“I kind of miss beach weekends,” Clary says with a shrug. “I wish you guys still thought we were the cool parents.”
Kellin laughs. “I’m pretty sure you still are. You accepted me for who I am after all…and looked at my girlfriend’s ribs after she pushed her way through a mosh pit.”
Clary looks up at Kellin, and he smiles at her until she gives in and smiles back.
“Fine,” she says. “But I want at least one beach weekend every summer.”
Kellin looks over at me, and I nod.
“Sounds like a plan,” he says, and Jim leans forward on his knees.
“Now what’s this about a record deal?” his dad asks.
Kellin’s body goes stiff next to me, and he shrugs. Lindy rolls her eyes.
“His band got two different offers — they turned down both,” she replies.
Jim’s voice is gruff when he finally breaks the silence. “Because of us?”
“No,” Kellin says, and his dad purses his lips in disbelief. “Well, at first it was part of the reason, but then the guys and I started thinking about it, and it just didn’t seem like the right fit. Maybe years ago when we were teenagers, but we all kind of have established lives and Temp just got an offer to work with a famous tattoo artist.”
His voice trails off, and I know there’s something he’s holding back.
“But?” I ask and my body goes cold. If he wants it still, he could probably go to a different band. Undertow is missing a singer now that Jace Smith is out on his own. I swallow hard as I wait for him to respond.
He shrugs, looking down at his feet. “I just realized I need to figure out what I want to do with my life. I only have a few months of college left, and I don’t want to work at the bank the rest of my life. And…I don’t want to have to give up music.”
“What if you did something with music that has to do with business?” Jim says, and Kellin stops tapping his foot. I glance over, and his face is pale beneath his scruff.
Jim seems to have hit a nerve.
“Umm…” Kellin’s eyes drift to me, and my stomach clenches. “When we turned down Fallout they offered to let me intern there this summer.”
“That’s great!” Jim says, and I feel my throat thicken.
“In California?” I ask with my voice hardly a whisper.
Kellin nods.
“Well, I guess we won’t start beach weekends for another year,” Clary replies, and her voice has relaxed. “I think it will be good for you guys.”
My head shoots up. You guys?
She thinks we need space and she’s only seen us together for a few hours?
“Both of us?” I ask before I can stop myself.
“Yeah,” Clary says. “I imagine you’ll be going with him?”
Kellin looks over at me, and there’s a smile creeping to his lips. “You’re going to school for Marketing– I’m sure they could use an intern in that department too.”
“Aren’t internships unpaid?” I ask, and I silently try to do the math in my head about plane tickets, renting a place in Cali and food. I give up with a huff. I’m no good at math anyways.
“Yeah,” Kellin says, and he inhales through his nose.
I sink deeper into the couch and then wince at the pain that shoots from my torso down. Jim smiles at us.
“I’m sure you’ll get enough money from graduation to cover expenses,” Jim says, and I look over at Kellin.
“What do you say, Reese? Want to spend another summer with me?” he asks, and I nod.
“I can’t wait,” I say and my stomach flutters as Kellin leans towards me.
Chapter 30
“So this is it?” Schmidt asks, taking a deep breath before leaning down and lining up the cue ball. He hits it and gets two balls into the corner pockets. He stands and leans against his pool stick. “The band is done?”
“Not done,” Temp replies with a shrug. “We’re just going in separate directions.”
Fague, the drummer who’s so quiet I usually don’t notice him, nods. “That is the definition of done, Temp.”
Kellin laughs, grabbing Fague’s shoulder. “Yeah, you’re probably right– but I’m glad it’s not me breaking up the band.”
Temp pouts from where he is on the couch with Lindy snuggled into his lap. “Honestly, man, I’m getting enough shit from Bree.”
“You are abandoning her,” Schmidt says as he crosses his arms.
Temp points at him. “Don’t you say it.”
Schmidt shrugs and concentrates on watching Fague’s next move on the table. “As long as you know what I’m thinking.”
“She’s older than you. She’ll eat you alive,” Temp replies, and I look over at Kellin with my brow furrowed.
