Chapter Six

Cross

 

 

We’d just played one of the best sets of our lives. Each one had gotten better and thank God because this mattered. We couldn’t suck as an opener for Kissing Cinder. We’d be run from the building. The crowd loved it and I noticed quite a few people singing along.

This was surreal. When we did our small venue tour, of course, the crowd had already known our songs. But this… this was much, much bigger.

As I got to the bottom step off the stage, someone handed me a bottle of water and a towel. I ran the towel over my face and down my neck, then around to the back to get rid of some of the sweat. Then I sucked down half the bottle of cold water. Drumming was a physical workout. There was no way around it.

Even Drink was on point tonight, which wasn’t always a given. Most of the time we all crossed our fingers as we went on stage that he’d pulled it off. The one thing we could remind ourselves of was that yes, he was important, but his mistakes were less noticeable and we were becoming pretty good at covering for him. Or Ransom was anyway.

“Told Lawson we needed to talk to him tonight,” Ransom said as we went through the doors to the backstage.

“Sounds good.”

“Should we bring Dixon?”

Good question. Dixon wasn’t going anywhere, but if the three of us had some secret meeting with our manager, Drink would probably notice. That could set off a more serious series of events than we were ready for. At the moment.

“Let’s fill him in later,” I said.

“Great show, guys,” Lawson said as he came our way.

Drink just kept walking, but Dixon and Ransom shook Lawson’s hand as they passed.

“Want to talk now?” he asked quietly when he got to me.

I nodded at Ransom to indicate that I needed him. He slowed down while Drink and Dixon kept going without realizing we weren’t with them anymore. Then the three of us slipped into a random empty room on the right.

“What’s going on?” Lawson asked, folding his arms over his chest. “Or should I guess?”

“How hard would it be to quietly put together a short list of bass players?” I asked.

We all knew what was coming and probably should’ve started the process earlier.

“Cross and I don’t want to be caught off-guard,” Ransom offered.

“It’s coming. We all see it. Except maybe him,” I said—because it was the truth.

“We think eventually he’s going to do something we can’t come back from. Or he’ll just stop showing up,” Ransom explained.

“OK,” Lawson said while nodding. “I’ve actually been thinking about this very thing lately. You know who’d be perfect?”

I had ideas, but we waited for Lawson to answer.

“Booker Coyote. It’d be a stretch to get him, but I could put out some feelers. See if he’d even be interested.”

“He’s ridiculously good,” Ransom said.

Booker was one of the best still at our level though insanely busy already. We’d be lucky to get him. Unlikely but lucky.

“I’ll just start putting out some feelers,” Lawson said. “I’ll get some names together. We’ll go from there.”

“Thanks, Lawson,” I told him as I pat him on the back.

Just as we got to the door, Lawson turned back to us. “Does Dixon know about this?” he asked.

“We’ll fill him in,” Ransom promised.

Ransom and I left soon after Lawson and followed the noise down the hall to find Dixon and Drink. Where there was noise, there was usually Drinkswine. The two of them had already started their own personal after party. At least two dozen people filled the room, including four girls hanging all over Drink.

I wasn’t jealous. Couldn’t care less about the attention he got, but I hated how he handled it. And hated how he ensured he was the one getting it. His loud voice and big arm movements ensured no one else could possibly overshadow him.

Standing at the door to the party, dreading the idea of going inside and actually considering skipping it all together. Maybe I’d go watch Kissing Cinder do their set.

Then someone groaned loudly behind me and the familiar, small blonde passed by me when I glanced over my shoulder.

Indie had changed her clothes. Earlier she’d been wearing jean shorts and a regular T-shirt. Now she was in a skirt and tank top. Just normal clothes that looked hot as hell on her. The skirt brushed against her legs as she walked and damn, I needed to get the ideas flooding my brain out of my head.

“What was the groan for?” I called out to her.

She turned toward me and that camera still hung around her neck. I tried not to smile because her camera was what had caused our first meeting to not go so well and I wondered if she always had it with her.

Actually, if I was being honest, my shitty attitude when I’d first seen her had more to do with the way I reacted than anything else. It was like pouring gasoline on a fire with my mood being the fire.

“What?” she asked, cocking her head at me.

“You groaned as you walked by. Something bothering you?” I took two steps toward her. She only took one, yet still, we met in the middle. Then I folded my arms over my chest to try to look more serious so she wouldn’t know I was purposefully needling her. Hoping for a reaction.

“That.” She flung her hand out in the direction of Dixon, Drink, and those girls.

“That?” I looked behind me, even though I knew very well to what she was referring.

“That,” she said again. “Doesn’t it bother you? No. Of course, it wouldn’t. Don’t mind me.” Indie turned to walk away.

“Wait, wait. What are you talking about?” I asked, not realizing I’d reached out for her arm. We didn’t make contact, but still, I snapped my hand back hoping she wouldn’t notice.

She sighed. “I’ve grown up around this. It really shouldn’t bother me, but for whatever reason, this time it does.”

“What bothers you?” I asked again because she hadn’t answered me the first time. “Give me a little more information to go on here.”

She swallowed, then wet her lips. “The girls. Groupies. What did that guy call them? Medics?”

My stomach tightened. I knew that was what she’d meant yet hoped for something else.

“You don’t like the girls that hang around backstage?” I chuckled. “You might be in the wrong place then.”

“I know,” she snapped.

Woah. This was clearly taking a turn and not for the better. Yet even with her annoyance, I wanted to be there talking to her.

“I’m not a prude,” she said suddenly.

“Yeah, OK.”

“I’m not. It’s just… ” Indie sighed and leaned her back against the nearest wall. I moved in front of her. “I’ve seen girls throw themselves at my dad and the guys since I was little. I’m used to it. But none, at least that I ever saw, were ever… ”

“What?”

“OK, look.” She pushed off the wall and took a step toward me, then dropped her voice. “Those girls in there look really young and are dressed really… ” Indie shook her head. “Anyway, your friend has his tongue down one of the girl’s throats and it’s super inappropriate.”

“Wow. Slut shaming?”

“I didn’t call those girls ‘sluts,’” she countered, anger burning her eyes.

I probably shouldn’t have decided to mess with her, but this was seriously entertaining.

“I was talking about Drinkswine,” I said with a chuckle. “The guy with his tongue down the girl’s throat.”

Her face pinched up in a way that made her look far too severe. “It’s not funny,” she said. “Do you guys check ID? Do you even know their names?”

I shook my head. “Not always.” And I should’ve made sure she knew I wasn’t like Drink, but why did I care what this girl thought of me?

“I figured. Look, whatever. You called me back here and asked, so I told you. They look really young. They're dressed so… ”

“So?”

“Barely dressed, OK?” she snapped. “They’re barely dressed. And they’re acting really inappropriate, given how young they look. That’s my only point. They could get you all in trouble one day.”

“And you’ve made your point.” Those words came out snidely, making me sound more like an asshole than I’d meant to, but this was no longer fun. She was beginning to piss me off. It wasn’t that Indie was wrong in what she was saying—it was the way she said it. Those girls weren’t beneath her and she didn’t sound like she thought they were, but she was definitely judging us.

“Well, again, you asked.”

“I’m starting to wish I hadn’t.”

“Whatever,” she said as she walked away.

Yet when I turned around to go into the room where everyone else was, I couldn’t help but look at the girl Drink had on his lap and couldn’t deny that what Indie had said was absolutely true. Of course, he was drawn to the youngest one in the room.