[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
probably broken, but he didn t care. He couldn t bring himself to care about much of
anything.
But when they arrived at the venue and parked the van around the corner,
something felt different. He got out and walked down the sidewalk, hands shoved deep
into his pockets, the sun hot and bright on his back and the air clean and familiar.
He was home. That was part of it, he was sure. Just outside Indianapolis, far
enough away that the city didn t quite intrude. Close enough that he could sleep in his
own bed tonight.
He was looking forward to that; he had to admit. His own bed, his own food, his
own clothes that he hadn t worn every day for two weeks. But it still hurt that he might
sleep in that bed alone.
* * *
The groupies& grouped. It was, of course, what they did. But Jason had no
desire for any of them tonight. It would come back eventually, he supposed, but it
wasn t there yet. For now, he thought about Erik and tried not to think about Kayla.
Faith Talbot Beautiful Music: Daze on End 74
Not thinking about her hadn t done him much good on the way to Indy. He d
tried to focus on other things, had read a novel and a pile of comic books and finally
had picked up his guitar. And had written a song. He sketched it all out, lyrics and
chords and a few notes for an instrumental bridge, but he d stuffed it under the seat of
the van afterward and hoped he wouldn t find it by accident. Ever. Writing it had been
like shoveling his own heart out with a spoon.
He d helped with the loading in, and after the initial sound check he felt at loose
ends, wandering the sidewalks, lurking back stage when a few fans spotted him. To his
surprise, Colour Haze was there, or at least Liz and Tom were, chatting with Randy
with an ease Jason hadn t thought possible, after whatever had happened between Liz
and Randy. He d wondered about that for a while. All he knew was that Liz was with
Tom now, and Randy seemed not entirely happy about the situation.
He said hello, chatted inconsequentially for a few minutes, then the restlessness
creeping up his spine sent him moving again. Outside again, a cup of coffee, another, a
quick stroll before he was spotted again, and finally he headed backstage to check and
recheck all three of his guitars. They were headlining tonight, and he wanted
everything to be perfect.
He was retuning the Telecaster -- again -- when Erik poked his head in around
the door to the dressing room. C mon. We re gonna go watch Monster Breath.
Yeah, okay. He carefully set the guitar back in its stand and followed Erik out.
The open floor of the venue wasn t packed by any means, but the crowd was
respectable, considering this was Monster Breath s first show. Jason hadn t heard them
before, but he vaguely knew their bassist. The music was competent, but they needed
time to grow, he felt, time to find their own voice. Right now they sounded a bit too
much like too many other fledgling bands.
Still, he found himself relaxing to the music, moving a little to the rhythm of the
drums. Erik brought him a beer and leaned against him while they watched. After a few
minutes, Jason dared to put an arm around him, pulling him close. He wanted to kiss
Faith Talbot Beautiful Music: Daze on End 75
him, press his lips against his temple, perhaps, but not in the middle of the crowd. But
he leaned in a little, and Erik turned to look up at him with an understanding smile.
It wasn t until the second band, another newish band from Muncie called Va Va
Ving, that he suddenly felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up. And then another
part of his body stood up, and he closed his eyes a moment. His hand clasped Erik s
tightly. Oh, my God, he murmured.
Erik met his gaze, and though his mouth barely curved with a smile, his eyes lit
up like strobes. Yeah, he said. I think you re right.
* * *
It hadn t taken Kayla long to make up her mind. The sketches and pictures,
sorted neatly into a manila folder, had been the first stage of the decision. The buzz of
her cell phone in her pocket, the single word from Jason, had sealed it.
She d tried several times to reply to him, but nothing seemed right. Nothing said
what she wanted to say, and nothing seemed like enough. I missed you, was the
closest she d been able to come, but in the end she couldn t bring herself to press the
send button even on that. She needed him to know exactly how she felt, and she
couldn t do that in a text message.
So instead she d looked up their show, got directions to the venue in
Indianapolis, and hit the road.
She d arrived late, but since they were headlining she was relatively sure she
hadn t missed their set. The bouncer who checked her ID confirmed this, much to her
relief. Heading in, she bought a courage-boosting rum and Coke, glanced at the merch
table, then headed inside.
They were between sets. Kayla recognized Brent, on stage setting up microphone
stands, guitar stands, and checking Randy s drumset. So Daze would go on next. She d
gotten there just in time.
Quickly, she scoped out the floor and picked a spot far to stage right, a few rows
back from the stage itself. There was no barricade here, no space between the edge of
the stage and the first row of observers. If she stood in the front row they would see her
Faith Talbot Beautiful Music: Daze on End 76
right away, and she wasn t sure she wanted that. So she hid -- she wasn t too proud to
call it that -- in a clump of tweenage girls and a couple of tall men wearing baseball
caps. They wouldn t catch sight of her here, but if she leaned just right she d be able to
see them.
Nervous, she gulped down the rum and Coke without realizing how fast she was
drinking it. The bartender had been generous, and the rum settled in a warm pool at the
bottom of her stomach. Still nervous, she started eating the ice.
Erik appeared a few minutes later, checking guitars and setting up pedals for
himself and for Jason. Jason was nowhere to be seen. Kayla wondered why he didn t
take care of his own equipment, but maybe he was preparing backstage. She still didn t
know exactly what his pre-show preparation consisted of. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl wyciskamy.pev.pl
probably broken, but he didn t care. He couldn t bring himself to care about much of
anything.
