Looking At Forever (The Rock Gods Book 4) (33 page)

Chapter Twenty-Six

The next stop on the tour was D.C. and Wheland couldn’t ignore the knot of nerves forming in his stomach. It wasn’t the performance that had him tense. It was the blood work he knew was facing him before the show. He’d done is best this past week to put it out of his mind, but was still there. Lurking. Threatening to taint the beautiful thing he had growing with Rooster. And that’s the part that bothered him the most. It wasn’t the fear he might have contracted a serious illness. It was the fact he may have given it to Rooster. He knew Rooster would never blame him for that, but Wheland knew he’d never be able to forgive himself for doing it.

The appointment with the lab technician was scheduled for four o’clock in the afternoon. They were meeting in Alex’s suite and one by one they’d have their blood drawn. It would be a simple procedure and Wheland knew the drill all too well at his age and having had numerous blood tests done over the years. By far this test held the most weight. Not only was Rooster’s health riding on the result of Wheland’s test, but the rest of his band was, too. Because of that, Wheland sat down in the chair for the lab tech first.

“You look nervous,” Alex said. His fingers squeezing the tight muscle at Wheland’s neck.

“I guess I am a little,” Wheland said.

They both watched the lab tech tie the rubber tourniquet around Wheland’s bicep, tap the vein to prepare it, and the needle puncturing his skin for the blood draw.

“I know you, Wheland,” Alex said. “You’re more worried about us having this virus than having it yourself.”

“That statement isn’t one hundred percent accurate,” Wheland said.

“It’s probably pretty fucking close to being a hundred percent,” Alex said. “Stop stressing. It’s wise we all get this test done so we know. I told you, Chase, Danni, and I are trying for a baby. I didn’t fuck Spider Woman but I need to know what I might have or don’t have before we jump into that. The last thing I need is to unwittingly pass something on to a baby. Whatever the result is, we’ll deal with it.”

“Easy for you to say,” Wheland said.

The technician finished with Wheland and Alex took the seat Wheland had vacated. Wheland walked over to the couch and sat down beside Tony. Wheland leaned forward and rested his head in his hands. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

“Alex is right, you know,” Tony said to Wheland.

“About what?” Wheland said.

“None of us would blame you if we test positive for this Hep B bullshit,” Tony said. “We all play the game and we know the risks. This isn’t on you if we’re positive.”

Wheland held Tony’s gaze and nodded. Christ, he loved these guys! They were far better than having a biological family. Sure, they had their differences from time to time, but at the end of the day they had the other’s back and they loved each other. There wasn’t a doubt in Wheland’s mind about that. If the tests did come back positive, they’d all be there to support the other, too. It’s just the way it worked for them.

They finished with the blood draws just before it was time to head to the venue. Wheland was glad to have the pre-show stuff to keep his mind off of the blood test and what the results would mean. He’d spent a fair amount of time researching Hepatitis B on the internet and had learned enough to know this disease could be managed and there were plenty of medications to help him do that. He needed to put this into the far corners of his brain for now and focus on the shows ahead of them.

There was a short break in their tour schedule next week. Come hell or high water, Wheland would be headed back to L.A. the second the last encore of that show finished. He needed some time with Rooster. He needed to recharge and remind himself of what he had with Rooster. He’d love to spend the entire break in bed with Rooster, rolling around between the sheets until they were too sweaty and exhausted to continue. Then again, Wheland knew he’d be okay just hanging out with Rooster. Well, that wasn’t completely honest. He did very much need the physical touch with Rooster. It was difficult not to want that with the chemistry they shared, but a nice mixture of physical and emotional time spent together would be fucking perfect.

The two D.C. shows weren’t monumental or blockbuster, as far as Wheland’s performances were typically gauged, but Wheland was likely the only one to notice. The crowds seemed to enjoy themselves and the reviews had all been great, so Wheland would let it go. The four shows following D.C. were also lackluster, in Wheland’s opinion, but in the end none of it mattered. All Wheland could focus on was the three day break they had coming at the end of the week.

Three glorious days of being naked and pressed against Sonny.

Did it get any better than that? Sure it did. Having a lifetime of being pressed against Rooster would be vastly greater than a meager three days and Wheland fully intended to work toward that goal as soon as this tour was finished. Having a “forever” with Rooster would surely be a reward for all the separation they were coping with while he toured the country. Wheland wanted his happily ever after; like Alex had with his partners, and Cooper found with Jayson, and he really thought Rooster could be the man to give him that.

The show before the break brought them to Columbia, South Carolina. Alex surprised everyone with envelopes before the show. He held them in his hand and waved them as if they were dollar bills.

“These are the test results from the blood tests we had done last week,” Alex said. “You can read what it says now, or wait until after the show. It’s up to you. No matter what the results are, we will support each other. Remember that.”

