“Ah. Good question. The best one of the day so far,” I responded and looked to the others for someone to jump in.
“Friday, 09:00 am,” Lily shot back before I could answer.
“Do we know how many there are for sale?”
“90k I think… somewhere around that figure—right guys?” I asked the others, and they all nodded in agreement. "And before those greedy ticket touts think they’re gonna have a field day with these—they can think again. We want every single penny to go to the people that need the money, so y’all will need photo Id with the named ticket for entry. If you can’t make it and a ticket comes free, there is a site the PR company is setting up to exchange them.”
Paul leaned forward and whispered in my ear, “Gotta wrap it up, Boss. We’ve got the radio station interview in fifty minutes.” Nodding slowly, I stood, placed my hands on the table in front of me and leaned over toward the press.
“Alright, I think we’re about done here, folks. If we sit here much longer, we’ll never get this baby off the ground. Thanks everyone for coming out here this morning. Please spread the word. Our official pages should be up on social media and will have crowdfunding pages for shares, so help us get the word out there. Each artist taking part will also have their own GoFundMe page to make it even more interesting. I’m hoping fans will get behind their artists and make the band’s money page grow.”
Turning toward the door back to the lounge leading off the conference room we stepped off the small platform and left the journalists firing questions which went unanswered.
“Can you believe that fucker making that comment about you drinking?” Alfie asked, still pissed at the guy.
“Sure. Guys like him are jealous of dudes like us. I just smile and look at sad fuckers like him and think I could stop drinking tomorrow but you’re always gonna look that bad.”
Gibson chuckled and leaned forward offering me his hand. I shook his firmly, and he pulled it into his chest his other sliding around my shoulder. He leaned back to look me in the eyes and slapped my back.
“Love you, dude. That attitude is exactly why you’re where you are, and his is why he was asked to leave. Did you see the dude’s hair? I shudder to think what his pubes are like.” He added as gave me a wide-eyed stare and laughed heartily at his own joke. His comment grossed Lily out and she shuddered.
“Gibson!” she admonished. Alfie almost drowned on the swig of water he was in the middle of taking from a small glass when he heard Gib’s comment. He coughed and spluttered, slapping his chest with his hand, and both Gibson and Cody creased up with laughter.
“This gig is a prize; it’s gonna be phenomenal,” Alfie muttered as he grabbed Lily’s waist and kissed her temple.
“If you don’t choke yourself beforehand,” she replied offering a rueful smile before slapping him in the middle of his chest. I cracked up laughing. As always, I could never pass up an opportunity to fuck with him about his woman.
“One can always hope he does, Lily. Should I keep the other side of my bed warm just in case, sweetheart?”
“Get that thought the fuck out of your head, Rick Fars. Anyone goes first it’s Lily, ‘cause I ain’t leaving her behind to deal with a dirty fucker like you,” he snapped like he was genuinely mad.
“Oh, I dunno, Alfie. She ended up with you. It appears to me she’s got a thing for ‘dirty fuckers’ since you’re her man,” I threw back goading him further.
“Alright. Jesus, you two. Knock it off or I think I’m gonna need to whip mine out at this rate. Will you both cut the ‘dueling dicks’ routine. Lily, honey, if I weren’t so deeply in love with Chloe, I’d take you off their hands because it sure as shit must get boring listening to these two.”
Alfie cast a dark look at Gibson and he threw his hands up in front of him. “Easy, dude, I’m just fucking with you,” Gibson said, through his laughter, then he winked at me, and chuckled loudly.
Chapter Two
Rare Quality Time
After shaking our hands, Gibson bent forward and kissed Lily’s cheek. Jealousy burned in Alfie’s eyes and I knew he was wound up for real by then. Taking note of Alfie’s expression, Gibson smirked and winked at Lily just to fuck with him further then followed Jonny, his right-hand man, out the door.
I knew for certain Gibson only had eyes for his wife, but I wasn’t so sure Alfie believed any man didn’t want what was his. In previous years before he was whipped, Gibson was a tearaway, and I wasn’t sure whether it was time or his long-term relationship that had changed him, but he couldn’t get out of the conference quick enough to fly home to Colorado.
