“You guys are in the video?” Brett shot a surprised look at his longtime friends.
“We played fans and hounded Brandon for his autograph.” Jeremy replied.
The three rolled with laughter, hanging their arms over each other’s shoulders and holding their bellies. Kira loved watching the brotherly bond they shared and how close Brett was with the guys from Bulletproof. Again, it reminded her of the similarities in their lives.
Felix Osbourne, Bulletproof’s manager, who never seemed to be more than a few feet away from the band, joined them. “If you two hooligans would like some more tomfoolery, the production assistant thought it would be a good idea to spotlight your faces in the audience,” he told Jeremy and Alan. “Production thinks it would add interest if the two of you were showcased as crowd surfers.”
Jeremy and Alan shouted their approval, while Felix raised his voice in order to speak over their enthusiasm. “Please, be careful. Have fun but be aware of your surroundings and try not to fall and crack your heads open on the concrete floor.” He huffed and brought his hand up to his forehead. “I don’t know why I agreed to this. It’s insane.” Then, he abruptly walked away shaking his head.
A woman from production handed Alan and Jeremy a clipboard. As she waited for them to sign a release, she eyed Brett up and down. “Are you interested in crowd surfing? We could use a third.”
“Me?” Brett questioned. “I’m just a roadie.”
“You have a great look.” She turned to Kira. “Is this your girlfriend? I’d love to see a girl crowd surfing, as well. Are you interested?”
Kira was stunned. She had been to more concerts than she could count, dead center amidst the mayhem, but she had never crowd surfed in her life. She had always wanted to, but she had always been too afraid that she’d either get groped or fall and crack her skull open, like Felix warned. “OK, I’ll do it.”
“Are you sure?” Brett asked, concerned. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“It’s not dangerous at all,” the production assistant assured. “We have our stunt people in the audience handling the crowd surfers.” She flipped a page on the clipboard and handed it to Kira. “You just need to sign a release, and we’ll get you to wardrobe and makeup.”
Kira received a full punk rock makeover which included blue hair extensions, plaid leggings, and airbrush tattoos on both arms and across her chest. “Look at me!” she squealed, turning her arms to show Brett her fake tattoos. “I’m a badass!”
He smiled as he walked toward her and took her in his arms. “You were already a badass.”
His makeover apparently only consisted of changing into an Immortal Angel T-shirt, and she tugged on the hem. “This is it? That’s your makeover?”
He shrugged. “I’m already tattooed. And they liked my beard. My hair is too short to do anything with. I don’t think there was time to dye it a funky color. So, I guess this is it.” He smiled coyly. “Not punk rock enough?”
“Punk rock is about attitude and not conforming to society’s standards.”
“I’ll just have to fake it then. What about you?” he asked. “Are you really a rebel after all?”
She thought about her answer, because she was really a mixture of the two, but never let many people see her wild side. Sometimes, she wondered if it still existed. Before she could answer, someone with an earpiece escorted them into the center of the crowd while Immortal Angel performed Sex & Greed for the umpteenth time.
Kira realized that this is exactly where she wanted to be. She told herself that she wanted to get back in the pit, with Brett, and here she was! She was so excited that she pumped her fist toward the ceiling and jumped up and down. The next minute, she was suddenly in the air riding on top of the crowd. At first, she held her breath while fear made her heart race. But she remembered that there was a team of professionals carrying her toward the front of the arena, not unruly concertgoers. Stuntmen and stuntwomen, dressed like punk rockers with Mohawks and spiked leather jackets, fit in perfectly with the audience and ensured her safety. She was giddy with laughter, high with excitement and free of inhibitions as she traveled on a pillow of hands.
