With a smile, he took Noelle’s hand and led her to the outdoor stage area not far ahead. The area had been blocked off. It was there so students would not approach the musicians or interfere with the crews as they set things up. He waved at Sam, who stood in their second truck. It held their updated Halloween set among other things. It was a large set. Therefore, it needed to be put on stage first.
“You’re early,” Sam called as they stopped feet from truck’s the side door. “Tommy’s not even here.” He jumped down from the almost empty truck. “Jon’s here, but he got a call and walked that way.” He pointed to the music building.
Dominic smiled. “We didn’t have anything to do.” They had actually come early so he could get over his nerves. “Need anything before I show Noelle around?”
“Nah.” Sam put a hand on Dominic’s shoulder. “We got this.”
Noelle felt the tremble as Dominic squeezed her hand. She leaned her head on his arm. “I’m right here.” She was proud he faced another fear.
As soon as Dominic relaxed again, they started to walk. He pointed out the different buildings and told her a few stories. Most were about Claire. Jon had taken a few classes there but mostly partied until he quit. The trip down memory lane was not as painful as he expected. He smiled when he said he had kissed Claire for the first time under a certain tree.
“Always the romantic,” Noelle said, glad he shared. “You didn’t go to frat parties, did you?”
He shook his head. “I was never a player.” He cringed. “Well, not before her.” He took a deep breath. “When I was using, I was with a lotta girls. I woke up a few times to one on my dick.” He closed his eyes. “Sorry. I shoulda kept that to myself.”
“You don’t have to censor yourself.” She trusted him. “Who you were and who you are now are very different. I’m sure that was a rough period in your life. If I had gone through the same, I would have done anything to numb the pain.”
Dominic glanced at her. Her expression told him she didn’t hide her feelings. “When Jon got me to go back to med school, I was never sober. I have no idea how I even passed.” That time in his life was dark. School and music were all he had.
“You’ve come so far.” Noelle lifted his hand and kissed the back of it. They started to walk again and circled the entire campus.
Her mind drifted in the silence. That week, she spent most days jamming with her band via video chat. Between that and the time they spend together in Seattle, surprisingly, they were just about done with writing. Normally, it took them months to have eight or 10 songs complete. Everyone already had riffs or lyrics to contribute before they started. They fed off each other, and it flowed well, naturally. Unlike their last album, they didn’t bicker. It helped that almost everyone was in a good place in their life, and there was less stress financially.
Once near the Jeep again, Noelle leaned on the driver’s side door. “Is everyone dressing up?” They had costumes in the back of the vehicle.
“All the bands at least.” Dominic’s eyes swept the area to check for students. “The students were encouraged to dress up, too. Some of them go all out. I saw the pictures from last year.”
He glanced at the stage. Their set was ready and covered up. That meant there was not much time until the place filled with people. Beyond the barriers, there was a long line. Since it was standing room only, the earlier you got there, the better spot you got. He unlocked the Jeep and grabbed the bag that held their clothes.
“Let’s get to the backstage area.” Dominic locked up and grabbed Noelle’s hand again.
* * *
“Backstage” was actually several trailers parked behind the stage, just beyond the trucks. One of which was used to eat and hang out. Tommy stood just outside with Sam. He saw Dominic and Noelle head their way. When Dominic said he would show that year, he was surprised but not shocked. He understood why Dominic had to stay away but knew how much he had healed since.
“Hey.” Tommy waved at them. “Pat and Eric are on their way with the boys.”
He hadn’t seen his brothers or Eric’s sons in a few months. Pat was still local, but he worked long hours as a chef. Eric moved to Washington DC with his second wife and youngest son but came up to see his oldest whenever he could.
The boys were two years apart. When Tommy found out his brother had cheated on his wife and knocked up the other woman, he laughed in his face. He had told him he played with fire. His wife divorced him so fast, he had nowhere to stay but the pregnant one’s place. Then he was stuck. They seemed happy, though.
“I gotta go,” Sam said and walked toward the stage.
