Hell, the last thing I needed was this gig to be cancelled. I’d been counting on it to create some pre-release buzz for us.
“Why don’t you have a chat to Sally? She might be able to suggest someone. She knows all the bands that play here and there’s got to be someone who’d jump at a chance like this. Hell, most of them would give their right arm.”
“I hope not,” he said with a wry grin. “They wouldn’t be able to play.”
I couldn’t talk to him after that. A couple of suppliers came in and then there was an emergency with the sound desk that needed sorting out.
Holden was gone when I came back down but I assumed the problem had been dealt with. It was a prize opportunity.
Dee
I’d been in a deep funk for days, ever since talking to Pete. Pete had pretty much kept out of my way at home and I’d been working as many shifts as I could to build up my bank account. We saw each other at rehearsal but then the conversation was about music and music only.
Pete occasionally shot me glances, trying to look apologetic. But he’d wanted me to know. He’d wanted to tear down that shrine I kept to Jake in my heart. The one who’d tried to protect me had been Alex. Maybe there was more to Alex than I’d thought. Not that it mattered. Alex hadn’t even made an effort to contact me and that stung like a whip. It stung my ego and it stung my heart. He was avoiding me. That’s all there was to it.
Then, in the middle of rehearsal, I got a phone call. Sally wanted to know if we’d support Holden’s band. It was a last minute fill-in. It wasn’t at the club but some big venue. He’d just asked Sally to get in touch with me.
“I don’t know if we’re ready for something like that. That’s way bigger than we’re used to. We’ve only played a handful of times.”
Pete shot me a look. He didn’t hear the first part but he was ready for anything, he thought. He’d never knock back an opportunity.
“Holden specifically asked for you guys. There’s one thing though, Dee. The other support band will be Zero.”
I grimaced. That was a problem. It was all problems but still, exciting as well. My stomach flopped around like crazy. I wanted to do this but I sure as hell didn’t want to make a fool of myself in front of a huge crowd.
“I’ll think about it,” I said. “I’ll call you back soon.”
As soon as I got off the phone, Pete jumped on me.
“What? What aren’t we ready for?”
Could I lie to him? He’d never pass this up. I had to tell the truth, no matter what. I told him what Sally had said.
“Hell, you don’t think about something like that. You say ‘fuck yeah’. You jump on it. Call her straight back. NOW.”
I inhaled. I needed a moment.
“What if we screw up? We’ve played a few gigs, to a decent enough crowd. This is going to be thousands of people who’ve never heard of us. They’ll slaughter us if we’re shit.”
“So? We won’t be shit. If we have to rehearse 24/7 until Saturday.”
I turned to Ferdie. “What do you think?”
He put his head on the side, as though weighing it up.
“Hell, Dee. Let’s do it. If we fuck up too badly, we can change our band name, change our faces and reinvent ourselves. If we don’t fuck up, then we’re made.”
That settled it. Ferdie was always the level-headed one. I didn’t want to mention the Alex factor. That was my personal concern and the band didn’t come into it.
I called Sally back and told her we were all over it.
“Hell yeah, play the hell out of that stage and make Alex look like a chump.”
I doubted we could do that, but we’d give it a good try.
“We need t-shirts to sell. We need stuff.” Pete had put down his bass and paced the studio.
“We need to rehearse,” I said.
Alex
I wanted to be gone from the club before Dee came in. They were playing tonight.
My avoidance strategy had been working well. Except for those times when I remembered the taste of her on my tongue or the silky soft feel of her hair. The sway of her hips and the smell of her skin. She’d burrowed into me, deep inside my mind, and I couldn’t break free of her that easily. This bond between us was not something that I needed or wanted, it just was. But, the two of us could never be. The past constantly rose up between us.