Under the Lights (A Brothers of Rock - GONE BY AUTUMN - Novel) (16 page)

Jules touched Tanner
’
s face.
“
Yeah, until you kiss the next one.
”

“
Why
are you so worried about the next one?
”

“
Because
there
’
s always a next one,
”
Jules said.

Tanner slipped his hands down to
Jules
’
ass. He kissed her once,
a sweet and romantic kiss.
“
The
only
next one
you have to worry about is when I kiss you again. And
touch you again. And when you come again
…”

Tanner put Jules down and stroked
her face with his thumb.
“
I
’
ll see you on stage tomorrow
night, darling. Maybe we
’
ll
play that song together. Or maybe I
’
ll
save it for a private show.
”

He winked and then walked away.

Jules caught herself stepping back,
her hands searching for the wall. When she found it, her knees bent out of
need. Her desires were flooding her, and the man she needed to take care of
those desires was walking away.

Jules covered her face.

You
’
re supposed to be singing
for Gone by Autumn. To help your career. Not
to
let some rockstar
in your pants.

Jules bit her lip. Her heart was
disagreeing with her head on what was right to do, but the one thing they
absolutely agreed on was that
it just felt so damn good.

(15)

It just feels so damn good.

Tanner strummed one last chord and
smiled. Ryan grabbed his beer and held it up.

“
The
song is done,
”
he said.

Tanner and the rest of the guys clanked
their bottles together. They killed off the almost warm beers and Asher grabbed
fresh ones from the tour bus fridge.

“
I
missed this,
”
Asher said.

They were a short hour away from
the venue, but had plenty of time before the show was going to start. The
equipment truck already arrived and by the time the band would arrive, it would
all be set up. The only job the band had was to play a hell of a show.

Asher held a bottle out and Tanner
twisted the cap off. He thanked his fellow guitarist for the drink.

“
The
only thing we need to discuss,
”
Ryan said as he took a fresh beer,
“
is
whether or not we have complete approval."

“
Meaning
what?
”
Gabe asked.

Ryan pointed to Tanner.
“
It
’
s
your song, man.
”

Tanner hesitated. He could keep the
song for himself and easily have a number one hit on his hands. Instead, he put
his ego aside and said, "It belongs to Gone by Autumn."

“
Rock
n
’
roll then,
”
Blake said.

Tanner turned and looked out the
window. The world flew by as the bus trucked along the road. He strummed a few
more chords as he thought about Jules. She was in her own vehicle on her way to
the venue. The band arranged for the singers to each have their own hotel room
that night so they could get ready and have a place to crash afterwards. Tanner
wished Jules was on the bus with the band.

“
Hey,
you okay?
”
Ryan asked,
snapping Tanner out of his trance.

“
Yeah,
man. I'm fine,
”
Tanner
said.
“
What are we doing
with the song? Playing it tonight?
”

“
Why
not?
”
Ryan asked.
“
We
’
re
ready. The fans will love it and it will keep giving Sam leverage with the
record company."

“
Hey,
you remember that old stuff we socked away?
”

“
Of
course,
”
Ryan said.
“
I heard you may have been poking
around up there.
”

“
I
don't what made me go up there, but I found some of the old demos. Man, we were
terrible."

Ryan laughed.
“
We were never terrible. We just
weren
’
t very good.
”

“
But
look at us now,
”
Asher said
as he stood in the middle of the bus. A guitar slung over his back, a beer
bottle in his hand.
“
We
’
re fucking rockstars.
”

The band cheered and then spent the
rest of the bus ride working on more new material. It never failed that after a
few minutes of serious songwriting, one of the guys would start goofing off and
make up a funny song. Asher had a lifelong dream of coming up with a cheap
acoustic guitar song about drinking that would become a major hit. So far, all
his attempts were misses. But they were fun misses.

As the bus pulled in behind the
venue, two security guys were there to open the gates. Fans were already lined
up, jumping and screaming for Gone by Autumn.

“
We're
famous,
”
Gabe said as he
squeezed at Tanner
’
s
shoulders.
“
God, I love
this job!"

Tanner stretched as the bus stopped
with a hiss. The doors opened and the driver was in a hurry to get out.

“
Must
have to piss,
”
Blake said
and laughed.

A few seconds later Sam came on the
bus holding some papers in his hand.
“
Hey,
there they are.
”

“
Here
we are,
”
Tanner said.

“
The
local radio station held a contest for your fans,
”
Sam said.
“
Two were chosen
to meet you guys. You all set for that?
”

“
Right
now?
”
Ryan asked.

“
On
the bus?
”
Tanner asked.

“
Are
they hot?
”
Asher asked.

Sam sighed.
“
Keep it cool, guys. All I need you to do is take a
few pictures, sign some autographs, and make small talk. Got it?
”

“
Got
it,
”
Ryan said.

Sam left the bus and everyone sat down
except Tanner. A minute later Sam escorted two women onto the tour bus. They
were best friends who won a contest for best vocal cover of a Gone by Autumn
song. When Tanner heard that, he grabbed a guitar and made them sing for the
band.

Behind the two women, Sam gave a
thumbs up and even pulled out his phone to take a video of it. Tanner wanted to
jam with their fans to give them an experience they would remember, but Sam was
thinking about the bigger picture. He would upload the footage on all the
social media sites to show a more intimate side of Gone by Autumn, and would in
turn excite all the fans.

After finishing the song, they all
took pictures, signed a poster for each woman, and then Sam started escorting
them off the bus.

