Three Part Harmony (The Road to Rocktoberfest 2024)

22. Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Two

Mike

We had one more full run-through of our set on Friday, in preparation of the show at The Asylum tonight. I’d like to say our rehearsal was perfectly executed but it wasn’t. Honestly, it was pretty bad and it had me on edge for our show tonight. None of us could get our shit together. Our timing was way off—thanks to me being on a different planet than the others.

The other factor playing into this was what Griffin and I did in his bed last night. I couldn’t get the details out of my head. Every touch, kiss, and thrust inside him are seared into my memory and keep replaying over and over inside my mind on an X-rated loop.

Being inside him was like free-falling from a plane right before the chute opens. Those moments suspended above the ground felt like you were floating on a column of air, like life as you knew it was in limbo. It was a fucking incredible feeling to experience—and this was exactly what sex with Griffin felt like. But the emotions that came with the physical act was like nothing I’d ever felt. It was so beautiful and raw that I couldn’t quite put it into words. And, fuck, I couldn’t wait to do it again—even if it proved to be a huge distraction to my performances. I’d take one for the team and make this work because this was Griffin I was talking about, and I would do anything to keep that man in my life.

We arrived at The Asylum on time. I gave Griffin a quick kiss before he went off to go through the security protocols with the venue. Me and the guys started going through our warm-up routines. I liked to jog a few miles on a treadmill, Fletcher did vocal exercises, Dixon did some kind of Ju-jitsu shit that he claimed centered his aura, and Potts, well, he just liked to get high and then meditate. I guess it didn’t matter how we got ourselves into the zone for performing, as long as we got there.

Our soundcheck was slightly better than our last rehearsal, which was a relief, but our live set needed to be killer, not mediocre. Griffin brought us back to our dressing room after the soundcheck. He made sure the room was clear of any threats and that catering dropped off our dinners. “Sebastian and Oliver’s bands are here,” Griffin said. “They’re in dressing rooms on the other side of the stage.”

“Okay, cool. I’ll have to go say hello to them in a bit,” I said as I salted my steak and cheese sub and then glanced up at Griffin. Something flashed in Griffin’s eyes but I couldn’t quite get a good read on the emotion he was feeling before he shuttered himself.

“I can walk you over there when you’re ready,” he said and started for the door to the dressing room.

“Where are you going?” I asked him.

“I need to stand outside the door,” he explained. “It’s protocol.”

“You can eat with me first, if you want,” I suggested.

“Can’t, I gotta get to work.” He winked at me and I grinned back at him.

I watched him walk away with that stupid fluttery feeling happening again low in my belly. He was one fine looking man and I still couldn’t believe he was mine. I swear sometimes it felt like I was living in a dream. Once the door closed and Griffin was on the other side of it, I went back to my dinner.

I watched the guys around me slipping into their stage clothing and figured I might as well get changed, too. Then I went to find Griffin, so I could go see Ollie and Seb before the show kicked off.

“Mmm, you look good,” Griffin said to me as we began to walk down the hallway. His eyes scanned the length of my body and then lifted to settle on my lips. “I want to kiss you so bad right now, but I can’t.”

“I’m guessing protocols at play again?” I asked with sarcasm .

“What can I say? We have to abide by certain rules if we want to do a job like this,” Griffin said.

“Me, on the other hand, I love bending the rules—and quite often, breaking them,” I said and smirked at Griffin. “I’m a renegade like that.”

Griffin chuckled. “Rebels are sexy.”

“You like the bad boys?” I asked.

“They definitely have a certain appeal.” He flashed me another smile as we rounded the corner to head down the other hallway. Griffin stopped outside a door about halfway down on the right. He nodded to the guard standing a few feet away against the cement block wall. “Oliver still in there?” he questioned the man. Once the guard nodded in approval, Griffin knocked softly.

“Come in,” I heard Oliver call out.

My gaze connected with Griffin’s. “I shouldn’t be more than twenty minutes,” I said.

Griffin gave me a nod of approval but his expression was saying something completely different and it made my gut churn for some reason. Later on when it was just him and I, we were going to have to talk about this. I needed to know what was going on inside his head.

“You’ve got about forty minutes before they go out for their set,” he countered.

“Plenty of time,” I said and leaned in close to his cheek to feather a kiss there against his skin.

I stepped inside and Ollie squealed like a school girl when he saw it was me .

“You sexy son-of-a-bitch!” he yelled.

“Ditto, man. You look great,” I replied.

He quickly embraced me but when we were done hugging Oliver stuck his head out of the doorway and spotted Griffin. “I promise not to leave any visible marks on him,” Oliver teased.

“Don’t say shit like that, man,” I grumbled then shouted over my shoulder toward Griffin. “Ignore him, Griff!”

Oliver laughed heartily then kicked the door shut with his foot but not before giving me a loud smacking kiss right on my lips that had me stepping back a bit to create more space between us. His hands gripped my biceps and squeezed.