She looked to the left and saw Alan and Jeremy riding the same conveyor belt to the front of the stage. To her right, she saw Brett smiling and stretching his hand out toward her while floating on top of the crowd. She reached for him, and their fingers interlocked for several seconds before they were pulled apart and deposited on the arena floor between the stage and the railing. Still laughing, they held hands and ran down the side aisle. They stopped at the back of the venue, and she fell into Brett’s arms. Her cheeks ached from wearing a grin that felt as if it were about to split her face in two. “That was awesome! I have so much fun when we’re together.” She glanced at the crowd. “That used to be me in there, headbanging and throwing my fist in the air. I never missed a concert, and I always had to be at the center railing.” She exhaled. “Then I graduated college and became a corporate executive and I spend my nights buried in paperwork.”
“What are you talking about? You still go see bands all the time.”
“Yes. But I see them differently. I’m not rocking out and tossing back drinks like I used to. I’m listening. Watching with a different eye. Don’t get me wrong, I love discovering talent and offering people the opportunity of a lifetime. I love watching their eyes light up and changing their lives. But I forgot how to balance fun and work, and work took precedence. Then I met you and now I want to make time for fun.” She glanced at the crowd and her eyes widened with excitement. “And I am!” She took his hands and brought them to her chest. “I decided I’m going to cut back on my hours, so we can spend more time together.”
He was quiet, deep in thought. Then he nodded. “I’ve been thinking about it too. I’m not going on these year-long tours with Bulletproof anymore. We can’t have a serious relationship if I’m on tour with them for eight months out of the year. I can’t commit to that now that you’re in my life.”
“But. . . that’s your job.”
“I know. But they do short tours too. And festivals. And guest spots. I can always pick up work with other bands. I’m not exclusive to Bulletproof.” He brought her hands to his lips and kissed her knuckles. “I told you. I’m going to figure out how to make this work, and I think we’re one step closer to making that happen.”
Kira and Audra stared at the contraption on the counter, looked at each other, then back at the intricate coffeemaker. “Are you sure you’ve seen Brett make coffee in this thing?” Audra asked. “It looks like something from a lab.”
The gift had arrived two days after Brett returned to California. Not only did he send Kira a replica of his elaborate coffeemaker, he also sent a coffee grinder and a bag of gourmet coffee beans. Only, she had no idea how to work it, and the directions read like stereo instructions. She opened the bag of coffee beans and inhaled the rich sent. It was nutty and smelled like caramel. “I know how to do this part,” she exclaimed, filled with a sudden burst of confidence.
While Kira cleaned the grinder and poured some beans into the cylinder, Audra read the back of the box. “Are you sure?” she asked, skeptically.
“Yes! I’ve seen Brett do it at least four or five times.” Kira plugged the cord into an electrical outlet and held the top of the grinder in place, almost expecting it to skitter off the counter or for the top to blow off and cover her kitchen in coffee grinds. She took a deep breath and held it while she pressed the button. It produced a whirring sound like the blender and turned the beans into a perfect pile of coffee grinds.
“Holy shit.” Audra stared at it in amazement. “It worked. Now what?”
“I don’t know.” Kira picked up the instructions to the coffeemaker and frowned. There were different compartments and settings and a contraption to froth milk, and 17 different steps.
“I know what to do.” Audra picked up the coffeemaker and headed toward the door. “Take the instructions and the coffee
grinds and follow me.”
They went across the hall to Audra’s apartment and straight to the kitchen. “Gregory, we need your help. We have no idea how to work this thing,” Audra told her personal chef.
Gregory took the coffeemaker from her and looked it over. “This is an impressive machine.”
“Can you figure it out?” Kira asked, hopefully, handing him the instructions.
“Of course, ma’am.”
Ten minutes later, they sat in Audra’s kitchen with two cups of coffee overflowing with froth.
“This is the best coffee I’ve ever tasted,” Audra said, taking another sip. “I’m so jealous. I need to get one.”
“I’m leaving it right here,” Kira told her sister. “There’s no way I’m going through all that trouble to make a cup of coffee. When I want one, I’m coming over here to have Gregory make it.”
“Awesome.” Audra sipped her coffee and smiled happily. “Be sure to thank Brett for me.”
