This tour was a year-and-a-half long. At least, that’s what was planned out so far. There was always potential for it to go longer. Really, we could tour as long as we wantedto.
Neither of us were goinganywhere.
So I sipped my drink, signed some shit for a few fans Jude tolerated getting close, and I talked with my boys. I watched people dance, and I listened to themusic.
Despite the fact that I didn’t drink, I still loved bars. As long as the music was good. As long as it was loud and the sound system had it right. Didn’t even care what kind of music itwas.
Rock. Electronic. Fuckingjazz.
Didn’tmatter.
Just give me some loud music and a goodvibe.
No idea who’d chosen this place, but it was cool. The DJ was spinning a steady stream of at-least-two-decades-ago, all the filthiest hits from the 2Pac, Biggie and Snoop Dogg catalogue, and at the moment it was Eminem, “Shake That.” The crowd of hipster college kids was fucking loving it, and the girls were shaking that all over the dancefloor.
Including Katie and Amber, who already looked drunk. Nice to see Dylan’s little hippie girl relax; Katie had really seemed to take her under her wing. Amber was wearing sparkly leggings with her little blouse, and I couldn’t remember seeing her in heelsbefore.
As for Maggie… she was still firmly planted in her seat and ignoringme.
I elbowed Seth. “How many shots you think it’ll take to get Maggie on that dancefloor?”
He chuckled and glanced at Maggie. “Thirty?”
I watched her, deep in conversation with Talia. By the looks of it, it was an overly-serious conversation for half-past midnight at a bar. Really, I figured I’d be doing Talia a service if I got Maggie drunk tonight. The girl was barely legal to drink and no doubt would rather be on that dance floor than talkingbusiness.
As it was, Talia kept glancing over at Katie and Amber longingly. They were shaking it up in clear view of our table, maybe putting on a little show for their men… which seemed to be entertaining Dylan and irritatingJesse.
Jesse got jealous anytime any guy looked at his wife, and when a girl looked like Katie did—all curvy and petite, with her thick, dark hair and creamy skin, and that sweet smile on her face—and shook her ass like that, guys were definitelylooking.
I wouldn’t mind seeing Maggie dance like that. Maggie was sexy as fuck when she danced. She just didn’t often loosen up enough to doit.
At least not when I wasaround.
Or when she was toosober.
I looked for our waitresses; they were buzzing around Dylan and Matt, and the Steel Trap guys at the next table. Bunch of boozers. The wait staff had stopped showing love to our end of the table the second they sniffed out that Seth and I weren’tdrinking.
Seriously, who did an alcoholic rock star have to finger around here to get adrink?
“How you doing?” Seth asked me, eyeing me with a look I didn’t love. Maybe he thought I was jonesing for a drink of myown?
Or scoping out the waitresses for otherreasons?
“Good. Surprised you made it out tonight. You know, fat lip and all. Figured Elle would be kissing your wounds allnight.”
He just laughed, like a guy who knew I wasjealous.
And sure, maybe I’d threatened to fire him if he didn’t come out with us. But I did that a lot—even though it pissed Elle off; I told her it was just a joke, but she still wasn’t too fuckingimpressed.
Truth was, unless we caught Seth with a needle in his arm, fat fucking chance we’d fire him again for any reason. As it was, we were all trying to make up for past wrongs, for lost time. Just wanted to resolidify that bond we’d had with him so longago.
“You know,” I told him, “you keep holing up, fucking your pregnant woman all the time, you’re gonna drill a dent in that kid’shead.”
I’d told him the same thing before, several times, and just like before, he raised his eyebrows at me and kinda smirked at my apparent lack of understanding where pregnancy wasconcerned.
I just liked to bust the guy’sballs.
Wasn’t really fair he was so in love and his woman was about to squeeze out his kid. But then again, Seth probably deserved it more than anyone did, after all the shit he’d beenthrough.
