The marketing and the coinciding release of the new album had gotten the attention of their former fans, which was the primary goal.
Flynn was stressing because the sound engineers wanted a percussion sound check with just over three hours to go before the show. Jonah’s no-show message almost set him into a tale-spin. I suggested that Kayden or the guy from the supporting band could do that for the engineers, and saw Flynn slump against the side of the stage with relief. Kayden was the first choice; he knew all the songs and had been jamming regularly with Flynn. Plus the sound check didn’t need to be perfect, just to hit the different drums with the same kind of strength for a couple of them to measure the sound decibels and for tone.
I’d expected Kayden to balk at the idea, and was fully prepared for a period of coaxing to get him to agree, but he thrilled me when he jumped up from where he was sitting, walked over to the kit, and lifted the sticks above his head. He pretended he was playing to a crowd and had Flynn, Amber, and I in a fit of laughter at his hilarious mock-a-rock-star pose to the empty concert hall.
When I saw that brief moment of confidence, and his long-absent sense of fun, my heart jumped for joy in my chest for my big brother. That was the brother I’d known in the past.
I’d arranged a courtesy bus for the foster kids flying in, and Kayden and Amber agreed to be their hosts. I’d had so much going on there was no way I could pander to a group of school kids when there were hundreds of thousands of dollars at stake. I trusted my brother to do a good job and had given him a pile of t-shirts, programs, and glow in the dark wristbands with RedA printed into them for the kids from Michigan.
I was so proud of how he’d taken everything in stride, and it had made the whole day so special that he’d wanted to be involved. He had invested his time in my project and was as excited about the concert as the rest of us. Then again he’d always been supportive of anything I had done in the past.
A special meet and greet had been set up for the kids and eight other fans chosen as prize winners from competitions. Then we were to have a quick dinner with the young people, and I had planned for them to be back in their hotel rooms and tucked up in bed by midnight.
With less than an hour to go, Flynn was cussing Jonah up and down, and despite all the preparations I’d done for his big comeback, it was the one situation I’d had no answer for other than to try to find someone who could step in. That would have been easier said than done because as a new band with material that had only been out a few weeks it would have been pretty impossible to have anyone cover.
Watching the man I loved slowly fall apart in front of me was horrific. All the hype I had built up around his comeback, and suddenly he was going to be embarrassed when the concert had to be canceled at the last minute. People would have traveled especially to be there for this concert, the opener for RedA, and even the thought of disappointing Alison and Helen crossed my mind.
“What the fuck do we do now? You know what? Don’t answer that. I want you to go home. I don’t want you here around this stress,” he’d said pointing at the dressing room door. He ran his hands through his hair and exhaled loudly, “If that guy walked through that door now I’d punch the shit out of him.”
“Calm down, Flynn. Shouting and screaming isn’t helping me think. You have to calm down.”
Flynn lifted the bottle of water he’d placed on the side and threw it hard against the wall making me jump. He turned and stopped, “Fuck, Valerie, I’m sorry. None of that matters. I want you to go home.”
Kayden had popped his head around the dressing room door, “Jesus are you two fighting in here? I can hear you from down the hall. Whatever it is Flynn, she doesn’t need the stress.” Flynn turned to me, and his eyes softened with pity, then he turned slowly to face Kayden.
“That’s exactly what I told her. I want her to go home but she won’t. Jonah still isn’t here, and it’s less than an hour before we’re due to go on stage. Lexi and Craig are beside themselves, and I’m wondering why the fuck I ever trusted that dick in the first place,” Flynn had said, barely keeping the rage out of his voice.
The last comment went over Kayden’s head because we’d never told anyone else about Jonah. We felt it would make everyone nervous about him, and if he’d ended up staying it could have been a wedge between the band members had they known his true intentions when he’d first auditioned.
“Well, can’t you just get the opening band to go on ten minutes later and stretch it out a little longer? Who would know? We know he’s on his way, his flight is due to land in how long?” he asked turning to me.
