Page 32 of More Than Scars

“Here-here!” Joey, Stoli, Mickey, and Diamond cheered, tapping their beer bottles to Shadow’s.

The wall of hired muscle did its best to keep the gathering crowd behind them, but in true Social and Maiden form, they emerged, posing for pictures and signing autographs until the bar closed.

“Reagan, Josh.” Josh was the guitarist for Chaotic Abyss, another Masterson band, and his partner Reagan owned the bar we played at tonight. “We can’t thank you enough for letting us host our first gig here. We owe you big time.”

“You owe us nothing,” Reagan said. “If it wasn’t for Easton, I never would’ve met Josh.” Those two were beyond in love, it was clear in the way they fondly glanced at one another. I hoped to someday have those same feelings. The yearnings to go to sleep and wake up with the one you loved tucked in your arms. Bowie’s face the first thing I saw each morning…

Fuck.

“What’s wrong?” Bowie asked.

“Nothing, honestly.” He gave me thatwe’ll talk about this laterlook. “Just had an epiphany of sorts.” Definitely not blurting outI love youfor the first time in front of a group of our peers or in a crowded bar. No, Bowie deserved better than that, plus if he didn’t feel the same way, I’d never be able to look any of these guys in the eyes again.

Now if that isn’t a bitch slap from the hand of reality, I don’t know what is.

Wolf and the guys finished loading up their gear in the box truck we used for local shows. “Wolf, you need some hired muscle.”

“Easton already told him that,” Diamond said, arms folded across his massive chest. “Right?”

“Ya, ya, ya,” Wolf teased back. “I’m working on it.”

“Alright, Shadow and I are out of here. Great show, guys. Claude, fantastic improvement. We’ll hook up this week.” And in typical Diamond fashion, he and his Maiden Voyage twin nodded to the group and left.

“Dude, was that a compliment from Diamond?” Tony asked.

Smartass Claude winked. “Indeed, it was,mi amigo.”

“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to those two.” Tony shook his head. “Claude, I don’t know how you made it through your sessions without vomiting.”

“Who said I didn’t?” Claude teased, his grin giving it away. “The first session I was a ball of tension, and they saw that. Talked me through it and were actually super chill. After that, the pressure eased, and I was able to be myself. Not gonna lie and say it didn’t piss me off in the first place why I was there, but they saw things I didn’t, and having the extra set of eyes and ears really helped improve my game.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” I chimed in. “Watching you guys these last few weeks has been mind-blowing. With each practice your connection strengthens and you feed off each other. Tonight, you were awesome, totally on fire, and had the crowd eating out of your hands.”

“It felt good,” Bowie grinned. “When’s the next gig?”

“You are booked solid Friday and Saturday nights up until the weekend before Rocktoberfest.”

“Wait, what?”

Wasn’t the way I planned to spring it on them, but hey, now they knew. “Shoot, did I forget to tell you?”

“I think you did,” Stoli smirked. “Kinda feels like you planned it this way.”

Bowie grabbed my shoulders and shook me. “Spit. It. Out. Pressley.”

“You’re playing at Rocktoberfest opening day at noon. Kicking off the whole crazy-ass weekend!” I shouted, just to rile them up more.

“Fuck yeah!” they hollered, hugging one another.

“Social, Maiden, Embrace, and Chaotic will be there too,” Stoli added while Josh high-fived the guys. “This is a huge break. Don’t. Fuck. It. Up. Bowie, can I borrow you for a minute?” Bowie followed Stoli back inside while the rest of us waited for them.

“I can’t fucking believe we’re playing at Rocktoberfest.” Claude shook his head. “Moving to Seattle was the best choice I ever made.”

“We’re happy to have you. Masterson took over Rocktoberfest after a few issues last year. They are all about bringing talent into the light, so with that, they added another day. The event kicks off on Thursday at noon and runs until Sunday night.”

“Holy shit. That’s insane. It’s like Hellfest on US soil.”

“Something like that, Tony. But I believe there are a couple others on US soil that run just as long. Aftershock, Rockville, Louder than Life. But don’t quote me on the length of each.” Add research into the festivals to my research list. Feels like things that will come up in general conversation from time to time given my new profession.