by Finn, Thia
When KeeMac started his usual intro to the audience, the whole house shook. The sheer volume the fans produced in the theater electrified the band and they played to that energy. With this being a smaller venue, the fans were closer to KeeMac, Carter, and Ryan. Security was placed around the front of the stage to keep the screaming women back but it didn’t stop panties, bras, and other objects from flying onstage at them. Carter hooked a few pair over the head of his guitar. He threw a few pair back to hang in front of Gunner’s kit off the platform.
The girls screamed obscenities at the guys to capture their attention in hopes of getting backstage. Carter pointed out several and the guards sent them to the side of the stage for passes. It was all funny to Chandler to watch this going on until KeeMac introduced the band and asked her to come forward, more into the spots. He knew she would be nervous but she looked so smokin’ hot in the leather shorts, strapless hot pink top, and her “fuck me” heels that he wanted her to show-off for the audience, as well. She waved to them and had some guys in the audience offer up suggestions to join her backstage. Chandler just smiled widely, and blew kisses to the crowd and waved and said “thanks” a hundred times then they all hurried off stage.
They attended the meet-and-greet to sign autographs and took selfies with the fans, as usual. The bands all had fun but were still so amped with adrenaline after the show they were ready to get to the after party at the club that Frission’s manager had booked for them.
Watching the girls attach themselves to Carter, Gunner and all the guys from Frission, and fending off more than his share of suggestive advances himself, made KeeMac want nothing more than to take Chandler to the nearest dark spot and fuck her until they couldn’t think straight. The place was packed with photographers and people in the club with camera phones, so he knew they would be caught and couldn’t risk it. She felt the tension from him but finally convinced him to dance with her.
Pulling her back close to his front, he began grinding against her, but realized it was a bad idea when she slithered down his body and back up. He thought he was going to explode in the middle of the dance floor.
“Babe, you can’t do that again or the dance floor is going to get more than they bargained for,” he whispered in her ear.
“Yeah, I know. All this grinding and my panties are drenched. I want you NOW, Keeton,” she shouted in his ear, leaving no doubt what she meant. He loved that she had gotten more vocal in her needs, and now that meant that there was a door of opportunity open, and he was a man that wanted to walk through the door with this woman every chance he got.
He pulled her off the dance floor and down two hallways to a backdoor that was only illuminated by the red glow from the exit sign. He grabbed her by her thighs and lifted her, wrapped them around his waist and slammed her back against the wall.
“KeeMac, anyone could come down here.”
“Don’t give a fuck, babe. I have to have you now. You had to mention how wet your panties are.”
He unbuttoned her tight shorts. “Damn, babe, these little shorts are fucking hot but please don’t wear shorts anymore. I can’t get to you. Panties are bad enough.” And with that he dropped her legs and yanked the shorts down and off one foot. She unzipped his jeans and pushed them down enough to expose his thick cock, then reached into his back pocket and claimed the package she was thankful to find there and she put it between her lips and tore it open with her teeth, then sheathed him in the thin latex.
“Good girl,” he groaned at the feel of her hands gripping his throbbing length. “Hang on baby.”
He pulled her legs back up over his hips, and buried himself to the hilt in one move. She cried out from the pleasure of it. “Babe, this is going to have to be hard and fast. I just can’t help it. And I can’t risk anyone seeing you like this. I promise it’ll be all about you next time.” He continued to pump into her in an almost desperate pace. She loved it though because no time before had it been like this, so primal and almost out of control.
“Can you get there babe? I really can’t hold out any longer.” Slamming her back against the wall to change the angle he entered her, he continued his frenzied pace, grinding her clit with his pelvis every time he went balls deep until she began contracting around him.
“OH, SHIT, Chan. That’s it, babe.” With that, he came with a raw groan escaping from deep in his throat.
He held them there for a few minutes just trying to steady his breathing. He felt like all the air had left his lungs. “Can you stand up, babe?”
She nodded her head but said nothing. She didn’t think her mind could form words. As soon as her feet hit the ground, he helped her step back into her shorts, and he pulled them up quickly to fasten them.
