'Nother Sip of Gin - Rhys Ford Page 0,24

guilty if you liked new brothers your mom brought home?” Miki asked softly. He was unprepared for Kane’s shocked hiss and frowned when his lover’s hands stilled.

“Got to hand it to you, Mick, you’re never one to pull your punch.” Kane exhaled slowly. “I guess for you, that’d be what this feels like… like you’re replacing brothers with strangers. And yes, when Mum brought the twins home, it wasn’t exactly my most shining moment. I didn’t need any more siblings… and certainly not a girl.”

“Kiki can hand you your ass,” he reminded Kane. “Worst part about your dad and mom getting together. All of Donal’s bad-assedness and most of your mom’s fuck-the-rules in one package.”

“Yeah, I figured that out when she grabbed Con’s balls and twisted them around because he pulled her hair.” Kane chuckled, probably at Miki’s wince. “Thing is, I love Kiki and Riley because of who they are, not who I already had in my life. And unlike siblings, you and Damie are going to be choosing these guys, so it’s not like you’ve got to take what you get. You did that with Johnny and Dave, didn’t you? Or were they there before you?”

“Damie knew Dave, but they weren’t in a band. Damie had some guys he was playing with, but they fucked around too much.” Miki caught Kane’s slightly confused expression. “Not show up for gigs. Didn’t learn the music. Or when they did show up, they were too drunk to play.”

“So he just kicked them all to the curb and started over with you?” Kane asked, his fingers moving over Miki’s knee again. “Not stupid on his part.”

“Not stupid on mine. Got me a place to crash.” Damien’d struggled back then, but to Miki, the one-room apartment was a godsend. He’d never thought things were lean. There were always ways to get by, stolen toilet paper from gas stations, recycled fast food cups refilled on the sly, and sharing a large fry after scraping up some change were how things were. The music… that had been life changing.

And probably would be again.

Kane was right. It was just another beginning. One of many. A new band changed nothing of the past and sure as hell wouldn’t take away anything he already had in the present. He had Kane, Damien, Dude, and everyone else crowding in on him, within reach whenever the world got too dark. Adding two more to the mix would just be icing on the already filling cake.

“Yeah, you’re right. Not replacing anyone I’ve already got. Just making new.” Miki stole a kiss, then lightly tapped Kane on the jaw with his fist. “And I think your chicken’s burning.”

Interview With The Boys

Interviews

SITTING DOWN with Miki St. John is always interesting. Reunited with Damien Mitchell, things go from interesting to explosive.

They are definitely a couple. Not in the traditional way two men connect with one another—a forever-romantic love and sex—but rather an entangled brotherhood rarely seen in modern days. Seeing them together on stage gives a fan only a hint of the bond between these two men. Up close and in person, that friendship is almost palpable.

I’d arranged to meet the boys of Sinner’s Gin and their lovers for a two-part series of interviews. Meeting them at a renovated warehouse Miki moved into following the band’s tragedy, there is no trace of sorrow in Damie’s face when he opens the door. He’s as cockily handsome as he is in the band’s past photos, but there is a depth of shadows in his eyes, a passing darkness as Miki, his figurative twin, comes out of the kitchen to join us in the living room taking up a big chunk of the warehouse’s first floor space.

Both are relaxed and happy. Damie’s charismatic smile is in place as he takes a Gatorade from Miki, and he waits until the other man settles down before perching on the couch next to him. Their shoulders touch, and there is a brief moment of aggressive jostling, a childlike tug of play between them before they both burst into laughter, Damie’s baritone rolling under Miki’s rich tones.

Miki St. John is quite sexy in person, a slithering boneless man with a shy, sweet face. His hands are constantly in motion, picking at the bottle’s plastic ring or playing with the tear in his jeans’ knee. Damien is less fidgety but no less personable. Nearly aggressive with his charm, the guitarist provides a social buffer for his best friend, stepping in to fill