Wheland took his envelope from Alex and stared at his name handwritten on the front. If he read the paper inside now and it was bad news, his performance would surely suck. He looked around at the other guys. Tony and Jared had their papers unfolded between them and were reading each other’s results. The smiles on their faces told Wheland what he needed to know. Cooper tore in to his and he, too, was smiling with Jayson. Still that didn’t mean Wheland was clean. He decided to put the envelope in his backpack and read it on the plane as he flew back to Los Angeles. No matter what the results turned out to be, Wheland would need Rooster’s comfort.

The show that night went off on time, but it was Alex that seemed to be performing in a daze. Every time Wheland made eye contact with him, Alex seemed to be off in his own headspace. Wheland wasn’t sure what the hell that meant, but if he were to be honest, he worried Alex’s mood had something to do with those fucking Hep B tests. And didn’t that make the knot of tension in Wheland’s stomach bigger than ever. How guilty would he feel if Alex tested positive when Alex and Chase were actively trying to make a baby with Danni?

“You okay?” Wheland asked Alex, as they walked off stage after the final encore.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Alex said, but the expression on Alex’s face offered Wheland no reassurance. At the moment, stunned or stoic might be a better way to describe Alex’s demeanor. “Are you flying out to be with Rooster?” Alex asked.

Wheland nodded. “My flight leaves in about an hour. Fizzbo will go with me to the airport.”

“Sounds good,” Alex said. “Take off so you’re not late.”

“You sure everything is all right?” Wheland asked.

“Yeah, I’m sure,” Alex said. “I just got a lot of stuff on my mind, that’s all.”

“Were your test results okay?” Wheland asked.

“Fine. Yeah. We’re all good,” Alex said, scratching his head. “How about you?”

“I haven’t checked yet,” Wheland said. “I will once I get on the plane.”

“It’ll be fine,” Alex said patting Wheland’s back and offering him a weak smile. “I’ll see you on Monday.”

“Tuesday,” Wheland corrected.

“Oh, right. Yeah, Tuesday in Jacksonville.”

Wheland said good-bye to the rest of the guys and hit his dressing room to grab his backpack, then found Fizzbo in the hallway. They walked together to the back door of the venue and Wheland glanced down the connecting hallway. He saw Alex hugging Chase and Danni. The embrace seemed desperate with the way the three of them clung to one another like their lives depended on it. Something was definitely off. Wheland wasn’t sure what, but he hoped the feeling of foreboding that came with this wasn’t right.

Fizzbo kept Wheland’s mind occupied on the way to the airport. Thank God for that, otherwise, Wheland might have called Alex and he really got the feeling whatever was bothering Alex he needed time to sort through it with Chase and Danni before he talked about it further. Wheland would have to respect that and give the guy space.

As soon as the wheels went up on Wheland’s charter flight, he pulled out the cell phone from his pocket. He typed a quick text message to Rooster and hit the send button.

“
On my way home, babe. Can’t wait to see you!”

No response came from Rooster, but Wheland wasn’t expecting one. He knew Rooster was recording late tonight and would likely be asleep by the time Wheland made it back to his house. That was okay. Wheland knew Rooster would be sleeping in their bed and that’s all that mattered.

Waiting for him.

The visual that came along with that was carnal, sexy, and beautiful. Wheland dropped his head back against the leather seat and closed his eyes. He wanted to enjoy the carefree feeling the visual of Rooster offered him just a few moments more. Savor it in case the results in that envelope altered his future forever.

His head rolled to the side and he eyed the backpack sitting on the seat beside him. He openly cursed it, then tugged at the zipper. The white envelope was right there on top of his lyric notebooks, MP3 player, and a tiny old-fashioned tape recorder. The stark white color of the envelope was a sharp contrast to the other dark objects in the bag and almost seemed to be screaming out its presence to him. Wheland’s fingers reached inside the bag and pulled out the envelope. He set it on top of the canvas bag first, toyed with the corner of it, then picked it up and ripped open the seal.

This needed to be done quickly, like tearing off an adhesive bandage stuck to hair. Wheland unfolded the letter and read the typed information. His eyes stopped on the most important word on the entire sheet of paper.

Negative.

It was Wheland’s new favorite word. God, he loved the way that word rolled off his tongue! Three simple syllables for a word that held such weight for him. He was clean for everything; including the Hep B. The rush of breath leaving Wheland’s lungs was audible. The relief rained down around him and tears formed in his eyes. Christ, he was going to cry like a baby.

Wheland wiped at his eyes. He needed to hold Rooster; kiss him, and tell him now with conviction they were going to be all right. He picked up his phone ready to type a text to Rooster using that magical word, then changed his mind. He’d rather tell him when they were face-to-face. If he was clean, chances were Rooster was, too, and now they could put this nightmare behind them and move forward.

Wheland sent Alex a quick text message instead.
“I’m negative for everything.”

A moment later Alex replied.
“Glad to hear it! Can I tell the guys?”

“Sure, go ahead,”
Wheland typed back.

“Enjoy your long weekend,”
Alex typed.

“You too,”
Wheland said.

Rooster finally had a chance to check his phone during a break from the recording. He’d been anxious all day to hear when Wheland was on his way home or if something had delayed him. There was also the slight possibility something came up to make Wheland have to cancel his trip home. Rooster didn’t want to think about that option.