“Not necessary. Especially if there’re boobs involved.”
“I watch more dick porn than chick porn. I watched a great locker room scene last night. The coach and the quarterback. Sexy as fuck.”
“Are you really sharing a spank-bank story?”
“Yeah, you want the link?”
“No, thanks. Wait a sec. You were with me last night. Are you saying you jacked off after what we did?”
I chuckled. “No way. I’m still sore. I was just perusing…as one does.”
“I bet,” he snorted.
We traded lighthearted barbs, peppering in pieces of our evening along the way. He told me he ate Chinese takeout with Justin and Gray. I told him that I went out for celebratory drinks with the band and made a frozen pizza when I got home. He wasn’t amused. I got a long lecture about fitness and healthy eating. I should have been annoyed, but I wasn’t. Not even close. Of course, I told him I was about to dive into a pint of Ben and Jerry’s and grilled him about his favorite flavors for another ten minutes.
What I didn’t tell him was that I wished I were with him or that I’d thought about him all day. I didn’t want to freak either of us out. Secret fuck-buddies who were about to become fake boyfriends had to follow the rules. And since neither of us knew what they were, it was best to play it safe.
10
Tegan
The Zero Jealousy tour kicked off in LA to a full house at the world-renowned Troubadour. It was Zero’s second time headlining there, but I still had to pinch myself. This was where rock royalty like Elton John, The Eagles, and Jackson Browne played before they were household names. Just walking onstage felt like a big fucking deal. And it didn’t hurt that our opening band kicked ass.
No kidding. Jealousy rocked. They were a brand new, unproven entity, so the expectation was that their sales would increase with a tour under their belt and their association with Zero. And while Zero wasn’t a superpower yet, we had a large fan base and the kind of chemistry that came with talent, practice, and shared experience. We were ambitious and hungry. But we were smart too. Smart enough to let Charlie deal with the details.
I think it was fair to say that none of us really understood the distribution process. According to Charlie, it was simple. We had to get on an algorithm that pulled us into steady playlist rotations everywhere fathomable…grocery stores, hair salons, gyms, and of course on personal devices. We also needed radio spots and sponsors who would help our fans get the word out.
We’d all breathed a sigh of relief when he reported that the whole tour was already more than three quarters sold out. He was on a tear to make that an even hundred percent. Sure, the venues were small. The Troubadour maxed out at five hundred, but there were a couple of larger clubs on the roster too. Bigger was better, for sure. Someday we hoped to sell out stadiums on the regular. Geez, just the thought of walking onstage at Dodger Stadium was…oh, I couldn’t wrap my brain around that one yet. It was too daunting.
Hell, this felt daunting.
I lifted my baseball cap and put it on backward, chomping my gum noisily as I watched Declan rev the crowd. The guy was a natural. He moved like liquid fire, strumming on his guitar one minute, then pushing it behind his back, grabbing the microphone and dancing around the stage like he just couldn’t contain all that energy.
It didn’t hurt that he was sexy as fuck. Justin might not appreciate the comparison, but they had a lot in common. They were both charismatic, good-looking front men who seamlessly connected with their audience. Zero’s sound was more bluesy rock while Jealousy had an alternative folksy quality that gave Dec a chance to show off his musicianship. In short, they complemented each other to a—
“T! There you are.” Justin sidled next to me and stared out at the stage. “I hate to admit it, but they’re good.”
“Yeah.” I nodded in agreement but kept my eyes on Dec. He finished a song with rock-star flourish, holding the neck of his guitar, then circling his arm overhead and posing. It could have been a little hokey, but no…it was gold. The audience went fucking wild.
“I feel like we’re in an alternate reality,” Justin said. “If you told me a year ago that Dec’s band would open for ours at the fucking Troubadour, I’d have asked for whatever you were smoking.”
“It’s a little crazy.”
“A lot crazy. Heads up, Xena is in the audience and Charlie wants to run an idea by you.”
“Huh?”
“Ask Charlie. If you want to back out of the boyfriend thing, now is your chance. Anything that happens onstage or off from this point forward is going to get noticed.” Justin fixated on the dancing fans in the distance and crossed his arms. “You know you may have to kiss him…in public. Although you don’t seem to mind him as much lately.”