Page 7 of Accidental Fire
“Guys, spread yourselves around and get to know your crew. River, come and sit over here with us. These are the leads. If there are any problems, you talk to these guys. River is the spokesman for the band.” How Marsh determined I was the spokesman was a mystery.
The glorious Kit, Clancy, Allen, Sam, and a woman named Lauren joined us at the table. Marsh and Mr. Ashby sat, and everyone began talking at once.
“I meant what I said about not being your friend or your father. That shit that happened last year with Perry Whatshisname? Never again.” That was Clancy.
He was speaking about Petey Ritter’s brother, who was currently in jail for trying to poison Sky. The idiot thought that if Sky had enough bad experiences on tour, he’d go back to West Peoria and take care of Petey after the death of their grandmother.
“No, sir,” I responded, my stomach churning at all the scrutiny.
“I’m Lauren Mittler, your stylist. I’d like to have an afternoon with the five of you to go over style choices so I can plan your tour wardrobes. I’ll get with Marshall and set a day for you to come to my studio. I love your music, by the way.”
Barker Dussault walked up behind her. “I’d like to have a photographer there to get some candids to use in the promotions, so will you call me?” he asked. Lauren tilted her head up and smiled at him, nodding.
The equipment manager, Allen Pace, touched my shoulder. “Can we talk about your guitar preferences? I think I can get you a few loaners from Fender, Gibson, and Schecter. I know some guys who work for them, but we need to discuss the types of pedals you want. Oh, and mic preferences. I’ll talk to Goldie about his preferences, but the rest of you have options, so have Marsh schedule something. I need to talk to Hardy about his favorite setup for a drum kit.”
Another guy sat down after Allen moved on, which was when I noticed the rest of the band being cornered by the tour leads. I found it hard to breathe at that point.
“I’m Samuel, and I’d like to have a sit-down with you and the band so we can discuss the stage setup. Nate and Marshall have expressed their wishes, but I’d still like to hear from you guys. Have Marsh call me, and we can meet for lunch this week.”
I hadn’t touched my plate or the beer in front of me. It was all so fucking overwhelming that I fought to get any air into my lungs.
“Hey, uh, River, can you show me where the bathroom is in this place?” I glanced up to see it was Kit Hansen. He quickly stood from his chair and hurried around the table to pull mine out and lift me to stand.
He hurried through the kitchen, leading me to a hallway where he opened a door and took me inside. “Sit on the commode and put your head between your knees.”
His voice was strong and commanding, which was exactly what I needed at that moment. I sat on the toilet lid and bent over, but I couldn’t catch my breath.
Kit knelt in front of me, taking my hands in his. “Meet my breaths.” He lifted my right hand, putting it on his chest and holding it there. “In. One, two, three, four. Out. One, two, three, four.”
We repeated the exercise a few times until I was able to breathe normally. Tears were sliding down my cheeks, but when he lifted my chin, he had a kind smile.
“You’ll be okay. I’m sure it’s all overwhelming, but I think you’ll do fine. You play those crazy licks on ‘Chasing You,’ right? Genius.”
I was shocked to hear him describe my playing as genius. Maybe he was trying to pacify me so I would calm down, but even if he was just saying it to help me get myself together, I’d take the compliment.
“I, uh, I wrote the song with my brother, Arlo. He was into this girl who didn’t pay him any attention until he got into the band. He chased her all over town, and she ignored him. Then, when word got out that we’d played at Rocktoberfest last year, she started chasinghim. It didn’t work out with them, and he’s been brooding about it. I hoped that if he got it out of his system,he’d be able to get over her. But sometimes, things don’t work that way, so we wrote the song, included it on the EP, and plan to put it on the album that’s coming out in September. You’ve heard it?”
Kit chuckled as he stood and took my hand, leading me to the sink. “I bought the EP from a streaming service and want to get the vinyl when it comes out. My mom and pop got me started collecting vinyl. I can remember sitting on the back porch on warm nights while my parents danced to their favorite records. Those are good memories. Now, I have a huge vinyl collection myself. Kinda weird, right?”
I chuckled. “If we go vinyl when we finish the album, I’ll gift you a copy with all the band’s signatures. Thank you for saving me from embarrassing the shit out of myself. How’d you get sucked into this circus?” Turning on the cold water, I splashed my face to get my head together.
Kit handed me a towel. “Nate hired me to haul your equipment during the tour, and since I have nothing else going on, I agreed.”
I sucked in a breath. “Oh. Well, thanks, I guess?”
“Sure. You okay?”
“Uh, yeah. I’m just going to use the bathroom. Thanks for keeping me from throwing up in front of everyone. I appreciate it.”
Kit nodded and walked out, closing the door behind him. I stood at the sink, staring in the mirror at my hair, which was out of control. I needed to do something about that before we went on tour, but the bigger question was…
How can I spend more time with Kit Hansen?
Chapter Three
Kit
My eyes popped open just before I shoved my dick between those plush pink lips. It was no surprise my cock was rock hard, and not in the morning wood way. I’d been dreaming of River Ashe, a twenty-one-year-old kid with raggedy dark-brown hair and an amazing smile, whom I’d spent ten minutes with inside Nate’s bathroom, attempting to talk him off the edge of a panic attack.
