19. Donavan #2
The next morning, everyone was up and out to get to the stadium for sound check.
When we got there, the Star Fly guys were hanging around, including Matty.
We were all formally introduced, and I sat with Matty in the first row to watch the guys go through their checks.
He looked particularly nice in a flowing blouse, tight jeans, and Doc Martens.
His cheeks were a little pink, and I wasn’t sure if it was from being in the wind, the sun, or if it was makeup. Either way, it made him appear fresh.
Pierce went through some vocals, while all the guitarists did their piece, and Randy pounded on every surface he had available.
Finally satisfied, they prepared to run through a song or two.
The first one was House and Home , of course.
When they finished, all the Star Fly guys stood and clapped, and Matty and I joined them.
“Thank you. Thanks.” Pierce motioned for them to come out on stage. “Come play something with us. What do you know?”
“Fuck!” Drake drawled as he headed for Pierce. “Let’s do Midnight Hunt’s One About Fighting . Everybody fucking knows that classic. Right?”
“Hell, yeah. Let’s do it.”
Of course, there wasn’t enough room on the stage for everyone, especially the drums. So Star Fly’s drummer, Gonzo, along with the bassist, who went by Tank, stood to the side.
They grabbed an extra mic to share. Matty handed his guitar over to Finn and stood with Gonzo and Tank.
With everyone situated, they started playing, and everyone else headbanged and did the air guitar thing. Pierce and Drake sang together.
It happens more than I like It's a whirlwind of spitfire Fucking hell it’s another fight
Trippin’ your last nerve You’re pushing the worst button Words cut like knives We hurt each other, like no other And I just have to leave Because I can’t hit you And you wont touch me Fist to fist
Everyone on stage sang the chorus together, and it was surprisingly very good.
This is the one about fighting This is the one where I walk away This is the one where you refuse to stay This is the one This is the one
By the time they finished the rest of the song, the Midnight Hunt guys had shown up.
Miami jumped on stage and did the screaming parts while everyone else joined the chorus.
When they finished, Matty and I stood on the chairs and clapped and hooted, along with all the roadies and technicians around.
Wolf patted the air, asking everyone to be quiet. “That was killer. Want to do that during the show tonight?”
At first, everyone seemed stunned, but Jinx spoke up. “It’d be a great way to introduce them. You can do it last, and we’ll come out at the end like this, too. The fans will go batshit crazy.”
It didn’t take any more discussion for everyone to get on board. They moved on to talking about logistics and once it was ironed out, they moved off the stage for the roadies and techs to take over, while everyone else headed to the dressing rooms to wait for the show.
Everything worked out well for the show, and they were not wrong about the reception they got for it. No one knew who the fuck Star Fly were. Not yet. But they would with Midnight Hunt backing them, and performances like they put on.
After the show, we went back to the hotel. I unlocked our door and pushed it open. “Good show, Kay. Want to call Daddy and tell him about it?”
“Yes. Cool. Let me shower first.”
“Sure.” He went into the bathroom, dropping his clothes along the way, while I set my laptop up for a video call.
When he got out, he pulled on an oversized LAFD shirt that he’d snagged from Saxon’s luggage. “You look cute like that.”
Kay stuck his tongue out at me. “Call Saxon.”
I rolled my eyes but clicked on the button to call.
And we listened to it ring. And ring. “He’s at work tonight?
Maybe he got a call out.” Talking with us was out, if that were the case.
He’d be too busy dealing with whatever emergency situation he had.
It wasn’t always a fire; sometimes it was health-things.
They often served as backup for ambulance services, since they had medics.
That didn’t make me worry any less. “I’ll send him a text. ”
I told him we tried to call and to call us back whenever. After that, we crashed. It’d been a long day, and the next one started awfully early.
We loaded up on the bus early the next morning to head to St. Louis. It was a long drive—over five hours. I planned on spending most of the morning snoozing with Kay in the back room. We both skipped coffee and dragged our tired asses up the stairs and to the back, where the bed was.
Joe snorted. “No sex back there. I need more sleep, motherfuckers.”
Kay flipped him off, but we weren’t planning on any sexy-time, rather sleepy-time.
I shut the door and Kay dropped his jeans, crawling into the bed with his boxers and T-shirt only.
Damn, he had such a nice ass. I wanted to grab it and squeeze, but I also wanted to sleep.
So I dropped my jeans and got in bed beside him.
It only took seconds for our arms and legs to tangle together, and Kay rested his head on my shoulder.
As I was about to drop off, my phone rang with Daddy Saxon’s tone. I jumped up and grabbed it. “Hey, Daddy—”
“Donny? This is Colten.” I’d met Colten once when I was in LA. Shit. Instinctively, I understood this wasn’t going to be a good call.
