by Marie Meyer
We broke down our set and got our shit packed into the van. Pauly threw the back door shut and spun around, throwing a fist in the air. “Party time, motherfuckers!” he shouted and then looked at Nee, having forgotten she was there. “No offense.” He bowed his head apologetically.
Nee smiled and patted his bicep. “He’s right, where’s the party, motherfuckers?” Her bright-green eyes sparkled in the fading sunlight.
Pauly shrugged and hooked his arm around her shoulders. “Yeah, what she said.”
I was down to party, but Thor and I didn’t have the room, so I kept my mouth shut.
“What about Fifth’s?” Nee suggested.
“I like it.” I leaned against the van, waiting for everyone else to respond. I was ready to get shit-faced, be loud, and hopefully have a moment to call Jillian. God, I missed her.
“Fifth’s. Cool. Let’s hit it,” Thor added. He swung the van’s keys around his finger, making his way to the driver’s side door. “Who’s riding shotgun?”
“Um, that’d be me.” Nee raised her hand and gave a little skip on her way around to the passenger door.
I nodded with a salute to the rest of the crew and walked to my bike. “See you there.”
I kicked my leg over the seat and put the key in the ignition, the bike rumbling to life. Squeezing the throttle, I leaned to the right and picked my feet up off the ground, ripping out of the parking lot, past Adam and Pauly.
Traffic was light on the freeway, and I made it to Illinois in record time. Fifth’s was a different story. The small parking lot was full, which forced me to park a block down the street.
Pulling into a parking space between a Porsche Cayenne and a beat-up F-150, I killed the engine and stepped off. As soon as both my feet hit the sidewalk, my phone buzzed in my pocket. Pulling it out, I saw Dad spelled across the top of the screen. I tapped the green button and put the phone to my ear.
“Hey, Pop.”
“Hey, Son. You have your big meeting today?” he asked gruffly.
Dad wasn’t a conversationalist. For twenty-plus years he’d coached high school football. He was more comfortable barking orders than shooting the shit.
The day I started high school, Dad couldn’t wait to get me on the field. I went to a few practices and got my ass handed to me, along with several organs, it felt like.
As a freshman I still hadn’t grown into my body. I was tall and lanky, freakishly so. I was better suited for basketball—a sport I enjoyed playing far more than football—but since Dad was the coach, I wasn’t given the choice. To Dad there was only one sport and that was football.
It nearly killed him when I quit the team to start a band. If Jillian hadn’t been there to smooth things over, he’d still be giving me the silent treatment. Jillian had the unique ability to make people see things differently, to accept someone else’s choices. No matter what I chose to do, she was always there to support me.
Though Dad accepted my choice to quit the team, disappointment bled from his eyes like tears every time he drove me to Thor’s house to practice. I hated feeling like I’d let him down, but I knew I’d never make it as a football player. In the end I was sure Dad realized the same thing. I guess that’s why he gave up the fight when I traded the pigskin for a Rickenbacker. I saved him from having to cut his own son during team tryouts.
“Your big meeting was today, right?” he asked again.
“Uh, yeah.” I stuffed the keys to the bike in my jacket and headed down the sidewalk toward Fifth’s. “Everything’s said and done. We signed the contract this morning.”
“So what happens now?” he asked. He sounded genuinely curious, which wasn’t really like Dad. Mom asked the questions for the two of them.
I reached for the door, pinning my phone to my ear with my shoulder as I walked into the bar. “We had a preproduction session today, with the sound engineer. I start recording Monday, along with Nee, the girl who’s filling in for Adam.” I glanced at my watch, making my way to the bar, wondering why the place was so crowded at four o’clock in the afternoon.
“Well, that’s great news, Son!” Dad’s enthusiasm was good to hear. “Here’s your mom, she wants to talk.”
I could hear Mom’s impatient voice in the background as Dad passed her the phone.
Bax smiled and threw a rag over his shoulder. “Hey, Griff. You alone?” He glanced at the door and then back at me.
I shook my head and held up my index finger. Through the shuffling noises on the other end of the line, I shouted, “Mom, one sec.” I pulled the phone away from my ear to give Bax an answer.
“They’re right behind me. We’re celebrating tonight, Bax. We signed our recording contract.”