Sometimes when I looked at him I found it hard to believe he was ever the wild partying, fuck-anything-that-moved kind of guy that had lived the lifestyle I did. He and his best friend, Toby, used to drink like fish; however, in the previous few years Gibson hadn’t touched a drop. Strange. Never trust anyone who doesn’t drink—that was my motto. That was until Gibson stopped drinking because I trusted him with my life.
When the very fragrant Lily stepped forward and hugged me, I held on to her a fraction longer than I intended because she always smelled incredible. Every time anyone mentioned her it was the one thing that came to my mind. There was no doubt about it, Alfie Black was one truly lucky man. If I’d been after a wife she’d definitely be my first choice, but, in any case she wasn’t available because Alfie had seen her first and Lily had only ever had eyes for Alfie since the first day I met her.
Despite ribbing Lily for her awful taste in men, I considered her my best female friend. Perhaps she’d earned that title because I’d never fucked her… or maybe we had become the kind of friends we were because she was already unattainable.
Either way the girl was one kick ass musician, and she was also a sweetheart. If I only did one thing right in my life it was offering her my advice and support. Never for a minute did I figure she’d take me up on that, but she did. Even then I never thought we’d have grown as close as we were.
“Dinner? Lennie invited us over. Digs and Shawn will be there too. Are you coming?”
“You’d never have to ask me that question inside the bedroom, honey,” I quipped. Lily flashed a grin then smacked me across the arm. Her face grew pink, and I marveled at how strange that trait was for a chick who lived her life surrounded by hairy-assed male rock stars.
“I’ll rephrase that. Lennon is ordering dinner in; would you like to join us?”
“Sure. I’d love to. I’ve got one more whatever it is to do then I’ll be over. Should be there by what?” I looked to Paul for my answer.
“Six-ish?”
“There ya go, six-ish,” I said as I stepped forward and kissed her again. Alfie growled in frustration.
“Alright, break it the fuck up,” he said pulling Lily back against him. Lily’s arms wrapped around his waist and she stared with her doe eyes up into his. To be honest, I could see the appeal, for all I loved to fuck with his mind, Alfie was one hot looking dude.
“Looking forward to it,” Lily said, and I smirked when I saw Alfie sigh in defeat.
By the time I left my other appointment it was much later than I had anticipated and as we headed for Lennie’s place it was already 7:45 pm. After finishing that late, had dinner been with anyone else, I’d have probably blown them out and gone straight home; but I loved those people, and it had been a while since I’d spent some downtime with them.
XrAid, Lily’s band, had opened for my band, Cobham Street, during a couple of tours, and Lennon and I had grown close due to the many late-night conversations we’d shared. Everything from his music tastes to politics was in alignment with mine and I admired his clear minded business sense. He was a very mature guy, and he’d been on his own from quite a young age, and I loved how driven he was.
Lennon was loyal to his bandmates, and their needs came before everything else in his life. He was quiet and intelligent—a little geeky looking, but in a hot-as-fuck rock star kind of way. The women fawned
over him like he was made of chocolate, but Lennie being the reserved type, usually shrugged girls off most of the time… apart from when Cody dragged him along as his wing man.
I understood from the way Lennie kept his private life low key he was probably more of a steady boyfriend kind of guy. He never gave much focus into finding a girl and he’d once told me he loosely saw someone but said he preferred to concentrate on his music career instead of being tied down.
Arriving at Len’s place I noticed the fan numbers were a little thinner than the quantity that hung around mine. Then again, Lennon wasn’t one of the star players in his band. Lily and Cody were the faces of XrAid and Lennon preferred it that way. Not that he didn’t have a following; it was more that his fans knew he liked his privacy.
Still, when I saw those fans watching us I had thanked God for the tinted windows we had and sat back in my seat while Jed, my minder, negotiated the large steel gates with the CCTV cameras that were firmly trained on our car.
Jed could hardly be heard for the screams of hysterical fans as they slapped their palms on the windows of the car, some peering in with their eyes shaded around the glass in the hopes of seeing who was inside.