Righting his jeans, he wrapped his arms around her and held her there. “Are you OK?” He wasn’t sure since she had yet to speak.
“Yeah. I can’t get... enough air in... to say... anything...” she panted. He smiled his full-blown panty-dropper at her. She had seen it on stage enough to know it, but this time it was just for her.
“Babe, that was fan-fucking-tastic. It’s OK if you can’t talk, just nod if you agree.” He placed a series of sweet kisses on her lips and cheeks and eyes and then her forehead. He gave her one of his signature smirks, and said, still winded, “You’re going to be the death of me!”
She simply nodded, and let the slow, devious grin take over her face as she stared back at him. He chuckled and shook his head. Once they were calm and collected, they made their way back to the tables for fresh drinks.
Returning to the hotel later in the same limo with the rest of the band and Peri, KeeMac knew this would be as good a time as any to let them in on their secret.
“So, guys,” KeeMac wrapped Chandler up tight next to him, “Chan and I just wanted the family to know that we are officially together, and we will be staying in our own damn room the two nights we are here.” Laying it out so matter-of-factly like that, what could Peri, or anyone else, say?
“What the fuck? Why didn’t you tell me Chandler?” Peri jumped across and hugged her. “I knew something was up!”
Laughing out loud, Carter said, “You have no idea how much it’s up! We have to hear it all night long. Every-fucking-night. Literally. What you should have done was apologize for making us listen to y’all. Do you know how many times we were forced to take turns in the shower when y’all were done, or had to resort to just rubbing one out in the damn bunk if y’all took over the shower.”
“I have a great imagination and just listening to Chan makes me go off into fucking fantasy land,” Gunner added, shooting Chandler a wink. Chandler’s face turned a burning shade of red. She couldn’t look them in the eyes. KeeMac sent him a go-to-hell look and Gunner laughed aloud.
“Don’t be embarrassed, Chandler,” Ryan chimed in. “We are all so jealous, it’s about to kill us.”
“I guess this means none of us will get our turn at the bedroom now, right?” Gunner refused to let it go.
Chandler gave him a funny look. “I’m so sorry. I forgot about that with what happened and everything. We’ll share my bunk.”
KeeMac laughed, “Yeah, right. If you bunch of pricks think we were loud in the bedroom, just think of what we will come up with in that little bunk just a couple feet from y’all.”
“Yeah, in that case, keep the room. I’ve heard enough of KeeMac’s getting off to last me a lifetime,” Ryan told them. “But, if I ever get Krissy on the damn bus, all I can say is look out. Y’all better get a damn room somewhere else.” The moans and groans started from the entire group.
Chapter Fifteen
Jumping on the bus just before it departed, Cash had so many great things he wanted to say to the band. They were leaving Seattle after playing at the White River Amphitheater.
“Guys, you fucking killed it tonight,” he started. “I don’t know if y’all are aware of this, or not, but your radio play and iTunes downloads are climbing astronomically each day. The sui
ts back in Austin are finally taking notice, just like I knew they would.”
“It’s about damn time,” Gunner said. “The audience fucking loved us!”
“I knew if you guys could finally get a chance to really show what AD is capable of, your fan base would be off the charts,” Cash added.
“That’s what I’m talkin’ about!” Carter laughingly told the group. It earned him some fist bumps from Gunner and Ryan.
“What I’m really working toward now, since we know y’all will get picked up for the second half of the tour, is that next year at this time, AD will be the headliner of this tour!”
“Now that’s the kind of news we need!” KeeMac stood and bumped everyone on the bus.
With the long ride from Seattle to Denver, Cash decided to spend a little time on the bus with the guys to catch up. He also wanted to hear what they had been writing while they had time on the road. They were going to take some time during this leg of the trip since they wouldn’t have to be in Denver for several days to work on some new material. The festival at Red Rock Amphitheater was a location where they would get to hear, and hopefully meet, some of the other big names performing at the yearly festival.
