Tangled Weeds (The Road to Rocktoberfest 2024)

Twenty-Six

Johnny

“ S o, you and Devon huh?” Mateo asked as we sat on the plane just outside of Sacramento. I was surprised he’d waited so long to say anything, but I was also glad we were close to landing, and it wouldn’t give him too much time to interrogate me.

“Yeah, well I guess so. I mean we’re both into each other. But I don’t know if it’s more than that,” I lied, and hoped I was convincing.

He narrowed his eyes and grinned. “Sure, keep telling yourself that,” he said before closing his eyes. He had something going on so he’d flown back to Sacramento with Tanner and I while Jeremy drove his van back by himself.

I thought back to saying goodbye to Devon outside the old bus they were riding on. He’d handed his bags to the driver to pack away under the bus and immediately pulled me into his arms and buried his face in my shoulder. “I’ve loved the time we’ve spent together more than I could ever say,” he whispered, and I ignored the other guys in both bands as I wrapped my arms around him.

“I’ll see you in a day or two,” I whispered, and he nodded without saying a word. He was younger than me, but I didn’t do the fall-in-love-with-every-guy thing. I liked not having to answer to anyone, but I also liked how he made me feel, and I wasn’t ready for that to end.

“I miss you already,” he whispered so softly I barely heard him. But those words had been on repeat since I’d watched his bus drive away while I waited outside the hotel, unable to force myself to go back inside and find Tanner and the guys. Finally, when it turned onto the strip and drove out of sight, I turned and walked back inside.

“Hey, I was wondering where you were. Are you ready to go? I thought we could get to the airport a little early,” Tanner said as he walked over to me from the front desk. “We’re all checked out and ready to go.”

“Yep, I’m all packed,” I said, and even I could hear the emotion in my voice. Tanner gave me a funny look but then he turned to greet Mateo and Jeremy. “Jayne left this morning. I thanked her profusely, and told her we’d contact her if there was ever another time we needed a fantastic drummer.”

“She’s great,” Mateo said with a dreamy look in his eyes. I wasn’t sure if it was at the mention of how talented she was or just the mention of her. But right now, I was so wrapped up in my own emotional confusion I couldn’t put any thought into it.

“She is. I have a list of a few drummers that are available and I’m still hoping Devon will be free and we can hire him after he’s done filling in for his uncle. But I also want us to be able to play any offers we get even with another temporary drummer,” Tanner said as we all walked out front of the hotel to wait for our ride.

“Vance said you’ll be joining them in Reno this week,” Tanner said to me, snapping me out of my thoughts.

“Yeah, Devon invited me to watch them play at Rocktoberfest.”

“Okay, I’ll make sure not to take anything for next weekend. But I’d appreciate it if you’d just let me know if you make any plans, just in case we get something after that.”

“Sure thing,” I said and tried not to think about how weird if was that he’d be so worried about what I’d be doing. “Do we have more gigs coming up? I thought we were free after this weekend.”

“I’m working on it. But I won’t know more until later this week.” The car pulled up and the three of us piled in. Our equipment was packed in the van ready for Jeremy in the hotel parking lot. Since we didn’t need our equipment for a few days he volunteered to drive it back home.

“Do you think there’s a chance Devon would want to play with us after he’s done with Blinding Light?” Jeremy had asked just before we left.

“I’m not sure. He’s focused on that right now, so we didn’t talk about it,” I lied, not wanting them to think I could influence him in one way or another, and needing to know if he did join us, it was his choice.

“I’d love for him to join us. Not only is he just as talented as Jayne, he’s also very professional and didn’t seem to be into partying so much that he’d show up drunk or hungover,” Jeremy said.

“He’s over that. I know he partied a lot when he was first playing in a band but he’s not into it anymore,” I said making them all look at me. “What?”

“Nothing, nothing at all,” Mateo said and wiped the smile off his face as he turned away from me.

The three of us had been together for a few years and that whole time I’d never done more than hookup with randoms. Not once had I been serious enough to make it more than one night, even if the other guy had been interested. I didn’t need the drama and didn’t want to feel the need to make time for anyone besides the band. And then there was Devon. I glanced again at Mateo, and he bent over laughing.

“You just realized it didn’t you?” he said between bursts of laughter.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said because I couldn’t help myself. He was one hundred percent right and he knew that I knew it. This was the one time I’d kept a few secrets from the guys in the band, and until Devon and I were both ready— if we were ready for everyone to know about us—then we’d keep it between us.