At the beginning of my music career I used to find the noise they made threatening, but after a couple of years I learned to have confidence in the transport and Jed, who ferried me around.
Eventually the gates retracted and two security guys with German Shepherd dogs stood guard across the open space, the dogs barking loudly, as our car drove over the metal grid with spikes which stopped ram-raiders from rushing in behind us. Lennon took his safety seriously.
Shrugging out of my leather jacket, I dumped it on the seat next to me as the car pulled up in front of his modest property. He had another house nearby, but as it was his old family home, he left and bought somewhere with more privacy and better security.
“Well, well, well. Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes?” Lennon asked and grinned when he pulled the door open and immediately strode toward me.
“Good to see you, dude. Ugly as ever, I see.” I joked as he pulled me into his chest. His firm strong arms surrounded me until we were in a full-on hug.
“Never had you down as the envious type, Rick. After all this time and I’m still learning about you,” he joked, and squeezed me tightly again before he let me go. The genuine warmth in his firm hug made me feel like I belonged. He’d grown to be an important person in my trusted circle of friends and it gave me a good feeling to be around him.
Releasing me from his hold, Lennon kept his arm around my shoulder and led me inside. Shawn and Cody sat by the breakfast bar, beers in hand. “Look what the cat dragged in,” Lennon crowed.
“Cat? You’re the one with his arm around his shoulder, dude,” Cody said, gesturing his beer at me by way of acknowledgement. Shawn slid off his barstool and came striding toward me.
“Great to see you, Rick. It’s been a while, huh?” He offered me his hand and I took it, shaking it firmly. Stepping back, he glanced at Lennon, “Are you getting Rick a beer?”
Lennon was already thinking ahead and had swiped a Stella Artois from the fridge and was opening it. “It’s Rick. Of course, I’m getting beer. Got some Russian Vodka in the freezer, Rick. I’m sure it won’t be there by the time you leave.” A slow smile spread on his lips and it meant a lot that he knew I loved that almost as much as my whiskey.
Apart from my band I didn’t socialize with many people. These guys in XrAid; Alfie’s band, Crakt Soundzz; and Gibson’s band, M3rCy were the closest people to me that weren’t related.
“Ah, you made it,” Lily stated, wandering in dressed in a little black and white polka dot bikini that drew my eyes instantly to the fabulous scripted tattoo around her thigh.
“Hello, Rick. Up here. My face is above my shoulders,” she said in an amused voice.
Alfie came up behind her, dripping wet, fresh from the pool, and wrapped a towel around her shoulders. “Cover up, honey, there are too many letches around here for my liking,” he muttered eying first Cody, then me. Poor Cody averted his eyes. Mine stayed firmly on her legs.
Cody was the lovesick guy who had struggled with his feelings for Lily since the first time he saw her. He'd told me that one night when we were drunk, but despite that he’d always respected who she had chosen to be with, and settled for the platonic close friend role. Pity he came second best there too, with my niece Mya’s, husband Jack, fulfilling that role with Lily since they had been kids.
Lily turned into Alfie’s arms, accepted the towel, and stared adoringly up into his eyes. Alfie’s forehead dropped to touch hers and they shared a moment that was both hot from a voyeuristic point of view and too intimate for us as onlookers to be present. From the way Alfie looked at her I was almost convinced he was going to fuck her right there on the counter top.
“Back off, Alfie. Next thing you’ll be fucking her on the table before we’ve all had dinner,” I muttered and put my beer bottle to my lips.
“You sound frustrated, Rick. Dry spell?” Alfie asked and chuckled as he pulled his forehead from Lily’s and smoothed her hair down. Lily buried her face in Alfie’s neck, momentarily embarrassed by the conversation.
“Nah, I get more pussy than you could handle; just taming that dick of yours so as we all get to eat on time,” I responded with a smirk.
“Like I’d let Alfie in my panties while you all watched,” Lily mumbled wrapping the towel sarong-style around her body and wandering toward Lennon’s bedroom.
