Chapter 5
Kings of the Mountain
“Hey,” I whispered in Leilani’s ear under the stairwell of the back building.
“Finally! I’ve been waiting hereforever,” she exaggerated.
“Sorry, Mrs. Thomas needed to talk to me about my lab report. Apparently, I did too well and she wanted to know who I was copying off of. Thank you for the help, by the way.” I kissed her cheek.
“I can’t have a flunking boyfriend. That would make telling your folks that much harder because they’d blame me for distracting you too much.”
“You’re welcome to distract me whenever you want, especially like last night.”
It had been a few months, and things with Leilani had gotten R-rated faster than I had planned. It wasn’t like I was pressuring her. In no way, shape, or form did I have any intention of corrupting her, but when she asked for me to be her first, there was only so much willpower a hormonal teenager like me could muster. I made sure we were careful and safe and she was actually ready—or at least she persistently told me she was over and over.
“Are you ready for your first gig tonight?”
I rubbed the back of my neck. “We’re as ready as we’ll ever be. See you at Mountain Breath around seven?”
She swiftly kissed me. “A herd of wild horses could not keep me away from that show. The girls and I are going to get ready at my house and we will meet you guys there.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
* * *
“I thinkI’m going to puke.” Rodney was a basket case of nerves as he paced in the parking lot behind my dad’s restaurant.
“Dude, it’s going to be fine.” Dane laughed a little. “It’s not like we suck, and these people eat up garage band grunge like Kurt Cobain is a god or something. Don’t sweat it.”
“Nerves show I care, Dane. Why am I the only one who’s worried about us sucking up a damn storm out there tonight?” Rodney was acting like a little girl, and none of us knew how to calm him down.
Colt handed him a plastic cup. “Drink this.”
“What is it?” Rodney sniffed it and practically turned green instantly.
“Jäger,” Colt responded without missing a beat. “Shots all around.” He handed each of us a cup and we held them high in the air.
“To our first gig. Dear God, please do not let us blow it,” I yelled before we all slammed our cups together.
The black licorice grain alcohol slid down my throat, and we all started coughing.
“Remind me to not let Colt pick the shot of choice before our next gig,” Dane complained as he wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his flannel shirt.
“Amen to that,” I replied before tossing the plastic cup into the dumpster. “Ready, gents? It’s now or never.”
We walked into the packed restaurant where our friends and family made up most of the crowd. My mom waved frantically as I slung the strap of my bass guitar over my shoulder, and I saw Leilani was at a table with Sheila and Jules. I did a generic wave as she gave me a big two thumbs up. I didn’t want the rest of the guys to know it, but I was sweating bullets. Even though I knew we were ready and so solid, there was something about actually being up on stage that made me want to hurl on the spot.
Rodney cleared his throat before tapping the mic. “Good evening, Mountain Breath! How’re we doing tonight?” he yelled into the microphone. “We’re The Hysterics. Please be so kind as to welcome my awesome bandmates. We have Dane on the drums, Maverick on the bass, Colt is over there on lead guitar, and I’m Rodney.”
With that, the horde went wild and we kicked off with the melody of an upbeat number that was quickly winning over the crowd. I felt like a damn rock god. I was sweating glitter and my bass was singing out like never before. As the lyrics wrapped around me, I transcended into a euphoric trance of rock and roll.
The warm breeze blows
Unease creeping in
Unexpected and not particularly welcome
There is an edge to nerves