11. Concerned from Boston to Denver

eleven

Concerned from Boston to Denver

A meeting was called at the Xfinity Center where the guys were playing in Boston about what happened and heightening our security. Ziggy was okay but still a bit freaked out. I was hoping this meeting might ease his concerns. And mine.

We walked into the room that had been set up for a press conference that was going to happen right after our meeting. They were going to ask about the incident. No way around it.

“Yo! For once, you’re not late.” Miami pulled Ziggy into a tight hug.

“You know what they say. The show must go on.”

Jinx patted his back. “What do you need help with, man? Counseling or some shit?”

Ziggy flipped him off. “You were living in California too long. East coasters deal with their issues like badasses.”

“That’s not healthy, dude.” Jinx’s concern was touching. Miami and Wolf looked worried too.

“Seriously, I’m fine. Zade is getting the help he needs. We’re moving on.” That was true. In lieu of pressing charges, Ziggy insisted Zade be kept at the hospital for psych evaluations. They would also notify us if and when he was released. The officials at the hospital seemed to think he’d be there a while based on the shooting and the reasons behind it. Zade was obviously delusional.

“So, what do we tell the press?” Wolf asked, sitting in his spot behind the table.

Marci walked in at that exact moment with the answer. “That there was an incident, and no one was hurt. Security measures are being taken. That’s it.” She pointed at each of the guys. “I mean it. Ziggy.”

“What?” He held his hands up in protest.

“Nothing. Else.” Marci was a hard ass sometimes, but she was exactly who these guys needed managing this tour.

Miami winked at her. “We’ve got it. Right, man?”

Ziggy dropped into the chair beside Wolf and immediately started tapping his fingers on the table. “You got it. Nothing else.”

There were extra guards in the room around us. And we’d have two with us everywhere now. I knew Ziggy wasn’t going to like that, especially with the way he liked to sneak off and smoke pot. I didn’t know if he thought he was hiding it or keeping it down low, but he wasn’t fooling anyone. I was worried that he was smoking more than normal, though. Especially after the crappy show in Philly.

Ziggy insisted he was tired, so I had a remedy for that. “Okay. We have time before the show in Denver, so I’m inviting the band to stay at my house. It’ll be fun. You can hang out and chill, but there are other things you can do, too.”

“That sounds good.” Miami fist-bumped me.

I was excited to have everyone coming—finally, a houseful. It was going to be fun. Everyone started talking about it while we waited for the press to come in. Jinx and Miami wanted to try skiing. Harrison said he could teach them. But Ziggy and Wolf weren’t into it. “We can, like, hike or something instead,” Wolf suggested.

“That sounds good.” Ziggy high-fived him.

The rest of the day went smoothly. Soundcheck, a short meet and greet. Bramble Punk took the stage and rocked the fuck out of it. They were improving, but Kay wasn’t happy when he came off stage.

Harrison’s brother went with them to the dressing room, supposedly to talk to Kay. They were definitely a thing now. But I didn’t worry about it. They could take care of their own shit. I was there for Ziggy, and he took the stage first as soon as the roadies moved the Punk’s drums off stage, wearing his trademark sleeveless button-up shirt and twirling a drumstick over his head. He was in a better mood and had said his back wasn’t bothering him, so I expected him to kick ass. He threw the sticks out into the audience and riled them up before climbing behind the kit. He was sexy as hell. The epitome of a rockstar, even after all these years. And he was all mine.

The new plane was great. Comfortable. Miami and Jinx bee-lined for the couches in the back like a couple of horny kids. Everyone else was more mature—even Ziggy. Wolf wasn’t bouncing on the furniture like those two, but he was touching everything and saying, “Nice. Mmhmm. Nice.” While my man was doing the opposite of his bandmates. He was acting uber-cool about it, as if he took a private jet every day or had three parked in his garage. But I knew better than to believe his act. He was impressed.

Hell, I was impressed. “This really turned out nice.”

I had also hired the crew, and one of them stepped into the main cabin. “Is this everyone?”

“Yes, thanks, Bill.”

“Sure. If you all need anything during the flight please let me know, but for now, please take a seat and buckle your seat belts for takeoff. Once we’re at cruising height, I’ll let you know, and you can move around at your leisure. Okay, guys?”

Everyone played nice and buckled up. Ziggy sat next to me near the front and held my hand. He did that through every takeoff, and I wasn’t sure if he liked the comfort or thought it was a good excuse. Either way, it was fine with me. I wanted to comfort him. Help him. Or even simply be there for him if that was what was needed.

By the time we got to my place, it was late, but everyone was too keyed up to go to bed. I had four guestrooms, but we were only using two. Ziggy was staying in the main suite with me. Wolf and Harrison shared a room and so did Miami and Jinx.