“Where’s Saxon?” I sat up.
“Well…he had an injury on a call last night. He’s in the hospital. He might have a concussion, but otherwise, he’s good.”
“Might what? Oh shit.”
“What? What is going on?” Kay asked, grabbing his pants and tossing mine at me.
“He wasn’t going to call, but I took his phone while they rolled him out to get a CT Scan.”
Saxon being so far away was terrible. “Fuck.”
“What is it?” Kay balked. I held up a finger, asking him to wait.
“Let me figure out what we can do. I’ll give you a call back.” I dropped the phone and grabbed my pants. “Saxon had an accident and is in the hospital.”
“What the fuck?” Kay grabbed his phone and lifted it up to his ear.
“Marci? I have a problem. My, uh, boyfriend is in the hospital.” He paused, and I heard her talking, but I couldn’t make out what she was saying.
“No, my other boyfriend. Don’t make me explain it.
I have to get to LA.” He held a hand up as if she could see it, then walked to the middle of the bus.
Of course, I followed him. “Sure. I’ll be waiting. ”
“What did she say?”
“She didn’t think it was a good idea to drop everything and run off, but she’s calling Jinx.” Everyone knew it was Jinx who actually ran everything, well maybe more like he supervised the running of the tour and business. Plus, he generally had final say on everything.
“We wait.” I started the coffee maker.
“What’s going on?” Joe came in with a blanket wrapped around him. He sat at the table.
Kay paced back and forth.
“Saxon had an accident. He’s in the hospital. Possible concussion.”
“Oh shit. Man, I’m sorry.” Joe had not only been super cool but had been a key factor in getting everyone else to be less judgy about it all. When I started pulling mugs out of the cabinet, he raised his hand. “Go ahead and get me one too. I’m not going back to sleep anytime soon now.”
I pulled out three and started pouring when Jinx called. Kay put it on speaker. “Hey. I’m sorry to hear about Saxon, and I hate saying this, but I agree with Marci. Losing you on the next show or two is really bad. I think you underestimate how key you are, Kay.”
“I don’t. I mean. I get it, but Saxon…” He sat next to me, and I handed him a coffee.
“Can Don go? I mean, I hate being in this position, but I think that’s a better option right now. We can help make some arrangements.”
Kay nodded and sucked his bottom lip in. I had never seen that expression on his face. I needed to fix this. I had to. “I can go, but I don’t want to wait another, what, four hours until we get to…where? St. Louis?” We hadn’t been on the road a full hour yet.
Jinx’s voice came through the speaker. “We can find a stop ahead. Maybe in Joliet?”
Miami’s richer tone came over the phone. “I’ll call Coleman. He has all the hookups.”
“Joliet isn’t far. We can get an Uber or rental car for you,” Jinx said.
“Do you think a rental is cheaper?” Miami asked.
“I don’t care,” I said. “I’ll pay for it. Let’s do what’s fastest.”
“Right…hold on.” There was a pause before Miami came back on the line. “Coleman says he has an Uber lined up. That’s fastest. Don’t worry about cost. The guy is meeting us at a gas station…two exits up.”
“Thank you.” I grabbed Kay, who was hovering, and hugged him. “I’ll go see him and keep you posted. I promise.”
“Not fair…” he mumbled into my shoulder. “I…I…”
“Hey. It’s going to be alright.” Joe stood and rubbed Kay’s back. “It’s not hard to see how much you love Saxon and each other. But you’ve got each other’s backs, too.”
“Thank you.” I cuddled Kay in closer, since this was going to be hard on both of us. Joe was right, though. We hadn’t exchanged the words with Saxon, only each other, but both of us loved him already.
The team stopped the bus, pulling into the gas station they’d agreed on.
Then the Uber driver took me back to Chicago.
The Midway International was the closest airport, and Coleman had arranged a plane ticket.
We didn’t have time to wait for their jet, but he had gotten me a first-class seat on the next flight out to LAX.
I was glad for two points. One, that I didn’t have to drive that hour back to the city, and two, the first-class seats were more comfortable and easier to board.
I was going to be tired as hell by the time I got to LA.
I called Saxon’s phone and spoke to Colten again, sharing the plan, on the drive to the airport. While I waited to board, I called again, wanting to speak with Saxon, but it was Colten who answered. “They gave him something to sleep. He’s out cold, man. Do you need a ride from the airport?”
“No. I already lined one up.” Actually, Coleman had done that, too.
He was a godsend when it came to organizing things, especially on the fly.
“I’m about to board now, though.” And as if by magic, they called for first-class boarding.
“If he wakes up, let him know I’m on the way.
” I wanted to say give him my love, but hell, I hadn’t said that to his face, yet, and that needed to happen first.
I got on board, settled in, and shot a text off to Kay.