Page 16 of More Than Scars

The rest of us loaded our arms, and they followed me inside. “Kitchen, living room, bedroom one, which is for Tony,” I nodded as we passed eachspace. “Bedroom two right next door, Bowie, that’s yours. Bathroom is across the hall for you to share, and my room is beside it.” I had a simple ranch home, but the price was right when I bought it, and over time I’d done some updates. Still had a list a mile long, but my favorite place was out back with a beer in hand, feet propped up on the side of the firepit with a roaring blaze in it. Of course, residing anywhere near Seattle meant those days were few and far between, thanks to the rain, but I cherished every one of them. “There’s a key on top of the dresser in your rooms for you.”

“Sweet pad,” Tony said. “Thanks for letting us crash here.”

“No worries. Will be nice to have voices other than my own around.”Sad much? Jeez, Pressley, why not lay all your cards on the table the first night.“Help yourself to food and whatever else you need. I keep a whiteboard on the fridge for the grocery list, so if there’s anything you want or use the last of, just write it on there.”

After a quick dinner of pizza, I ran Wolf home while the boys settled in. Driving, moving, and all that it encompassed made for an early night, and everyone was in bed before ten p.m.

“Whoa, this is where they live?” Wide-eyed, Tony said from the backseat. We’d just checked in at the guard shack where Joey and Stoli lived.

“All the guys from Social have houses in this subdivision.” It was kinda cool they did that. The four of them were as tight as brothers, even fought like them from time to time, but they loved each other fiercely.

“Welcome, Fuckers!” Stoli greeted us with open arms and backslaps as soon as we hit their front porch. Joey was a bit more subdued, though he smiled and shook his head at his husband’s silly antics. “Come on in.”

“Holy shit!” Bowie exclaimed. “You can see straight outside.”

“Yes, an expense that was well worth it,” Joey replied. “We like to cook and entertain, and it’s easier to mingle when the common areas are open to one another. Plus, Stoli loves to garden and actually spends a ton of time outside when the weather permits.”

“Enclosing our pool was one of the smartest things we did. The top is retractable for sunny days. Wait until you see my grill station.” Stoli rubbed his hands together like a mad scientist while Joey rolled his eyes. “Gotta admit, babe, my meat is the best.” A round of groans rumbled through the room. “What? It is.”

“No, just,” Joey pinched the bridge of his nose. “No, Stoli.”

“First floor you can see all but the office.” Stoli waved his hand around, “Second floor has far too many bedrooms for two people. But it’s the basement that’s the sweet spot. Gentlemen, follow me.”

The basement was completely finished and ran the width and length of their mansion. It was easily five thousand square feet down here. Hell, two of my houses would fit in it. “Wow, this is insane.” Fully stocked game room with a pool table and old-school stand-up arcade video games, one wall had the biggest TV screen I’d ever seen, while another had a bar and fridge. The last wall was all glass, and behind it was a recording studio with every piece of band equipment you’d ever need.

“Dude, this is fucking amazing.” I swear bBowie was drooling. “Tell me we get to play with all your toys?”

“The ones you see in here,” Stoli winked, “yes. The others are for Joey’s use only.”

Joey’s head turned skyward. “Goddess, help me to not choke my husband tonight.”

“Shall we take a detour off TMI highway?” A change in subject was due, though I had to say these two were funny as hell. “Bowie had some questions, and I’m sure Tony does too. Me personally, I’d like to see what kind of a game plan we can come up with for the band.”

Stoli fell back onto the massive sectional sofa. Who knew they made them this big? “As soon as the band’s assembled, you need toplay together and find your groove. Joey, me and Mickey will be with you along the way. Diamond will pop in and out, but he will likely have whoever the drummer ends up being out to his place too. Shadow has mentioned flying up to help out too.”

“Sweet, I can’t wait. Super stoked. I love the idea of all of us being new and not just filling in places vacated by others.” Tony and Bowie exchanged a quick glance. “You really think I can become a good enough singer?”

“Tony,” Joey pointed at him, “I have no doubt you’ll become agreatsinger and frontman for Imminent Danger.”

Chapter Seven

Bowie

Man, I could have stayed inside, jamming with Joey and Stoli, or playing video games on that flatscreen, laughing as Stoli hollered every time Tony and I spun, crashed into, or shot turtle shells at him in Mario Kart, but inevitably, stomachs started rumbling, and Joey suggested that me and Tony join him, Wolf, and Pressley in the pool while Stoli worked his magic at the meat station. I’d have preferred sticking by his side,helping him keep an eye on the mountain of food he was bringing out, while picking his brain more on themes and how to make sure there was some cohesion in the songs that we chose to present to the band. Instead, he waved me on too, grumbling at me to get in the water and let him do his thing, so I went, because sitting in a deck chair was going to send up way more red flags and warning bells than me getting in the water in swim shorts and a t-shirt would.

Should have just said I couldn’t swim, I thought that the moment a splash fight broke out and I started spending as much, if not more, time worrying about if my hair was safely positioned over the wrecked side of my face as I did retaliating. Fortunately, Tony, treasured friend that he was, noticed not long into the game and suggested we play Marco Polo instead, which was perfect, because it allowed me to hide in the far corners of the pool and duck under and swim away the moment someone approached me.

Still, I’d never been more grateful for pool time to end than when Stoli called outfoods ready, fuckers,and we all scrambled out to grab seats around one of the huge patio tables to eat. As he’d done at the restaurant, Tony sat directly across from where I sat on the end, able to keep the messed-up side of my face away from everyone. Was a good thing too, as Pressley took the seat beside me while Wolf sat beside Tony, leaving Joey and Stoli to sit on the other end, across from one another.

Pressley shooting down my admittedly weak suggestion about stage makeup had left me a little shaken and unsettled about what I was going to do onstage. As it was, I never took my shirt off, though I did have several shredded ones to help keep me cool, well, cooler when I was up there, not that there was much that could dull the heat of those overhead lights. Maybe Pressley did have a point about the stage makeup. I was used to it, but Tony wasn’t, and I doubted the rest of our bandmates, once we discovered them, would be comfortable in it either. It took time to build up a tolerance and to find the kind that worked best with your skin, so it didn’t wind up melting off you and dripping everywhere.

“Are there a lot of guys signed up for the bass auditions tomorrow?” Tony asked.

“Forty-seven,” Wolf replied, “though I expect we’ll get a few more who show up at the door. I just hope some of the washouts have spread the word that we’re not looking for bullshit wannabes. I even changed the wording on the call-outs to readserious musicians only, not that I expect it to help too much. Too many folks out there have an overinflated sense of their capabilities, only to show up and underdeliver.”

“Preach!” Stoli said.

We all chuckled, knowing exactly where that reaction had come from.