Wedding Bell Blues Box Set

Let the Music Say I Do-3

I got to the club in twenty minutes, since traffic wasn’t too bad. I dragged my equipment through the back entrance toward the stage where members of the band were already setting up for the show.

“Jared Page! Thanks for coming, hon,” Joey exclaimed, running over to give me a bear hug, which almost made me drop everything.

“Get off me, you nut,” I said as I pushed him away as best I could with my hands full. Even though I was no longer on intimate terms with Joey, my body remembered his firm, lithe frame and still wanted to get closer. Such was the s****l magnetism of Joey Seever. “You owe me a couple beers and food. I haven’t eaten yet.”

“Anything for you, babe.” Mr. Charming gave me a kiss on the cheek, making my skin tingle. He pointed to the left corner of the stage where I would set up.

As I walked past Joey’s guitars to get to my spot, I nodded to Bruce, the bass player, Rod, the drummer, and Floyd, who would be on mandolin and banjo.

Half an hour later, we did a quick sound check. A few adjustments on the levels with the sound guy, and we were good. Joey told the guys to take a break and be back on stage fifteen minutes before show time. He led the way to the bar and bought me a beer. I ogled his ass in those tight jeans of his—unwillingly, of course. I mean, it was right there.

“You want to eat something now?” he asked as I gulped down my Pilsner.

“Just some fries. I hate being too full while performing.”

He waved over the bartender and put in two orders. While we waited, I broached the question from earlier.

“So what did you do, Joey?”

“Again with that s**t. It’s not a big deal.” He avoided my gaze, looking distinctly uncomfortable.

The light bulb went off in my head. Duh. “You’ve been sleeping with him, haven’t you?”

He smirked. “Can’t get anything past you, can I.”

“You’re an idiot.”

“Whatever. You’ve seen the guy, right? He’s a hot piece of ass. Even you, Mr. Uptight, can admit that.”

I could, but that wasn’t the point. And since when was I uptight?

“You know better than to go there. Sleeping with a band member always causes problems, especially if the one who initiated it—I know it was you, so don’t even try to deny it—has the emotional capacity of a one-year-old.”

“You were the one who changed the nature of our relationship, made things difficult—”

“Hey, wait a minute, now—”

“And so what if I slept with Grady? Lighten up already, Mr. Perfect. I was drunk, he was tipsy, and his guard was down. He couldn’t resist my charms. You know all about my charms, don’t you, sweetie?” He licked his lips, and I followed his tongue.

Yeah, I did, the fucker.

“All I wanted was a little pre-show nookie this afternoon, and Grady got all pissy. Told me I could f**k myself since the only person I could care about was me.”

Good for you, Grady.

“Eh, he’ll come around.”

“You’ll never f*****g learn, will you?”

The bartender chose that moment to place our fries and ketchup before us and then moved on to the next customer.

“The other guys got on me for being an insensitive d**k, but I pulled the ‘I’m in charge’ card. Works every time.” He was so smug, it made my skin crawl. “I don’t see what the problem is, anyway. We were having fun, I thought. Grady’s a great lay, ass so tight made me bust my nut like never before—almost as hot as yours, by the way. I’m getting hard just thinking about it again. Damn.”

I looked down at his crotch. Yes, his bulge was growing.

“And you’re uncouth enough to share that with me, like I’d want to hear you brag. You never used to be so…crass. What happened to you, man?” I stood. “I guess a true connection to a human being is so far beyond you, it doesn’t exist in your world.” I pointed to where the rest of the band hung out near the front of the stage. “I’m going to talk to the adults over there.” I grabbed my fries, walked over to sit with the guys and caught up on their drama-less lives. I couldn’t wait for the night to be over.