The infinite something, p.15
The Infinite Something, page 15
“You play too?” I asked him.
He nodded. “That’s my dad out there. I’ve been playing since I was a kid, and never knew he was a musician too, so this is wild.”
I must have had a puzzled look on my face. “Long story, but some asshole agent kept my mom from telling my dad about me. He never knew, and she didn’t want to tell me who he was until she knew how he would react. They were high school sweethearts at one time. Anyway, this is my first time seeing his band live.”
“Which one is your dad?”
“Gabe is,” and even over the almighty thunderous rock-n-roll experience playing out on the stage in front of us I could hear the hero-worship in his voice as he claimed Gabe North as his father.
“That’s really cool. I’m glad you guys found each other, and hope like hell he fired the shit out of that asshole agent.”
The kid nodded. “He did. It was an epic scene too.”
“You belong to one of them?” He nodded at the bands on the stage.
“Um, sort of, I guess. I work for the tour management company as a PA to The Infinite Everything, but my brother is Travis Dawson.”
“And I saw that hug you got from Jay Turner earlier before they took off for the stage,” he added with a waggle of his eyebrows.
I just grinned. “Yeah, well, that is something new.” I realized I hadn’t introduced myself then so I stuck out my hand to the guy. “I’m Everly Dawson, by the way.”
He grabbed my hand and pumped it a couple times good-naturedly. “Chevy Kendrick,” he smiled at me. “Good to meet you!” He was grinning ear to ear as I watched him watching the show playing out before him. “This is nuts. I wish my brothers could be here. They’re going to flip out when I tell them about it.
“You can show them,” I turned his shoulders and pointed across to the other side of the stage. “I have cameramen set up everywhere. We’re recording this whole thing. It’s not going to be the same as being here live, but they’ll get the idea.”
Chevy’s eyes were twinkling with sheer delight. “And you’ll give me a copy?”
“Of course I will. Make sure I have all your contact information before you leave, and I’ll send it directly so I know you got it.”
“Jay better be glad I already have a girlfriend. I’d steal you out from under him if I didn’t.” I laughed right along with him at that. He was certainly bound to be a heartbreaker if he was turned loose on the world as a single guy. Shaggy blond hair, scruff on his face, muscles, and hints of tattoos peeking out from under his shirt screamed bad boy for sure. Had he been a couple years older, he might have been able to give Jay a run for his money.
When I first found out that Valhalla Rising was going to be here and that the guys were talking about a possible impromptu jam session for the audience, I had called Deacon and arranged for videographers to come in and set up tonight behind the scenes. I didn’t tell any of the guys that they were being filmed tonight either. This was going to be my surprise to them that they’d have the memory of this amazing moment to take with them.
I still managed to get some more video with my phone to send to Deacon, and while I was doing that Mags unplugged from her guitar and came over to stand with Chevy and me.
“It’s amazing playing with all of them, but sitting back and watching all the talent just go to town out there is WOW!”
“Yeah it is,” I tell her.
“Tell me you got some good video, please?”
“Actually, we have a whole team here filming this tonight.”
“We weren’t scheduled to shoot video until we hit Miami,” Mags stated, though it was really more of a question.
“I know, that’s why I called Deacon and arranged for a crew for tonight. I just insisted that none of them get on stage. They’re taking audience and side stage viewpoint shots instead. I figured it would be too crowded out there with three bands to have to worry about cameramen in their faces. It would have taken away from the magic of the moment, you know?”
“Fucking genius, girl!”
DING
Deacon: Can’t tell if Price and the rest of suits at Masters are pissed or elated about what’s happening now. Probably just pissed about being left in the dark so they couldn’t be there in person to brag about it, and claim credit for putting it all together. Assuming this is why you needed videographers tonight.”
Me: Yeah, it was a surprise. Big wigs would have ruined the magic if they’d gotten their hands on things first.
Deacon: Too damn smart. Where have you been my whole career?
