Chapter Six #2
Kit offered a crooked smile. “Might not hurt. Maybe we should look at other popular bands to see how they handle their image?”
I grabbed my phone and tapped the search engine icon, typing popular rock bands 2025.
The usual suspects—Foo Fighters, The Killers, M?neskin, Metallica, Radiohead—came up, along with some older groups that were touring, despite their more senior status and the fact that some of the original members had died.
Their images were diverse, but one thing I noticed was that their unique personalities were reflected in their hairstyles and clothing choices. It was stupid on my part to have doubted Lauren. It was her business, after all.
“Guess Lauren was right.” I put my phone on the table, not glancing up to check the expression on Kit’s face.
A warm hand settled on the middle of my back.
“River, you’re young. You’re learning. The best advice I can give you is don’t surrender to someone else’s demands if they don’t feel right for you.
Pick your battles. Some things aren’t a hill worth dying on.
It’s good to listen to other suggestions and choose the ones that feel right to you.
“If it’s…say your hair, for instance. If your hair is very important to you, then explain how you feel about it to Lauren.
Maybe she’ll have ideas that don’t require you to cut it.
But if the only reason you have long hair is because you have been too busy or too lazy to get it cut, then maybe you’ll give her advice some consideration. ”
I was a bit shocked. “You don’t pull any punches. Do you always speak your mind?”
“Life is too short to be lived with filters and lies. They take up a lot of headspace to keep straight, don’t you think? It’s much easier to live with the truth, regardless of how uncomfortable it might be at times. What’s that old saying…? The truth will set you free.”
Kit rubbed his hand over my shoulders before inching into my hair, sending a shiver down my spine at his touch. I prayed it wouldn’t be the first and only time I experienced his heat on my body. My heart pounded at the sensation.
For an instant, I imagined his fist wrapped in my hair, controlling my mouth as I slobbered all over his cock. My dick began filling immediately at the images in my head. I quickly stood and moved over to the bar in the suite to try to walk it off.
“Maybe we should go eat before I call Lauren to ask her to meet me at the spa. I’ll see if the other guys wanna meet with her too. I’ll be right back.” I started down the hall where the other band members were resting in their rooms.
“Hey, River, how about just the two of us go to lunch?” Kit asked before I left the lounge room.
I grinned and nodded. No, it wasn’t a date, but spending time alone with Kit was better than I’d hoped I’d get.
After we ate at one of the restaurants at the resort, we walked around a little to kill time until two.
We walked down to the beach to see a few vendors selling beautiful pottery and colorful clothing.
There was a jewelry table where I saw a beautiful necklace with a turquoise rock attached to a leather cord.
It was really cool. I made a mental note to come back for it before we left the resort.
We stopped in the hallway where a sign pointed toward the spa.
“Text me when you get done meeting with Lauren. I’m thinking of taking a drive out to Punta Banda Peninsula to see the geyser.
After that, I thought I’d go to the Riviera Cultural Center, where you’ll be playing tomorrow night, to check it out.
You think you might want to go? It would be a chance to get a look at the venue, so you know what you’re in for tomorrow night rather than just showing up and going on stage in an unfamiliar place.
Maybe you wanna get the guys to come with us? ”
I thought about it, and while I didn’t want to share any private time I got with Kit, it would be good for us to get a look around so we know what to expect. “That’s a good idea. I wonder why Marsh never took us to the venues before we played them?”
“Maybe you should ask him. So, is that a yes to you and the guys coming with me?”
I stared at the gorgeous man with the sexy smile, and there was no way I could say no. “Yeah—I mean, yes. I’ll get them to come with us. They need to get on board with some changes. I’ll let you know when we’re done at the spa.”
Kit nodded and squeezed my bicep before he walked back down the hallway. He was as beautiful going as he was coming—and what I wouldn’t give to watch him come on me.
I exhaled and opened the door, seeing Lauren with a very handsome gentleman. Wow! Silver fox didn’t begin to cover him. “Sorry, I’m late.” It was five after two.
“That’s fine, River. This is Senor Arturo. Senor Arturo, this is River Ashe. He plays guitar and sings in the band.”
Silver Daddy stepped forward. “Buenas tardes. Bienvenido. ?Hablas espanol?”
I turned to Lauren, who smiled. “You don’t speak Spanish, do you?”
I shook my head.
“Ah, then English it is. I’m Arturo. Welcome to my salon. What can we do for you gentlemen today?”
Lauren giggled. “Seems they’ve decided to take my advice, so how about we take them one at a time. Who wants a massage?”
JD glanced at me before he smirked. “Do we get a happy en—”
“Stop!” I shouted, putting my hand over his mouth, the idiot.
Thankfully, Senor Arturo chuckled. “Not in my spa, but I can give you a phone number for a place off the premises. Anyway, massages?”
JD, Goldie, and Hardy lifted their hands. “Perfecto! Gisele, we have three gentlemen who would like massages,” Mr. Arturo called out.
A tall woman with spikey blonde hair came over from a desk and smiled at us. “Please, follow me.” She had a bit of an accent, but it wasn’t Spanish. It sounded more like German, but I couldn’t swear.
After those three idiots were gone, Mr. Arturo walked closer to Arlo and me. “What can we do for you two?”
I glanced toward Lauren and smiled. “I’m not tied to keeping my long hair. What do you suggest?”
Those must have been the magic words, because she clapped and bounced on her toes. “How about you, Arlo?”
He sighed. “Cut mine short and dye it black.”
Mr. Arturo nodded and turned to a woman with mahogany-colored hair braided down her back. “Follow the beautiful Rosa.”
Then it was just me.
“Let’s go back to my station and talk about what you’d like, River. This way, please.” Lauren and I followed Arturo to the back of the salon. “Take a seat, por favor.”
I sat in the chair and glanced at myself in the mirror. I did look like a homeless stoner with no life or ambition. Is that what people see when they look at me?
Obviously, the answer was a resounding yes.
“River, I was thinking maybe cut the sides short—not shaved into a fade or anything, but off your neck. The top, though, maybe leave it longer so that when you play, there’s movement.
Think Kurt Cobain in ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit.’ It’s sexy when a musician’s hair falls over one of his eyes when he’s playing, and he’s completely oblivious because he’s one with the music he’s sending out to the universe. That’s hot.”
Lauren’s cheeks turned pink as she stepped back and opened the bottle of water she was holding. She seemed to be breathing a little harder than she was before. Was she caught up in her daydream of Kurt Cobain?
Would Kit breathe hard as he watched me play? Would he think I was sexy?
Arturo pulled a fresh comb from a glass jar with blue liquid and dried it off before he started dragging it through my hair. “You have beautiful hair. The color is natural, sí? You have some split ends, but if you continue to get regular trims, those won’t be a problem.”
I nodded. “It’s been about two years since I had a haircut. Do what you think is best.”
“Let’s get started.”
Please don’t make me look stupid…