As I started to speak the supporting band, Largo Stripes, had begun their intro in the distance and looking up at Kayden I muttered, “That’s not possible, Kayden, we have an 11:00 pm noise curfew. We’re only licensed to play until 11:00 pm and it is 8:15 pm now. We already pushed RedA’s appearance back to 9:30 pm when we knew he’d been delayed, but this band, they have forty-five minutes, followed by a fifteen-minute interval, then RedA is supposed to take to the stage at 9:15. We can’t shorten the set, that’s not fair for the fans.”
“Well, shit. What are you going to do?” Kayden asked, glancing worriedly back at Flynn.
Exhaling heavily, Flynn said, “We’re fucked. Nothing we can do. If he doesn’t get here, we’re all going to be so fucking embarrassed, and everything we’ve been working for gets flushed down the toilet. Want to play the drums in the band tonight?” he asked Kayden, sarcastically.
I stared at Kayden and wondered if it were even possible for him to fill in until Jonah arrived. That’s how desperate I’d become.
“No. Jeez, guys. Don’t look at me like that. I’m not a rock star. Playing drums at home and messing around with these guys is nothing like taking someone’s hard earned cash, and pretending you have the talent to be out there. I’d shit myself and freeze, get mixed up, and make everyone else lose their timing.”
Flynn stared quietly watching the exchange between Kayden and I, “What songs do you play best?” I asked.
Kayden really was balking now, “Are you fucking kidding? I’m not going out there. It’s nerve racking enough jamming with you guys back at our place, but going on stage in front…you’re fucking crazy.”
“Not crazy, Kayden, I’m desperate, and in case you haven’t noticed we’re clean out of options. It would be just until he arrives if he’s late. You know at least six of our songs equally as well as Jonah, maybe eight,” Flynn said.
“No, I can’t do it. You’d have to anesthetize me to get out there.”
Flynn turned to Kayden and grabbed his arms in an act of desperation, “Please, Kayden, I know this is scary, but I swear to you when you walk out on that stage it’s not what you think; you’ll know you’re alive. It’s completely overwhelming and so fucking exhilarating at the same time. You’ll be scared shitless, but you’ll be so in awe of everyone in front of you, your instincts will take over. Don’t forget, I was the one studying music, and I couldn’t even busk. If I can do this, there’s no sweat for you. Don’t do it for me, do it for Valerie.”
The emotional blackmail wasn’t lost on Kayden, and his face registered his annoyance that had used me to press his point, but we’d never really had the intention to put him on the spot. I briefly thought of the drummer in the band that was already on stage, but same as before, Jonah’s percussion arrangements were pretty off the wall, and no matter how good that guy was in the warm up band, he’d never be able to follow the beat for the songs they had recently written.
“This is fucking ridiculous Valerie. I’m a mechanic, not a rock star.”
Bending at the waist, Flynn put his hands on his knees as I leaned against the wall, and I knew he didn’t want to let the fans down, “Fuck it, Kayden, we’re going out there to play like we’re in that booth back at home. For one night only Kayden, The Mechanic, Darsin, is an honorary member of RedA. If football teams can have reserves, why can’t RedA?” Flynn started chuckling at his own nervous
joke, but while my exterior seemed calm, my insides felt like they were being wrung out like a wet rag.
“Look at me. I don’t look like I belong in a band.”
We both looked him up and down, and even though he was my brother, Kayden was a really hot looking dude. “Sure you do, you’re almost as hot as Flynn,” I teased, bumping his shoulder while I tried to put him at ease, but Kayden was still not convinced.
“You might be wigging out right now, Kayden, but I swear to you when you walk off that stage you’ll be giddy with the buzz you’ll have gotten from playing to that many people,” Flynn said.
Lexi, Craig, and Simone came back from wherever they’d been, and I was the bearer of bad news that Jonah had still not arrived. Naturally, Craig and Lexi went into meltdown. Craig threatened to wring his neck, which was mild compared to Lexi’s potential punishment of cutting his cock off and feeding it to a paper shredder. I told them the back-up plan that wasn’t necessarily a plan at all, and Kayden stood quietly staring at no one in particular.
