Half Notes and Highlights (The Road to Rocktoberfest 2024)

CHAPTER SIX

“Who do you keep calling?”

Ethan threw his phone on the seat next to him and walked to the front of the tour bus. He looked out the windshield and at the dark road ahead. They were on their way to Sacramento, and he hadn’t been able to reach Tyler since they slept together five days ago. “The hairstylist,” he replied after a significant pause. “He’s blowing me off.”

“Wow.” Marshall raised his brows high on his forehead. “That’s one for the record books. Ethan Jones gets ghosted by latest hookup.”

Every part of that statement pissed Ethan off. “He’s not ghosting me,” he said, sitting on the couch next to his bandmate. “And it wasn’t a hookup.”

“Are you sure about that?”

Ethan didn’t answer. The thought had been swimming around in the back of his mind, invading his head more and more the past couple of days, but he didn’t want to believe it. He really liked Tyler. As he continued to think about it, the hurt he felt at the quick dismissal turned to anger. Who the fuck does this guy think he is? I’m a rock star. If anyone is ghosting anyone, I’m ghosting him. Except . . . I’m not.

As quickly as the anger flared, it disappeared. He didn’t want to ghost Tyler. He cared about the guy, and that hadn’t happened in a long time. He tried Tyler again, and this time it was obvious that Tyler blocked his number.

Four hours later, he was standing in front of Tyler’s apartment building. “You don’t have to come inside with me,” he told Joel, his on-duty bodyguard tonight.

“Yes. I do.”

He knew there was no shaking this guy, so he conceded. “Fine. But stay out of the way.” He knew telling Joel to stay out of earshot wasn’t an option, because the guy needed to know if he needed to intervene, but Ethan didn’t want a bodyguard to overhear the rejection.

Following several feet behind Ethan, they both walked up to the second floor and stopped in front of Tyler’s apartment. Ethan looked down the dark, deserted outdoor hallway. Anyone could have walked up here. Why the hell wasn’t there a gate at the bottom of the stairway or at the front of the courtyard?

He tried to text Tyler one more time, just in case there was some kind of glitch earlier, but again he got a restricted message. Annoyed, he pounded his fist on the door, harder and louder than intended. It was the middle of the night, and he didn’t want to cause a disturbance, but his frustration got the better of him, and he pounded the door again ten seconds later.

The door swung open, and Tyler stood there in a short, plush, bright red robe with a giant furry collar and matching fuzzy slippers, a serious case of wild bedhead, holding a baseball bat like he was ready to hit a homerun. His eyes opened wider, and he jumped a little when he saw it was Ethan. “What the fuck are you doing here? It’s four o’clock in the morning!” Tyler took a quick look down the hallway and tugged Ethan inside with one hand. “You stay outside,” he told Joel.

Still holding the bat over one shoulder, Tyler locked the door and spun around. “What do you want? Aren’t you supposed to be on tour? In another state?”

“Why did you ghost me?”

“Why didn’t you tell me you had a boyfriend?” Tyler shot back, holding the bat a little tighter.

Ethan backed up. “Are you going to hit me with that thing?”

“No.” Tyler dropped it to the floor. “You banged on my door in the middle of the night. I’m from New York. You’re lucky I didn’t swing first and ask questions later.”

Surprised laughter flew from Ethan’s mouth. “I love your sense of humor.”

“I’m not kidding. I’m dead fucking serious.”

Apparently, Tyler had a giant set of balls. And he was so cute the way he was acting all tough while dressed like Elmo. “You stopped to put on your robe and slippers before picking up a bat to ward off a would-be intruder?”

“I sleep in the nude. I wasn’t going to fight off a robber naked.”

Ethan stopped to ogle that image in his head for a moment before he said, “I’m sorry to just show up unannounced, but you blocked my number, and I didn’t know how else to get in touch with you.”

Tyler’s brows pinched together. “Why are you calling me? Why . . . anything? You have a boyfriend.”

“No, I don’t.”

“Don’t lie to me. Everyone knows you’re in a relationship with the bass player in your band.” Tyler huffed. “Everyone but me. Until it was too late.”

“We’re not in a relationship. We’re just . . . friends with benefits. Sometimes. It’s not a big deal.”