Dominic smiled. “Kaden is doing good on guitar.” He taught him to play. “Maybe I should offer to teach Adam, too.”
“I doubt his mom’ll let Eric bring him around here often enough.” Tommy laughed. “She thinks rock music makes people do drugs. I bet she don’t know Adam’s coming to this tonight.”
Noelle didn’t know all the names, but figured out Pat and Eric were Tommy’s brothers. Adam had to be Eric’s other son. She had met Kaden when he came for a lesson the other day. His mother was nice but more reserved than she expected. The smile she gave Dominic told her they had something at one point. To not play the jealous girlfriend again, she didn’t ask.
“Are you dressing up, too?” she asked Tommy.
Tommy grinned. “Yep. It’s tradition to wear a costume to this festival. The students get pretty creative. It’s fun, anyway.”
“Who are you going to be?” She imagined it to be something sexy. An image of him naked came to mind. Stop thinking of that, she admonished herself.
Tommy winked. “You’ll see.” He nodded at Dominic. “What about you two?”
“I wanted to be Romeo and Juliet, but he refused to wear tights.” Noelle rolled her eyes. “I don’t understand why.”
With a laugh, Tommy replied, “I do. Ya couldn’t get me to wear ’em either.”
Dominic frowned. “Told you.” He sighed. “We settled on Danny and Sandy from Grease, the leather-wearing versions.”
“Loved that movie.” Tommy nodded. “Good choice.” He waved to the trailer door. “If you’re hungry, food’s all set up.”
Noelle nudged Dominic in that direction. “He was too nervous to eat. So we skipped lunch.”
“Glad you decided to come.” Tommy patted Dominic’s shoulder as he stepped into the trailer. “I’m gonna go check with Jon.” He jumped to the ground from the makeshift porch. It only took him a few minutes to find Jon. “When are you changing?”
Jon’s eyebrows furrowed. “This is my costume.” He hated costumes but set that aside for the college festival every year.
“Who’re you supposed to be?” Tommy looked him over. Jon was wearing a tight black t-shirt, tan khakis and a fake badge around his neck. He looked like half the cops in movies and television.
“Isn’t it obvious? Dwayne Johnson in Fast Five.” That was his favorite movie series. Something he had in common with Sean.
“Uh, OK.” Tommy shook his head.
Two students with black armbands approached them. That allowed them access to the bands for the school newspaper. “Do you mind if we take a few candid shots, Mr. Harris and Mr. Fischer?”
“Go ahead.” Tommy shrugged a shoulder. “So, did Dean find out Raining Black is playing before Triple Threat yet?”
Jon shook his head. “He’s not bitching, so I assume not.”
The student with the camera asked, “Can we get a picture of you on your bike, Mr. Harris?”
Jon grinned. “Sure.”
“I’ll go look for Dean.” Tommy walked back to the trailers. He heard music from the last one. After he knocked loudly, he shouted, “Everybody decent?”
The door opened and Dean stuck his head out. “Hey, Tom. We were just getting in some practice.”
Tommy smiled at Dean’s outfit. He was obviously a zombie. “OK. Cool.”
“Come on in.” Dean smiled.
W
ith one eyebrow cocked, Tommy wondered if Dean hid something. He seemed happy, which was rare. “Uh, OK.” Then he realized if he were with Dean, he could see if Dean was truly clean. He stepped inside and sat in a free chair. “How’s it going?”
“Good.” Dean lifted his drink. “Just soda. I swear.”
Tommy glared at Dean. “You sure?”
“Yes.” He walked to Tommy and held the cup under his nose. “Told you. I’m not using or drinking.” He already refused some kind of pill from Bones. The rest of his band were persistent and tried to pour rum in his cup. They didn’t get it. “I’m clean now, and it’s gonna stay that way. Promise.”
All of Raining Black were dressed as zombies. With Dean in rehab, his bandmates thought they were off the bill. Dean only had two days to come up with something. Zombies were easy for Trip and Luis, Gasoline’s set designers. Dean had gone to them for help.
“So...” Tommy took a deep breath and expected a huge argument. “We changed the bill a bit. You guys’re going on before Triple Threat.”
