2. Chapter Two
Chapter Two
Mike
As much as I wanted to see Oliver, Sebastian, and a few other musicians I’d met while we were on the festival grounds during our first Rocktoberfest weekend, it just wasn’t in the cards. My band and I walked around endlessly in the days after we performed and I saw a few faces I recognized but we were either busy working the media or chatting with other artists. We were literally ships passing but never able to pull in and dock at the same time. But I guess it didn’t matter that much, since this was a work weekend more than playtime.
My whole band wore huge smiles when we left the venue parking lot after the Rocktoberfest festival ended. We were loaded down with stories, swag, and a boatload of new knowledge passed down to us from the performers who’d been entertaining massive crowds for decades. I felt rejuvenated in that moment—reborn but with a wise man’s old soul, and I couldn’t wait to get into the studio to record.
At that point, we knew it was merely the beginning for us. Our performance blew the roof off the pavilion. The entire crowd was on their feet moving as one gigantic sea of writhing people. I couldn’t believe what we were seeing. And Dagger’s idea of bringing a choir onto the stage to sing our last song with us was the ultimate crescendo to our set. Having that group of singers behind us was exactly the ending we needed and we left the audience screaming for more—just as Dagger said would happen—and I swear we floated off the stage when we were done.
There were so many highlights we took home from that weekend and the knowledge we absorbed was invaluable. Even still, I knew we’d barely scratched the surface of what we’d need to know about this business moving forward but that was okay. We were a work in progress and probably always would be. I mean, if you’re not continuing to learn as you age then you’re not really growing as a person, or truly living life. Nonetheless, Chaos was officially launched at that first Rocktoberfest into the arena rock world and I was beyond proud of what we’d accomplished. Now it was a matter of holding on tight for the wild ride I knew was coming at us.
We’d barely had time to fully recover from our Rocktoberfest hangovers before Dagger had us gathering at the rehearsal warehouse for a meeting and then a practice. He also introduced us to a promoter, Issac Templeton, who went over a busy schedule of club dates ahead and a few festivals where we’d be performing. The other item on Dagger’s meeting agenda was introducing us to our new security team and then he assigned a personal guard to each of us. I missed most of the nitty-gritty regarding the names of the security team because my brain froze on one man alone. His name was Griffin Sanstrom and he was a snack and a half. I learned during the meeting that he’d also be my new shadow for the foreseeable future.
Griffin was one of those men who caused me to stop in place and drink him in like it wasn’t a choice, as if it were a biological necessity to do so. Breathing wasn’t needed, the noise in my brain went silent, and everything in my peripheral vision blurred to opaque nothingness. My one focus was channeled to a fine point on the chocolate-haired, glacier blue-eyed, tall drink of a man. I don’t know what it was about his aura but it pulled me in something fierce, like a magnetic pull I couldn’t control.
Another nice character trait was he seemed so damn approachable. It was the way he held himself with every part of him loose and zero tension in his body. Reading his chill body language had me relaxing, too. He drew me in and had me utterly under his spell after staring at him for just a few minutes. He had me craving a taste of what was beneath his gorgeous exterior—even though I already knew he was off-limits. I figured it was probably an unsaid rule that we couldn’t hook-up with our bodyguards. I mean, it would make sense if that were the case, but Jesus, did he check all my boxes!
Fletcher elbowed me in the ribs which pulled me out of my fantasy.
“Are you even listening to what Dagger is saying?” Fletcher admonished.
I nodded and dragged my focus away from Griffin and turned it to Dagger, our fearless leader, talking about the mini-tour he was scheduling for us.
“We picked the best of the new bands who performed at Rocktoberfest,” Dagger commented, “and created this triple-bill of talent. I’m sure you saw Jupiter Rising and Snake Charmers perform last weekend. Like you, they show a lot of promise and stage presence. They’ll be your tour partners for the time you’ll be on the road. Issac and I agree we need to ‘strike while the iron is hot’ and right now all three of your bands are hot.”
Who was Issac again? Oh, right. A tour promoter.
A few seconds later, my attention swung back to Griffin who was standing with his arms folded over his chest and his long legs spread about shoulder-width apart. The guy was a tank—his muscles had muscles, but none of it was freakish like a body builder. He had to be at least six feet, four inches tall because I was six feet myself and I could tell from across the room that he was taller than me.
“Later this week we’ll get you into the studio to record,” Dagger continued, even though I was barely paying attention to what he was saying. It made me wonder how much I might have missed, due to the delicious-looking distraction standing across the room. “Then in a couple of months you’ll be out on the road for more shows to promote your first album, rinse and repeat.”
