10. Donavan
Chapter ten
Donavan
The bus ride to the festival was always an exercise in patience and planning, mixed with excitement. I sat at the table in the center of the bus, reviewing paperwork. This year was going to be different in a few ways.
Starting with our buses for the tour. We’d been spoiled on the last leg with Blacksmith Sugar, but we didn’t have a private bus this time.
We had to share with Joe. A lot of that was because I wouldn’t be there for every show.
I couldn’t. I had a business to run. Harrison had made me half-owner of the LA office, and I had to keep it going and maintain the success he’d built, proving to myself, as well as him, that I was capable.
We had two other buses with us, but they were split up, with Dave and Randy on one and Matty sharing with Pierce on the other.
Matty was the most laid-back of all of them.
Quiet and unassuming, he was possibly the best equipped to deal with Pierce’s giant ego.
Putting Joe and Kay together might give them time to work out a few songs before the end of the tour, making it a good choice.
But sharing with Joe when I was there was maybe not great.
And what if Daddy joined us? Working that out might be challenging, but one step at a time.
First, I needed to figure out where Bramble Punk was playing.
It wasn’t the main stage, but it was better than last year, and at a better time.
They were on Friday night before Grindstone took the main stage, so all eyes and ears will be on them.
It was a killer lineup on the main for Friday.
Not only Grindstone, but ETF and Warrior Black would both be on as well.
That hopefully gave Bramble Punk some extra attention.
There weren’t any opening bands at Rocktoberfest. They all had individual slots, but it was almost as if the bands on the smaller stages were opening for the main stage, as their times were staggered. The Mastersons, who were organizing this, really knew what the fuck they were doing.
I showed Joe and Kay the information. Joe knocked on the table. “Well, alright. That kicks ass.”
“Just like we’re going to do.” Kay held his hand up and Joe smacked it. “Fuck yeah.”
Joe walked back to the bunks, leaving Kay looking at me with his sweet, brown eyes. “What’s up?”
He leaned forward and whispered. “Have you heard from Saxon? Is he coming?”
“Said he is. He’s off Thursday through Sunday. He has to go back to work on Monday.”
Kay looked worried. “I hope he comes.”
From the back of the bus, Joe yelled, “Who is Saxon?”
“None of your business.” Kay scowled, looking like he was ready to take Joe’s head off.
I put my hand over his. “Relax. He’s only curious.”
“Fine. I’ll tell you when it’s serious. Okay?”
“Whatever, dude.”
“Kay, Joe is your friend. And actually, these guys are like family. Don’t be so closed off. It’ll be fine.”
“Maybe. Maybe not. It could blow up everything, Donny,” Kay hissed.
Joe came back and sat on the bench beside Kay and tossed an arm over his shoulders. “Don is right, man. Nothing you do that’s true to you will ruin anything. Threesomes are not unheard of.”
“What if it’s more than that?” Kay stared at his fingers, playing with the edge of the table.
“Whatever your dynamic is…whatever floats your boat. Who the fuck am I to judge?”
I nudged Kay with my leg. Starting with Joe was easier than with any of the other band members since they already had a rapport. Thankfully, Kay took a deep breath. “Saxon is maybe going to be our daddy. You okay with that?”
“Sure. Always thought the two of you were trouble. You need a caretaker.” He laughed, patted Kay’s shoulder, and sauntered back to his bunk.
“See?” I grabbed his hand.
He laced his fingers in mine. “Thank you, Donny. For like everything.”
I kissed him softly. “You’re more than welcome, sweetness.”
Per the usual at this festival, Thursday was spent fucking around and meeting up with people from other bands that we hadn’t seen in a while.
As long as we stayed within the designated band areas, we didn’t need to have security tailing us.
But if we went to the other side to watch the bands, Alden was available to keep an eye on us.
It was still weird having security, but they did a great job as our shadows, and I hoped like hell we never needed them.
The guys from Blacksmith Sugar were there, along with a few other groups we knew. Wolf’s cousin, Harper, was with us and ran off with Blacksmith Sugar. Their bassist was a cool chick, and they were apparently dating, though they hadn’t made it an official thing. They were cute together, though.
We also went out to watch some bands play.
We’d already missed Razor Made but wanted to be sure to catch some of the others.
I wasn’t surprised to find Jinx and Miami checking out a couple of them as well.