After everyone settled in, we met up in the game room and had a few drinks. Miami and Jinx played air hockey, while Harrison and Wolf took advantage of the pool table. Ziggy was standing by the wet bar, tapping out a rhythm on the counter. This was how I expected my house to be used. I had always wanted people over, though it had never worked out before. Now that the band was here, hanging out and being themselves, I couldn’t regret one penny I’d put into it. It felt right.

I put my arm around Ziggy’s waist and kissed his shoulder. “Thanks for coming. I’m happy to have you here.”

He pulled me into his arms. “I love your place, Cole.” He kissed me.

“Aww…fuck get a room.” Wolf threw a cue chalk at us.

Ziggy flipped him off.

Completely expected behavior. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Eventually, everyone paired off and retired, and I led Ziggy to my room. I loved having him in my space. I dropped his hand to open the slider to the balcony. “If you need to smoke, you can go right here. No need to hunt down the service entrance.”

“Hmm… do you even have a service entrance?”

“I’ll service your entrance, smarty pants.”

“Oh, I’m hoping for it.” Ziggy wiggled his eyebrows and plastered a cheesy grin across his face. “Or…”

“Or? Or what?”

Ziggy laughed maniacally and grabbed me, tossing me on the bed. “I could service yours.”

We hadn’t gone that way in a bit, but I was up for it. “Let’s go then. There’s lube in that drawer.”

He opened it and pulled out the bottle but looked at what else was in there. “Ooh, la la. What do we have here? You’ve been holding out on me, sir.”

“What?”

Ziggy pulled out the big dildo. I had a smaller one in there that I used on occasion, but I didn’t really use the bigger one. Of course, that’s the one he pulled out. It was purple. “Mr. Giant Purple People Fucker right here.” He flopped onto his stomach, holding the beast—yes, it was that—in front of him. “Can you actually take this behemoth?”

“Uh, well, not without a lot of lube and stretching. Maybe we can play with that some other time.”

He waved it around. “Oh, we will. I want to see the Purple People Fucker in action, Cole.” He licked his lips. “But I don’t think I have the patience tonight.”

“Me either. I’m tired.”

“Do you still want to get fucked? We can do something else. I mean, I know it’s been a while for you.”

“Yeah, guess it has.” It had probably been three or four months since he fucked me, maybe more. “I want it though. Miss it.”

“Well, alright. Let’s get naked.” He sat up and yanked his shirt over his head, exposing that broad chest. His pecks, shoulders, and arms were outstanding. Not overly muscular, but firm and fit. He dropped the shirt and tugged at mine when I was too busy staring at him to get undressed. “You are tired, huh? How about I suck you off and we can fuck in the morning?”

“How about fuck me now?”

“Well. I’m not giving you another out. Let’s go.” He helped me take off my pants and his jeans. The ones he had on weren’t overly tight, though they hugged his ass nicely, so they were easier to get off than normal. And yes, my rockstar went commando again. I reached out and tugged him closer so I could get my lips around his cock. “Fuck…you do that well.”

“I have condoms in the bathroom.” He turned to go into the ensuite, and I smacked his ass, making him jump and laugh. I absolutely loved how fun he could be. Sex didn’t always have to be a serious affair. If it was, he’d probably get bored.

He came back with the box I had in there and dropped it on the bed beside the lube. “Okay, I know we’ve been joking around, but I don’t want to hurt you, so I’m going to take this slow and easy. Spread ‘em, babe.”

I laughed and flipped over on my stomach, shoving a pillow under my hips. “How’s this?”

“Mmm….yeah, better.” He nibbled on my ass and teased my balls before opening the lube with a snick. He trickled the cold gel down my crack and started fingering it in my hole. He slowly stretched me, taking his time as promised. And as he worked me open, he hit my prostate regularly, making the process that much easier.

“Zig? I want you now. I’m ready.”

“Agreed. But turn over. I want to see you.”

I did as he asked and let him put my legs over his shoulders. He had me wrapped up by the time he entered me, and it didn’t take long before he was thrusting in and out in a fast-paced rhythm worthy of the drummer that he was. I liked seeing his beautiful blue eyes staring down at me intensely. It made me feel wanted and loved.

We came almost at the same time and with Ziggy leaning in to kiss me sweetly.

The next morning, I joined the guys for breakfast in the kitchen. Harrison and Wolf were cooking scrambled eggs with onions, bell peppers, and mushrooms while Miami and Jinx made toast. I wasn’t sure why it took both of them, but they were getting the job done, so I didn’t say anything. Instead, I pulled out a pitcher of orange juice and another of water and put them on the big bar where plates had already been set out.

“Where’s Ziggy?” Miami asked.

“Finishing up his morning rituals. He’ll be down in a minute.” Of course, I meant his stretching routine, but the rest of the guys took it to mean getting high, and they snickered and snorted. But they probably weren’t far off since he was no doubt doing that as soon as he finished his exercises.