Fletcher leaned in close to my ear. “Didn’t you hook up with someone from Snake Charmers?” he asked.
“I was trying to fool around with both the lead singers in those two bands,” I clarified, “and I’m hoping for another chance with them again at some point. They’d be perfect for a three-way, if they were down for that.”
Fletcher gasped in mock indignation. “You are such a slut,” he declared in a hushed tone.
“Not nearly slutty enough, since I didn’t get to bang either of them at Rocktoberfest,” I replied with a wink and a nudge of my shoulder into his.
“Well, maybe your luck will change when we’re on the road for weeks on end together,” my best friend teased. Our gazes locked and Fletcher burst out laughing. “Judging by the gleam I see in your eyes, this is something you’ve already thought about.”
“Can you blame me? You’ve seen how hot they are,” I muttered under my breath. “Then again, the stud over there who I just learned is my personal guard is hot as fucking hell. I’d fuck him sideways but I’m guessing that’s frowned upon.”
“I have two words for you, Mike. Off. Limits,” Fletcher scolded. “Get the fantasy completely out of your head and forget it.”
Dagger cleared his throat to get our attention.
“Is there something you’d like to share with the class?” Dagger questioned.
“Not me, but Mike was just telling me how he can’t wait to bone the lead singers of both bands,” Fletcher said to rat me out.
“Some friend you are,” I scoffed. Although I was grateful he didn’t mention I also had the hots for my new guard.
“Fuck anyone you want, but do it on your own time,” Dagger replied and went back to sharing the specifics of our first tour.
Anyone I want? Exactly how far did that rule extend and who did it include?
We finished the meeting and then it was suggested we introduce ourselves to our new guards before we started setting up for practice. I guess that meant I was going to have to walk over to Griffin and hope I didn’t trip on my own two feet along the way. I took a few deep breaths and tried my best to shake off the anxiety I was feeling about meeting this man. I shouldn’t be stumbling like this—especially since this guy was completely unobtainable to me. He might as well have an iron wall around him because that’s how unreachable Griffin was. Nonetheless, I made my feet move until I was standing in front of my guard who was slightly bent over, lifting his water bottle from the seat of a chair. Yep, his ass looked as fine as his fucking face which made him the definition of temptation.
“Fuck. Me.” I thought I’d said it to myself, but apparently it was out loud.
“Excuse me?” Griffin asked as he spun around and faced me.
“I mean, umm…” I was stammering like a fool and not one full thought registered in my now empty head. “I need just one minute,” I said and headed directly to my drum kit. I rummaged through the bag I kept hanging from one of my snares and pulled out a pair of sticks.
This was a crazy quirk of mine, to be sure, and an old behavior from my youth that I hadn’t reverted to in almost two decades. But here I was looking for my security blanket like I was five years old all over again. Some children had blankets or a favorite teddy bear they felt kept them safe from monsters. For me, I felt secure and grounded best when I had my sticks. As a kid, simply holding onto a set of sticks was all it took for me to feel calm and safe. As I got older, I’d shove them into the back pocket of my jeans. I’d feel them tucked there when I moved and it offered me the same sense of easiness and comfort. Sometimes as a kid, I’d sleep with them under my pillow. Far as I knew, Fletcher was the only one who knew this about me and I knew I could trust him to keep it to himself, too. I hadn’t thought about any of this in such a long, long time and I couldn’t quite figure out why meeting Griffin today would cause me to lean on this particular old habit again.
I grabbed my sticks and walked back to Griffin. “I remembered I wanted to bring these home with me,” I lied to him, and I’m sure he knew it, too. He probably also knew I literally had cases of drumsticks stacked up in boxes in the garage at the house. I was such a tool. “Anyway, I guess you’re mine—wait. I mean, you’re assigned to me. I’m Mike.”
I felt my face flame with heat and I could do nothing about it. Why did this man throw me so far off my axis?
“Griffin Sanstrom, and yes, I’ve been assigned to you,” he said in a voice so velvety smooth and erotic I wanted to shiver, but I reined it in. The low range of his tone was a bonus and it lifted all the fine hairs on my arms.
I opened my mouth to talk but nothing came out. I was never one to be tongue-tied, so this was new for me and fucking embarrassing. I had game, goddamn it, but apparently my moves had left the building today, along with Elvis.
“It’s nice to meet you,” I managed to squeak out.