They’d been talking about taking on more bands by the end of the tour. They didn’t think small.
At the end of the evening, we all sat around in lawn chairs between two of the buses.
Well, all of Bramble Punk minus Pierce. If anyone thought anything of it, they didn’t say.
They passed a bottle of Jack around, and I took a swig, but Kay didn’t.
He drank a soda. But everyone in the band knew he was on medication and had been very supportive of it.
If that’s what it took to get him through the tour, of course, they supported it.
I totally understood how Kay felt about being the frontman.
He was still one of the most amazing people I’d ever known, and honestly, his playing had improved tenfold since that stress had been lifted from him.
For now, everyone was cutting up and clowning around, talking shit.
But they weren’t drinking too much, only enough to kill the jitters they all had about playing the better stage the following day, and everyone retired pretty early.
As I was getting on the bus, a text came in. “Oh, Kay, it’s from Daddy Saxon.” I showed him the text, even though it was in our group chat.
“Cool. Can’t wait.”
We went into the back of the bus and crawled up on the big bed. “Kay? What’s up with you?”
“What do you mean?”
“I thought you’d be more excited to see him.” I hoped he was still interested in sharing a daddy.
“Dunno. I guess I’m skeptical about how this is going to work. And if it doesn’t, I’m probably going to be the one left out.”
“What? Why?”
As soon as Kay started talking, though, I got it. “You live in LA. You are home or can be home most of the time. I live across the entire fucking country, but that’s only when I’m home, which is less than when I’m on the road.”
I frowned. He wasn’t wrong. I saw the logic.
But. “Things don’t always work in a way that makes sense.
I don’t work without you. I’ve thought about it, even before we met Saxon.
Finding him was lucky, but whoever ends up with us as a daddy is going to have to end up with both of us. We’re a package deal. Got it?”
“It doesn’t have to be that way. I understand. I’m not—”
“Exactly, Kay. You’re not letting yourself get excited. You’re not investing in it because you’re protecting yourself. And I get it. I do. But no matter what happens with Saxon, I’m still going to be here. With you. I love you.”
“I love you too. I’m not making any decision about it. We’ll see. Open mind.” He tapped his temple. “Now get under this blanket.”
I crawled under and cuddled up to him. I hoped he understood.
We were heading to the stage for a quick sound check before the performance when the text finally came through.
Saxon was here but how did he find us? I texted him to meet us at the stage, and he sent a thumbs-up emoji.
I stuck my phone in front of Kay’s face, practically touching his nose. I wanted him to get excited.
He took it and held it at a more reasonable distance. “Alright then.”
“That’s all?”
“Calm down, Donny.” He put his hand on top of my head. “You’re going to explode your brain.”
“Maybe.”
We both laughed, ignoring the side eyes some of the other guys were giving us. They were curious, but by now, they had to realize that we sometimes operated in our own little world—literally.
At the stage, the guys were all business, making sure the equipment was perfect along with sound and lighting.
It was always more difficult at festivals with little time to fix issues.
While they did that, I scanned the crowd for Saxon.
He wasn’t hard to spot, since he was nearly a head taller than everyone else.
With his light hair and big frame, not to mention a name like Saxon, it was easy to see his heritage. Man looked like a fucking Viking.
I waved my arms, getting his attention, then motioned for him to come around to the side. “This guy’s with me,” I told the security guard.
“He needs to have a pass to get back here.”
“I’m with the band. And he’s with me.” I motioned Saxon closer.
“Still needs the right pass. I don’t make the rules, man.”
“Fine,” I huffed. “Wait here, Saxon, while I get a pass for you.” I immediately typed a text to Coleman. Since Bramble had signed on with Midnight Hunt to manage them, Coleman was their promoter, and he was able to get anything done quickly.
The guys were done with soundcheck and lingered backstage, chatting about what they had planned for the show.
I couldn’t get Kay’s attention since he had his back to me, but we had to let him know Saxon was here before they went on, and I worried his pass wouldn’t get here in time, but I shouldn’t have.
“Don!” Harper called out, jogging up to us. “Here, man. Who’s this for?” She was Wolf’s cousin, though he often referred to her as his sister. They’d grown up together. I wasn’t surprised she had brought the pass since she was Coleman’s right-hand chick.
“My, uh, friend Saxon.”
“Spell that for me, please.”
“S-A-X-O-N.”