if Brittany is willing to testify on my behalf. She admitted to him that she’d misrepresented her age, and Annette said she’d make sure Brittany told the truth.
She was living with her dad when we met because she didn’t get along with her mom, but now that she’s eighteen, she has gone back to live with her mom and is out from under her father’s bad influence.
” Arlo was talking so fast, he was out of breath.
Olive stared at him for a long moment. “In order for me to be okay about this, I want you to donate the proceeds from one of the songs on the new album to a rape crisis center. Shame on the girl for lying, but if the story ever comes out, both sides of the matter may not be given, and you’ll be the prick who had sex with a minor.
I’ll set up podcast appearances with some entertainment sites, and you’ll tell your story without releasing the girl’s name.
I’ll get the record label to donate as well. ”
Hardy raised his hand like he was in school. “All of us? We all gotta donate because of Arlo’s fuck-up?”
I sighed. “Dude, this could have happened to any of us. Guys need to be more proactive in establishing that the person their trying to stick their dick in is legally able to give consent. Olive is right. I’ll happily donate my share too.” I turned to Goldie and JD, cocking an eyebrow at them.
“Yeah, I’ll go along, but, Arlo, remember this—we all pay for each other’s mistakes. Going forward, think before you act. That goes for all of us,” JD agreed.
Goldie started laughing. “Riv doesn’t have that worry— Kit could be his dad.”
Of course, the rest of them cracked up. I gave them all the finger and we went over the set list for what I hoped was the last time.
Brooklyn Bowl, Las Vegas
“Who’s ready to rock?” the DJ from a local metal station yelled out to the crowd at Brooklyn Bowl on The Strip in Las Vegas. I’d never imagined playing a gig on the Las Vegas Strip, but here we were, standing on the stage while people were bowling, eating, and partying like there was no tomorrow.
“I said, who’s ready to rock?” The crowd clapped and whistled, which made me more nervous. My stomach was starting to roll, and I was sure I was going to hurl.
“Let’s give a warm welcome to Accidental Fire!” More clapping and applause.
There was a tap on my arm. I turned, and there was Kit. “Breathe, sweetheart. You’re going to be great.” He pecked a kiss before sliding back behind the curtain.
Inhale… Exhale… B5 D5 E5 G5 D5 E5…
The crowd went insane as I played the intro to Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man,” and then the stage lights came on, and we slid right into our metal version of “Chasing You,” which was also in E major.
You… you think I’ll keep chasing you
That I can’t live without you
You think that I love you
I… I know what you want from me
That you’ve got the best of me
And you want the rest of me
My… my head can’t take anymore
Please don’t knock on my door
I can’t get off the floor
It can’t go down like before
There’s one thing I gotta do
After all you’ve put me through
All the times you’ve been untrue
I’m over chasing you…
As the last chord hung in the air, the crowd went wild. My nerves were gone, and as I looked to my left and saw Kit singing along, there was absolutely nothing that could’ve been better.
When I changed guitars, my shirt rubbed against my sore nipples, and I laughed. The appointment Kit had made was to get my nipples pierced and for him to get a tattoo.
The tattoo was the opening chords of “Three Words” written on staff paper.
I’d only played the song for Kit, not ready to share it with the world.
He knew I’d written it for him, and he’d wanted it permanently inked on his left arm to always remember that moment when we declared our love for each other.
It was my guy’s first tattoo, and I’d had to hold his hand because he hated needles. I loved it and the memory it represented, and I’d never forget that time for the rest of my life.
We played all our songs, and for the encore, we decided to go with the acoustic version of “Bury Me” from the movie that had been released at the beginning of September.
We had to give Goldie’s voice a chance to recover for the performance the next night, plus I loved the song and was happy to sing it.
Returning to the stage, we all waved to the crowd and moved the mic stands as the guys came out with stools and our acoustic guitars.
Goldie was playing a wooden cabasa shaker, and Hardy had a djembe drum instead of the drum kit.
We’d played with the song so it didn’t sound too much like the one in the movie, but folks could still figure out it was the old song.
“We’re going to slow it down a little so Goldie has a chance to catch his breath.
You might not know this, but Regal Ashe, the drummer for From the Ashes, is my father and Arlo’s.
We came together as a band by accident while From the Ashes was working on revamping this song for Harmon Studios.
The movie, Hurricane Alley, came out this summer, and it’s been a huge success.
Since the song was in the family, we want to play our version of it for you tonight. ”
I turned to the wings to see Olive standing next to Kit, holding up a poster of the cover for our first album. “Hey, bring that out. Let’s show them,” I said.
Olive stepped out from behind the curtain and handed me the poster. “This is the cover of our first full-length double album, Fan the Flames, Live. We hope you’ll pick it up when it comes out on streaming and on vinyl on October ninth.”
I nodded to Hardy, who quietly counted us in, and we sang the song the way Skyler wrote it. The way it should have been sung for the movie.
The audience was singing along and waving cellphone flashlights in the air. I glanced to my left to see Kit studying me as I sang the lead. His smile was beautiful.
“Bury Me”
You say I’m cold
you think I’m mean
You claim when I’m with you,
you feel unseen
But you don’t know
How hard I try
To be the man who walks
Through life by your side
And now, you’re gonna leave
and rip the heart right outta me
You’ve found another man
You think you can believe
Bury me
Oh, set me free
Lay me in the ground
Right there beneath your feet
Without your love
I have no need to breathe
Have mercy on me
Please have mercy on me
If you ever loved me,
won’t you bury me
When I used to sing the song, I had no fucking idea what it meant, but now that I had fallen in love with Kit, the lyrics had never been clearer.
When I walked off stage, I stepped right into Kit’s arms. “I love you with all my heart. Will you make love to me when we get back to the hotel?”
Kit’s mouth dropped. “Sweetheart, we never have to do what you’re offering. I love you, and you give me everything I need. I’m happier than I’ve ever been in my life. We have a great future ahead of us.”
I grinned. “You are more than right, Kit. You’re more than right.”
My beautiful man took my guitar, handing it to Coaster as we left the stage and walked down to the High Roller. Kit had two tickets to the big Ferris wheel. We got into the observation cabin and sat down on the bench inside.
“When we go back to California after the festival in Black Rock, will you move in with me?” Kit asked.
“For good? Like I’d live there with you and never leave?”
Kit nodded as he picked up my hand and kissed my knuckles. “I love you, and I want us to share our lives together. You don’t have to—”
“No! I want to move in with you. I love your house, and living with you would be amazing. I can’t wait to live with you.”
Kit took my hand and led me to the large windows of the cabin to look over the lights of Vegas. “We’ll have a great life, River.”
I had no doubt we would.