Both protested about Kayden playing, until Flynn and I challenged them to come up with something better, neither could. They apologized to Kayden, who it seemed, was likely to become a rock star by default. A knock on the door made us all realize just how long we’d been debating the lack of Jonah’s presence and what it meant for RedA.
Craig became apologetic once he’d got past the initial shock, and had come to terms with the no alternative option for the gig. None of us liked it, Kayden least of all, but it was what it was. My cell began to ring, and when I looked at it, I saw I’d missed a text from Jonah as I swiped the screen.
Jonah: just landed.
Answering my phone I put it on speaker, “Just got into the car. I’m not sure how long I’ll be. Maybe I’m twenty minutes from the front of the venue, and another five to get to the stage. Can you make sure the people at the door know who I am, I never got as far as picking up my pass this morning.”
As a new band, security wouldn’t recognize Jonah in the same way as they would Flynn or even Craig. Lexi was getting noticed, but that was more because she was a female in a man’s world. The knock on the door previously told us it was the ten-minute call to show time.
“Shit, I haven’t even warmed up yet,” Flynn said grabbing a towel. He ran hot water in the sink and put the towel over his head to steam his vocal chords and breathed in deeply.
A few minutes later we were all headed for the stage as he warbled his way through the scales to get his voice in tune. Kayden took a slight diversion to vomit into a janitor’s bucket due to stage fright and grabbed my hand leaning in, “I could do with a couple of angels right now. I can’t believe I’ve let you two talk me into this. What do you think they’d make of it?”
Everything that had been happening around the two of us seemed to stop in that split second. I fought the muscles in my throat that were trying to close tight as the emotional question threatened to overwhelm me. He was referring to Martin and Adam.
“Kayden, you know how much we all supported each other. We cheered at Martin’s performances in plays, screamed with delight for Adam when he scored, I’d like to think they’re together, Adam mimicking you on the drums like he used to when he was little, and Martin singing pretending he’s stretching in to reach a microphone while playing his air guitar,” I told him.
Pulling me into him, his hug was more than a hug. It had been a spiritual connection between two tortured souls, as well as a physical one. A gruff voice broke our focus when someone shouted, “Enter stage left, two minutes everybody.”
Flynn grabbed Kayden’s hand and pulled him hurriedly toward the pit where the stairs to the stage were. I saw the reluctance in his weight.
“They would be so proud you are stepping up to do this. These guys here have talent, but you’re the bigger star here. You’re showing everyone you’ve got balls of steel, and just imagine what it’s going to do for Amber when she sees you up there with us,” Flynn said trying to ensure he didn’t get cold feet.
By the time I reached Flynn, he’d laid his hand on Kayden’s shoulder, “Come on, bro, I’m looking forward to this. It may not have been planned, but the best things in life never are,” he said, nodding at me, and my pregnant belly. Just as he said it, the lights went out in the auditorium, and the uncoordinated hum of noise became a deafening unified roar.
High-pitched screams of excitement turned into a cacophony of noise and the crowd’s feet stomped heavily where they sat creating a rumble that ran from the floor up my legs and into my chest, the noise electrified the tense atmosphere with an extra buzz of anticipation for the eager fans.
The shocked look on Kayden’s face made me think he was going to bolt, but Flynn grabbed his arm and pulled him out onto the dimly lit stage. Apart from the fact he looked pretty awkward, and more than a little embarrassed he slid behind the drum kit.
I couldn’t see his face from that point as the high-hat was in the way, but I’d imagined his face at that particular moment. Flynn bent forward and said something to him, then he passed Lexi and fist bumped the one she offered him. Craig walked toward the edge of the stage, pressed his foot heavily on the distortion and overdrive pedal of his rig, and Flynn gave Lexi the nod.
Lexi’s thumb and middle fingers strummed a low steady rhythm, and Kayden kicked in on the drums a split second later. His timing was impeccable despite being an amateur. Craig’s and Flynn’s fingers were rapidly turning out the tune that Kayden never really had to think about. His musical instinct had been awesome.