“I’m being dead-serious. You are hot as fuck,” he said. The lecherous smirk lifting his lips was hard to miss. “Makes me want to hop on and ride you again.”

I shifted farther into the room and away from the door, in case Griffin could hear our conversation. No way in hell did I want him to get the wrong idea over something stupid Ollie said to me.

“You’ve got Seb for that now. Isn’t that what you told me after the weekend in San Fran?” I questioned. “You made a special trip to LA to tell me about how you and Seb were together.”

“That’s very true, but we both agreed that when it came to you, we both had a free pass,” Oliver said cheerily, like this was somehow supposed to be great news to me.

“And here I thought you two were exclusive and likely making wedding plans by now.”

“No wedding, and yes, we are exclusive—except for when it comes to you,” Oliver repeated. “We agreed to no more sharing or hooking up with randos but if you ever wanted a repeat we’re good for a tag-team event or we can do a one-on-one hook-up—but only with you.”

I listened but I couldn’t make eye contact with him. Instead, I mindlessly scanned the food table against the far wall of the dressing room and pulled a bottle of water out of a bucket filled with ice. There was a time not that long ago that I would have jumped for a crumb of their attention and I would’ve been all over an opportunity to bone one—or both of them—again.

Not anymore.

I was with someone now that I absolutely loved to his core and there wasn’t even a sliver of a chance I’d take Oliver up on his offer. I simply wasn’t interested in what they were offering, which was the most important detail of all. I smiled at this revelation of sorts. Griffin would be so proud of how far I’d come. He was more than enough for me. In some ways he was too much but I adored everything about him. He brought out the best in me and I hoped he felt I did the same for him.

“Well, I’m certainly flattered by what you’re offering, but I actually have some news for you,” I said as I removed the plastic cap of the bottle and took a sip of the cold beverage.

“What’s up? Something good I hope,” he asked while he took a seat on the arm of the couch adjacent to the food table.

“I think it’s awesome news but I’m not sure how you’ll feel about it,” I commented. I took a stem of green grapes from a platter of mixed fruit and began to pop them one at a time into my mouth .

“Do tell, my well-hung friend,” Oliver said and then threw his head back in laughter from his own phrase.

“Remember my guard?” I questioned him.

“The same stud who is right outside my door as we speak?” he asked.

“Yes, that stud. His name is Griffin,” I said. “We’re officially together and it feels pretty serious.”

Oliver stared blankly at me for a long moment. “It’s serious? How could that be? I mean, it feels like we were just rolling around in bed with you a week ago.”

I shook my head at his implication. “This is something that’s been…brewing between us for quite a while—like months and months in the making,” I explained. “I just didn’t think we could be together, so I ignored what I was feeling and did my best to keep my focus elsewhere.”

“Like on me and Sebastian,” Oliver added.

“Exactly. Well, you, Seb, and a few others,” I clarified further.

“You’re such a slut,” Oliver practically purred.

Clearly he was listening to me but I wasn’t sure he was fully understanding what I was saying. I leaned against the food table and crossed my legs at the ankle before I met Oliver’s gaze. “I’m in love with him and probably have been for a long time,” I admitted.

He held my gaze for a moment and I watched the bob of his Adam’s apple in his slender throat. “Oh wow, you’re really serious about this.”

“Very much so, and in an odd way I have you and Seb to thank for this change in my life,” I said .

“How so?”

“The weekend we had in San Francisco was really odd for me. Don’t get me wrong. I wanted to be there and I had a blast with you both, but when I woke up on Sunday morning and saw you two wrapped up in each other and me by myself on the opposite side of the bed, I felt something switch inside me. I went to Griffin’s room after I left yours and we talked through what I was feeling. I realized I had no place in what you had with Seb and I was okay with that. After we talked he took me to Fisherman’s Wharf for the rest of the day and, I don’t know, things suddenly seemed so clear to me.”

“I can’t say I’m all that surprised,” Oliver lamented. “I mean, I suspected you were together even before that weekend because you two just clicked and were always together—even when he was off-duty. Remember? I teased you a few times about the chemistry you shared with him. It went way beyond a typical working relationship.”

“I remember what you said and at the time it annoyed me to hear it. But you and my best friend definitely saw something there between us that maybe I wasn’t ready to see. I don’t know, but he is amazing for me and I’m ridiculously happy.”

“I’m really thrilled to hear it, Mike, although I’m bummed I won’t be riding you again anytime soon,” Oliver said.

“Nope, definitely not,” I released a scoffing laugh. “Unlike you two, Griffin and I won’t be giving out free passes to sleep with other people, which is fine. Honestly, I just want him. ”

“He must be hung like a rhino for you to give up all others,” Oliver joked.

“I won’t admit or deny that, except to say he is incredible for many different reasons,” I said. “He’s more than enough for me.”

