Three Part Harmony (The Road to Rocktoberfest 2024)

9. Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine

Mike

Griffin kept it business-like when he picked us up the next morning at the band house for rehearsals. He told me he’d volunteered early on to play the role of our driver while the other guards met us at the studio. The four of us poured ourselves into the big SUV he was driving and chatted about the songs we were going to work on while our handsome driver kept his attention mostly on the road. Every once in a while our eyes would catch in the rearview mirror and hold for a few brief seconds which felt so fucking intimate. I loved having this little secret with him, even though nothing was really happening between us in the physical sense.

We spent all day at the rehearsal studio and Griffin was like a ghost who occasionally breezed in and out of the room every few hours. He wasn’t there to chat me up or distract me, he simply seemed to need to have eyes on me to make sure I was okay. At least, I hoped that was Griffin’s reason for checking up on me. I also kind of doubted his behavior was an actual protocol of Ventura Security, and damn, if that didn’t make my chest feel warm inside and put a dopey grin on my face.

We had our meals delivered to the warehouse and we ate as a band. After we finished eating our burgers and fries, I went for a walk to find Griffin. I saw him sitting with a couple of the other guards near a loading dock behind the warehouse and didn’t want to bother him so I flashed a smile and waved at the guards before I continued back to my band.

I made it as far as the elevator before I heard footfalls coming up fast behind me. I turned around just as Griffin reached me.

“Everything okay?” he asked.

“Absolutely,” I said. “I was just taking a break and thought I’d say hi but I didn’t want to pull you away from your co-workers.” It was the partial truth. The rest of it was me needing to hear the rumble of his voice because it was rare when we didn’t talk throughout the day. Today we’d gone a full ten hours without really talking and it felt odd to me. I grimaced as I admonished myself for being so damn needy. I was acting borderline pathetic for having such an obsession to see him in the flesh. It shouldn’t matter how many hours it had been since we’d talked or seen each other. This wasn’t junior high and I had no hold on Griffin.

“Nah, no worries. We were just hanging around waiting for the shift change,” Griffin explained.

I nodded at his remark and smiled shyly. “I think we’re about done for the day, too,” I stated. “Do you feel like hanging out afterward to play some video games? I got a new Mario Brothers that I haven’t tried yet. We could play that and I can order us a pizza or something.”

“Sounds good,” he replied with a goofy grin that probably matched the one I had plastered on my own face.

“Okay, then I’ll see you in a bit,” I said and pressed the elevator button.

I felt like I was floating for the rest of the practice session and all because I knew I’d have a few hours alone with Griffin tonight.

We finished up about an hour later and we climbed back into the SUV Griffin had driven us in earlier. I didn’t even dare look at Griffin in the rearview mirror for fear he might be able to read what I was thinking from nothing more than my expression.

It was Fletcher who noticed Griffin was still lingering in the living room of the band house instead of leaving after he double-checked our security was activated. My band brothers scattered into their private bedrooms while Griffin, Fletcher, and I remained in place not too far from the front door entry.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Fletcher said to Griffin.

“Actually, I asked him to stay and play a new video game I bought,” I answered .

“If you two have plans we can play another night,” Griffin replied to both of us.

“No, I’m planning on staying in, so let’s play the game,” I said and began to walk deeper into the living room. I turned on the power for the television and the game box and got the hand controllers ready, all while Griffin seemed frozen in place. I glanced across the room at him and saw Fletcher sizing up the situation. I could almost hear his brain trying to figure out what was going on with us.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Fletch,” I said to my friend to give him the hint—a hint I hoped like hell he’d take and leave us alone. Any other night he would’ve gone straight from practice to his boyfriend’s apartment or Dallas would already be waiting for him in Fletch’s bedroom. Nope, tonight Fletcher seemed hell-bent on trying to figure out the situation unfolding in our living room.

“Griffin, care to be my worthy opponent? Although, you should know I’m capable of kicking your ass in just about any video game,” I stated proudly as I plunked my ass down on the couch.

I heard Griffin approach me in the living room and then Fletcher cleared his throat. “Have a good night, guys,” he said before he finally drifted down the hallway to his room. A few seconds later I heard the snick of his door closing.