“
Wait
a second,
”
Tanner said,
nodding to Asher.

"Ladies, would you like a
souvenir before you go?"

The women blushed as their minds
obviously thought something sexual.

Tanner and Asher held out their
guitars and the women squealed with excitement. They ran over and threw their
arms around the guys as tears streamed down their cheeks. Tanner smiled. They
had just created an awesome memory for two of their fans

The entire band group-hugged the
two women and then Sam led them off the bus.

“
Wow,
”
Gabe said.
“
I need a drink after that.
”

“
Can
’
t believe you gave them your
guitars,
”
Ryan said.
“
That
’
s awesome.
”

“
Did
you hear them? They had great voices."

“
They
could be backup singers,
”
Asher said.
“
In case the
others don
’
t work out.
”

“
Why
wouldn
’
t they work out?
”
Tanner asked.

“
Whoa,
”
Ryan said.
“
I think he
’
s joking.
”

“
Or
not,
”
Blake said.
“
Marilyn is a clinger. Asher
really screwed this one
…”

“
What
about Jules?
”
Asher asked.
“
She driving you mad?
”

All eyes were on Tanner. He shook
his head.
“
I
’
m not answering that. Come on,
let
’
s get off the bus. I
want to see the backstage and check what else Sam needs from us.
”

“
Don
’
t we have an autograph session?
”
Blake asked.

“
I
don
’
t know,
”
Tanner said.
“
Let
’
s make one.
”

Tanner charged to the front of the
bus and jumped off. He whistled and it attracted the attention of the crowd. When
security realized what was happening, they scrambled to secure the gates so
that the fans wouldn
’
t
break through.

The crowd was going wild.

Gone by Autumn waved and admired
what they had created.

“
Ready
for this?
”
Tanner asked.

“
You
really want to cause a scene?
”
Ryan asked.

“
Hell
yes I do. For the fans.
”

“
Let
’
s get it,
”
Gabe said.

The band walked up to the gate and
started to sign anything they could grab. They grabbed cell phones and snapped
pictures of each other and themselves. They signed CD
’
s, shirts, and tickets. Security was right next to
them to make sure nothing got out of control.

To Tanner, it was more intense than
the airport when the band landed after the Fallen Tuesday tour. And that crowd
broke a gate and chased the band
’
s
car as it drove away.

These fans were jacked up. A group
of them started to sing a Gone by Autumn song and Ryan sang a few lines back
and that riled the fans up even more. Sam came out to gather the guys to head
inside. Tanner waved him off so that they could make sure they met the last few
fans at the end of the gate. When Sam announced that it was time to go, the
crowd booed him.

Once they got inside, Tanner put an
arm around Sam.
“
You just
got booed, man.
”

“
Yeah,
for you guys. What were you thinking out there? You need to give me a heads up
so I can protect you guys.
”

“
It's
for the fans, man. You have to love it.
”

“
They
’
re the ones buying your music,
yes. But bad things can happen with overexcited fans sometimes.
”

Tanner looked around.
“
Speaking of
my music
…
if I needed a favor, would you
help me? Discreetly?
”

“
What
does that mean?
”

“
I
mean, when you hit it big, do people come out of nowhere and bother you?
”

“
Who
’
s bothering you?
”
Sam asked.

“
I
didn
’
t say someone is, Sam.
I
’
m just asking. Other
record companies
…”

Sam spun and stopped Tanner.
“
If the band is in any position
to negotiate contracts and offers, I
’
ll
be the one to handle it. What you guys have right now is something I personally
wouldn
’
t squander. You have
full creative control. Not many artists get that these days. There
’
s a producer waiting when you
guys are ready. You
’
re able
to have these small legs of a tour to intimately build your fan base. This is
rare, Tanner. This is good. Why are you asking all this?
”

Staring at Sam, Tanner knew if he
dropped Richie
’
s name Sam would
destroy the guy, and it would seal the deal with Gone by Autumn. But somewhere
in the recess of Tanner
’
s
mind, he just couldn
’
t stop
thinking about the old demo. The sound of
his
voice and
his
ability to write and sing.

“
Curious,
”
Tanner finally said.
“
I mean, I was reminiscing the
other night. Just trying to wrap my mind around all the changes.
”

“
It
’
s all under control. I would
never put you or the band in harm's way.
”

“
Can
’
t control everything. Look at Ryan.
”

“
Yeah,
but Jackson Razor took care of himself. And forgive me for saying this, but it
brought the band more attention.
”

“
More
attention to Ryan,
”
Tanner
said.

“
The
band,
”
Sam said. He took
Tanner by the shoulders.
“
And
if anything, I should be the one drilling you right now. What did I say about
the backup singers? They
’
re
not groupies.
”

Tanner smiled.
“
I never said they were. I
’
m not Asher. He
’
s looking to bail and I
’
m looking
…
I
’
m
looking for more.
”

“
The
same woman? Twice?
”
Sam
asked.
“
What
’
s going on with you? Are you
sick?
”

“
No.
I
’
m fine. This is one thing
you have to stay out of.
”

“
Yeah,
sure,
”
Sam said.
“
So when you and Asher mess this
up, we
’
ll need more
singers.
”

“
We
’
re just messing around,
”
Tanner said.
“
I mean, with having backup
singers. Not me and Jules.
”

“
Wow,
”
Sam said.
“
Look at you. Flustered.
”

“
We
’
re done here,
”
Tanner said.