“Does he know that?”

“Yeah.”

“And you didn’t think to tell me?”

“We’ve known each other for two weeks, and we only slept together once. We never talked about a commitment.”

“Whoa.” Tyler held up his hand and took one step back. “I never said anything about a commitment. I’m all for casual sex. I’ve led a very promiscuous lifestyle, and I make no apologies for it. But I don’t want to hear from someone else that you have a steady booty call. I’m not gonna be taken for a fool or be made to look like an idiot.”

Tyler, for all his jovial and lighthearted antics and softness, didn’t take an ounce of shit, and Ethan liked him all the more for it.

“Furthermore,” Tyler swooped his index finger in the air. “I’m not gonna be your dirty little secret. I don’t hide in the shadows for anyone.”

“You couldn’t if you tried.” A smile spread across Ethan’s lips. “You’re personality shines brighter than the sun. You’re electric.”

“You better believe it.”

The way Tyler jutted his slender hip out to the side always drove Ethan crazy. It was adorable and sexy and full of attitude. He took two steps forward and reached out and cupped Tyler’s waist. Resting his hands on those perfect pelvic bones, he tugged Tyler closer so their bodies collided. “Get over here and kiss me.”

“Excuse me.” Tyler braced his fingertips against Ethan’s chest. “What do you think you’re doing? You can’t just jet set into town and think you’re gonna sweep me off my feet. I’m not that easy.”

“OK. I get it. But you’re not just a piece of ass. I can’t stop thinking about you. I want to keep seeing you. Not just for sex. Because I really like you, and I want to get to know you better.”

Tyler’s gaze turned soft, and a look of vulnerability passed over his face. His rigid posture relaxed, and the hand on Ethan’s chest rescinded. “You do?”

“Yeah. I love your boldness and inhibition. Your wit and constant good mood make all the tension and pressure of touring and performing fly out the window. Even when you were angry and yelling at me, you did it with so much flare it was hard not to smile.”

Tyler lowered his eyes for a second, then looked up at Ethan and spoke softly. “That was a lovely thing to say. So, I think I can forgive you. I really want to get to know you better too. I like you. I feel a connection that I haven’t felt in a long time.” He smiled coyly. “And just so you know, flattery will get you everywhere.”

A broad grin spread across Ethan’s face. “Good to know. But seriously, I wasn’t just flattering you. I meant it. Now, can I have that kiss?”

Tyler scrunched up his face as if he were contemplating it, then he grabbed Ethan’s face between his palms and kissed him. It wasn’t just a deep, lust-filled kiss. The kiss felt as if it contained everything in Tyler’s soul.

“Do you have to leave right away, or do you have time to . . . stay awhile?” Tyler asked, innuendo heavy in his honey-colored eyes.

“I got plenty of time,” Ethan replied, his heart racing.

Without another word, Tyler dropped his robe, revealing his perfectly toned and trim body and exposing something proportionately larger than the rest of him. He took Ethan by the hand and led him to the bedroom, still wearing the bright red fuzzy slippers and giving Ethan a delicious view of the cutest little butt in the world. They made love, and then Ethan fell into a deep satiated sleep.

The repetitive dinging of his phone, and sunlight streaming in from the window, reminded him that he was supposed to be in Sacramento. He groaned and rolled over, and a glorious tuft of long brown hair hit him in the face. He brushed it down with his hand and kissed the back of Tyler’s head. “Morning, beautiful.”

Tyler stretched and turned to face Ethan. “Morning, rock star.”

They shared a kiss, but the phone buzzed again with another incoming text and interrupted it from going further.

“Who’s blowing up your phone?” Tyler asked.

“I’m sure it’s one of the guys. I took off as soon as we stopped in Sacramento last night, and our tour manager doesn’t know.”

Tyler sat up with his back against the headboard. “You just left? Aren’t you gonna get in trouble?”

“Only if I miss soundcheck. I have plenty of time.”

The phone buzzed again, and reluctantly, Ethan picked it up. There were about a half dozen messages from Wolf, one from Harris, and two from Marshall. He knew he’d be in deep shit for leaving and needed to get back ASAP.