I sighed heavily to release some of the tension coiling my muscles. “Jesus, I didn’t think he’d ever leave us alone,” I whispered.

“He probably thinks it’s strange that I’m hanging around,” Griffin mumbled, then took a seat next to me .

“Do you think this is weird?” I asked him and passed him one of the controllers.

Griffin shook his head. “No, I like spending time with you, even when you’re not working.”

“That’s good to know,” I replied and bumped my shoulder into his.

A short while later the pizza arrived. I grabbed some paper plates, napkins, and two bottles of water from the kitchen and returned to the living room to set us up to eat at the coffee table.

“I wasn’t sure what you like on your pizza so I got a veggie deluxe,” I explained.

“That works fine,” Griffin replied. “Thanks for ordering.”

We ate and played the new video game for a few hours until we both just kind of collapsed in exhaustion against one end of the couch, with me curled comfortably in front of Griffin like the little spoon. I didn’t even remember falling into that position after our last game and we probably wouldn’t have woken up when we did if Fletcher hadn’t stomped into the living room at nearly two in the morning.

“What the fuck are you two doing?” Fletcher said with scorn.

I bolted back from Griffin so fast I actually got a little dizzy and almost cracked my head on the coffee table in front of us. Griffin seemed just as confused as I was. It took a few awkward seconds for us both to get our bearings and Griffin stood up from the couch and smoothed out his jeans.

“Shit, I didn’t realize it had gotten so late,” he apologized.

“It’s fine, Griff. You don’t have to rush off because he woke us,” I said and then turned to glare at Fletcher. “And you didn’t need to yell at us,” I scolded Fletcher. “We fucking dozed off. It’s not a big deal and we’re not committing any crimes by laying here sleeping.”

Fletcher simply shook his head and walked back into his room. I’d deal with him later, but for now I wanted to make sure Griffin wasn’t pissed off for the intrusion. I’m not sure how long we slept but I was completely zonked out while his arms were around me and his chin rested on top of my head. I remembered dozing off and thinking how blissful I was but before I could think about why I was so comfortable with Griffin lodged behind me, I was asleep.

I walked Griffin to the front door and unlocked the deadbolt. “Are you okay?” I asked.

“Yeah, sure. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“We were startled awake from a very sound sleep,” I detailed. “My heart is still pounding.”

Griffin smiled wide and his eyes sparkled with mirth. “You’ll survive,” he said as he stepped outside. “Go get some more sleep in your bed and I’ll see you later for rehearsal—and don’t forget to lock this door after I leave.”

“Got it,” I said and reluctantly closed the door.

The rest of the week continued much the same, with Griffin driving my band to the warehouse for practice and then him and I hanging out after he dropped the others off at the house. The main difference was I started going to his condo instead of staying at the band house. At least that way Fletcher couldn’t give me shit if I fell asleep on top of Griffin again .

Over the course of the next few nights, I fell asleep on his couch more than once after we played a video game or watched a movie. Unfortunately I hadn’t managed to slump in his direction again since the night Fletcher woke us up. When I crashed my body always flopped in the opposite direction as Griffin. I kind of hoped he might ask me to stay over one of those times so he wouldn’t have to drive me home later, but he never suggested it.

By mid-week me and the guys were starting to get irritated with each other. Even the smallest things were pissing everyone off and the tension was nearing a breaking point. I chalked it up to my band brothers spending too much time together—which was true, but that typically didn’t make us argue this much. My one reprieve from the growing strife was Griffin. He somehow seemed to sense when I needed a break and he’d get me outside the warehouse to take a walk or sit on one of the loading docks to talk for a few minutes. The calming force he had on me was beginning to feel like a lifeline—and one I needed more than I realized.

“I’m ready to bitch-slap Fletch,” I grumbled to Griffin Thursday when we took a break. “If he doesn’t stop trying to stir shit up with me, I’m going to stab him in the eye with one of my sticks before the day is done.”