“In that case, I am doubly happy for you and Griffin is a very lucky man,” Oliver said. He slid onto a couch cushion and got more comfortable. “I can’t say I’m there yet with Seb, regarding the whole love thing. Maybe in the future, or maybe it won’t be for us, but for now, we’re just having fun.”

“I think you’re going to find yourself there one day with him because you two click—same way I click with Griffin,” I said. “But a word of advice, don’t ignore the feelings when they hit you.”

“Is that what happened with Griffin?” he asked.

“I definitely did my best to look the other way from what was right in front of me the whole time,” I explained. “It was Fletcher who pointed out that I was in a relationship with Griffin and I didn’t even realize it—neither did he. But I just didn’t think it was possible for us. I thought his job wouldn’t allow him to really be with me, out in the open.”

“And his boss is cool with it?”

“Yeah, as long as he doesn’t become too distracted to effectively do his job.” I went on to tell him what happened to us Thursday night at the dive bar.

“We sure did pick a crazy career for ourselves,” Oliver stated.

“You can say that again,” I agreed.

“Are you stoked about the tour kicking off?” he asked .

“Yeah, we all are and I love how it’s going to feed right into the big Rocktoberfest event,” I detailed. “We’ll be coming off the high of our first road trip experience and finish up with a bang at an enormous event that will give us all kinds of exposure. I’m pumped to be attending again.”

“Yeah, us, too,” he said.

“Where’s Seb hiding?” I questioned.

“He was here before you arrived but had to go discuss some lighting changes to their set, but I’m sure you’ll see him at some point tonight,” Oliver said.

“Absolutely. I’ll make sure it happens,” I said.

We chatted for a few more minutes beyond that, but it was getting close to that time where Oliver would have to join his band in the hallway and hit the stage. I wanted to be out of here long before that happened.

“I’m gonna take a leak and then I’ll let you get back to warming up your vocal cords,” I said and stepped into the bathroom connected to the main room. When I returned to the room Oliver was answering a knock at the door. I was still zipping up my pants while I crossed the room and tucking in my shirt at the same time when Griffin’s eyes met mine in the open doorway. I saw surprise cloud his eyes that was quickly replaced with anger before he shut down his emotions altogether and slipped back into work mode. Expressionless and all business.

Fuck.

Oliver was already stepping into the hallway with me hot on his heels. He patted Griffin on the chest and smiled brightly. “He’s all yours, and see, I left no evidence as to where my mouth just was,” Oliver teased.

I saw Griffin’s nostrils flare. That was the only tell he offered to let on to the fact he was seething mad. Now I’d have to find a way to defuse his bomb before it detonated.

“See you soon, Mike,” Oliver said and offered me a quick hug before he slipped back inside his dressing room.

Griffin had already started walking down the hall which left me to hurry after him like an idiot if I wanted a chance to talk to him.

“Hold up, Griff,” I hollered at his backside.

“I’ll get you back to the room and then I need to go do…something,” Griffin said without making eye contact with me.

“Look at me,” I insisted. “Look the fuck at me! Whatever you’re thinking, get it out of your head right now. Ollie was just messing with you. That’s it.”

“You have no idea what I’m thinking, so don’t imply you do,” Griffin hissed into my face before he started walking again.

“Whoa, whoa! You need to dial it back a bit and listen to me,” I grit out when I got into his face a second time. “I’m in love with you—no one else, and I was inside you last night, for fuck’s sake. Do you really think I’d be with you, on that level, and then turn around the next day and sleep with someone else?”

“You were zipping your pants,” Griffin said with his gaze burning holes into the toes of his boots. “Of course my mind would think something happened. It’s a normal knee-jerk reaction, but Christ, that guy rubs me the wrong fucking way and I hate he knows you like that. ”

“I was taking a leak right before you knocked on the fucking door,” I argued. “That’s why I was zipping my pants! And a lot of people know me like that, Griffin, so why would Oliver bother you? Are you going to get pissed off every time you see one of my past hook-ups? There’s probably a few others in this building as we speak!” Griffin seemed to nod at me but then began to walk again. “You’re just going to walk away? No discussion. No apology for making this into something it’s clearly not. When does your trust kick in—or maybe it never will with me. Is that it?”

Griffin stopped in place but kept his back to me. “Listen, we both have work to do here tonight,” he said in a somewhat more somber way as compared to a few minutes ago. “Now isn’t the time or the place to discuss something this personal. I think it’s best we both just do our jobs and later on we can have a conversation about this. And, yes, I realize I overreacted and I’m sorry for that. I’ll have to spend some time to look at this and figure out why I let him get to me.”

“You are soooo overreacting right now!” I spit out like my words were bullets. “But, fine. We can talk about this later—or not. We’ll see how I feel.”

I turned away from him and started jogging down the hall.

“Michael!” he shouted in my direction.

“Later, Griff. I have a show to prep for,” I said and continued jogging. The more distance I put between us right now, the better. Otherwise, there was a very high chance I was going to say something to him that I’d regret.