7. Zayden

Chapter seven

Zayden

The next several weeks swirl by in a whirlwind of auditions, practice, and going out for date nights with Carter. After the first several disasters of auditions, Emery finally caved and called his step brother, Roman.

Beckett wasn't kidding when he said the kid was talented and knew all our songs. Roman might not be my brother, but the on stage chemistry we have while performing is off the charts. Besides the strange tension between Roman and Emery, the kid has been a real fucking blessing.

"You ready to test out your skills on the road?" I say to Roman as he packs up his guitar for the night. We're in the studio and we just finished practice. Carter is off to the side giving me some serious ‘come hither' looks that are starting to get distracting.

Every day after work, Carter left his office and immediately joined us at the studio. For someone who claimed to not like progressive metal once, he seems to be eager to watch me play. Every night after practice, we get a quick bite to eat, go to either his place or mine, before we spend the rest of the evening watching our current TV show on netflix before falling asleep in each other's arms.

Some nights we make love, with Carter dominating the fuck out of me, and other nights we just sleep. Either way, I wouldn't change a thing. What we seem to have is absolutely perfect.

Roman zips up his guitar case. "Yeah, I'm excited to go on tour with you guys."

"Did you ever go on tour with the tribute band?" I ask.

"Nah, we played locally, and it's just for fun. All the guys knew Arcade Lake is my favorite band. They were happy for me."

"Good," I clap Roman on the back and say my goodbyes before I rush over to Carter and throw my arms around him. "You always smell so good," I murmur against his neck.

Emery's tablet rings, indicating that he has an incoming call. "Gather around guys," Emery says. "This is Olly. Let's make sure we all say hello."

At the last minute we convinced my brother to come on tour with us since it would be a short one. We only had six stops, and we thought that by having both Roman and Olly on tour, they could alternate between songs, and help with the transition of introducing him to our fans.

Everyone greets my brother, passing the tablet between them, until it finally gets passed to me. Olly is beaming into the screen, and my heart fucking melts. "You look good, Olls." My voice cracks, and I clear my throat.

"Thanks, Zee. Do you remember Ezra?"

The beautiful blonde I met a couple of months ago pops into the screen and waves. "Hi, Zayden! It's nice to see you again."

"Hey Ez. I'd like to introduce you and my brother to my boyfriend."

Olly's eyes widen in shock. Even though it's been a few months since we started dating, I haven't had time to introduce my brother to Carter, even online.

The introductions are brief and both Carter and Ezra are smiling at the end. The band behind me laughs as they chat, and a sudden sense of warmth and love overcomes me. This right here is what life is all about. Love, family, and happiness.

"Hey Zee," Olly says into the phone. "Mind if we chat for a bit?"

"Sure," I say, placing a kiss on Carter's cheek and walking over to the other side of the room for privacy.

"You look happy." He grins through the screen and I smile back. "Yeah, so do you."

"Who would have ever thought of either of us finding a significant other."

"Right? As pathetic as it sounds, I'm actually really nervous about the tour. Carter has to work since he landed that big job with Dee Rama Magazine. I don't know how I'm going to handle us being apart. Even if it's only six stops."

Olly chuckles. "Fuck, you really love this guy, huh?"

I smirk into the screen and reply in a hushed tone. "I do. But I haven't told him yet. I plan to, at Rocktoberfest."

"That's great. Never thought you'd be a romantic too."

"I am. I think I've always been, it just took the right guy to realize it. So, are you going to miss Ezra?"

"Actually, that's what I wanted to talk to you about. Since this is my farewell tour, I was hoping to bring Ezra with me. Aunt Tessy and Ezra's coworkers have his store covered. So he's free to travel with me."

My mouth falls open, shocked and a little zap of jealousy pulses through me. Then I shake it off. I have plenty of time and plenty of tours up ahead where Carter can join. "Of course," I reply. "Is he going on the tour bus with us? Maybe you two can take the back room?"

"Actually Ezra is excited to try out the bunks. We will take one of the extra large ones and cuddle up together. If we kick each other too much, I'll move over to one of the spare bunks."

"You sure?"

"Yeah!" Ezra appears next to Olly. "I wanted to give the whole tour bus experience a try. It's probably one of the only times I'll ever get to try one, and Olly says you guys splurged for the extra comfy mattresses."

I laugh. "We did."

Olly glances into the screen and smiles. "I already cleared it with everyone too, you can get the big bed and the back room."

"Well I'm not going to argue with that." I laugh.

When we first started touring, I remember when we made it a big goal to perform at Rocktoberfest. This might not be our first time, and it's always been a favorite, but between the stalker, all the drama, dealing with Leslie, and taking breaks to fall in love, I have to admit, this year's road to Rocktoberfest has been a difficult one. Still I wouldn't have it any other way.