Above the Noise (14 page)

The guys pulled the volume down a couple notches and instead of going into Ozzy’s lyrics, I used their muted instrumentals as an opportunity to introduce ourselves.

“Hello, Los Angeles! We are so thrilled to be touring with Smiling Turkeys and even more thrilled to start that tour right here at Paisley! Give it up for Bones on bass, Spider, our percussion specialist, Manny on lead guitar.” The crowd yelled and whistled. “I’m Calon Ridge—” The place erupted with a deafening roar, which made me lose my train of thought. I chuckled and looked around at the guys. What that hell was that? “And we’re Alternate Tragedy! Thanks for coming out tonight.”

I looked over to the wings, where Becki beamed. I laughed in response to the crowd’s hyper-enthusiasm. Her smile wrapped all the way around her head. She drew a heart in the air with two fingers and blew me a kiss then ran off with Cyan, I assumed to do some more hobnobbing.

We started with our title track, our love song “Fallen”, which always made me think of Gracie, then we moved seamlessly into “Tried”. It had more of a nineties Pearl Jam angst to it. Max had given us a three song limit, but the crowd was unbelievable. We just couldn’t walk off the stage after the next song. We had discussed the alternate plan prior to hitting the stage, so the nod of my head gave my band all they needed to tuck two more songs in before we did the cover I was so anxious to sing to Becki.

“Flames” was an acoustic ballad about love and how it sometimes burns out of control, like a flame. I pulled a stool to the mic, grabbed my guitar, and took a deep breath. The lights dimmed, except the spotlight right over me. I closed my eyes and drained my lyrics of the emotions I’d written into them. The crowd swayed, couples kissed. It was one of Becki’s favorites from the album.

I waved to thank the audience for their appreciation and caught sight of Max headed to the steps that lead to the wings. He was going to have to wait. There was no way he would risk looking like a dick by throwing one of his tantrums and kicking us off the stage. So, we had him by the balls. I nodded toward him and introduced our fourth song “Trip You Up”, a classic punk sound mixed with some hard rock beats. Spider lit up the drums with a machine-gun style drum solo that led us into the lyrics that had a
don’t fuck with me
kind of edge. It was a high energy song, so I was all over the stage. I could hear Becki screaming down front and saw daggers coming from Max’s eyes. All was right with the world. We ended the set, and when I lifted my head, it looked as if the number of occupants on the dance floor had doubled.

I grabbed the mic and used my hands to tell the crowd to hush. I’d always been amazed how the guy with the mic at a concert could get a crowd of tens of thousands to be silent. It was quite a powerful feeling. My heart pounded with adrenaline. I was so pumped that this dream we’d had for over half our lives was really happening right before our eyes.

“We love to write and perform our own music, but we also enjoy paying homage to those musicians who have inspired us. At one time, not too long ago, we did covers exclusively when we played for the students of UT Knoxville.” There were a couple of whoops, I assumed from alums. I shot them a thumbs up. “We have missed doing covers of our favorites as we promote the
Fallen
album, so, tonight, we have a cover for you. This one goes out to someone very special, my absolute.” My eyes found Becki immediately. Her hands covered her heart, and her mouth was agape. The smile on her face was priceless. My girl. “This is ‘All of Me’ by the one and only, John Legend.” Manny prepped the keyboard and gave me a nod.

I sang of a feisty love of two imperfect people who found magic when their hearts collided. I wanted Becki to know, publicly, that I was giving her all of me. All. Everything I had. The words tumbled from my mouth, and the melody happened effortlessly. My voice was fluid and strong but gentle and sincere. Becki looked like she might cry, but that beautiful smile never waned. I used one hand to stealthily wipe a tear that escaped my eye and managed to make it look like it was one of my habitual hair tucks. When the song finished, I was spent. I could have laid on the stage and slept. I lifted my head and addressed our fans one last time before we left the stage.

“Thank you all for coming out and for the warm welcome us Los Angeles. Happy sixteenth birthday, Jordan! And now, the band you’ve been waiting for. Please, welcome Smiling Turkeys!” I hopped down off the front of the stage and into Becki’s arms.

Max opened immediately with a slower song that wasn’t typical of their band but perfect timing for me. I pulled Becki’s face to mine and kissed her hard and long. Our bodies slowly moved to the soft tone of Max’s voice. We danced, drank, and I signed autographs for what felt like hours.

“Want to head up to the VIP floor?” I was drunk, and all I could think about was Becki in the shower. I knew it was poor taste to leave the club early, but I needed to have some Becki time. Ducking into a closet and fucking like animals was even poorer taste, so hanging out together in one of the private lavish spaces upstairs would have to do.

“Lead the way.” She smiled.

We found an unoccupied space and flopped down on the expensive white couch. I threw my arms over the back, slid down so my ass was right on the edge of the cushions, and laid my head back. I was drunk, exhausted, and the room wouldn’t stop spinning. Becki straddled me and sat right on my crotch a bit harder than I would have liked, which caused me to buckle and her to laugh.

“I’m so sorry.” She hugged my head to her chest as I groaned in pain.

“I think you broke it.” God, that hurt.

Becki took my face in her hands and spoke into my nose. I think because her head was swimming in Patron shots. “Don’t say that. I would never forgive myself if I broke Walter.”

“Walter? You named my dick Walter? He’s not a geek, Becki.” I sat up and scooted back and gave her my best pouty look.

“I like the name Walter, it’s very formal. I feel like it’s a name that commands attention. And, let’s face it, your dick commands my attention.” She licked my bottom lip seductively and then bit hers.

“Commands it, craves it. Yeah, he digs ya.”