“No shit?” He pulled the rag from his shoulder and snapped it on the bar top. “Drinks on the house, my friend. What’ll it be?”
“Griffin!” I heard Mom shout through the phone.
I picked it back up in a hurry, just in time to hear Mom saying, “What’s happening? Dad won’t tell me anything. Are you still there?”
I swallowed. “Yes, Ma, I’m still here. Sorry about that, trying to talk to too many people at once. Mine Shaft has a record deal,” I said, smiling.
“Ahhhhhh!” she screamed. I pulled the phone away from my ear, wincing. “Oh, Griffin, sweetie, that’s wonderful news! We have to celebrate tonight. Come over to the house and I will make your favorite dinner. Have you told Ren yet? What about Jillian?” Mom went from one question to the next, barely pausing to breathe.
“You and Dad are the first to know. I just left the studio. Haven’t had time to call anyone yet.”
“I’ll call Ren and tell her to come over, but I won’t tell her your news. I’ll let you do that.
Get your butt over here, I’m making your favorite, lasagna.”
“Mom!” I shouted. It was nearly impossible to get her attention when she started rambling on and on like that.
“What?” she hollered, stunned by the sharp bite of my voice.
“I’m sorry, Ma, I can’t tonight. We’re all celebrating at Fifth’s.”
“Oh, of course you’re busy tonight. How about tomorrow night, then?”
I sat at the bar, waiting until everyone showed up. “Yeah, tomorrow works better.”
“Tomorrow, then,” she continued. “I’m so proud of you! I’ll have dinner ready around five thirty.”
“Thanks. Love you, Ma. Gotta go.” Bax set a beer down in front of me.
“Don’t forget to tell Jillian the good news. I bet she’s dying to find out how things went.” I was fairly certain Jillian was going out of her mind waiting to hear from me.
“I won’t forget. She’s next on my call list.” My parents loved Jillian like a daughter. They opened their hearts and home to her. Like Mom, I wished she were here. More than anyone else, Jillian was the one I wanted to tell in person. I wanted to see the look on her face. I wanted to wrap my arms around her so fucking bad, it hurt. But I’d have to settle for FaceTime. “Oh, Ma?”
“Yeah?”
“You’re making the Buffalo chicken lasagna, right?” I thought she was, but I wanted to make sure. My mom’s culinary skills were impressive, but her Buffalo chicken lasagna was by far my favorite.
“Well, duh,” she said.
“Ma, only kids say that.” I chuckled, taking a sip of my beer.
“Oh, knock it off and go have fun with your friends.”
Laughing, I said, “Yes, ma’am. Bye, Ma. Love you.”
“I love you, too, baby boy. See you soon. Oh, and tell Jillian I said hi. It’s been over a week since we last talked.”
Huh? Jillian must be really swamped at school. Even Mom was having a difficult time keeping in touch. “I will. See you tomorrow.”
“Oh, Griff,” Mom said, right before I was about to hang up. “Are you still seeing that Erin girl?”
Oh, shit. With everything going on today, I’d completely forgotten about Erin. “Um, yeah,” I said. “Why?”
&nbs
p; “You should bring her over. And any of the guys, if they aren’t busy. You know I always make enough food for an army.”
That was true. My mom didn’t know how to cook small. “I’ll see what everyone’s doing.”
“Wonderful. Be safe tonight. I’ll see you tomorrow.” She disconnected the call.
I took a long pull on my beer. Damn, that tastes good. With my thumb I scrolled through my favorites list. I hovered over Jillian’s name. A pull like gravity had me ready to tap on her name. I wanted to tell her my good news, hear her voice. But then I saw Erin’s name a few entries below. Shouldn’t I tell my girlfriend first?
Forcing my thumb downward, I hit her name. After a couple of rings, she answered.
“Well? What’s the news?” she drawled excitedly.
“It’s official.” I took another drink and looked around the teeming room. “We signed.”
“Hot damn!” she squealed. “How exciting is this? I…I just…I’m just so happy for you, Griffin!”
“Thanks, Peach.” I swallowed another gulp. “I’m up at Fifth’s. You busy? We’re celebrating tonight.”
“Hell yeah. I’m on my way.”
“Cool. See you soon.”