“If you need a hand drying that pretty little body back there…” I called after her.
“You’re a fucking dog, dude,” Shawn said, shaking his head with a small smile before he took a swig of beer.
“Glad someone else sees what I see. That’s my wife you’re talking about,” Alfie said, grabbing a bottle of beer from the fridge.
Lennon was subtle at changing the subject and asked me some questions about the press conference. It was clear Cody had indeed brought him up to speed, and we sat getting caught up about the festival until Lily came back dressed more appropriately in jeans and a heavy sweater, as the gate buzzer went off.
Lennon let the caterers up to the house and they dropped off two huge silver colored insulated food carriers. The aroma of fresh garlic and basil permeated through the room.
Dinner was Italian and incredibly tasty and as always when a bunch of rock stars got together the alcohol flowed. After a couple of hours, we were all pretty drunk and once Lily said she was tired and sloped off to bed, Shawn and Digs went home. Lennon offered me a bed for the night and being mellow I accepted.
Jed insisted on staying with me and ended up sleeping in the pool house and by 3:35 am only Lennie and I were left talking. We were both as drunk as skunks, lying on his couches in the sitting room and it had felt like old times. A late night like that helped recapture some of the feelings I’d had from our time on tour together.
After Jed went to bed Len picked up from where we’d left off on a previous discussion we’d had months before. Our relationship was like that; we had so much to say we never quite managed to exhaust a subject we were discussing before bouncing onto another topic.
I knew a friend like Lennon was rare because there weren’t many people I gelled with in the way I did with him. His quiet temperament calmed me. He was funny as fuck when he let himself go, and I never had to try to be anything but myself with him.
I’d go as far as to say conversation came too easy to us because it was almost 6 am when we called it a night. Both of us slurred our words from the amount of alcohol we’d consumed, and I could hardly see straight. As if Lennon knew what I needed he suggested we hit the hay.
Climbing the stairs behind him put me in a weird place, and maybe it was all the alcohol I had consumed but I was sad we were going to bed. I wanted more of his time. I wished for a moment he was in my band because my relationships with my bandmates were nothing like it was with him.
Then I supp
osed I was very drunk and figured if we worked together every day we wouldn’t have the time or make the effort to get into deep discussions like we’d just had.
Lennon stepped out the way at the top of the stairs and let me go first on the landing. He walked after me to the end of the hall, brushed past me to open the bedroom door and his face was so damned close to mine I could smell the subtle hint of his cologne. My eyes dropped to his jawline and his five o’clock shadow made him look even sexier than normal.
Whether it was the drink or the fact I missed the masculine feel of firm hands on me I’m not sure, but I leaned across, planting a kiss on his cheek. My heart sped with excitement when my lips touched his skin and when Lennie turned to look at me his eyes held mine. For a few seconds it felt as if time had stood still. My pounding heartbeat hammered in my chest, with anticipation of I knew not what because instead of freaking out on me, Lennie had stayed where he was and stared right back.
Warm labored breaths ghosted over my face as his remained close. His nearness made my cock stir, and I swayed a little and almost lost my balance. I reached out to stabilize myself and my hand landed on his warm, hard chest. For a second I thought Len was going to kiss me back, then figured my fantasy must have been playing tricks on me because he stepped further back and cleared his throat with an awkward furtive glance.
“All right, you’ve been here before. This is the same room as last time. Get your head down. I hope it’s comfortable for you. You’ll find towels and shit in the bathroom if you need them,” he said as his voice tried to remain impassive to what had passed between us.
I really didn’t want to let it end like that, so I reached out and pulled him into a hug. This time my erect cock tightened my pants, and I was surprised when his semi-erect dick tilted firmer towards mine and he wrapped his arms around me in return. Then we both just stood there—hugging.
Normally, when a dude hugged me it entailed a quick one-sided embrace kind of greeting but Lennon’s hugs had never been like that at all. I felt myself sag against him, our bodies getting closer, depending on each other to remain upright. Only one person other than Lennon had ever hugged me the way he did, and I’d never been allowed to talk about that.
Exhale and Move On Page 3