Me: Um, college, duh!
Deacon: Smart-ass. Good job tonight, kid!
As I looked up from the last text a very sweaty, grinning from ear to ear Jay was headed in my direction. “Please, tell me you got some good video of that crazy chaos tonight.”
“Guess who hired videographers behind our backs to film it all?” Mags ratted me out while Chevy laughed at me.
“Seriously? Shit, I can not wait to see the footage.”
“Me too!” I explained again what I’d just told Mags moments ago about not wanting the cameramen to ruin the surprise or the magic, and they all nodded in agreement as the other guys started trailing over and caught wind of the fact that I had ensured there would be plenty of video of the night.
“This is your PA?” Gabe asked, having walked up in the middle of things too.
“Yeah, she’s great, huh?”
“Looks like maybe she’s priceless.” Gabe offered with a wink causing Jay to bristle. “Calm down, Jameson. She’s a bit young for me. I was talking about her ability to anticipate exactly what works for stage shows and what doesn’t.”
“She’s sending me video from tonight too so that I can show Ford and Dak,” Chevy told his dad who beamed at him in response. Then Gabe turned to me, “Thanks for that.”
“Not a problem,” I said just as my disgustingly sweaty brother came barreling up and snatched me into the air spinning me around.
“This is the real reason you’ve been dodging me all week, huh, sis?”
“Yeah, I wouldn’t have been able to keep a secret.”
“Well, thank fuck. I thought you’d never talk to me again. At least you had a good reason with all this going on.” I narrowed my eyes at him then, because I had a damn good reason without all this and he knew it.
“She’s your sister?” Gabe asked, perplexed.
“Yeah,” Travis answered wearily.
“Why isn’t she working for your band then?”
“And now we’re back to why she wasn’t speaking to me.”
“I did work for him. I was under appreciated, and Deacon moved me to work with The Infinite Everything instead. Also, he was testing my abilities with a more established band.”
“So, you’re actually contracted through Wicked Web then?”
“Not yet. I’m interning as a tour manager’s assistant. He just throws me in as his on-site rep in the form of band PA, because it works.”
“You’re a fucking intern? I would have guessed you’d been doing this for years.”
“Well, she has. Handling shit for our band was basically the gist of Everly’s social life in college,” my brother laughed out.
I frowned. “He’s not wrong, sadly. After Travis was injured and couldn’t do football anymore he threw himself into the band seriously, and so did I. My contribution was just in a different way since I wanted to support him, but have zero musical talent.”
“And then you let her do something dumb like take an internship without guaranteeing she’d continue to work for you?” Gabe patted my brother on the shoulder. “Tough luck, pal!”
“Damn it, Everly! Can you stop making more fans than we have? It’s embarrassing!” Drew’s joke was just the thing to relax the tension that had built again between my brother and I. “So, we headed out for a bit, or what?”
“Already put a call into Rise, they’re expecting us,” Wen stated.
I glanced around at all the warm bodies. “Damn, we practically need one of the tour buses to drag our asses over there.”
“She really is a logistical genius,” someone muttered.
“Yo, Jordan,” Evan called out. “Can you get Fourth Down’s beast of a bus fired up? We need a ride to the club, man.” Everyone was laughing, but this was apparently really happening.
“Sure thing, give me 15.”
“Great, you guys all need to find showers and dry clothes anyway,” I told them.
“Aw, Ev, are you saying we stink?” My brother moved in with a predatory gleam in his eyes. Thankfully, Jay came to my rescue.
“Normally, I’d let you go – respect for sibling wars and all, but I’m pretty sure Ev doesn’t have a change of clothes here like the rest of us.” He wasn’t wrong.
“Okay, lover boy,” my brother called out as he backed away. “”Now, how about trying not to slobber all over my sister in public tonight then. Tit for tat, you know?” His face screwed up then. “Wait, forget the word tit just came out of my mouth and keep your hands off too! Fuck! Stupid sisters,” he continued mumbling as he walked off while everyone laughed at his expense.
