See Her (Turn it Up #1)

Chapter 29

29

JACK

H oly shit, what a long night. After I walked off stage and picked my girl up in a celebratory hug, I thought I could kick back.

No.

The guys and I were ushered to a merch booth to sign some autographs, which was a trip. Never in my life did I think I’d reach a point in my music that I’d be doing that.It was fun, exhilarating, and gave my confidence a serious bump, yet it was humbling at the same time.After that, we had to talk to the sound and lighting crews to discuss what went well and what could’ve gone better.

After showering and changing, I got to join Mayzie backstage to watch The Shock’s set, which was fucking epic.It was amazing to play tonight with the sound effects and lighting, but you could tell they saved the big guns for the main event, which is only natural.They had their songs punctuated by serious pyrotechnics and lasers, further revving up the already crazy fans.

As George and the rest of his band were wrapping up their finale, we were ordered back to the hotel to attend the after party hosted in the top floor penthouse. I’d venture a guess that our ap pearance preceding The Shock Wave’s is totally orchestrated.

Entering the party feels like passing through some portal, leading us to some crazy underworld. Even through the dim mood lighting, I could see one or two people were already three sheets to the wind as music pulsed and shots were passed around.I gripped Mayzie’s hand and kept her close beside me as we made our way into the throng of people who had given themselves over to the high.

If this had happened while I was still single with the rest of the guys, I couldn’t tell you how I’d react to all this. Maybe I would dive in head first, maybe I’d ease in and partake moderately. But I’m an ecstatically married man, and my first thought is keeping Mayzie safe. This is not her jam by a long shot.

When a group of definitely over-served, scantily dressed women start teetering towards us, I pull her in a little closer; a subtle signal for them to not start any kind of trouble. I don’t miss Josh, however, straightening to his full height in my peripheral, clearly ready to welcome the attention.

“Jack, what the fuck?” he grinds out of the corner of his mouth at me.

“You got a problem?” Unlike him, I’m not subtle, turning completely towards him. After a beat or two of staring him down, he gives a slight head shake and I double down by leading Mayzie away from the mounting fray of newly famous musicians, eating up groupie attention.

The next hour or so is kind of a grind, making small talk with strangers who we weren’t even likely to see again. A little while after the smoke cleared and Josh had gotten over himself, we rejoined the rest of the guys and were all handed shots at one point that we all tossed back. From there, I felt myself go less rigid, and Mayzie seemed to relax a little too.As crazy as it already is, I know the real excitement will happen when The Shock Wave makes their appearance later.

I’m not wrong. When George and the rest of the guys saunter in, it ’s like a switch gets flipped, amping the party level up to ten. The energy picks up, and people seem to hit the debauchery even harder.

After addressing a barrage of greetings and attention, George eventually makes his way over to me while Mayzie was looking for a bathroom.

“Hey, great show tonight, man!” I shout over the crowd and the sound system.

“Thank you! You know, I caught some of your set too, and it was outstanding. Don’t think we could’ve gotten a better opener for this tour.”

“That means a lot, thank you. Glad we didn’t disappoint.”

“It’s the truth,” he says, shrugging. “Where’s your lady?” he asks, taking a drink from what looks and smells like Johnnie Walker.

“She went to find a bathroom.”

“Well, if she doesn’t return in five minutes, hunt her down. Make sure she doesn't get sucked into the vortex. These parties can get out of hand.”

“Shit, okay,” I say immediately, and just as quickly, the thought of Josh’s attitude earlier shoots to the front of my mind. “Hey, can I ask you something?” I chance, and then continue when his eyebrows go up in interest. “How did you juggle your marriage with the new success when you first started out?”

George's eyes closing in dismay is not a good sign, and I have to remind myself that he obviously came out the other end of whatever went down, still married.

“I’ll just say that the female portion of your fan base takes some time to accept that they aren’t going to make it into your bed. You and your lady need to seriously bind together to not let that affect either of you, and that can be hard when you have to divide your attention between your marriage and your new job.”

I nod before taking a hearty swallow of my drink. It all sounds pretty daunting. My baby comes first, no matter how much s he resists, but that doesn’t mean this predicament feels good.

“When an act is just beginning to gain attention, it’s a long believed theory that it’s best to appear ‘available’,” he uses air quotes. “It builds up the following.”

Whereas he’s been at this a long time; a veteran in the music industry which means his fan base is long established and loyal to a fault. He can do whatever he wants.

“So when you came on the scene already married to Erin…” I prompt him, hoping for any grain of wisdom he’s willing to share.