“Schmidt has the hots for Temp’s sister,” he explains, and then nods to him. “Serves you right.”
“Hey! She asked me for my number,” Temp says, throwing his hands up.
Lindy shrugs. “Yeah, I kind of did.”
“But you gave it to her,” Fague replies as he shoots the eight ball into the pocket and then smirks at Schmidt.
“Because she said she wanted a tattoo!” Temp says, and his voice is exasperated.
Kellin rubs his brow. “Really? And you believed that?”
Temp sighs as Lindy stands.
“There’s only one way to resolve this,” she says, nodding to the pool table.
“Oh, I’ll kick his ass, babe, no worries,” Temp replies as he gets up and takes the pool stick Schmidt hands him.
Fague hands his to Kellin and comes to sit next to me.
“So what are you going to do?” I ask him as Temp and Kellin start their game.
Fague shrugs. “Keep doing what I’ve been doing.”
“Which is?” I ask.
“Investment banking. The economy is coming back around, so I might actually get paid something decent soon,” he replies, and my jaw goes slack. He smirks. “Kell never told you I’m the one who helped get him that job as a teller at the bank?”
“You’re an investment banker?” I ask as I look at his gauged ears, way too big beard and tattooed arms.
“You’d be surprised how much a suit covers up,” he replies with a wink, and my eyes fall to his beard. “And this is totally acceptable as long as it’s well groomed and clean.”
I blink a few times, and Temp nods over to us. “He keeps it clean like a prized show cat.”
Fague strokes it with his hand and winks at me, and I swear I taste bile. I think I get why I didn’t talk to him before.
“Don’t be a creep,” Kellin says to Fague. “Go get me a beer.”
“Make that two,” Temp says as the drummer stands.
“Schmidt?” Fague asks.
“Seriously?” is his retort.
Fague glances over at me and Kellin’s head turns slowly. “Sprite for the girls.”
“Right,” Fague says, turning on his heels and pointing at the guys playing pool. “You guys like em’ young!”
Schmidt smirks. “I like my women experienced.”
“I’m going to kick your ass, man,” Temp says, and he goes to wack him with the pool stick, but Schmidt manages to duck.
“And Schmidt, what are you going to do?” Lindy asks, yanking on his arm, so he sits down next to her and away from her boyfriend’s reach.
“I’m like Fague; I got my shit figured out.”
“And what’s that?” Temp asks, turning and leaning against the pool table with his arms crossed. “Mooching off your parents in their basement?”
Schmidt takes the beer Fague offers him. “You’re a banker, is it smart to save money by living for free?”
Fague chuckles as he pops his beer open. “Yeah, as long as the reason isn’t you’re a pansy-ass who paid too much for college, and you aren’t willing to get a job that pays less than a 100k because you’re…” He makes quotation marks with his hands. “Worth more than that.”
Schmidt sinks back into his seat, and from the way h
e’s running his tongue against the inside of his cheek, I’m pretty sure Fague hit a nerve.
Lindy nods over at me. “Ree is the only one of us who’s going to make it out without a pile of debt from BC.”
Fague holds his beer up to my Sprite. “Good for you. When you’re rich, come to me.”
“So what’s your degree in, anyway?” Lindy asks Schmidt, and this causes him to chug half his beer. She raises an eyebrow and looks over at her brother.
Kellin chuckles. “Yeah, I’d say that’s another part of the problem.”
“What does Plato have to say about that?” Temp asks with a smirk.
Schmidt leans forward. “Your sister thinks I’m hot, man.”
“My sister owns her house and business,” Temp says, leaning down, so he’s in his face. “Pretty sure her brain will tell her to run far far away from the philosopher.”
Schmidt sits back, crossing his arms. “Speaking of which, don’t you live with her?”
Temp tips his head back and laughs. “I pay rent, and now that I’m going to be working in Framingham, I’m moving into my own place.”
“How does your sister feel about you abandoning her and the family business to go collaborate with the great West Brighton?” Schmidt shoots back, and Temp’s jaw goes tight.