Kira glanced at the chef, who was busy prepping dinner. “You too, Gregory. Please feel free to help yourself to the coffeemaker whenever you want.”
He stopped chopping a head of cauliflower and turned a quarter of the way toward her. “Thank you, ma’am.”
“I gotta run.” Kira picked up her cup and raced toward the door.
“Where are you going?”
“I have to text Brett a selfie in my kitchen with the coffee and thank him. I don’t want him to know I couldn’t figure it out and had Gregory set up the machine.” When she got to her apartment, she placed the cup on her kitchen counter and snapped a photo. Then, she took a selfie on her balcony with the cup at her lips and sent them both to Brett with a text.
KIRA: I love it! Thank you! It reminds me of my weekend in California. I miss you!
A reply came back almost instantly.
BRETT: Then you better come back this weekend!
KIRA: I already bought my ticket! ♥
After another round of West Coast/East Coast visits, three weeks of disappointment followed. Things had been moving forward, but now a roadblock landed in their path and didn’t want to budge. First, Kira had a business trip that couldn’t be rescheduled, then Brett went on a 10-day tour with Bulletproof. He was supposed to be home this weekend, but the tour got extended a few days.
It had been almost a month since they’d last seen each other. The hope she had for their future, only a few weeks ago, was withering away with each day they were apart, and she began to question if this relationship was going to work.
Dragging her feet, she walked back to the dining room table at the Blade-Garcia mansion with her shoulders slumped and without the smile she wore when she left the room.
She slid into her seat at the table, unnoticed amidst the boisterous chatter. The entire Immortal Angel family ate, drank and laughed while her heart was breaking.
“What’s wrong, Aunt Kira? You look sad.”
Of course, it would be Mason, her soft-hearted nephew, who noticed her deflated spirits amid the chaos. She gave him a small smile. “I just had a change of plans. That’s all. I was supposed to take a trip to the West Coast. It was canceled, so I’m just a little disappointed.”
Her sister immediately reacted, sounding almost as sad as Kira. “You’re not going to California? What happened?”
Kira shrugged one shoulder and frowned. “I just got off the phone with Brett. Bulletproof is going to be on the road for an extra three days. They’re playing a festival in Alberta, then a gig in Vancouver.”
“So? Go to Canada.”
It sounded like the obvious answer, and Kira began to wonder if there was much difference in going to Alberta instead of California, except . . . “I don’t know if he wants me there. He’s working. He’ll only be gone a few days. He said he’ll call me when he gets back. That’s not exactly an invitation.”
Most of the table quieted down to listen to Kira’s conversation.
“He’s crazy about you,” Audra said, reassuringly. “Don’t let the time apart make you question how he feels.”
Angel cleared his throat, took a sip of water from the goblet in front of him, and leaned forward with his elbows on the table. “Kira, I’ve known you for a very long time. Besides the kids, you’re the youngest one at this table, and I think I speak for everyone when I say that we look out for you most in this family. You’ve had many boyfriends over the years. We’ve seen you happy when relationships began and sad when they ended. But I don’t think any of us have seen you as happy as when you and Brett are together. Or as unhappy when you’re apart.”
“Yeah,” Damien added. “Here’s how I see it. At first, I thought he was along for the ride. I thought he was just a roadie trying to sink his claws into an Abelman. But he’s not. He proved that he doesn’t care about your money. He just wants you. Otherwise, he’d say fuck California, and he’d be sitting in your fancy penthouse lapping up all the luxuries that you can afford. But he’s not. He’s got his own life, and he ain’t givin’ it up. He’s a working-class guy, and he’s not giving up his job just because you got money. That says a lot.”
Kira was listening. These were people she trusted and who knew her best, and she was genuinely interested in their opinions. She glanced around the table to see if anyone else had anything to offer, and her eyes stopped on Angel, who looked as if he had more to say. He had a pensive look on his face, as if deep in thought, and she waited for him to speak.
