Page 52 of Accidental Fire
“Monday. Brittany called me and wanted to get together tonight, but I told her that, on the advice of counsel, we aren’t allowed to have any communication without counsel present.” I did a double take at his turn of phrase. That didn’t sound like the pot-soaked guy I’d gotten to know at the beginning of the tour.
“And where’d you come up with—”
“Ant told me to say that when I talked to him Thursday morning.”
I laughed and shook my head. “Got it. Good planning. Do you want me to go with you?” I asked. I was sure he was nervous about it, and if he needed someone aside from Regal Ashe to go with him, I’d go. I was sure River would want to go along.
“Thanks, but Ant thinks if I go by myself it’ll look better to the judge that I’m stepping up and taking ownership of my mistake, so I’ll call you guys when I know what’s gonna happen. I hope like hell I don’t go to jail. She lied about her age from the beginning, and I was an idiot for dating her.”
That old hindsight would kick you in the ass every time. It was a shame there wasn’t a way to have foresight.
“Going forward, ask for ID, and trust your gut. If you change your mind about tomorrow, call Riv. We don’t have to go into the courtroom with you. We can wait outside.”
Arlo nodded and joined the others. I felt for the kid, but we all had hard lessons to learn. I just prayed his lesson wouldn’t end up putting him behind bars.
Ching…ching…ching!
Nate stood from his chair next to Pop and Olive, banging his knife against the glass. Chanice was seated next to my father, and I was sitting with River and the band.
“Thank you guys for coming. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t sure how this tour was going to go, especially after the first show, but I have to congratulate Accidental Fire for pulling it together and finding their feet. The music I’ve heard is fantastic, and the idea of mixing things up from show to show is fantastic and highly marketable.
“I had an idea of my own regarding the album. I’d like to talk to you about releasing a double live set, with one LP devoted to the acoustic songs and the other devoted to the metal songs. Something for all your fans, so think about it. The reviews have been great, and they get better with each show. Keep it up.”
Everyone clapped, and then we filed inside to make plates. It was a beautiful spread—eggplant parm, chicken Milanese, pasta salad with Italian meats, and for dessert, I’d seen two tiramisus in the large kitchen fridge. Everyone had wine or beer, and the vibe was great with some jazz playing in the background.
“What do you think about one album with the metal versions and one with the acoustic versions?” River asked as he turned to face me while we stood in line to serve ourselves.
“Well, it could be great. You could get some new fans and expose people to another side of the band. You guys are more versatile than I imagined when I first started listening to your music, and I think it would be good to show that to your audience,” I said.
River kissed my cheek. “Thank you for your excellent advice. I think it’s a great idea too.”
His beaming smile gave me a warmth in the pit of my stomach that I was growing to love. After getting my father’s blessing and hearing Chanice’s comments about wanting someone to grow old with, I knew my life was shaping up to be exactly what I was sure my mother would have wanted for me.
I was happy to be on my way.
Chapter Twenty
River
The Ritz, San Jose
Far too early on Friday morning, I had my suitcase on the ground by the bus to be stowed underneath when Clancy came down to unlock the compartment. I was riding the bus from San Jose. The night before, we’d played at The Ritz, a dive bar where we’d rocked hard, playing no acoustic songs because it wasn’t that kind of crowd, according to Olive.
The place we were originally scheduled to play had suffered an electrical fire the previous week, so Olive—or the miracle worker, as we’d started calling her—had scrambled and found another venue.
The crowd had been hyped, especially for a Thursday night, and we’d fed off their energy, banging our heads until I thought I might need a neck brace. Thankfully, my sweet boyfriend had massaged it after we sixty-nined when we finished jacking each other in the huge shower of the Westin San Jose. It had been such a fantastic day, but with Kit in my life, I could say that about almost any day.
Between the flag football game Kit had organized for the band and crew earlier in the day, and the enthusiasm we’d put into performing, we were all exhausted and didn’t even stop at the bar in the Westin. Our next stop was Laughlin, Nevada, and then back to Vegas for two shows at Brooklyn Bowl on the LINQ Promenade. They’d be our last shows before Rocktoberfest.
After the break in August, we’d played Vancouver, Seattle, Portland, and San Francisco before last night’s show in San Jose. In Seattle and San Francisco, we’d added an extra night after the venues sold out the first day, so we were developing a larger following and continuing to get good reviews.
After the shows, Kit and I would shower together at whichever hotel we were staying at and read the reviews before we wore ourselves out with mind-blowing orgasms filled with lots of steamy, dirty kisses. I would miss riding with him, but the guys and I needed to finalize the playlist for Black Rock, and the onlyway I could get them to concentrate on the matter at hand was to be in their faces.
“I’ll miss you, sweetheart, but I understand. I’ll see you in Laughlin.” Kit then kissed the hell out of me, making me regret deciding to ride with the guys.
When we parted, he patted my ass, bringing a heavy sigh from me. We needed to talk about sex again because I was to the point where I really wanted him to fuck me.
He’d penetrated me with his fingers, which I’d done to him too during blowjobs, and hearing the noises he made brought on my orgasm like a freight train. Maybe we wouldn’t like it once we tried it, but I wanted to give Kit my cherry ass at least once before we ruled it out altogether.