We were walking by the row of tractor-trailer trucks at the edge of the parking lot while I took a few hits off of a joint I’d rolled that morning at the house. “No need for a bloodbath,” Griffin said in a serious tone. “I mean, why ruin a perfectly good drumstick by making it a murder weapon? It becomes evidence at that point and property of the police department. You might not be able to use it again.”

I glanced at him and noticed he was trying to hide a smile. “You make a damn good point,” I replied with enthusiasm. “However, I do have several cases of drumsticks in storage at the warehouse. That one murder weapon could easily be replaced with another and no one would be the wiser.”

Griffin burst out laughing which was something he didn’t do often but I sure loved hearing the low rumbly sounds he made when he did let his levity show. He was undeniably professional and serious while on duty, sometimes when he was off-duty, too. I guess that’s why I was always appreciative when he loosened up to the point he was laughing without holding back. Those were my favorite moments with Griffin. It made me wonder if I might be one of only a few who even got to see this side of him.

“At least you have the day off tomorrow,” Griffin pointed out.

“And nothing but rehearsals until our show at the Apex next Saturday night,” I added.

“Feel like doing something tomorrow while you’re chilling?” Griffin asked.

I sensed reluctance in his invitation, like he thought I might say I already had plans and say no to his suggestion. What he didn’t know was that even if I did have plans, I’d cancel them in order to spend time with him instead. That’s what a needy friend I’d become to him.

“You mean, like a date?” I was goading him to see what he’d say, although I already had a pretty good idea .

“Michael…”

Damn, I loved it when he used his scolding tone on me. It made me shiver and instilled a need in me to please him.

“Sure, let’s do something,” I said to cut him off before he said what I knew was coming. “What do you have in mind?”

“I want to show you something,” he suggested. “It’s not far from here, so we wouldn’t be gone too long.”

I bumped my shoulder into his. “I don’t care how long we’re gone—as long as I’m back in time to do the Apex show next week.”

“We’ll be home long before that. In fact, I’ll have you home before your curfew tomorrow night,” Griffin said and grinned.

“I don’t have a curfew,” I stated.

“Then I guess we don’t have to worry about you being late.”

“Smart ass,” I scoffed. But inside my heart was thundering because I had a date with my security guy.

I was also pleased with myself that I was able to finish practice without lodging the tip of my stick in any of my band brother’s eyes. It took a concentrated effort of restraint on my part and frankly I deserved an award for keeping myself in check and not losing control.

To show I was at least trying to get along, I even stayed at the house Thursday night to hang out with my brothers instead of going over to see Griffin. I was absolutely making a herculean effort to keep the peace but Fletcher was still being a dick to me. He seemed hell-bent on bickering and I refused to take the bait. He complained I wasn’t spending enough time with them anymore, so tonight I was doing exactly that. But judging by Fletch’s snarky attitude, my effort was still missing the mark to satisfy him.

We were definitely in a rough patch in our friendship like nothing we’d ever experienced. Fletcher and I never acted like this with each other but at this point I had no idea how to fix it. His behavior pissed me off, if I was being honest, but I wasn’t about to put up a stink about it now. We had too much riding on our sprouting career to let something petty and stupid derail the path we were on and the next several months had to go smoothly. I’d suck up the growing friction between Fletcher and me and keep being the best team player I was capable of.

Potter and Dixon found the box containing Cards Against Humanity and we began setting up to play a game. Fletcher set a bowl of pretzels and chips on the coffee table and Dixon opened a new bag of peanut M&M’s, poured them into a separate bowl, and placed it on the table with the other snacks.

“Always with the M&M’s,” Fletcher teased Dixon.

“What can I say? I have a sweet tooth,” Dixon said with an ambivalent shrug.

“Speaking of sweet, where’s your boy-toy tonight?” Fletcher questioned me.

“I don’t have a boy-toy ,” I replied and rolled my eyes. That one simple comment already had me grinding my molars together and my shoulder muscles were in knots.

“Since when do you have a boy-toy?” Dixon asked me as he returned to the living room from the kitchen carrying four bottles of chilled beer. He set them onto the table in front of the couch and took his seat again in a recliner he’d pulled closer to the coffee table.

“I just said I don’t have any men or women in my life,” I spouted to no one in particular.