Dean’s eyes opened wide. “Why?”
“Because they’re more popular and went to this school.” Tommy watched Dean for an adverse reaction. “They also have like 100 friends here and most of their family.”
Dean looked away and tried not to show it hurt that he had no one but his bandmates. His family was gone, and friends rarely stuck around, usually because of his insane behavior. He was alone most of the time, unless he had a woman to screw. Even then, either they left quickly, or he threw them out.
“It’s fine. I get it.” Dean turned to Tommy. “I’m lucky you guys even keep me around.” He had to force his voice to stay steady.
Footsteps from the back of the trailer caused everyone to look up. “What’s wrong, Dean?” Amanda, Jon’s sister, asked.
Tommy’s mouth dropped. “Holy fuckin’ shit. What the hell’re you doing here?” He thought she hated Dean after how he treated her. “Jon’s gonna flip.”
“My sex life is not my brother’s business.” Amanda put her hands on her hips and glared at Tommy. “Got it?”
Confused as hell, Tommy stared for a few seconds. “Uh, OK.” She didn’t move toward Dean, so he wasn’t sure what was really going on. “You sure about this? You’re playing with fire.”
“That’s my problem.” Amanda stood her ground.
She was only interested in Dean because of his penis size and because he wasn’t afraid he would break her. Most men were too timid for her. She had no intention for their tryst to go beyond sex, and lots of it. Dean was not the type a girl settled down with.
“It’s almost show time. So I gotta go anyway.” Tommy moved toward the door. “Let me know if you guys need anything.” He emceed that night, so he headed to the trailer where his bag was to change.
As Casting Nets, the opening band, walked onto the stage, Dominic and Noelle stood in a cordoned off area to the left of the stage. With them, were Anthony and the kids, Tommy’s brothers and nephews, Chad’s brothers and parents, as well as select friends. Each wore a black armband.
Dominic smiled as someone dressed as Captain Jack Sparrow grabbed a microphone. The outfit was detailed, down to the half-full bottle of rum. “Check it out.” He tapped Noelle’s shoulder. She had been talking to Theresa.
“Happy early Halloween,” Tommy shouted to the crowd. Then he winked at their concert photographer just below the stage.
His jaw wide open, Dominic couldn’t believe it was Tommy on the stage. “Wow.”
“Yeah.” Noelle hung on Dominic’s shoulder. She snapped gum as part of her get-up. “He looks good.”
Tommy looked the crowd over. “Seems most of you joined me in dressing up. What d’ ya think?” He turned around, hands up. Cheers and cries of his name were the reply. “Thanks. I worked hard on it.” He paused. “In case you haven’t figured it out, I’m Tommy Fischer of Gasoline.” More screams, mostly female. “Wow, stroking my ego today.” He bowed and feigned drunkenness as if he were the Johnny Depp character.
Dominic laughed. Like him, most had no idea who he was before he spoke. He shook his head. Several girls in front distracted Tommy with some skin. He cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled, “Get on with it!”
“OK. Enough about me. We’ve got some great bands for you tonight.” Tommy waved a hand at the all-female band behind him. “Casting Nets is here.” He waited for the cheers to end. “Killed The Fixtion is here!” His eyebrows rose when the group got louder. “Glad you approve. Raining Black is ready to rock.” More girls than guys screamed for them. “Triple Threat is back to show you what graduating from this school did for them.” He was glad that got a huge reaction. “And to close the night… Gasoline.” The entire place erupted, and he grinned.
Chapter 23
Chad stood just offstage. He looked out at a sea of orange Mohawks, crazy colored hair, creative costumes and glow sticks that Vince, Sam and Phil had thrown into the crowd. The sun had gone down. The sky was still multi-colored but grew darker by the second. The air was cooler, but he and his band had added jackets to their costume choice. They had dressed up as the Mythbusters crew—fake facial hair, planned explosions and all. It was Phil’s idea. He and Mark made it work. Only Mark didn’t dress up. He wasn’t into it.