“She told me to go. It’s the opportunity of a lifetime,” Temp replies before he goes to take his next shot. He misses it completely.
I lean over to Kellin and whisper, “Drama much?”
Kellin’s eyebrows raise. “Now do you get why I said there’s no way in hell we could tour together?”
I laugh. “Yeah.”
“And how do you feel about Temp moving away?” Schmidt asks, turning to Lindy.
“He’ll stay at the house when he’s off work and Framingham isn’t that far away,” Lindy replies, standing and going to kiss Temp.
Kellin tenses next to me, and I’m not sure if it’s because of the heated kiss or the fact Temp’s going to be staying when both Kellin and I will be in Cali in a few months. Kellin coughs, and Lindy pulls away blushing.
Temp clears his throat. “Sorry, man.”
Kellin pats him on the back as he makes his way around the table to take his shot.
“That’s exactly why I’m glad I’m not going to be around during your honeymoon phase,” Kellin says as he drops down, takes his shot and stands with a smirk. “Oh, and I’ll just remind you again. If you break her heart, I’ll break your fingers.”
“Fingers?” I ask.
Temp inhales deeply and lets it out slowly. “Kind of hard to be an artist when your hands are fucked up.”
Schmidt chuckles, and Temp turns to him.
“Nothing you can do to a philosopher,” Schmidt replies with a smirk.
“Dude, she’ll be doing the breaking. I’m not worried,” Temp replies as he throws the pool stick to Lindy. “Girl’s choice?”
Lindy looks down at the stick, and Kellin hands me his.
“Do I have to?” Lindy asks as I toss the blue chalk at her and she dodges it, watching it fall to the floor and shatter.
“Kellin?” I say, and he sighs.
“Fine, I’ll let you kick my ass,” he replies, taking the pool stick from Lindy.
“Let me?” I ask, blinking at him.
“I have an idea!” Temp says as he pulls Lindy into his lap. “Let’s take bets.”
I look over at Fague and then Lindy.
“Reese and I bet she wins — if she does, Fague has to shave his cat,” Lindy says, reading my mind.
“I’ll join that pool,” Kellin says as he chalks his stick.
“You’re betting you’re going to lose?” Fague scoffs. “As if that’s not rigged.”
“Okay,” Kellin says, holding the stick out to him. “Then you play her and if you lose you have to shave.”
Fague looks me up and down. “I think I can handle her. I do kick all of you guys’ asses.”
Kellin chuckles as he looks over at me, and then back to the drummer.
“I can’t wait to see you without a beard, man.”
Chapter 31
I stare down at my backstage pass. I can’t believe we’re here in California, and we’re at a Kill Me Softly concert. I never really listened to them until Lindy went ballistic when she heard Fallout was giving us passes to their last show before going to Europe. The music is different than Beneath the Tides Taking, and so is their stage presence. The guys are dynamic, funny and charismatic. There are bras all over the stage by the time the show ends and the singer; Joey is carried out in the arms of the drummer, Danny.
“That was awesome,” Kellin says as we head to the area that will let us backstage.
“Yeah, the crowd was really into it,” I reply as we follow the signs to where we’re meeting the band. We’re spending the night on the tour bus and then the day with them tomorrow. The label wants us shadowing a few different bands to get a feel for the different scenes each sub-genre of rock brings. Part of me wonders if they’re just trying to show Kellin exactly what he’s missing out on.
Tonight, it’s thousands of adoring fans that know every lyric to every song.
I chew the inside of my lip as I glance over at Kellin. His face is red, and his lips are pulled in a permanent smile. He’s really enjoying himself.
“That was the best part,” Kellin says, and he runs his hands to the back of his head. “I mean they love them, and it’s obvious the guys are having so much fun. It’s so different than the small venues Beneath has always played. I wonder how it’s going to be with Makeshift next week.”
Makeshift Chemistry is more along the lines of what Beneath the Tides Taking does — or did since the band is officially done.