I hung up with Erin, ready to give Jillian a call, just as the guys came rolling in. I’d have to call her later. I slipped the phone into my pocket and picked up my beer. “Took long enough. I started without you.”
Nee came over and snatched the beer from my hand. “Well, we’ll just have to catch up then.” She threw it back, draining half of it.
Behind her an enormous black man had his hands at her waist. He must be Keshawn. I raised my hand in greeting and nodded in his direction, before I scolded his girlfriend for stealing my drink. “Damn, girl,” I groaned. “I was working on that.”
Keshawn nodded back and pulled Nee closer, snaking his arms around her waist. “Work faster,” she jeered.
“Gotta watch out for this one.” He kissed her cheek. “She’s feisty.”
I laughed, snatching my beer from her hand. “That’s an understatement.” I spun on the stool and offered my hand to Keshawn. “Griffin Daniels.”
He reached around Nee. “Keshawn. Nice to meet you, man.” He gripped my hand and shook it enthusiastically. “My girl’s real excited about this gig. Says you guys are cool.”
Nee rounded on him. “Dude!” she shouted. “You’re going to ruin my rep.”
Cupping a hand around his mouth, he pretended to whisper, “Don’t let her fool you. She’s all piss and vinegar on the outside, sweet as candy on the inside.”
I raised an eyebrow. “I’ll remember that.” Over my shoulder I waved Bax in our direction. “Yo, Bax.” I lifted my beer to get his attention. “We need a round over here.” He acknowledged me and went to work gathering our drinks.
From the corner of my eye, I could see Nee trying to land a solid punch to Keshawn’s bicep, doing little damage.
I stood and drained what was left of my beer, noticing Thor had grabbed an open table. “Come on, you two.” I tilted my chin in Thor’s direction. “Thor’s looking lonely over there.”
Beside me Nee was leaned in close to Keshawn, giggling. Giggling. I hadn’t thought she had it in her to giggle…at least in public.
I led the way, with Nee towing Keshawn behind her. The three of us pulled out chairs and plopped our asses into the seats. From under heavy lids, Thor stared at us. “Can I help you?” His phone was pressed to his ear.
“Harper?” I smirked. I loved giving him shit about her. He was so far out of his comfort zone.
“I’ll call you later.” He nodded. “Yeah. You too.”
Bax came over with a trayful of drinks, setting them down between us. “For my boys,” he called.
“And girl,” Nee added politely.
“And girl,” he corrected himself, patting her on the head as he returned to the bar.
We divided the drinks up and relaxed, letting reality soak in…we were contracted recording artists. A dream come true.
“Hey, Rock Star.” A breathy twang tickled my ear, followed by a pair of arms twining around my neck.
I glanced up. Erin stood over me. “Hey, Peach.”
She stepped around my chair and sat on my lap, looping her arm around my shoulders. Pauly and Adam joined the rest of us at the table. The whole gang was here. And then my heart clenched…not everyone.
Erin’s closeness suddenly felt too close. I wanted Jillian here.
Stretching behind me, I clamped my hand on a chair at a nearby table and dragged it over. With a pat on Erin’s back, I motioned for her to slide over. She complied, sliding off my legs and onto the chair.
“Hi, I’m Erin,” she said, extending her hand to Nee.
“Nee. This is Keshawn.” She thumbed over her shoulder.
“Nee, how’d you and Mr. Fischer meet?” Pauly asked, breaking up the introductions.
Keshawn covered his mouth, failing to stifle a laugh. “Good luck getting that story out of her.”
Nee threw an elbow into his ribs.
He put a bottle to his mouth. “What?”
I enjoyed watching the two of them interact. Their easy comfort with each other had me thinking of Jillian again.
“Start talking, girl,” I commanded, leaning back in my chair to get comfortable. Erin inched her chair closer and put her hand on my knee, stroking slowly up and down the length of my thigh.
As of late she’d been pushing to get closer, doing all she could to seduce me. But every time we had the opportunity to take our relationship further, something stopped me. The last few times had been the worst. We’d be going at each other, clothes shed, fingernails scratching down my back, her legs wrapped around me…then all of a sudden, it wasn’t Erin beneath me, it was Jillian. Jillian’s teeth biting…her lips sucking, and…
That’s when I’d slam on the brakes.
Erin was feeling it, too. I could tell. The more I pulled away, the harder she pressed. She wasn’t an easy woman to say no to.