“Well, good, because it’s about time he and I meet face to face… if you know what I mean.” Her eyebrows waggled, and a naughty smirk curled the corner of her mouth.

“Fuck you! Asshole!” Max’s voice hit me at the same time his fist hit the back of my head. My face crashed into Becki’s, and I had to catch her before she fell backwards off my lap. When I pulled her up to me, her nose was bleeding and she had a small cut on her lip. I grabbed a handful of ice from the water pitcher on the coffee table that was situated between the two couches in our space, wrapped it in a linen napkin, and pressed it against her mouth. She stood, so I could get up, and then she flopped back down and held the ice to her face.

“What the hell is your problem?” I spun around and took two steps toward Max, which put us eye to eye. “You wanna hit me, fine, have at it but don’t FUCK with my girl. She’s bleeding because of you!” I slammed him hard in the chest with both my fists, which caused him to stumble back into a support pole. I took two more steps, and my body had his pinned against that pole.

“You don’t want to do this here, do ya, big shot?” His cocky ass grin made me want to knock every one of his veneered teeth out.

“Where do you suggest we do this? Or were you just in it for the cheap shot to the back of my skull? Pussy.” My teeth were clenched so tightly, my words came out in a long hiss.

“I won’t waste my time with you, Ridge. I just need you to know who’s boss. Three songs, that’s it. So don’t pull that shit again with your extra-long set. Three songs. Got it?” He pushed me out of his way with his shoulder as he turned to walk away. Mistake number one. Never turn your back on someone you just sucker punched.

I grabbed the shoulder pads of his long leather coat and spun him around. Before he had a chance to react, I caught him in the jaw with a right uppercut and a quick left-handed hit to the gut. When he bent over, I smashed him in the face with my knee and threw him to the ground.

“That’s for what you did to Becki’s face. Come at me all you want, bro. But you touch her again, and I will fuck you up! Got it?” I glanced over at Becki, and she winked from behind a handful of napkins and ice.

He stood and slinked back over to me slowly. He shook his head. Damn, this guy was an idiot.

“Listen to me, you cock-sucking shit, you should be bowing to kiss my ass because I got you on this tour. But, now I’m warning you, you can be removed. You need coat tails to ride on to get anywhere in this business, and I gave you mine. You keep fucking up like this, and I’ll find someone to take your place.” He slammed into my shoulder as he walked past me then took two steps toward Becki and held out his hand for her. She looked him up and down but didn’t budge.

“Look, babe. Bad call on my part by cuffing your guy to the head with you in his lap.” He leaned in closer and whispered something in her ear then turned to me, smacked her ass and chuckled. “I’m truly sorry you got hurt in all this. I hope you’ll forgive me.”

I couldn’t see straight. I could have killed him with my bare hands. But I’d learned my lesson last time. I didn’t want to insult Becki again. She made it very clear that she could handle herself in the kind of situation Max had her in once again. My fists clenched at my sides.

Becki glared at him. He smirked and stared back but soon gave up waiting for her response, and he slowly walked toward the stairs. She looked up at me, moved the napkins from in front of her lips, and mouthed the words, “Fuck him up.”

Instantly I was filled with both elation and anger. I lost it. He was almost at the steps when I got to him. I saw both bouncers nod at each other and turn their heads, as if to give me the clear to pound on him for a short period of time with no interruptions.

I spun him around and fired a shot to the side of his head with my clenched fist. When he went down, I threw myself on top of him. I got in two or three good shots to the face before the bouncers pulled me off. I struggled to get in just one more hit. The bouncers each held us, so we couldn’t get at each other, but we were still face to face.

“You can let someone else ride your ugly ass coat tails. We’re out. You’re on this tour alone, asshole.”

“Your loss, Ridge. You’ll get nowhere, now. This will be front page news tomorrow. There are paparazzi everywhere in this place.”

“Oh, don’t you worry. We will have no problem getting gigs without you.”

Becki walked passed me and right up to his face. I saw the bouncer holding Max size her up, but he didn’t budge.

“And if you ever, EVER, touch my ass again, I will rip your dick off and shove it down your throat! Got that?”

Max just smirked and rolled his eyes.

Mistake number two. Don’t fuck with Becki, especially with your hands held behind your back.

Her knee shot up between his legs with such force it lifted him at least an inch off the ground. He folded in on himself and cried like a baby.

Becki and I were escorted out without any fuss. We called a cab and headed back to the hotel.

When the guys rolled in later, still high on the vibes of our kick ass show, I had to tell them we didn’t have a tour. Yeah, I’d almost rather take a knee from Becki than crush their dreams like that. But, I would risk it all to protect her. This was the first time in my life anything came before my music. I just hoped they understood.

“CALON, I’M SORRY.
I never should’ve given you the okay to beat the crap out of him. I’m glad you did, though. I’d never sacrifice my dignity just to get ahead, and I’d hoped you’d feel the same way.” I sat on the edge of one bed in the band’s room. I’d already wrapped his knuckles in cold, wet washcloths. They would hurt tomorrow.

“Without a doubt, Becki. That’s why I think the guys will get this. Not one of them would be willing to stand by and let him get away with that kind of shit just so we could stay on his tour. And besides, we’ve got one of the best managers on the scene, so I have no doubt we can make this happen—on our own terms.”

“Well, I just texted Cyan and asked her a bunch of questions that will give me some inside info I will need to do just that. She doesn’t know about the fight yet, and I’m not sure if her loyalty to Max and the guys would keep her from sharing that with me once she finds out. So, I got a jump on things, and it will all be good. I promise. I’ll make this happen.”