Total pages in book: 212
Estimated words: 207966 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1040(@200wpm)___ 832(@250wpm)___ 693(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 207966 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1040(@200wpm)___ 832(@250wpm)___ 693(@300wpm)
“Thank you, baby,” I said. “Um…”
“What?” he asked, shucking his shirt off.
“Chase wants to know if we wanna go on tour with them in a month through a few states for two months, so I can write the next album with them, then stay with them a month in LA to record it, maybe putting me on backup vocals for a couple songs.” I bit my lip, staring into his eyes.
It was impossible to look away when Jesse Garcia eye-locked with me. Those midnight eyes were powerful. Magnetic. Endless. I’d happily drown in them. I’ve written songs about them. “There’ll be a room for us on one of their tour buses and a room in the house in LA.
“You wanna do it?” he asked.
“I have a job.”
“So, quit.”
“You have a job.”
“It’s time for the nomad conversation, hostage.”
“I know,” I whispered. “Wasn’t sure if you forgot.”
“Didn’t forget,” he said. “You seem happy here.”
I nodded.
“But I’m thinkin’ I could use a change of pace,” he said.
This was a surprise.
“Love the brotherhood, G. Like my job. But I’ve always had wanderlust.”
“Not all who wander are lost,” I said, stroking the compass tattoo on the side of his neck.
“Exactly. Forty hours spinnin’ a wrench every week? It’s not the worst thing in the world but not sure I wanna do it forever. Thinkin’ of going to Prez, giving my notice, and doin’ the nomad thing a year. Done plenty of construction jobs. Got my bartender license. Could be a bouncer, done that plenty. We could hit the road and see where it takes us. I’ve got some money in the bank, and I can make money on the road while we travel place to place. Just spit-balling here, but I could even ask Chase if they wanna hire me as security or to be a roadie while we travel with them. Thinkin’ you could focus on writing more music while we do that. Make that your full-time gig. Can do it anywhere, right?”
“New horizons might give me new inspiration.”
“Exactly. You doin’ this for a few months with the band, we could start there, then decide from there where we go next.”
“We have money, Jesse. We’ve got all that money Aunt Francie left us, so you don’t have to worry about working if you wanna travel a while and just take a break. You work really hard. You should take a breather.”
He did. He was always putting in overtime at the garage.
“Money she left you,” he corrected, tapping my nose.
“What’s mine is yours,” I amended, earning a big smile from him. “Plus the residual checks are gonna start rolling in, Chase says, and it sounds like it’s gonna be lucrative.”
“That’s good news,” he said. “You wanna do this with the band, I’m game. I’m thinkin’ we should get a Winnebago or something like that so we can follow in our own rig, towing my bike or one with a toy hauler, and then do more traveling when you’re done with the next album.”
“Sounds good to me,” I said.
“So it’s settled. Tomorrow we hand in a months’ notice.”
“Sounds like a plan,” I said. “Now… how about you get me naked so we can celebrate?”
***
Four and a Half Years Later
We spent three months with AbstractED. It was a wild and crazy ride. Two of the three songs I’d written for their album were released as singles and all of them did well, though Hostage did the best.
I helped on their following album, too. And that one did even better than the first in terms of sales. One of the songs even got used in a car commercial so we made lots of money. Jesse and me, because we wrote it together. He immersed himself in guitar theory so that he could be more helpful to me with my songs. In some cases now our songs. How awesome is he?
There was a song that I sang lyrics for in the studio. Not a duet, but some pretty dominating background vocals. Chase and Jeremy wrote that song with my voice in mind, got Jesse to talk me into it, and Jesse tells me I’m the Mary Clayton of that song, which is not remotely believable, but very sweet of him to say.
After that album’s tour, Chase disappeared from the music scene for a while, but I kept working. I kept writing. And I got to work with some famous and skilled musicians in studios on more of my songs and had around two dozen songs licensed by several bands across a few genres, including my hit song, Kailey, which I co-wrote with Jeremy but not for AbstractED. It was performed by a CMA-winning country singer. The song didn’t win the award that year, but it did get a nomination, which absolutely thrilled me. And I know if Kailey is watching over me, she’s absolutely thrilled, pumping her fist in victory.