“It was hard on her.” He looks up solemnly, as if he’s remembering all too well. I can see, even today, he hurts for his wife. “There were fights, friction between me and the other guys. She left for a little while…” He trails off a moment while he slugs back a gulp of his drink while I do the same, hoping to burn away the sinking feeling I just got in my gut. “We’d already been married for a few years, though.” He tips his drink in my direction. “Our marriage wasn’t so new, so it was a little easier to work out the kinks,” he points out before shaking his head and waving his hands with a blink. “But listen, what matters is whether you can be steadfast through that initial storm. The only way out is through, and then it’s smooth sailing after that.”

“What do you mean?” I feel my eyebrows stitch together.

“I mean be unfaltering in your devotion to her,” he explains, “no matter how she’s reacting to things, don’t give in to any other shit. You want to stay a married man, act like one, even if she goes a few days without talking to you.” He huffs heavily, and I’m guessing he’s experienced this. Ouch. This conversation is making me feel both better and worse here. “Balance is key,” he continues. “Don’t give in, but don’t be an ass about it. Make sure people get the message that you’re off the market, but don’t let that become the focus over the band. If you see it becoming an issue, walk away before it can. Do you see where I’m going with all this? ”

I nod, feeling a little bit lighter. I don’t know if it’s the talk or the alcohol, but the vice grip on my insides has lessened. I do feel like pieces of what he’s saying are clicking together. If I just stay solid, and so does Mayzie, we’ll get through this one way or another. I just hope it’s the easiest way possible. Hopefully I’ll learn when to stand up and when to stand down as we go along; that we’ll find the balance he’s talking about.

“Hic!” I hear Mayzie hiccup beside me as she grabs onto my arm to steady herself, and George smiles down at her like she’s the cutest, drunk little thing he’s ever seen. “I just saw some people getting it on in the bathroom,” she reports. “I didn’t want to interrupt. Hic!” she squeaks again.

Sweet Jesus.

My girl is tossed. Add that to the fact it’s been a long day and she’s the early-to-bed, early-to-rise type, and her minutes are numbered.

George tosses his head back and laughs. “You know, Jack, it’s the first night and you guys have been real troupers. Why don’t you take your poor girl to bed? You’ve put in enough face time.”

“Are you sure?” I say, reaching out to steady Mayzie. I think she’s only got a couple more minutes of consciousness left in her before she involuntarily shuts down.

“Yeah, I’m sure. This part takes some easing into.Go ahead; we’ll see you in the morning.”

“Thanks, man,” I say, clapping him on the back, before putting my hands on Mayzie’s waist and steering her towards the exit.

We get to our room and clean up, with Mayzie half asleep during it all.When she walks over to the bed and strips down to absolutely nothing before climbing in, I decide I’m not that tired. I follow suit, climb in, and sweet talk her into making lazy love with me for a while before letting her pass out. She’s such a sweet and willing participant. It’s after three in the morning, and I have an arm draped over her when I finally drift off to the sound of her adorable snore.

Mayzie

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Ugggghhh… A happy wake-up, this is not. I hear a groan beside me as Jack’s hand slams down on the alarm clock. That’ll show it. My head is pounding and my mouth feels like cotton. He rolls over to me and kisses my shoulder.

“Morning,” he says, cuddling into my back.

“Uggghh,” I grunt in response.

“Hungover, baby?”

“Aren’t you?”

“Not really.”

“How dare you.”

“Tired as fuck, though.”

Lucky him. He’s so much bigger than I am, and can hold his drink.

We get in the shower, which makes me feel marginally better, and get dressed.We pack up our things and head down to the lobby, which has a coffee cart, thank the merciful heavens.Lattes in hand, we pull our luggage to the back exit of the hotel, as we were instructed to do the day before. There’s an SUV waiting for us, and it drives us back to the concert venue.

The next couple of weeks is a spinning blur of performances, sound checks, radio interviews, nearly getting taken out by roadies carting heavy equipment, screaming, predominantly female fans trying to weasel their way into backstage areas, meet and greets, and more.

I’ve learned lingo like load-in , bus call , and my personal favorite, subject to change .

The bus has become my favorite place. It’s like the only scrap of normal crammed into a tight space. The interior is sleek, with plushy lounge chairs and couches built into the window seat, and that’s just the lounge area at the front.There is also a bunk area that runs down the middle of the bus, each one the size of a twin bed with a curtain to draw for privacy.

Sometimes the hustle freaks me out, and other times it inspires me. I’ve taken time out from my copyright jobs to log the crazy things I see into a rapidly growing document. For one thing, the guys seem to have gone a little stir crazy and have taken to pranking each other to keep themselves sane. Things like that, along with crazed fan shenanigans, have made for some interesting writing, and I’m thankful. When I can’t hang around Erin or be with Jack, I have something going to keep me grounded as one crazy tour stop blurs into the next.