“Should get a final call this afternoon. Looks like we’ll get it, though. The club loved the demo I sent.”
“Awesome.”
“Yeah. I don’t want to overbook us before the regional competition. We need time to practice as a group. Really refine our set.”
“Agreed.”
XYZ needed to be spot-on at Unbound. Dom had researched their competition in the indie rock category, and they were one of only three bands that didn’t have any completely original albums.
“We practicing today?” Dom asked.
“Benji and Tyson are both free. I wasn’t sure when you’d be home, so I didn’t set anything up.”
Dom was still tired from so many late nights in a row, but they needed every practice hour they could squeeze in. “I’m all for it.”
“I’ll call everyone. Seven okay? It’ll give Tyson time to get up here.”
Tyson lived about forty minutes south of Philly, in a little Delaware town that Dom had never heard of, so he had the farthest to travel for practice.
“Sure,” Dom replied.
Benji still lived at home with his folks, which came with the added benefit of a garage they could use for practice. They’d added some soundproofing foam last summer, mostly for the neighbors, plus a space heater and a few box fans for extreme weather.
Dom put his stuff away while Lincoln made the calls. He confirmed practice at seven. “We’ll even have an audience,” Lincoln added. “Benji’s boyfriend is back in the city for a few weeks.”
“That’s cool.” He’d only met Joshua Lansing a few times, because he traveled so much doing on-site IT for a national bank. It paid well, according to Benji—well enough that they could have afforded their own place together, but Benji didn’t like being alone for weeks at a time. So they both lived with their folks and spent time together when they could.
“Yeah. Benji hopes that Joshua will be local long enough to see us at Unbound.”
“It would be nice to have someone else there to cheer us on.” Dom’s parents couldn’t get the time off for a three-day trip. If Linc was straight, his parents would have made every effort to go, but fuck them anyway. Tyson didn’t talk about his personal life much, so Dom had no idea about his people.
Having Joshua along would be awesome.
“Are you nervous?”
Dom turned away from his dresser. Lincoln was frowning, arms crossed, something like tension buzzing all around him. “You know me, Linc, I get nervous the day of a performance. You look like you’re going to flip out, though.”
“It’s such a huge chance for us, Dom. Huge. I mean, we almost didn’t even get in because Reid was so-so, and now that we’ve got Tyson and a spot, I’m scared I’m going to fuck it up somehow.”
“Never. You’re the glue that has kept this band together for almost four years. People have come and gone, yeah, but you and me? We’re unstoppable. The four of us together? We’re solid, and we’re going to kick ass at Unbound. Period.”
He straightened, confidence returning to his posture and smile. “Thanks.”
“No problem. Even a cocky bitch like you needs a boost once in a while.”
“Yeah, and you more than anyone knows the cocky bitch is an act.”
Dom hauled his friend into a hug, as much for Lincoln as for himself. Lincoln was his best friend for reasons neither of them needed to explain. They fit, end of story.
“All right, enough of this touchy-feely shit.” Lincoln pulled back and squared his shoulders. “What do you want for dinner? Takeout or delivery?”
“Delivery, unless you’re going to get it.”
“Delivery it is.”
He left to retrieve menus, and Dom finished unpacking. Maybe he could get a power nap in before practice.
Dom spent more time than was probably healthy staying in contact with Trey for the next four days. A lot of texting, a few phone calls, and one more laptop date that led to another jam session. Trey had figured out how to use a splitter so his real keyboard, laptop, and headphones all synched up, and it made his playing a lot smoother. Despite the whole thing being a huge secret, Dom was stupidly happy.