Chapter 11
Stepping off a tour bus in an empty arena parking lot day after day had become a norm for me, but stepping off of one in front of a packed nightclub in New York City with a line wrapping around the building of people waiting to get inside was something new altogether. Jay grabbed my hand so I wouldn’t fall as the multitude of camera flashes going off dazzled my eyes. Apparently someone tipped off the paparazzi to our little soiree.
“Oh my God, it’s The Infinite Everything!” Someone shouted, but then they caught sight of Gabe and the guys too.
“Holy shit! It’s Valhalla Rising too!”
An endless barrage of noise followed us as we were escorted inside and then again directed to the second floor VIP section. This time, the VIP area had its own dance floor, which was probably for the best judging by the hungry looks every damn woman in the club were currently throwing the guys from all three bands.
As we were led to what appeared to be a lounge area with a plethora of couches, chairs, and accent tables a petite brunette approached the bunch of us. “So, it looks like I picked the perfect concert to go see tonight, guys!” Her voice was beautiful with a little raspy smoke to it, which made placing her that much easier. “Holy crap, you guys rocked up there. I wanted to climb up onstage with you all and jam too.” Calista Jacks was the lead singer for the female power-rock band, Dusty Rose. The same band bitch-face, Skylar Reynolds was in. I glanced around then just knowing I’d find her lurking and ready to pounce.
“Hey, hey, if it isn’t Jacks, herself!” Wen called out. “Get over here and give me some sugar, girl!” In about 2.5 seconds the girl in question had launched herself straight into Wen’s arms complete with her legs wrapped around his waist and their lips locked in a scandalous kiss that probably blew mine and Jay’s public make out session out of the park. I’m pretty sure Calista was just shy of 30 years old and Wen was more than likely in his 40s. Not that I was judging, but… Okay, fine, I was totally judging a little bit. Maybe that made me a horrible person, but I couldn’t help it.
“They’ve had an on-again off-again thing whenever Wen is separated from his wife,” Jay whispered into my ear. What? Wen was married? And he was carrying on like that with Calista in the open? And she was okay with it? Now, I was really judging them, and not feeling bad about it anymore. “Not our business though,” Jay added as he felt me stiffen up with the news.
“I’m pretty certain I need a drink now,” I told no one and everyone.” A waitress was standing not two feet from me, boobs jutted out, fake smile gleaming as she asked the guys if they needed anything and ignored me.
“Yes,” I stated loudly. “We need a new waitress, and then we’ll order.” The guys all started laughing.
“Damn, Ev, you had to chase the hot one away,” Evan joked. The waitress stood her ground when he spoke, assuming – I guess – that he would rescue her from being sent away. With that in mind, she thrust out her chest further and preened in his direction. He finally noticed and shook his head. “Nuh uh, that was a joke sweetheart. Don’t care how good lookin’ you are, you disrespect any of our girls and we don’t deal with you.” The skantress threw a nasty glare my way before stomping off. Meanwhile, I secretly patted myself on the back for coming up with a new term for skanky waitresses everywhere.
“Thanks, Evan.”
“No worries, Evie. We have each other’s backs, always.” Then he grinned as Micah chimed in, “besides plenty of other pussy here tonight.” That also received laughs from the guys and an eye roll from both Mags and myself. I honestly couldn’t bring myself to look at Calista for her response as she was still glued inappropriately to Wen.
A moment later a man who appeared to be the club manager found his way to our group. He glanced at me as he spoke. “I hear there was an issue with Becca, your waitress?”
“Yeah, I said I needed a drink and she ignored me while trying to flaunt her boobs to the guys and asking if they needed something. It was rude, obnoxious, and highly unprofessional.”
“I agree. She has been removed from the VIP lounge and you have my sincere apologies.” He wiggled his fingers in the air and two more waitresses came to stand beside him. “Cheyenne and Mercedes were promoted to VIP in her place and they will take care of everything you need for the duration.” These girls wore genuine smiles on their faces.