KeeMac and Ryan had both written lyrics along the way when they had a chance. Ryan was missing Krissy and his loneliness spurred his need to write. With guitars in hand, they each sat down in the living area to work on setting some music to the lyrics. This is the way almost all of their songs had been written, although Ryan did more of the writing. They were working out a rough spot when Chandler joined the group after showering.
“What I’ve heard is sounding great,” she offered.
“Yeah, but we’ve kinda’ hit a fucking wall right here,” KeeMac added, when she wrapped her arm around his shoulders to look at what they had so far.
“So Chan,” Gunner looked up from his Xbox controller, “I’ve been meaning to ask you. Why did you bring a damn guitar on the road?”
“I never liked being without music, and the keyboard is too much trouble to travel with. Really, it’s kinda like my security blanket. I just haven’t had much time to play it.”
“Well, hell babe. You any good or just play around?” KeeMac asked, looking up at her. “You’ve never even mentioned playing guitar.”
“I can play most stringed instruments, but I love the guitar. My parents gave me the one I have with me for something. That was their idea of a reward for a good job. You know how most kids get an iPod or video games, or money, or jewelry? I got instruments or tickets to concerts.”
“Dude, where the hell were they when I needed a gift?” Gunner laughed, but then wished he hadn’t made the comment. “Sorry, Chan. I didn’t mean it like that.”
“It’s OK, Gunner. I knew you didn’t say it to hurt me.” Chandler was glad they could have an easy way of communicating since the accident. She never wanted it to be awkward for them.
“Get your guitar, little girl; let’s see what ya got.” Carter was now interested too.
A little nervous about playing with these guys, Chandler brought her acoustic Gibson out of its case. It was her first guitar.
“Y’all know I haven’t played in a while, right?”
“Just like riding a bike. Get on and go for it. It’ll come right back,” Carter said. She strummed over the strings and did a little tuning before she launched into “Stairway to Heaven.” It was something she’d learned to play early on because the melody drew her in each time she heard it. Next, she played a little bit of Nirvana’s, “About a Girl” without really missing a beat. She segued into some of “Strife” by Steel, then “Yellow” by Coldplay, a verse of “She Talks to Angels” by Black Crowes, the intro to Clapton’s “Layla” and finished out with some of “Pride and Joy” by Stevie Ray Vaughan.
Laughing when she was done, “I just had to go back to Stevie Ray. I can’t play it like him, but damn that song just gets my juices flowing when it comes to playing guitar.”
When she looked up, the guys were looking back at her like she had just unzipped her ‘human suit’ and revealed that she was an alien. She looked around the bus and saw Cash standing there staring at her, too.
“What?”
“What the fuck, Chandler?” KeeMac said in what could only be described as bewilderment. “Why didn’t you tell us you could play guitar like that? Jesus, you are great on it.”
“I can play, but I don’t like it as much as the piano, so I only play for my own pleasure.”
“Girl, you can pleasure me with your guitar playing any time you want,” Gunner added.
“Uh, no,” she replied, and then laughed at Gunner’s goofy way of complimenting her. He had a way of always attaching innuendo to everything, it seemed. She was starting to accept it as part of his “charm.”
“If you tell me you can sing, we are taking you off the bus now and sending you straight back to Austin to the studio. You don’t need to be wasting your time touring with this bunch of dickheads,” Cash looked at her seriously.
“Well, then I’m glad I can’t sing.”
“Seriously, Chandler?” KeeMac was still staring at her. “All this time we’ve been on stage and you are just now showing us your little ‘play for myself’ talent?”
“Keeton, I don’t want to play guitar. I want to play piano.”
“Where the hell did you learn to play like that?” He still couldn’t believe what he’d heard.
“Like I said, my parents gave me this guitar when I was young, after a recital. I just sort of picked it up along the way.”
“No one just “picks up” Vaughan, Clapton, Cobain and Steel ‘along the way’,” using his fingers for to make air quotes.
