“I’ll text you tomorrow. We have back-to-back interviews starting at ten am, but I’ll check in when I can. Maybe I could find you during a break or we could eat together in one of the tents? Hell, now I’m nervous,” Rhone admitted, running his hands through his hair. I liked this side of him, the unsure, real person side.
“Yeah, I’d like that.”
“Goodnight Ely,” he said, slowly leaning in, pressing his lips to mine. “Sweet dreams.”
When Sikes and I returned to the party, it was really hopping. Through the wall of bodies, clad in black leather and denim, in all makes, models, and sizes, I managed to spot my guys and gravitated toward them. “You get blondie all tucked in?” Seltzer asked when I walked up.
“I’ll have you know I was the perfect gentleman. I walked him to his door, kissed him goodnight then left once he was safely inside,” I informed them.
“Someone will be sleeping with his hand tonight. Headphones required boys,” Chase kidded.
“Fuck you, get me a beer bitch,” I half teased, half wanted to smack him upside the head for his jackass comment though he did end up getting me a beer. “Thank you,” I said, blowing him a kiss.
“We have arrived,” Diamond, the drummer for Social Sinners announced, wrapping an arm around mine and Seltzer’s shoulders as he pushed his way in between us. “What’s shaking boys?”
“Nada man, how was the trip?” Chase asked him.
“Uneventful, thank fuck. Maiden should be here manana and the rest of Social in the morning. Chase said you guys wanted to book some time with Mash?” Diamond asked us.
“Yeah, we each want to get our band logo added to our canvases,” I told him.
“Cool, let me grab a beer and we can head back to mine and E’s bus,” he said.
“Don’t you want to mingle with your peers?” I asked.
“Nah, I’m not much of a mingler,” he replied
“You don’t say?” Easton smirked. We laughed knowing if Diamond had his way, he’d never attend these things. He wasn’t a fan of people or crowds and until we toured with him, we didn’t know he could do more than grunt himself. He reminded me of our guards, bulky, grunty, and stoic. If he ever gave up drumming, he could probably get a job as one. He already had their lingo down and was the size of a linebacker. Not sure how we managed to break through his hard candy shell and bonded with the giant, but we did while in Europe.
“You coming with?” Diamond asked Easton.
“No, I have some mingling to do,” he said with a wink. “There’s a couple of people I need to talk to.”
“Okay.” Diamond kissed him, not caring who saw. I loved that about these guys in Social Sinners. They loved who they loved and dared anyone who had a problem with it to say so. “See ya in a bit.”
We headed toward their bus, a couple rows over from ours. Diamond got stopped so many times I lost count. He must have texted Mash that we were headed his way because when we stepped onto their bus, he’d just finished sanitizing and prepping the chair he’d brought for us to sit in while he worked his magic. I’ve seen the ink he’s done, his work is top notch.
“Hey guys,” he said as we came into view. One by one, we introduced ourselves. “Okay, I understand you’re each getting the same tattoo. Your band logo, right?”
“Yeah, the one Chase emailed you,” David replied.
“Perfect, here’s the stencil. Look it over and let me know if you have any changes,” Mash said, holding up the paper he’d transferred our logo onto.
“Right on,” David said. “It’s perfect.”
“Okay,” Mash said, clapping his hands. “Whose up first?”
“I’ll go,” I said. “I want it on my arm right below my dad’s band logo.”
“Cool tribute, man,” Mash said. Inside I was beaming, feeling the same way, shooting an unspoken shout out to my dad.
“You designed this?” Mash asked David as he worked on my outline.
“Yeah. Drawing is an escape for me.”
“I love the dagger with the blood and the lettering around it calling out the full band name as well as fitting in the acronym,” Mash told him.
“Thanks. It started out with just the name, then when we got signed and Sal called us ETF it just kinda stuck so I added it,” David explained. “I want mine on the same arm as Rhone, but higher up on my shoulder like where his dad’s band logo is.”
“Same for me,” Chase called out.
“Ditto,” was all Seltzer said.
The dork in me thought it was cool we’d all be sporting our band logo in the same general vicinity. This will look badass in photos and what not when we are standing side by side. Tomorrow will be our first real test in the limelight. Even in Europe none of the stations there interviewed us, they only cared about the big kids. Reality was coming at us hard and fast, I hoped we were ready when she hit.
“Sorry man, I’m a bleeder,” I apologized after Mash had to wipe the area he was working on for like the twentieth time.
“No worries, it’s all part of the job. Diamond said you guys did great when you were out on the road with them. I checked out your YouTube channel. Over a million followers. You are off to a great start,” Mash said, not looking up as he finished wrapping my arm.
“What?” we said in unison. The guys pulled their cells out so fast I thought they’d launch them across the room.
“Holy shit!” Chase hollered, jumping to his feet. “He’s not kidding, check it out Rhone.” He put his phone in my face since I couldn’t snag mine.
“Oh...My...Fucking...God! Look at the comments and they keep coming.” This was insane and in real time, not past comments although those were there too. People were posting from right there, right now.
“All of the recent ones are commenting that they’re here and saying shit like they can’t wait for us to take the stage Saturday night,” David replied.
“Um guys, check out our Twitter,” Seltzer added, his face glued to his phone screen.
“Good, you’re all still here,” Easton said as he walked in. Chase and I were currently swapping seats while Mash set up a clean station for him.
“We need to talk about your social media presence,” Easton began, linking his laptop to the TV screen nearest to where we were sitting. “Since Europe, you’ve had a steady increase in followers. That was one of the reasons management decided to try and get you bumped to Saturday night. Your following versus the other bands playing on Thursday and Friday was incomparable. You’re hundreds of thousands past their numbers.”
“Um yeah,” Chase said, “we’re seeing that now. Holy shit.”
“Holy shit is right boys, welcome to the party,” Easton said. “Tomorrow your interviews start at ten am. The first one is with Ryan Pierce.”
“Dagger’s husband?” Chase asked. All heads darted his way. “What?” he asked us.
“That’s seriously Dagger’s man?” Seltzer asked.
“That he is boys and he’s one of the most highly sought-after journalists in our industry. His interviews are fair, concise, and he doesn’t post trash or anything personal you don’t want out there. He will ask questions, make notes and will check with you first before using anything remotely questionable. It’s nice to have a writer who isn’t out for blood, fame, or notoriety. He’s achieved his status by being honest and trustworthy,” Easton informed us.