The Loneliest Tour (11 page)

Everyone laughed.

“
Looking
good,
”
Brantley said.

“
Where
’
d you get this?
”
Jett asked.

“
Are
you kidding me?
”
Colby
asked.
“
Bro, that
’
s one of a dozen pictures that
’
s been shared a million times
today. You
’
re actually
trending.
”

“
Trending?
”
Jett asked.

“
People
are sharing it and talking about it,
”
Van said.
“
Portis wanted to
know if it was a PR move.
”

Jett crumbled up the paper and
dropped it to the floor.

There was a knock and then someone
asked,
“
Everyone dressed?
”

It was Portis.

Standing next to him was Andrea.
She had a leather folder with her. She smiled and winked at Jett.

“
Seriously?
”
Jett asked.
“
What do you want, Portis?
”

“
Just
checking on my favorite band. What do you have for me?
”

“
We
’
re setting up,
”
Ryker said.

“
Okay.
Well, this is Andrea,
”
Portis said.
“
She and Jett
know each other already.
”

Brantley hit a few cymbals.

“
Dude!
”
Jett yelled.
“
Cut it.
”

Andrea laughed.
“
Well, the shirtless thing is
viral. Nothing we can do to stop it. So I have an idea.
”

“
What
’
s that?
”
Jett asked.

“
How
about a shirtless picture of the band? For a pre-release thing for the tour?
”

“
Are
you serious?
”
Jett asked.

“
Thanks,
man,
”
Colby said and
slapped Jett on the back.
“
Now
we have to get half naked because of you.
”

“
You
don
’
t have to,
”
Andrea said.
“
But it would be smart.
”

“
No,
they have to,
”
Portis said.
“
I have a photographer
coming in thirty minutes.
”

Portis winked and left the room.

“
Just
great,
”
Jett asked.

“
Don
’
t blame me,
”
Andrea said.
“
I get paid to come up with good
ideas.
”

“
Technically
it was my idea,
”
Jett said.
“
You
’
re welcome.
”

Andrea smiled.
“
And you
’
re welcome I don
’
t
tell anyone about your bedroom problem.
”

She left as the rest of the band
clapped and yelled.

“
What
the hell happened?
”
Brantley
asked.

“
Did
the little Jett forget to show up?
”
Ryker asked.

“
Fuck
you guys,
”
Jett said.

He took out his guitar and plugged
it in.

The band kept pestering him.

“
Well,
if his name is Jett,
”
Colby
said, rubbing his chin.
“
Then
I guess you could call his package
…
a puddle jumper?
”

“
Puddle
jumper!
”
Van yelled and
cracked up.
“
Holy shit.
That makes sense. Jumping puddles? You know
…
cause they
’
re wet
…”

“
Shit,
we get it,
”
Ryker said.

“
Wait,
”
Brantley said.
“
The PR lady couldn
’
t get up a good story
…”

Colby gave a thumbs down.

Jett finished tuning his guitar. He
then folded his arms and waited.

“
So,
”
Van said.
“
Wait. Jett was grounded. Not
cleared for take off.
”

“
That
’
s a good one,
”
Colby said.
“
I like that.
”

“
He
couldn
’
t get clearance,
”
Ryker said.
“
No, wait, that doesn
’
t make sense. Hmm
…
he couldn
’
t get hard
…”

“
I
could get hard!
”
Jett
growled.
“
I didn
’
t want to sleep with her.
Dammit. I was drunk. I just wanted to crash and get the night over with. Now
let
’
s do this.
”

Jett flipped the switch on his amp
and his guitar came to life. He quickly started to  play something, anything.
He warmed up for a few seconds and then started to play the guitar solo from
the new song. Ryker quickly caught up with Jett and started to play his part.
Van was next. Then Brantley. Once the solo was done, Colby stepped to the mic
and started to sing. They ran through the last part of the new song.

“
Are
we warmed up now?
”
Van
asked.

“
Are
you done with the dick jokes?
”
Jett asked.

“
Hey,
come on,
”
Colby asked.
“
We
’
re
just fucking around.
”

Jett sighed. He nodded.
“
Okay. I
’
m just nervous. I mean
…
dick jokes
…
buying pills
…”

There was an uncomfortable silence
until Jett smiled.

“
You
ass,
”
Ryker said.
“
Was that your attempt at a joke
about yourself?
”

“
Maybe,
”
Jett said.

“
Stick
to guitar playing,
”
Van
said.

“
Good
idea.
”

The band ran through a couple new
songs, trying to piece together verses, breaks, bridges, and solos. They had
another song basically all wrapped up, minus Colby who didn
’
t have any lyrics yet.

The photographer showed up on time
and had the band take their shirts off. They then started to play again and the
photographer wandered around, snapping plenty of pictures. It amazed Jett that
this guy was probably taking a hundred pictures and his job would be to pick
just one. One picture to spread online.