Their fans had worked themselves up into a frenzy, but I’d barely noticed, too focused on willing Kayden to do well after we’d sent him into the lion’s den. As they began to settle into the set the crowd went wild, their incoherent screams became one rhythmic chant as they became sucked into the zone that only music seemed to cause.
I tapped Jonah on the shoulder, and scolded him, pointing this way and that about him not being there on time and Jonah’s shoulders slumped with my admonishment.
Flynn gave him several thunderous glares from the stage, but he never missed a beat in his effort to pull off the best performance he’d ever given. It had been fueled by pure adrenaline. It was the one concert that counted because he knew it would either define him as an artist or the one that made him just like any other second chance lead singer trying to claw his way back to the top.
Between songs, Flynn ran to the edge of the stage where myself and Jonah were standing and Jonah asked, “Should I go under the stage and come up near the back?” I could see he had a mind to say, “No”, but Kayden couldn’t stay there indefinitely, nor would he have wanted to be there for the whole gig, “You’re going to have to be extra special, Jonah, they’re all vying for blood,” he stated honestly nodding at his band mates on stage.
The dejected look made me feel sorry for him, but just like anything in life, when you’re thrown a chance, and you hesitate, the likelihood is that it’s a missed opportunity. Whatever Flynn said after the gig was his call. I was their manager, but Flynn had hired him, as far as I was concerned it was his job to fire him if it came to that.
Chapter 36 ~ Valerie
On the spot honesty
By the time Jonah showed up on stage at the side of Kayden, he was halfway through the third number. I’m not sure if it was the rhythm of the bass or the relief that Jonah had turned up that had given me a delayed reaction, but my back ached. It seemed my unborn baby hadn’t liked the heavy vibration. The way he was jumping around in my belly was making me feel sick.
I turned to see Kayden walking toward me, face beaming and sweat dripping from his hair. “Oh. My. God, Valerie. Flynn was right, I’ve never felt anything like that before,” he said, glancing around, and I instinctively knew he was looking for Amber.
“She’ll be down at the front because I can’t see her in the seats at the side over there.” I’d never seen Kayden so alive, bright shining eyes stared deeply into mine in a silent thank you bef
ore he started to seek her out from where we were standing.
He flung his sticky, strong, damp arms around me, his t-shirt soaked with his effort on stage, and despite that I’d relaxed into his arms, “She’s going to flip the fuck out after that, you know,” he said chuckling. When I hadn’t replied he’d leaned away from me and cast his eyes down over my face.
“What’s the matter, Valerie? Are you okay?”
“I don’t feel that good. Can you take me back to the dressing room, please?”
Kayden pulled me gently around in his direction, “Come on sweetheart we need to find you a place to rest. I don’t think you should be doing this anymore. The doctor said—”
“Yeah, I know what the doctor said, Kayd. Flynn reminds me every opportunity he has,” I said sarcastically, but knew he had my best interests at heart. I’d been sick of all the coddling everyone had done around me and felt annoyed with myself that I couldn’t just be like most other women and have a normal, uncomplicated pregnancy.
Low back pain was to be expected as the baby grew, but knowing where the placenta was, I figured I should at least get checked out. Flynn had another hour before he came off stage, and with the warning the doctor had given me, I decided it was better to be safe than sorry. I was headstrong, not stupid. Poor Kayden he’d just had the most thrilling moment of his life, and I felt like I was hogging the attention.
When I called Dr. Clark’s office, his secretary asked some triage- type questions to see just how important the call was. It was after hours, and was certain a doctor in his line of work got tons of calls from anxious moms needing reassurance. I was prepared to be blown off and told to go home and rest. However, less than a minute after I’d explained how I felt he’d taken my call, and advised me to go to the hospital immediately to be checked over.
Kayden called my mom and Simone to tell them what was happening, and I’d been placed into the back of a minivan with Simone alongside me. I felt vulnerable, but my overriding thought was guilt while I was transferred to The University of Iowa’s ER room. Everyone had been telling me to slow down and the thought I’d been careless with what was most precious to me had made me feel angry at myself.
Ready For Flynn, Part 2 : A Rockstar Romance (The Ready For Flynn) Page 31