With his arm around Noelle’s shoulders, Dominic had come back to the side of the stage to watch Triple Threat. He had spent most of the last hour in an interview for the school newspaper. They had found out he graduated from the school as well. He smiled when the members of Triple Threat took their places. Impressed by their costume choice, he grinned widely. He wished his bandmates were as close as they used to be.
They started out with “Trapped in the Middle.” It was a good choice, since it had been released as a single. Chris jumped between verses and encouraged the audience to do the same. Chad and Crystal also took advantage of the stage space available to them. They were accustomed to being openers at large events, so rarely did they get that opportunity. A few times, Chad had to rush back to his mic to sing the backing vocals, but he smiled nonetheless.
Tommy stood just offstage to the right. He wished Hailey had come. At first, she planned to come. He even gave her an armband. However, the day before, she told him she had work to do on a DUI accident case. He glanced at the other side of the stage. Dominic and Noelle were barely visible, arms around each other. He wanted that, someone to hold in public sometimes. Although, it would be complicated to explain to the media.
Hands slid over his hips. He groaned internally and wondered who let the handsy student backstage. Then he closed his eyes when the woman pressed her body to his. The hands moved over his abdomen, to his chest then shoulders. She hugged him and sighed. What groupie just hugged their target? He was slightly confused but unsure if he should do anything.
When he looked down, he caught the black armband on her wrist. Any girls who had been allowed backstage had yellow ones, so they knew who was who. It made no sense. “Um, thanks, but no thanks.” He wasn’t interested in a quickie with a stranger that day.
“No thanks to what?” Hailey asked in a sexy voice.
Tommy growled, “Fuck. You’re here.” He placed his hands on hers. “Thought you couldn’t make it.”
“I found a way.”
Technically, she had put off work when she heard the sadness in his voice. They had gotten closer than she expected. She missed him, too. With an insane week, she hadn’t had time to even think about sex until she was ready for bed. Tommy had given her some awesome orgasms, although he wasn’t there. She imagined he was as she let her vibrator do the work. Him in the flesh was much better. Never before had a man “high-average” in penis size brought her to such heights.
“I only have a few hours, so let’s make the best of it.”
She let one hand drift down his body until she cupped his slightly engorged cock. Her own body was already primed. She had watched him for 20 minutes or so before she approached him. He turned her on like
no man could. Johnny Depp was her favorite actor, and Pirates one of his best performances, in her eyes. He had chosen the best costume without a clue.
Slowly, she rubbed his dick through his pants until it was at its full size. She groaned softly and hoped he had a few minutes for her. A hand moved down. Then she raked her nails over his sack. The thin material of his pants allowed for more stimulation than jeans would.
“How about…” She gripped his balls. “We go somewhere else.” She let go and moved up again.
While Tommy grinned madly, he turned around. “My kinda woman.” He leaned down and kissed the sexy-ass pirate with a patch over her left eye. Even he would be hard pressed to recognize Hailey, and he was her boyfriend. Well, kinda. “Let’s go.”
He led her down the stairs to the grass and then to what he hoped was a free trailer. Her boots had block heels, so she easily kept up with him. Adrenaline surged through him. It had been a few days since he had sex. That was a long time for him.
“I can stay at your place next weekend,” she said as they walked up the stairs to a trailer.
Tommy bit his lip and stared into her eyes, his hand on the doorknob. “Sexfest.” He winked.
“You’re too much.” Hailey laughed. She liked that he was insatiable and raunchy even outside the bedroom. “There a bed inside?”
With a frown, he opened the door. “No. We’ll improvise.”
Hailey stepped inside first. The main room had several chairs and a table with multiple duffel bags and couches. There wasn’t a kitchen that she could see. A hallway seemed to lead to more rooms toward the back.
They weren’t alone. Several men she did not know smiled at her. “Um, interesting.”
“ ’Sup Tommy,” Trip said as he looked up from his phone.
Tommy nodded to him. “Kinda busy. Talk later.” He knew the other trailers were also occupied.
Evolving Urges (Gasoline Book 2) Page 17