When a beer bottle hit the table, I snapped back to the conversation.
“Can I show ’em the pictures?” Keshawn asked.
At the prospect of pictures featuring Nee, Adam livened up. “Pictures? What kind of pictures? I want to see pictures.”
Keshawn dug in his pocket and brought out his phone. Quickly tapping something, he pulled up a picture and turned the phone around, giving us a better look. A chick wearing a blue string bikini and red fuck-me heels stood at the center of a ring, holding a sign above her head.
Nee’s head hit the table with a thud. “I’m ruined,” she mumbled.
Adam grabbed Keshawn’s phone and flipped through the other pictures. “Fuck. Me.” His mouth dropped open. “You were a MMA ring bunny?”
“Oh, yeah. And a damn hot one, too,” Keshawn growled.
Nee lifted her head and glared at him. “Don’t even think you’re getting a blow job tonight.”
Erin sprayed her beer, quickly clamping a hand over her mouth. “Sorry,” she choked, wiping the back of her hand across her mouth. “Went down the wrong tube.” She laughed nervously.
I rubbed a hand over her back. “All right?”
She nodded and took another drink.
“Mighty pretty there, Nee.” Even Thor jumped at the chance to ruffle her feathers a little.
Nee flipped him off. “OK, douchebags, the hazing ritual’s over. Yep, Stephanie Hamilton was a ring bunny. It paid the bills. But that chick is long gone. Don’t forget it.” With each sentence she pointed at us, driving home the point.
“Thor, was that Harper on the phone?” I couldn’t resist getting him riled up, too.
Thor sat back and took a drink.
“When do we get to meet the girl who has tamed ‘the Hammer’?” I asked dramatically, using the nickname he’d given himself in high school.
He shrugged. “I need to get this relationship shit figured out before I bring her around you asshats.” He spit the word “relat
ionship.” “I’m out of my league with this girl.”
Pauly landed a heavy hand to Thor’s back. “A girlfriend?”
“Maybe?” Thor nodded. “Probably.”
“Ha! Never thought I’d see the day when Thorin Kline went and got himself a girlfriend.” Pauly laughed.
He sneered. “Me either.”
“That’s great, man. I’m happy for you.” I held up my bottle of Schlafly. I looked around the table; I’d been through so much with this crew. Things were changing so fast…we were changing. “To new beginnings,” I said.
Joining in, everyone clinked their bottles together. “To new beginnings!”
Chapter Fifteen
Three hundred and ninety-eight…three hundred and ninety-nine…four hundred. My abdominal muscles protested as I pulled myself off the sweaty mat. As I reached for my water bottle, my abs screamed. After a lightning round of four hundred crunches, they were pissed. Biting my lip, I pushed through the pain and stood, wiping sweat from my face with my bicep. Breathing hard, I drained my water bottle and then bent over to pick up my phone and keys.
In the month since we’d signed with Amphion, I hadn’t been able to find a balance between my personal life and Mine Shaft. Everything was Mine Shaft. Hours spent at the studio, gig after gig, rehearsals, press junkets, and now Amphion had started talking about a spring tour. Hell, I barely made it to class, which pissed my parents off considerably.
I was thankful for the couple of hours of gym time I squeezed in each day. It was the only time I could think. Or not, as the case may be.
Today was a day I wished I could turn off my brain. I didn’t want to think. But even after a two-hour workout, I still couldn’t stop mulling over the last e-mail I’d gotten from Jillian. I tried to work my body to a point where all I could concentrate on was the burn in my muscles. But Jillian’s words, coupled with our distance, burned more.
She’d written a lengthy message about struggling to find her groove at school. The e-mail had reeked of self-doubt. I wanted more than anything to take her by the shoulders, stare her in the eyes, and tell her she was ridiculous. The raw talent that girl possessed was mind-boggling. She could take a cardboard box and turn it into something runway-worthy. But, being so far away, I couldn’t do that. I was limited to words, instead of actions—something I was not used to when it came to her. Not to mention that her schedule and mine were polar opposites. When she was free to talk, I was working, and vice versa. We were forced into an unfamiliar routine of e-mails, texts, and somber voice messages—always playing phone tag. I never had liked playing tag, and I loathed it now.