“Hope it’s okay. We helped ourselves here.” Harrison set a big bowl of scrambled eggs on the bar.

“Not at all. Everyone should feel free to make yourselves at home while you’re here.” I dished eggs out on the plates and handed them around. “Feel free to help yourselves for sure.” Ziggy showed up while we were eating, fixed a plate, and sat beside me.

“Heard you were doing your morning routine .” Wolf used air quotes.

“Fuck right off, Wolfy.”

“Awww…he’s just mad you didn’t invite him to partake.” Miami winked, teasing both Ziggy and Wolf.

“I only have enough for medicinal purposes right now. You’ll get over it.” Ziggy snagged another piece of toast.

“Hey, now. Just because you have the munchies doesn’t mean you can hog all the food,” Jinx added playfully, which earned him the bird from Ziggy.

But that was a mistake because Jinx tossed a piece of toast at him. “You little fucker.” Ziggy tossed it back, followed by a mushroom he picked out of the eggs. Of course, he missed, hitting Miami’s hand instead.

It only took a few more tosses before eggs and toast were being thrown everywhere. When Harrison shot a piece of pepper at me, I had to join in for retaliation purposes.

“I swear you guys can’t go anywhere without a food fight.” I laughed, though.

“Shit, man.” Jinx shook off some egg. “Did not mean to disrespect your home or this good food.”

“That’s all right. I consider it an honor that you feel that comfortable here. Besides, I’ll just double the cleaners’ pay to get it picked up.”

Somehow or another, some eggs weren’t desecrated, so we split them, and everyone ate. I called Victoria to bring her team out to clean up as the guys got ready and headed out to do their own things.

Everyone except Ziggy.

Once the house was empty, I took Ziggy’s hand. “Are you really okay?”

“Yes.”

“I’m not going to push, Zig. But remember, this thing between us is a relationship now. You can be honest with me. About anything and everything. I don’t want you saying yes because you don’t want me to worry. I want you to tell me how you really are.”

“That was a lot of words.” He squeezed my hand. “But I admit, maybe I’m not. The thing with Zade has me bugged out, and I’m normally the first one out the door ready to do shit, but I don’t want to go anywhere.”

“We don’t have to. And whatever you’re feeling is fine. You know?”

“While we’re talking about this. I’ve been having more issues with my back than normal. You know? You heard how I played in Philly. I think getting overly tired is not a good thing for it.”

“Even with the yoga?”

“That only does so much. I mean, yeah, it helps, but it’s not a cure.”

“That’s unacceptable. I wish you’d talked to me sooner. We can get a doctor to look at you.”

“I don’t think that’s necessary. Not yet. I feel like it’s because I’m tired, and I would really like to just rest during this time off. See where we are with it after.”

I didn’t like the idea of Ziggy being in pain. I knew that was a thing with drummers sometimes, but I also knew some things could help, besides yoga and pot. “Okay. We rest, but if you’re not doing better after the Denver show, we’ll get a doctor. We can get one to meet us along the way. Maybe Reno.”

“Deal. Let’s seal it with a kiss.”

“Happy to.”

We spent our time resting, fucking, and even getting in the hot tub while the guys skied, hiked, and shopped. And when they were back, we hung out together at my house, and everyone seemed to enjoy it.

The last night before the show, Ziggy even commented that I seemed relaxed and in my element, and I told him how much it meant to me to have everyone there, but especially him. And we even played with the Giant Purple People Fucker, as Ziggy called it. Though, we didn’t get very far before he tossed it aside and fucked me himself.

But soon it was time to do the show. We got up early and headed out to the Empower Field at Mile High Stadium, where we were playing. I’d hired a Hummer limo and we all crawled in.

The show went well, and Ziggy kicked ass, playing like he did at the beginning of the tour. I thought maybe he was right and had only needed rest. I made it my mission to be sure to spread their show dates out a little more in the future. I knew they wanted to do a healthy tour, but they had to be healthy to do it.

After the last encore, I walked with Ziggy back to the dressing rooms. “Zig, maybe we should skip the party and head on to the hotel.”

“No fucking way. These are the fans, the reason we do it.”

I did admire his love and appreciation for his fans, but he had also been through a lot lately. “Agreed, but if you can’t play, there won’t be any of this.”

“Fuck. You’re right, I know. Let’s compromise. We go but leave early.”

“Deal.”

I watched Ziggy work the crowd. He smiled, took selfies, shook hands. But I would swear Ziggy picked up drugs from three different people. Maybe four. I could have been mistaken. But I didn’t think so. That worried me. I knew Ziggy partied. I knew he smoked pot. A lot of pot. And I knew he occasionally did other illegal drugs. But this seemed like more than that. It was different. He wasn’t casually using with friends—he was collecting a pharmacy.