“Totally. I’ve always liked them,” I reply, but my voice is nowhere near as enthusiastic as it should be.
Kellin’s brow furrows and the smile finally slips from his mouth. “You okay? You’ve seemed down ever since we got out of our meeting with the label.”
“Yeah. I think it’s just jet lag.”
I force a smile as he pushes open the door to the band’s room. The guys are gulping down water while a girl, only a little older than myself, looks through photos on a camera. The singer stands up and pulls Kellin into one of those one-handed handshake hugs that guys do.
“You must be Kellin Lake,” Joey says, and he pushes his messy black hair back as he holds out his hand to me. “And Lindy. Joey Haze — front man for KMS.”
“Nice to meet you,” Kellin says, and I nod with that forced smile.
“That’s Aaron, bass; Zack, guitar — dude, put your clothes back on!” Joey begins, and he rolls his eyes at Zack who’s stripping off his skinny jeans to reveal just as soaked boxer briefs.
“I’m disgusting!” Zack replies as he throws his pants at Joey, who manages to dodge them — but I don’t.
My body tenses as the dirty things hit me in the face and fall to the floor. I blink once, and Kellin chuckles next to me. Zack grimaces and then proceeds to pout at me.
“I’m so sorry–Lindy was it?” he says.
“Yeah, no problem. I need a shower anyway,” I reply after I shoot Kellin a look with narrow eyes to stop him from laughing.
“Don’t we all,” the girl says, standing and holding out her hand. “You get used to them after a while. I’m Sky — I manage the band and do some of their photography.”
“You manage the band?” I ask, surprised by her age.
She nods. “I also manage Makeshift. You’re going to be shadowing them next week, right?”
“Yeah,” I reply, and she nods over her shoulder.
“Oh, and that’s Danny — drummer,” she introduces the last member of the band, who gives us a shy smile.
“So how did you get into managing bands?” I ask as Kellin and I sit on a loveseat.
“I started as the photographer. Joey’s my brother, and he asked me to come on tour,” she replies, and Danny pulls her into his lap. I try to prevent my eyeb
rows from going up, but apparently, I don’t succeed because Sky laughs. “And Danny’s my boyfriend.”
“That’s cool,” I reply, inhaling through my nose. Kellin is talking to Joey about being the front man of the band and what that involves. It sounds like he ends up doing a little bit more promo than the other guys because he will do solo singing with Zack or Aaron for radio interviews. Kellin keeps asking questions, and the knot in my stomach gets bigger and bigger.
I shake my head to clear it before looking back at Sky. “So you stay on tour with the band all the time?”
She nods. “Most band managers will remain on tour with their bands. I manage Makeshift remotely for the most part. We have video chats every day to review schedules and discuss any problems. I spend a lot of time booking promo and working on social media for both of the bands.”
“Do you like it? It must get tiring being on tour all the time,” I ask.
“It can get tiring, but the band is my family, so that makes it easier. We all grew up together, and we own houses in the same neighborhood here in Cali, so when we’re on break we’re together,” Sky says, and she smiles down at Danny when he pulls her closer.
“How’s it being away from your wife?” I hear Kellin ask Joey, and I turn my head.
Joey shrugs. “It’s hard — we just had our son, so it gets to me sometimes, but it’s worth it. Our fans count on us, and I do love what I do. We have a good support system with her friends and the neighborhood we live in has a mom club.”
“Mom club?” I ask, and Joey laughs.
“Yeah, I’m not sure what it is — pretty sure they all get together to complain about their husbands,” he replies, and he hands me his cell phone to show me a picture. “He’s three months old now.”
“So you can have a normal life while being in a band?” Kellin asks, and I pull my lower lip into my mouth as I hand the cell phone back.
“He’s precious,” I manage to say even though I feel like puking.
“Normal is in the eye of the beholder,” Joey says as he stands. “We get a good chunk of the year off to spend with our families, which is great — but we also consider each other family. Well, some of us are. We should get to our signing then we can go to the bus and shower.”
Rebel Cause (Boys of Fallout Book 3) Page 15
