Page 62 of Accidental Fire
I chuckled. “I’m not.”
“Oh? You wanna tell us about your relationship?” Jamie asked.
“No, but I really want to thank the fans for all the support during our tour. It was beyond fantastic to see our fans at our concerts. We didn’t expect to have so many, but we’re so glad to see them come out. They were phenomenal.”
I was doing my best to lead them away from our personal lives. I wasn’t the only one involved, so I was determined to keep my mouth closed.
“Okay. Here’s the song checking in at number twenty.”
The producer waved a hand, and we stopped. “That was great,” Viv said as she walked over to the coffee bar and poured herself another cup of coffee. “You guys don’t want to talk about your personal lives, right?”
Arlo stepped forward and leaned into the mic. “Hell no.”
The rest of us laughed. “No. We’d rather not discuss our personal lives,” Goldie responded.
In an instant, Lerner was there with their phone. “We have a list of…”
I turned toward the window of the booth to see Kit standing there with a frown on his handsome face. “Stop. I’ll talk about my relationship, and you guys can keep yours silent.”
“We’re back with Accidental Fire. Let’s talk about the gold record you got for ‘I’ll Find You.’ What’s the story behind that?”
“My brother, Skyler Ashe, is an incredible drummer, teacher, and songwriter. He wrote ‘I’ll Find You’ for his husband andgave it to us to record. It’s an incredible song, and we’re proud that his words have been embraced by the rock and pop community.”
Viv smiled. “It’s a beautiful song. Speaking of beautiful songs, here’s number nineteen in the countdown.”
The recording went on for an hour with softball questions that Lerner allowed them to ask, and we all answered with as much faked enthusiasm as we could master. When it was over, I walked out of the studio and exhaled, happy that it was over.
Kit met me in the hallway, wrapping his arms around me. “I think it was pretty fantastic from what I heard. I love you, Riv. You were incredible.”
Hearing his words was beautiful, but I had something more important I wanted to ask him. It just hadn’t been the right time.
It was easy to laugh. “Wait until you see my next act. I love you too.”
The OffbeatLos Angeles, CA
Being backstage at The Offbeat again was surreal. I almost remembered it, but I’d been fucked up the last time we were there. This show was to make that one up to the fans.
If anyone had been at the shit show, as we’d started calling it, all they had to do was show the ticket stub, and they got in free. The rest of the audience was made up of people who bought tickets or won them from the iHeartRadio station, KIIS-FM. The venue was full, thankfully.
Kit stepped next to me and placed his arms around my waist. “I love you. Give them everything.” A kiss to my neck lit my skin on fire.
We went out to the stage, and the crowd went wild. It was the week after Thanksgiving, and we were ready to give them the show they deserved. It was redemption time, and I had a plan to add a little something extra for them.
I turned to the guys and smiled. “I hope you’ll give me a little leeway on this. I’ll get to the point pretty quick, I promise.”
I played the introduction to “Jingle Bell Rock” because it was the holiday season, and the crowd roared. I stepped up to my mic and waved to the crowd. “Hello, Los Angeles! We’re proud to be here to give you the show you deserve. We’re Accidental Fire, and before we get started, I’ve got a little personal business I’d like to take care of if you’ll bear with me. Coaster, can I get my Fender acoustic?”
Coaster was standing in the wings with my guitar because I hadn’t been sure when I would do this, so he was at the ready. I took off my electric and traded him, strumming my acoustic to check that it was tuned properly—of course, it was.
“Charlie, will you bring me that package I gave you. As a matter of fact, can all the road crew come out? These are the unsung heroes of ourStart the Firetour. Let’s give them a hand, please.”
The four of them came onto the stage, which was fun to watch because they were definitely behind-the-scenes guys. Hardy gave a drumroll and a cymbal crash, and the guys rushed off stage, Charlie handing me the package, which I put on the riser where Hardy’s kit was anchored.
“Okay. I wrote this song during the tour, but I only played it for one person, the one I wrote it for. Kit, babe, will you come out here?”
He was standing behind the curtain, and his expression was priceless. “He’s a little shy, so let’s give him a round of applause to get him out.” I was sure everyone thought I’d lost my damn mind, but there was a method to my madness.
I strummed the introduction to “Three Words” and turned to look at him. “You can stand there, but I’ll look like an idiot if you don’t come out here. I have your Christmas gift.”