ETHAN: Relax I’ll be back soon

WOLF: Paul is gonna shit his pants if he finds out

ETHAN: So don’t let him find out

WOLF: Where are you?

ETHAN: Don’t worry about it

Ethan shut his phone off and tossed it on the bed next to him. He’d deal with the shitstorm when he got back to Sacramento. Right now, he wanted his full attention on the hot-as-fuck guy sitting next to him. Snuggling closer, he wrapped his arms around Tyler.

“Everything OK?” Tyler asked.

“Yeah.”

“Who were you texting?”

Ethan hesitated. “The bass player in my band.”

Tyler stiffened but didn’t say anything.

“I told him I’d be back soon. My bandmates are starting to freak out that I’m not there.” Ethan thought about telling Tyler that Harris and Marsh also texted him but didn’t want to open a dialogue as to why he chose to text back Wolf instead of one of the others.

Tyler relaxed and cuddled into Ethan’s chest. “Thanks for dropping everything and coming to see me. I’m glad we straightened everything out. I want to continue to see you too. To be clear, I’m OK with an open relationship. It’s what I prefer actually, as long as we’re honest and there are no secrets.”

This guy was too good to be true.

***

The constant traveling was bad enough but flying back and forth to LA in less than 24 hours, then performing for 90 minutes, did a number on the body, and Ethan was exhausted. Sacramento was a hell of a show, though. A night to recoup in a cushy hotel suite would have been nice, but the bus left for Eugene straight from the venue, so Ethan had to settle for his tiny bunk.

An earthquake woke him out of a sound sleep, and he jumped. Rolling over, he almost fell out of his bunk, and that’s when he realized the boom and shaking wasn’t an earthquake. It was from the bus hitting a pothole. People would think that you got used to being on the road, but half the time he woke up thinking he was home in his own bed.

An itch tickled the back of his throat, and he wondered if he overdid it last night. Back-to-back shows and long tours could irritate the vocal cords. He tried to clear his throat, but decided he needed juice and headed to the refrigerator.

A light from the TV brightened the otherwise dark bus, and he saw Wolf sprawled across the couch, but didn’t know if the guy was asleep or awake. He poured himself a tall glass of O.J. and walked toward the front of the bus. “You awake?”

Wolf tilted his head back to look at Ethan, then sat up. “Yeah.”

Ethan sat next to him. “Have you been up all night?”

“I think I got about an hour in before I woke up.”

“Bad dream?”

“Nightmare.”

The poor guy was still a terrible sleeper. They’d shared a room growing up, and Ethan couldn’t keep count of the number of times he’d woken up to Wolf’s screams. Wolf never told Ethan why he woke up terrified, no matter how many times he asked. After a while, he stopped asking and just consoled his friend as best he could. But tonight, he decided he’d try again. “What was it about?”

“Not important.”

Ethan placed his arm over Wolf’s shoulder and pulled his friend closer. “If you talked about it, maybe you could get back to sleep.”

Wolf snuggled into the pit of Ethan’s arm and rested his head on Ethan’s shoulder. “No. It won’t.” He was quiet for a moment and then said, “It’s not really what the dream was about. It’s how I felt in the dream. If I told you, it’s not scary at all. But in my dream, I was terrified. Immobilized. I woke up covered in sweat with my heart pounding so hard my chest hurt.”

Ethan didn’t know if he should push Wolf to talk more or not, so he waited, but Wolf didn’t continue. “It’s over now. You’re safe.”

Wolf nodded and looked up at Ethan. “Thank you for always being there for me. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“I’m not going anywhere.” Ethan’s heartstrings pulled so tightly he didn’t know how they didn’t break. “I’m here, Wolf. Everything’s OK.” He gave his friend a reassuring smile, then a small kiss, hoping to offer comfort and show how much he cared. Wolf deepened the kiss and cupped Ethan’s cheek with his hand, then they shared a tight embrace. They stayed on the couch for a long time in each other’s arms, just hugging one another and burying their face in the other’s shoulder. So much warmth passed between them and solidified their bond.

It was late. They were about halfway to Eugene and had a full day once they arrived, and Ethan was tired. “Let’s go to sleep. You can sleep with me tonight.”

Wolf nodded. Ethan finished his juice. And they both crammed into the single bunk together.