“Same here,” Griffin said with a smile that would have stopped traffic, had we been standing next to the road. “We’ll be seeing a lot of each other which will make it easier for me to get to know you better.”
“Why would you need to do that?” I asked.
“I’m speaking in general terms,” he explained. “The more I know about your schedule, habits, things like that, the better I can protect you in the field.”
“Oh, right. That makes sense,” I said and Griffin chuckled. Of course it made fucking sense because he was a goddamn seasoned professional who’d been doing this type of job for years .
“Sometime over the next week or so we’ll sit down and go over your typical day and I’ll create a file on you,” Griffin outlined.
“Yeah, sure,” I agreed. “Just let me know when and where you want to meet.”
“Let me see your phone and I’ll put my number in it,” Griffin said.
“Why?”
“Because there will be times when either I need to contact you or you’ll need to do the same to me,” Griffin said. “It’s company protocol but I can talk to Fizzbo about an alternative if you really have a problem with it.”
“No, no, I was just curious why you’d need my number, that’s all,” I remarked. “I realize I probably sound like a jerk right now, but this is all new for me—for all of us, so bear with me. I’m not usually like this.”
“Like what?” he questioned. I passed my phone to him, and he began punching in his digits.
“Anxious, flustered, not making sense, and so on. Pick one. They all apply,” I joked. “I’m usually a lot cooler, calm, and collected; and comfortable in my surroundings.”
“Is that so?” he asked and I wondered if he was being sarcastic or teasing me. I didn’t know him yet, which meant I was figuring him out as much as he was doing the same to me.
“Something like that,” I retorted. It seemed as long as I didn’t make eye contact with him, I was able to act more polished, but those fucking eyes of his felt like fingers probing my nether region. It was seductive and a little scary at the same damn time .
“Okay, then I’ll text you tomorrow and we’ll set up a time to meet,” Griffin detailed.
“Let’s do it,” I replied. I rolled my eyes at my word choice as I walked away.
Before we started practice, I stepped out of the rehearsal room to use the bathroom. Then sent separate text messages to the two men I’d spent a lot of time thinking about since we left the desert a couple of days ago.
Me: Looks like I’ll be seeing you again sooner than I thought.
Oliver: We heard the news about the tour this morning! Very exciting—for all three bands.
A moment later Sebastian responded to the message I’d sent to him.
Sebastian: Fan-fucking-tastic! Can’t wait to share a stage with you guys!
Of course, playing for live audiences was part of my excitement, too, but I was equally as jacked to be seeing them again. At the very least, I was hoping being around them would keep my thoughts from drifting to Griffin who was absolutely off-limits. Maybe if I repeated those two words enough times I’d be able to forget about him. Doubtful, but it was worth a shot.
Far as I knew, Oliver and Sebastian were both available—unlike my new guard, who absolutely was off-limits. There were those two magic words again. I should scream them at the top of my lungs non-stop until I convinced my brain.
Off-limits! Off-limits! Off-limits!
Even though I was most definitely interested in Oliver and Sebastian, I wasn’t sure how something between us would work because I wanted to be with both of them—at the same time, if they’d go for that. Between the logistics and our schedules, I wasn’t so sure I’d be able to make anything happen with them while on the road. If nothing else, we’d get to know each other better and become close friends, but I was hoping for more with at least one of them. As a man in my late twenties, of course I was thinking about fucking them—or being fucked by them. I wasn’t all that particular to whether I was a top or a bottom. I loved it any way I could get it—with both men and women.
But since the Rocktoberfest weekend, I’d spent a lot of time thinking about getting them horizontal. The physical chemistry was very clearly there, and it was hot as hell. I just knew getting them into bed would be unforgettable. Maybe I’d have the opportunity to reuse the memorable phrase Sebastian said to me at Rocktoberfest and ask them if they’d be: down to fuck .
I still smiled when I thought of Sebastian asking me that question. His boldness was a definite turn-on for me and it’s a crying shame we were never able to make his phrase a reality. Instead, we had to leave it as a question.
I was getting ahead of myself with that line of thought because at the moment getting laid wasn’t—or shouldn’t be, a priority. Right now we were close to hitting the studio to record, and then we had rehearsals to contend with, and if there was any free time after that I’d probably need to use it to sleep—not fuck. Yes, this was the life of a soon-to-be rockstar. I’d have to take a hard look at this lifestyle in a few years and decide what the perks were and what things were more of a pain in the ass.
At the moment, my biggest bone of contention was not being able to go after Griffin.