Strung Tight (The Road To Rocktoberfest #1) - Ann Lister Page 0,8

heard a few stories about him working his special brand of magic at the shows with the equipment. He'd been with Dagger almost from the very beginning, and the history he shared with all of them was enormous. I had no doubt the stories Spumoni could tell would make an epic book and a New York Times Bestseller at that.

“We're not famous yet, but I'm hoping one day soon—with Dagger's help,” I said with a nervous grin plastered on my face, and Spumoni laughed. It was a warm, throaty sound that began to rattle in his chest before it rolled from his mouth in smooth waves. My eyes met his as our hands fell away. He ran his fingers through the mess of waves on top of his head and smiled bigger while he assessed me.

“Christ, you remind me of Dagger a hundred years ago,” Spumoni said. “Piles of raw talent and no way to harness it.”

I didn't know how to react to that comment. He was right, but I didn't know him well enough to say much of anything. I was an over-excited player, and sometimes that got in the way of me playing smoothly. I was hoping the bag of dope Spumoni had for me might help to calm me the fuck down enough to perform without overplaying—which I’d discovered was a real thing.

“He told me you'd be around here today, so I wanted to introduce myself before you left,” I said, doing my best not to stammer too much.

“Yeah, sure.” Spumoni patted my back. “How about we take a walk, and I'll show you the equipment we'll be moving to Nevada for your band to use.”

“That sounds like a seriously cool idea.” I scrunched my face when I realized how stupid I probably sounded to him. He chuckled as we walked out of Skully's office and directed me to the left. “I'm sorry to sound like such a newbie right now, but this is all so … well, new to me. I'm doing my best to process it—if that's even possible.”

Spumoni's laughter grew louder, and I felt my face flush as we walked. “No worries, big guy,” he said. “Dagger wasn't nearly as confident when he started out as he is now. That comes with experience. After you get a few shows under your belt, you'll be a whole lot more comfortable with all of this. Trust me on that.” Spumoni reached into his front pocket, then discreetly removed a plastic baggie and handed it to me. “Dagger said you're a little anxious about the concert and wanted me to give this to you. It's strong, so a little goes a long way.”

“Thank you so much.” I casually stuffed it into my own pocket. “Do I pay you or Dagger?”

“It's all taken care of,” Spumoni said and winked at me. “When you need more, let me know. Give me your phone, and I'll punch in my number for you. Call if you want, or tell Dagger to get in touch with me. Either way works.”

“You're a lifesaver,” I said.

“All part of the job. Gotta keep the talent relaxed enough to give their best performances,” he replied, and another round of light-hearted laughter rolled from him. The sound was infectious and had its own soothing effect on me. I had an odd wish in that moment of wanting to be more like him. He seems so nonchalant about the stresses in life, like it all rolled right off his back. I needed to figure out a way to develop that attribute for myself. It would sure help me in moving forward with my music career.

Spumoni's phone began to ring, and he pulled it from his chest pocket to answer it. “Hey, what's up?” he said while we continued to walk through the warehouse. “Okay, yeah. I'll head that way now. Be there in thirty.” Spumoni stopped to face me. “Duty calls. I have to get over to another one of our equipment warehouses. Are you all set for now?”

“I sure am,” I said.

“That's what I like to hear,” he said and squeezed my shoulder. “However, if your status changes, reach out to me and I'll get you taken care of.”

“Thanks again.” Spumoni gave me a wave and walked toward a side exit of the building.

I spun around and started to head back toward the loading dock in the hopes Dallas might still be hanging there. I was happy to see he was and picked up my pace a