The only good part of the
photographer was when he left. Because that meant it was time to head over to the
Crutch Fail practice.

The guys put up a fight, but Jett
didn
’
t give a shit.

He wanted
…
no.

He needed to see Masie. Because
of this woman, he had given
up
a night of wild sex with a
different woman. He had to find out why he did that.

**

Masie bent her knees and let out a
breath. She reached for her water and a foot swung and kicked the water off the
stage. She looked up and saw Colin standing there.

“
Whoops,
”
he said.

“
Really?
”

“
You
thirsty? Come give me a kiss.
”

“
Screw
you.
”

Colin grabbed between his legs.
“
Let
’
s go. I
’
ll
call practice right now. You and me. Sneak in the back. I
’
ll get you up an on amp and then
we
’
ll make it really rock.
”

Masie felt like she could throw up.

She thought about everything she
could respond with, but she sucked it in. She held the comments to herself. She
needed the job. The job technically gave her experience. She could use it then
to springboard herself to something else. When it ended with Crutch Fail she
could then tell everyone she toured as a dancer. Not just with Crutch Fail but
the tour included Willow Son.

Masie climbed from the end of the
stage and grabbed her water bottle.

“
Hey,
we need to run through that chorus again,
”
Colin said in the mic. The sound up here sounds like shit, too. Can we fix
that? I mean, can we actually sound like a band?
”

Masie grinned and sipped her water.

Sound like a band? Get a real
band.

“
Let
’
s run through it again without
the dancers,
”
one of the
sound guys said.

Crutch Fail
’
s manager was a short, round guy named Lenny. He
had an obvious combover and his cheeks were always red. He always ran back and
forth, a phone to his ear, hand waving in the air. He was always pissed off and
he obviously hated dealing with Crutch Fail. This was just a job and a paycheck
for Lenny.

He walked by the front of the stage
and pointed to Jack.
“
Play
the fucking song again! The entire song. Let
’
s
get the fucking sound right.
”

He walked to the seats on the floor
and plopped down. He shook his head and looked at his phone. He rubbed his
forehead, looking ready to throw the phone on the ground and quit.

I know the feeling.

Masie finished some water and then
heard Stan smack the drumsticks together. Crutch Fail started to play again.
The song sounded exactly the same as before. It was a long four minutes to sit
through. Colin sang, pointed, and shouted orders into the mic. The sound guys
played with the guitars, bass, and drums. By the end of the song, the sound
seemed to be what everyone agreed upon.

They finished and Colin gave a
thumbs up.

“
Great,
”
Colin said.
“
Now get the women back up here.
One more song.
”

Masie climbed the stage and Colin
called out the song.

At least this one Masie wouldn
’
t feel like a dog humping
someone
’
s leg.

The four dancers met at the middle
of the stage, all their backs together.

Right before the song was about to
begin, the backdoor to the practice stage opened. Masie did a double take when
she saw Willow Son walking in.

“
Look
at these guests,
”
Colin
said into the mic.
“
We
better make this count.
”

And with that, the song began.

Masie moved across the stage,
knowing all her moves. Her eyes, however, kept going to the back of the room.
She couldn
’
t fully see Jett,
but he was right there. Sitting there, hands tapping on the seat in front of
him. A fantasy ran through Masie
’
s
mind of her dancing only for Jett. Just her and him together. Moving, enjoying
each other
’
s company,
things getting hot and wild.

It was so good to think of
something like that, she completely forgot about the song. The music and noise
faded out of her mind. It was just her body moving, her mind thinking about
Jett. Going from side to side, working the stage like she was the rockstar. A
sense of empowerment running through her body.

The final part of the song came and
the four dancers got together. As they were told to do, they danced in a circle
together. Their heads, hands, and legs moving to the beat of the song. If
anything, this was the best Crutch Fail song just because it had a decent beat.
For all Masie knew, this would be their one big hit. She could see people
jamming in their cars to it. But that
’
s
all Crutch Fail would be. A one hit band and then fade out. Not like Willow
Son. Willow Son was a force.

The song ended and Willow Son
applauded.

Masie looked to Jett and he stuck
his fingers into his mouth and whistled.

“
Thank
you,
”
Colin said.
“
Should we have a double band
session?
”

“
No,
”
Jett bellowed.

His voice carried through the
building.

“
That
’
s it for me,
”
Carson said. He took his bass
off.
“
I need a drink. I
’
m done for the day.
”

The band jumped off the stage,
leaving their gear behind.

“
Holy
shit,
”
Gabby said as she
moved by Masie.
“
Willow Son
is here watching us. It
’
s
so hot, isn
’
t it?
”

“
They
are hot,
”
Josie said.
“
I mean, just insanely hot.
”

Willow Son slowly stood and were
walking around the back of the building. They were talking to their manager,
Harry.