“Can I just get this out of the way?” Cheyenne asked. “I’m such a big fan of all of you. I got to see you in concert last night and, wow! I was blown away.” She sought out my brother and the guys then. “Fourth Down is my new favorite band. I’ve been playing Shadowland on repeat on Spotify for days.” She hopped up and down excitedly then, much to the chagrin of her boss. “Okay, sorry. Just had to get that excitement out so I wouldn’t stay a jittery mess.” Mercedes was nervously watching this play out, no doubt waiting for her friend to be demoted.
“Apologies,” boss man started. “Cheyenne,” he tugged her arm, trying to pull her away.
“No, don’t!” I yelled out. “Her, I like! She’s honest and a real fan, obviously. Please, don’t be upset with her. That was perfect. Now, as long as you’ll take my drink order, we’re all good here,” I added with a giant smile.
I heard Calista ask Wen who I was as I ordered my rum and coke. “I like her,” she told him.
“Have I told you lately how amazing you are?” Jay whispered in my ear.
I shook my head no while Cheyenne and Mercedes made the rounds getting everyone else’s orders too. They both did a wonderful job for the rest of the night while also talking music with the guys. It was so much better than having another slutty vulture drooling all over them while posing vapidly in an attempt to gain attention.
“Oh yay! My ladies are finally here!” Calista yelled as she launched off of Wen’s lap where she’d been perched since they sat down. I’m pretty sure the groan I made was inaudible to everyone else. Jay did pull me tighter to his side where we were sitting together on one of the couches though, so maybe not as inaudible as I had thought.
“Hey bitch! You could have waited for the rest of us,” I heard Sky shout to Calista while refusing to turn and glance in their direction.
“Well, when Wen told me to meet him here I didn’t feel like waiting on you to try to track Jay down backstage.” That made me stiffen up. Jay just ran the hand he had draped over my shoulder soothingly up and down my arm. “How was I supposed to know they were all hijacking a tour bus to come together?”
Sky, and two more equally beautiful women, followed Calista back over to where we were seated. Unlike her friends though, Sky once again proved she had zero manners and even less concept of how people felt about her when she sauntered over and plopped her barely covered ass right in Jay’s lap, wrapped her arms around his neck, and proceeded to nibble his ear while watching me taking in the scene.
I knew Jay’s initial lack of reaction was from shock, but when he pulled out of it I was more than impressed with his actions.
“What in the actual fuck, Sky?” He stood, peeling her arms off of his neck as he did, effectively dropping her ass to the floor. “It has NEVER been okay for you to sit on my lap, paw at me, or put your mouth anywhere near me,” he yelled causing an even bigger scene. “I’m beyond NOT FUCKING INTO YOU! Don’t ever presume to fuckin’ touch me again. I’ve put up with your bullshit antics and childish crush because we had to work together sometimes, but you just crossed a major fucking line with me.”
Wow! I had never heard Jay drop so many F-bombs in all the time I’d known him. Apparently neither had anyone else judging by all the slack-jawed responses around our area. Hell, even security came over to make sure everything was okay.
“We’re fine,” Jay told them as he waved them off. “You,” he pointed at Sky, who still hadn’t picked her astonished ass up off the floor, “stay the fuck away from me. Get in my space one more fuckin’ time and I will file a goddamn restraining order against your ass and make that shit public knowledge. I mean it.” He looked around at everyone else then. “If she’s still here when Ev and I get back from dancing we’re gonna find our own ride home.” Jay grabbed my hand and pulled me up mumbling about how he was sorry about the bullshit.
“Holy shit,” I heard Calista say. “What the hell were you thinking, Sky?”
“He’s not with Lydia anymore. It’s finally my time now,” she yelled at her friend from the sound of it there were tears involved too.
“He’s clearly with that Ev girl. You told us about seeing them together in Philly too,” Calista reminded her.