“Well, I did. I’d had years of piano by the time I got this, and pretty much if I hear it, I can play it. But I can read music just as easily.” Spending so many hours alone had helped hone that skill, as well. She could always depend on music to save her from her loneliness.
Carter looked around, “Damn Cash, did you do any research on our girl here before you brought her into the studio?”
“You know how much time we were dealing with. So no, I didn’t. She was good, y’all approved, so I was OK with your choice. I did know she’d been to Juilliard since it’s on her resume.”
“Is there anything else about me you want to know?”
“Yes, Chandler, there is. What else did you say you played?” Cash asked her pointedly.
“Violin, mandolin, a little banjo, really just about anything with strings. God, don’t tell anyone, please. Although, Carter, I’m not cut out to play bass. You gotta be kinda in another dimension to be good at that,” she laughed as she said it, but he nodded, understanding what she meant.
“To hell with all that,” Gunner said. “Can you have my babies? Just think, with my mad skills on drums and all of your talent, our babies would be fucking musical geniuses!” This brought a round of laughter from the entire group, and a scowl from KeeMac.
“Not even Chandler could make your offspring geniuses, dumbass,” Ryan pointed to Gunner. The second round of laughter was twice as loud, Gunner adopted KeeMac’s scowl and KeeMac laughed until he had tears running down his face.
“Hey, Chandler,” Carter said, “what’s the last thing a drummer says in a band?”
“Dude, always with the drummer jokes, really?” Gunner sounded angry.
Wanting to play along with the rest of the band’s obvious enjoyment at poking fun of Gunner, Chandler said, “I don’t know, Carter. What?”
“How about we try one of my songs?” Everyone around the table started laughed aloud, except Gunner.
“Dickhead, you wait, I’ll get you back.” Gunner picked up his phone and went to his bunk.
Chandler felt bad then and walked back to his closed curtain. “I’m sorry, Gunner. I was just trying to enjoy a good laugh. I didn’t mean for it to be at your expense.”
He slid the curtain open and looked at her with a smile. “It’s OK. They used to do i
t all the time and I had gotten used to it. But it’s been while. Wanna come in here with me and take my mind off my wounded ego?”
“You are so bad! I totally would if KeeMac hadn’t swept me off my feet first.” She fluttered her eyelashes playfully at him.
Gunner blinked for a few seconds, then smirked at her. “You sure can make a man forget his troubles, girl. I can see what’s got KeeMac all flustered. He’s a lucky bastard. Make sure he treats you right. Let me know if he doesn’t, OK, Cupcake? I’d take good care of you.” He gave her a winked and sorrowful half-smile and rolled over, pulling the curtain closed.
Chandler was momentarily stunned by his comment. She’d never seen that side of Gunner before. He was usually such a clown, such a fun-loving guy. Who knew that he actually had a sweet side, and maybe was even a bit tender-hearted? As she stood up, still hesitating outside the bunk, her heart ached for him just a little when she realized that maybe not everything was exactly as it seemed.
From the front, KeeMac yelled, “Both of you get your asses back up here. We have work to do.”
When they both came back to the front area, Cash told them to get back to work on the new music and went back up front to sit with the driver to get back on his phone and Chandler decided to follow him.
“Cash, can I ask you for a favor?” Chandler was hesitant to bring it up but the letter from her parents was still lingering in the back of her mind.
“Sure, Chandler but if it’s to help you break out on your own, you have to wait ‘til we get back to Austin.”
“No, no, it’s nothing to do with the band.”
“OK, good because after what I just witnessed back there, you have to know you are destined for big things in the music world.”
“Thank you. I hope you’re right.” She gave him a brief smile, but didn’t want to linger on that subject and eclipse the reason she had approached him. “So, listen. I don’t know if you heard all of what was in that letter my attorney gave me from my parents, about my adoption, but I keep thinking about whether or not I still have a father that’s alive out there somewhere.” She unfolded the letter with the information about her father and showed it to Cash. “Do you think you could get someone to check this out and see if they can track him down? I don’t know if I’m ready to meet him face-to-face, but I would like to know if he’s alive and where he is.”