“You know, Kira,” Angel began. “I have a very fond affection for L.A. It has the big business and wealth of New York. It’s not far from Orange County at all. No more than Long Island is from the City. California is a wonderful state. There’s culture, and the music scene is alive. There’s nothing stopping you from moving there.”
Audra gasped. “Angel! I don’t want my sister to move almost three thousand miles away from me.”
He nodded apologetically. “I know the two of you are close, but California is six hours away by plane. You could jet there at a moment’s notice. The band’s schedule has lightened significantly since the kids came along. You’ll have plenty of opportunities to fly across the country to see your sister. Plus, she travels all over for Falcon Records. She could come back to New York whenever she wanted to, as well.”
Kira listened to them talking as if she weren’t in the room. Angel made it seem simple, but she wasn’t even sure if she wanted to move to California. New York was her home. She caught Mason staring at her with a gigantic smile on his face, and it made her forget about the dilemma that had her head in a tailspin. “What are you smiling about, Mason?”
“I like Brett. Maybe the two of you will get married.”
Kira’s jaw fell open. Brett hadn’t even asked her to accompany him to Canada and people were suggesting she pack up and move across the country to California and marry him. “Slow down, everybody. You’re jumping way ahead of yourselves.” As she picked at her dinner with her fork, she thought about the suggestions and comments from Angel and Mason. She grunted a laugh and scoffed. “Move to California.” She said it as if it were absurd, but she began to wonder if it was really as crazy as it sounded.
Kira tapped a key that transferred the demo she was watching from her laptop to the giant video screen on the far wall of her office. It was something she always did before getting on a plane and attending a live show. If the larger-than-life video didn’t totally captivate her, she wouldn’t waste her time. The lead singer leaned into the camera lens and stared into her soul. He definitely had charisma and could sing his face off. The band, as a whole, needed to work on their timing, but that would come with experience. They were definitely worth an in-person visit, but that would mean she needed to go to Maine, and she was trying to get to California to see Brett. She bounced the end of her pen on the desk. Maybe she’d send one of the scouts on her team instead.
Her intercom buzzed, and she pressed the button.
“Sorry to disturb you, Miss Abelman, but Mr. Abelman’s assis
tant said he’d like to see you when you have a moment.”
Kira paused the video. “I’m on my way.” Her father’s office was in the opposite corner of Falcon Records headquarters, and he could have easily sent her an email, a text message, or, heaven forbid, picked up the phone and called her himself. But he was old school and relied on his assistant for everything. She knocked once and opened one of the majestic double doors to her father’s stately office. “You wanted to see me, Daddy?”
“Kira, sweetheart, please come in and sit down.”
She sat in one of the tufted leather chairs that faced his desk and crossed her legs. “I’ve been reviewing footage of this band from Portland. Maine, not Oregon. They could be something big. I’m thinking about sending Jonathan Stewart or Nadine Bradshaw to see them. I’m trying to delegate some of my responsibility.”
He waved his hand. “Whatever you decide is fine with me. That’s your area of expertise. I trust you completely.”
She loved hearing those words. He didn’t treat her like his daughter, but like a well-respected colleague, and she loved the feeling of self-worth it instilled in her. She stared at the mountain of paperwork on his desk and worried about him. He was getting on in years, but he never faltered. Never lessened his workload. Never took vacations. And he still remained the strong head of their family.
He sat back in his chair and exhaled. “Why do I continually have to find out about my daughters’ personal lives on the internet?” He turned his computer monitor so it faced her. There was a news article on the screen. The headline read: Falcon Records Heir and New Boyfriend Crash Immortal Angel’s Latest Video. In addition to a still from the video, there were several photos of Kira and Brett together and a short article. Some of the photos were taken while they were still on Immortal Angel’s tour, others were from the times they’d visited each other in New York and California. She smiled and her chest filled with warmth as her eyes traveled over each photo. They portrayed the fun times they shared and the love they had for one another as they laughed and held hands.
The Roadie: Radical Rock Stars Book 7 Page 17