Fletcher covered his mouth as if to cough and mumbled, “bullshit,” into his hand.

“Fuck you, Fletch,” I said. “Think what you will, but I’m not with Griffin. We’re just good friends, that’s it, so stop trying to stir something up that isn’t there.”

“Does he know this?” Fletcher pushed.

I lifted my head and met Fletcher’s gaze from across the coffee table “Shut the fuck up before I have to come over there and shut your mouth for you,” I said with tight words and a subtle growl to my tone. Fletcher’s known me for a very long damn time and occasionally we did argue, but we also knew it meant nothing. At the end of the day we were still brothers and our unconditional love for each other would always remain intact. But what he was doing now was bordering on something else. It was almost like he was jealous of the friendship I had with Griffin but that couldn’t be the case. Fletcher knew the connection I had with him would always remain strong—no matter who we paired off with or who tried to come between us.

“Speaking of boy-toys, where’s yours, Fletch?” I questioned. “Shouldn’t he be kneeling at your feet or rubbing your shoulders or something?”

“He’s doing some kind of equipment inventory with the other roadies,” Fletcher explained .

“That so?” I asked.

“Yep, that’s what he’s doing,” Fletcher repeated. “He’ll probably swing by later though after they finish.”

We stared at each other in a silent standoff, neither of us so much as blinking. This was uncharted territory and I really was at a loss on how to bridge the growing gap with my longest friend.

“Well, I hooked up with a new girl this week. In case anyone is interested,” Dixon said. “I’m hoping to see her again Saturday night after the Apex show.”

“That’s where you disappeared the other night?” Potter asked him.

“I’m surprised you noticed I was gone,” Dixon said to Potter.

“Did you double-check this time to make sure she’s out of high school?” Fletcher asked after he finally dragged his eyes away from me.

“That happened one time, and for the record, she stayed back a year which is why she hadn’t graduated yet but she was still eighteen!” Dixon explained. “Well beyond the age of consent.”

“ Barely beyond the age of consent,” Fletcher teased.

“What about you, Mike?” Potter asked me. “When was the last time you got laid?”

“Last weekend,” I answered. “I had a marathon threesome. My muscles are still sore from the workout!”

“You are so fucking twisted,” Potter laughed. “The rest of us struggle to get one partner into bed and you bang two at a time. I don’t know how you manage it. ”

“I’m not struggling to find anyone,” Fletcher said. “I already have my one and only.”

“Well, goodie for you and Dallas,” Dixon commented. “Maybe the Hallmark channel can make a sappy movie out of your love story.”

“Can we play the card game now?” I asked. “Or are we all still sharing the details of our sex lives? Because I’m happy to give you vivid deets on my sex-a-thon with Oliver and Sebastian. I can tell you about positions, which of them has the bigger dick—spoiler alert, it’s me.”

Cards, pencils, and a pillow came flying at my head after my last comment and I laughed at them. I had no intention of telling them about my time with Oliver and Sebastian, partly because gentlemen didn’t kiss and tell. Okay, that’s a partial lie but I still wasn’t willing to share what happened in Oliver’s hotel suite with anyone.

That illicit three-way hook-up was already locked away in my vault since I didn’t see it ever happening again, simply because I wasn’t all that interested in a repeat. It was great and I more than enjoyed them but it was missing a key ingredient.

Neither of them were Griffin.

That could be the reason for my standoffish attitude with them but I was certain it went deeper than that. I just didn’t like where I stood with Oliver and Sebastian. I wanted an equal relationship and they clearly had other intentions and that’s fine. I wasn’t angry at them in the least. In fact, I was kind of relieved I saw them find each other the way they did because it showed me what I didn’t want in a relationship.

It’s like Griffin explained to me, I shouldn’t have to settle for less than what I want. I’m worth more than that, and when I finally do find my perfect person, I want them to think I’m their everything . Griffin made me realize I wanted to hold out for something special with a partner who wanted me exactly the way I was—warts and all.

I really loved the way that sounded.

But would I ever be able to find what I was looking for? That was the real question. I was young and hopeful that one day someone would fall right into my lap.