But when they arrived at the venue and parked the van around the corner,
something felt different. He got out and walked down the sidewalk, hands shoved deep
into his pockets, the sun hot and bright on his back and the air clean and familiar.
He was home. That was part of it, he was sure. Just outside Indianapolis, far
enough away that the city didn t quite intrude. Close enough that he could sleep in his
own bed tonight.
He was looking forward to that; he had to admit. His own bed, his own food, his
own clothes that he hadn t worn every day for two weeks. But it still hurt that he might
sleep in that bed alone.
* * *
The groupies& grouped. It was, of course, what they did. But Jason had no
desire for any of them tonight. It would come back eventually, he supposed, but it
wasn t there yet. For now, he thought about Erik and tried not to think about Kayla.
Faith Talbot Beautiful Music: Daze on End 74
Not thinking about her hadn t done him much good on the way to Indy. He d
tried to focus on other things, had read a novel and a pile of comic books and finally
had picked up his guitar. And had written a song. He sketched it all out, lyrics and
chords and a few notes for an instrumental bridge, but he d stuffed it under the seat of
the van afterward and hoped he wouldn t find it by accident. Ever. Writing it had been
like shoveling his own heart out with a spoon.
He d helped with the loading in, and after the initial sound check he felt at loose
ends, wandering the sidewalks, lurking back stage when a few fans spotted him. To his
surprise, Colour Haze was there, or at least Liz and Tom were, chatting with Randy
with an ease Jason hadn t thought possible, after whatever had happened between Liz
and Randy. He d wondered about that for a while. All he knew was that Liz was with
Tom now, and Randy seemed not entirely happy about the situation.
He said hello, chatted inconsequentially for a few minutes, then the restlessness
creeping up his spine sent him moving again. Outside again, a cup of coffee, another, a
quick stroll before he was spotted again, and finally he headed backstage to check and
recheck all three of his guitars. They were headlining tonight, and he wanted
everything to be perfect.
He was retuning the Telecaster -- again -- when Erik poked his head in around
the door to the dressing room. C mon. We re gonna go watch Monster Breath.
Yeah, okay. He carefully set the guitar back in its stand and followed Erik out.
The open floor of the venue wasn t packed by any means, but the crowd was
respectable, considering this was Monster Breath s first show. Jason hadn t heard them
before, but he vaguely knew their bassist. The music was competent, but they needed
time to grow, he felt, time to find their own voice. Right now they sounded a bit too
much like too many other fledgling bands.
Still, he found himself relaxing to the music, moving a little to the rhythm of the
drums. Erik brought him a beer and leaned against him while they watched. After a few
minutes, Jason dared to put an arm around him, pulling him close. He wanted to kiss
Faith Talbot Beautiful Music: Daze on End 75
him, press his lips against his temple, perhaps, but not in the middle of the crowd. But
he leaned in a little, and Erik turned to look up at him with an understanding smile.
It wasn t until the second band, another newish band from Muncie called Va Va
Ving, that he suddenly felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up. And then another
part of his body stood up, and he closed his eyes a moment. His hand clasped Erik s
tightly. Oh, my God, he murmured.
Erik met his gaze, and though his mouth barely curved with a smile, his eyes lit
up like strobes. Yeah, he said. I think you re right.
* * *
It hadn t taken Kayla long to make up her mind. The sketches and pictures,
sorted neatly into a manila folder, had been the first stage of the decision. The buzz of
her cell phone in her pocket, the single word from Jason, had sealed it.
She d tried several times to reply to him, but nothing seemed right. Nothing said
what she wanted to say, and nothing seemed like enough. I missed you, was the
closest she d been able to come, but in the end she couldn t bring herself to press the
send button even on that. She needed him to know exactly how she felt, and she
couldn t do that in a text message.
So instead she d looked up their show, got directions to the venue in
Indianapolis, and hit the road.
She d arrived late, but since they were headlining she was relatively sure she
hadn t missed their set. The bouncer who checked her ID confirmed this, much to her
relief. Heading in, she bought a courage-boosting rum and Coke, glanced at the merch
table, then headed inside.
They were between sets. Kayla recognized Brent, on stage setting up microphone
stands, guitar stands, and checking Randy s drumset. So Daze would go on next. She d
gotten there just in time.
Quickly, she scoped out the floor and picked a spot far to stage right, a few rows
back from the stage itself. There was no barricade here, no space between the edge of
the stage and the first row of observers. If she stood in the front row they would see her
Faith Talbot Beautiful Music: Daze on End 76
right away, and she wasn t sure she wanted that. So she hid -- she wasn t too proud to
call it that -- in a clump of tweenage girls and a couple of tall men wearing baseball
caps. They wouldn t catch sight of her here, but if she leaned just right she d be able to
see them.
Nervous, she gulped down the rum and Coke without realizing how fast she was
drinking it. The bartender had been generous, and the rum settled in a warm pool at the
bottom of her stomach. Still nervous, she started eating the ice.
Erik appeared a few minutes later, checking guitars and setting up pedals for
himself and for Jason. Jason was nowhere to be seen. Kayla wondered why he didn t
take care of his own equipment, but maybe he was preparing backstage. She still didn t
know exactly what his pre-show preparation consisted of. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]