I caught up with him a few buses over. “What’s up, Harri?”
“What’s up? You tell me. Who the hell is that?” He gestured back to the buses, where everyone was hanging out.
“Instead of going into blast mode, why don’t you listen? I can introduce him, then you’ll know. His name is Saxon, and Kay and I met him last week.”
“Met him? Met him where? Vikings-R-Us?”
I wiggled my eyebrows, trying to break the tension, and purposefully ignored his snark. “Right. He’s a big guy.”
“Donavan.”
“Fine,” I huffed. “We met him at a party. So what?”
“So what?” He threw his hands up. “Are you both sleeping with him? What the hell?”
“Fuck this. Harri, it’s none of your business. Saxon is…he’s really nice.”
“I thought you and Kay were a serious thing, Don. I finally got my head around that and now this… Are you and Kay splittingup? I mean…did you bring a casual fuck to the show? I can’t have your relationship fucking up things with them. Bramble Punk is Midnight Hunt’s protégé.”
“Damn. Like I don’t know that. What the hell is your problem? You’re making a lot of assumptions. And the truth is you have no clue what’s going on, and you need to stay out of it.” I walked away without giving him any time to respond. I was over his overprotectiveness. Stupid brothers.
Chapter eleven
Kay
Las Vegas
By the time we made it to the Las Vegas show, the album had reached platinum. I was so stoked. There was going to be a ceremony on stage at the beginning of the show, presenting uswith the big platinum record plaques. The guys from Midnight Hunt were incredibly excited, especially Jinx, since he’d been the brain behind putting us together from the start.
It made for a boisterous backstage. Saxon didn’t have to go back to work for a few days, so he joined us at the show and would stay with us for LA too. But that was the end of his time off. He’d become more solid in our lives already, and we would miss him when we moved on to Albuquerque. But nothing made me happier than having him here to celebrate the Platinum Record status. I was getting used to him, and I liked him. He helped make sure we had what we needed, and I loved that. It meant relaxing and enjoying this more.
Harrison tugged Donny’s arm and led him out of the room. I wondered what was going on. They hadn’t really talked since Harrison confronted Donny at Rocktoberfest. I hated coming between them, but it was Donny’s call. I started to get up, but Saxon pulled me closer to him. “Hey. Relax. He can take care of himself, and if he can’t, he’ll ask for help.” He kissed the side of my head.
Before I had a chance to process that, Jinx sat on the couch beside us. “Hey, Kay. How’re you feeling about all this?”
“I’m so proud of the album and what we’ve put together.”
“You’re not feeling bad about taking a backseat to Pierce? I mean…”
“No, no way. Don’t worry. I don’t see it like that. Adding Pierce was the right move. I’m way more comfortable with this, and we fucking sound killer. I mean, how did you feel coming back to Hunt and backing up Miami again after all those years?”
“Hmm…I do see your point, but that’s also why I wanted to check in with you. This has been your first tour with him. Unlike me, I’d played with Hunt before. This was different for you. A little. And honestly, it was kind of hard for me to go from solo tojustthe guitarist. I never feel that way, though. Not with Hunt.It’s not like that with them. We’re a group effort, and Miami and I have super chemistry on stage. I can see that with you and Pierce as well. Feels like it’s working.”
“I think the difference is that Pierce can be a giant ass. That’s the only drawback, trying to manage that.”
“Oh, you damn well know Miami can be as big an ass as Pierce. If not bigger. No lie. Those two have serious frontman ego, and they flaunt it.”
Maybe that was what I’d lacked. My ego simply wasn’t that big. “There is another difference, Jinx.”
“What’s that?”
“I’m not in love with Pierce.” I screwed up my face from simply thinking about it and stuck out my tongue.
Jinx laughed, and Saxon joined him, saying, “I hope to fuck not.”
If I were in love with anyone, it was Donny, and I was rapidly adding Saxon to that list. Though we’d hardly had a chance to play or interact much, given the atmosphere of the tour. But we needed to find out if we fit together before we made a deeper commitment.
It had been a good conversation with Jinx, giving me a little more insight into my psyche and the band’s dynamics. I’d continue to think about it, but Donny walked back in and sat on Saxon’s lap. Saxon’s arm was still comfortably around my shoulders.
