“Yes. He wanted to get a feel for the chemistry between the bands tonight.”
“We barely know each other.”
He shrugs. “Then make a good impression.”
Make a good impression. I’m about five seconds away from making an impression of Thom’s skull in the drywall.
Alvin must not appreciate the remark either. He snarls at Thom as he marches by. We both ignore the suit and find our way to the entrance of the stage. Three members of Iron Kiss are clustered around, fretting like little chickens. Their nervous behavior pulls at whatever remaining sympathy strings I still possess after all this time in Hollywood.
I stick my hand out to their lead singer. “Sergio, right?”
His eyes go wide and he grabs my hand with both of his, shaking vigorously. “Shit, Chaser Adams. So stoked to finally meet you in person.”
The guitar player butts in, pushing Sergio out of the way. “Fuck, you’re such an inspiration, Chaser. Thanks so much for this opportunity. I’m Hector. We’re really looking forward to touring with you.”
Taken aback by their enthusiasm, I simply nod and introduce them to Alvin. They greet him with the same fervor.
I lean down and whisper in Mallory’s ear, “Was I that—”
“Yes,” Mallory answers before I even squeeze out the question.
My eyebrows knit together in a skeptical frown and she chuckles softly.
“Andrew Lane, I saw you at the Troubadour the second I moved out here. You’re my favorite drummer ever!” she teases in a whisper not meant for anyone else.
“You’re exaggerating.”
She pinches two fingers together. “Maybe a little.”
I tune back into the conversation in front of us. “We’re excited to see you play.”
Poor Nick rocks back on his heels like he’s going to keel over at any moment.
Thom slithers over and rests one arm on my shoulder and one on Alvin’s. “How’s everyone doing over here?”
“Easy breezy,” Alvin says.
“We’ll let you get ready,” Thom says, steering us away.
“We’re cool, Thom. What’s the problem?” Alvin asks.
“Nothing, I want to talk to you for a second. Short set tonight. Just want to give people a taste. Work out some of the new stuff you’re planning to record.”
“Uh, yeah. We know how this works,” I answer.
He pushes open our dressing room door. Pamela and Jacob are busy talking. Huh, didn’t realize he knew how to talk to women. Garrett’s moved over to a table by himself and appears to be using his Walkman to tune them out.
“Mallory, will you go with me to the ladies’ room?” Pamela asks, standing and fixing her dress.
“Sure.”
I lean down and kiss Mallory’s cheek. “Don’t let anyone hassle you.”
“We’ll be fine.”
Jacob watches them leave, then scrubs his hands over his face. “She is the hottest fucking chick I’ve ever laid eyes on.”
“God help us,” Alvin mutters.
“She’s so sweet once you get past all that fake Barbie bullshit, too.” Jacob waves his hand at the door.
“Can you all discuss your love lives some other time?” Thom snaps his fingers in front of Jacob’s face. “Business mode, please.”
“This is his business mode.” Garrett slips off his headphones. “All the blood rushing to his cock, helps him think better.”
“It’s true,” Jacob confirms.
Thom groans.
Normally, I would’ve told Jacob and Garrett to knock it off by now, but I fully support them in antagonizing our manager, so I kick back and laugh while Jacob mimes jerking off and ejaculating all over the place.
“How the fuck you guys manage to accomplish anything is beyond me,” Thom fumes.
“This is our process.” Garrett blows him a kiss. “Deal with it.”
Jacob finally settles down and focuses his attention on me. “How do you feel about working some of the new song—'In Your Hands’ into the middle of ‘Queen of the Road’?” Jacob asks.
“Yeah, that was dope when you tried it at practice the other day,” Garrett chimes in.
“I was just messing around but I can make it work.”
“Is that new stuff?” Thom asks.
“Yeah,” Jacob answers. “Thought it might be fun to slip it in there. Shake things up a bit.”
“I like that,” Thom says, as if we asked for his blessing. I slide a look Alvin’s way and he lifts his gaze to the ceiling.
“How do you feel about Iron Kiss opening for you?” Thom asks, getting down to business whether we’re ready to or not.
“They seem cool,” Alvin says. “Still like to see them play before we make a final decision.”
“Do they reel in the fine, young snappers?” Jacob asks. “If so, they get my vote.” He waves his hand at me. “Chaser settling down