Roadie In Love - 3. Is It Over Already?

Kevin considered just crumpling the note and tossing it, but changed his mind and read it.

Dear Kevin,

Sorry I missed you tonight. We had a last minute meeting with the promoter. I looked for you afterward, but you must have caught up with Jason. I didn’t want to call because it was late and I know how hard you guys work. I’ll call you in the morning. Maybe even before you see this.

E

Kevin thought, ‘Well he didn’t blow me off. There’s still the fact that he lied about not believing in one night stands.’

Kevin essentially made his bed by leaving Danny’s room. It was too late to walk or even drive back and have a hope of getting back into the room, so he climbed into his car and tried to fall asleep. His big problem was going to be where to go when he got to Philadelphia. Danny will probably tell Jason he quit. Kevin didn’t have anybody’s cell number. He’ll have to wait for Eric’s call. He never even thought of sleeping in the roadie motel lot.

The next morning, Kevin was awakened by the sound of his cell phone ringing. He initially looked at the number, didn’t recognize it, and almost silenced it. Then he realized it might be Eric.

“Hello?”

“Good morning Kevin.”

Forgetting about being left behind, Kevin broke into an ear-to-ear grin, “Good morning Eric.”

“Sorry about last night. Have you been to your car yet?”

Kevin considered telling Eric he slept in it, and why, but thought that conversation would best be had in person.

“Yeah. Saw your note.”

“Good. The meeting was unavoidable and lasted fucking forever. Everything was packed up and everybody was gone afterward. I figured you’d gotten a ride with someone to the motel.”

“Yeah, luckily I ran into Jason. He took me to bunk with Danny Edmunds.”

“Oh. Him. Did you get along okay?”

“I guess, I was tired, so I hit the bed early.”

“Good. He can be trouble when he wants to be. I’ll fill you in later, in case you ever have to bunk with him again. Not that I expect you would, but shit happens. Anyway, we’ll be staying at the Courtyard Philadelphia South at The Navy Yard. It’s pretty close to the Wells Fargo Center. You have my number now, call me when you get into Philly. I’ll leave your name at the check-in desk so you can get a key. Then go over to the arena. I’ll let you know where I’ll be when you call. We’ll get lunch, then I’ll throw you back to the wolves to start setting up.”

“Okay. Um, Jason might think I might not be coming, if you can, let him know I’ll be there.”

“Sure. But, why would he think that?”

“Long story, I’ll fill you in when I see you.”

“Okay. See you later.”

“Bye, Eric.”

First problem resolved; Kevin knew where to go. He hit up a Mickey D’s for breakfast then headed for Philadelphia. As requested, he called Eric when he got into town. Kevin went to the hotel to pick up the key and put a change of clothes in the room. Then it was off to the arena to catch up with Eric for lunch.

They met outside the Broad Street entrance and Eric told Kevin where to drive. When they were seated, they began talking.

“What did you mean about Danny being trouble?”

“He was with us on our first tour. He was always trying to get me to notice him. He didn’t hide the fact that he liked me and wanted to have sex. The problem was, this was before too many people knew I was gay. When I turned his advances down for like the fifth time, he started spreading rumors. Half the crew thought I’d slept with a dozen or so of their numbers. I had Jason ask around after that. Rightfully, nobody admitted to ever being with me. Or maybe I should say, nobody bragged about it.”

“Why didn’t you try to get him fired, like Chris?”

“His father’s an executive with our label. That would have led to too many problems. I just made sure Jason knew I didn’t want him near me. We still interact a little, no way to avoid it. But a little is tolerable.”

“That explains a lot.”

“What do you mean?”

“Last night, he told me that you’d had eight or ten guys spend the night. I thought you’d lied to me about one night stands and you blew me off. I actually walked back to my car and was going to leave. I’m sure I would have if I hadn’t read the note.”

“Wow. You remember I told you this isn’t ending due to some little mistake, right?”

“Yes.”

“I meant it. And you have to take anything the crew says about the band with a grain of salt. Especially ones that have been doing it a while. Jealousy is a huge problem. Rumors abound. Nearly all of them will be lies. You hear anything else about me, don’t jump to any conclusions. Ask me about it.”

"Okay. Thanks for clearing that up. I would have made a huge mistake if I ignored your note."

"Water under the bridge. You didn't, you're still here, and you now know there may be unforeseen circumstances where I may not be able to find you after a show. Although, I expect from now on, you'll always have a key to the room."

"Thanks."

"No problem. Ready to go to work?"

"Yeah. I hope I don't run across Danny anytime soon. Fucking asshole almost chased me away."

"Just ignore him. If you start any trouble with him, I can't save you. You'll have to go back to following us around until your money runs out."

"I'll try to be nice."

Kevin drove them back to the arena. Eric told him where to find Jason to get his tasks for the day. Once again, Kevin was beat by the end of the night. This was actually his first full day as a roadie. He was barely able to stay awake long enough to kiss Eric goodnight.

One week and four cities later, Kevin had successfully avoided any trouble with Danny and Chris. Packing up in Cleveland, however, that changed. Kevin was helping another fellow move one of the larger amps. Joe pushed, Kevin pulled and steered; walking backwards. Kevin accidentally bumped into Chris, causing him to drop one of Pat's drums, denting it.

"Watch where you're going, you fuck!"

"Sorry. Kind of hard to do going backwards. Though I'm pretty sure it's easier for you to see us moving an eight foot high amp than to see you with an eighteen inch drum."

"I'm so sick of you. You think your shit don't stink because Eric's fucking you?"

Kevin and Eric hadn't taken that step yet, but it no longer mattered after Chris' outburst, with at least a dozen of the other guys around.

"I don't get any special breaks because Eric and I are friends. And for your information, nobody's fucking anybody. Why don't you go find a slut groupie and get laid. You obviously need it, caring about who else is fucking whom. You've been a pain in my ass since day one. Grow up and leave me alone."

"I'll leave you alone after I beat the shit out of you. Meet me by the trucks after everything is loaded if you're not too much of a pussy. We'll settle our differences with our fists."

"If I'm not there, start beating yourself without me. I'm not in sixth grade and will go fight on the playground just because someone's jealous. Why don't you tell everyone that you have a crush on Eric. I bet you beat off every night pretending you're sucking his dick."

Chris charged at Kevin, who simply stepped aside and let Chris slam into the eight-foot amp he and Joe were moving. Needless to say, the amp won that battle. Chris walked away angrily, bleeding from a cut on his forehead. Most of the other guys were laughing.

"I'll find you later. You'd better watch out. You're fucking dead if I catch you off-guard."

Kevin ignored him and went back to moving the amp. Chris was waiting by the trucks as everyone else was finishing their jobs. He apparently didn't want to miss confronting Kevin one-on-one. Kevin had no plans to avoid Chris. He may lose the battle, but he was going to win the war another way. Chris was shorter than Kevin, but he was stocky and muscular.

Kevin was walking away from the truck they just closed up when he heard someone running toward him. He knew it must have been Chris. He turned around and faced Chris. A handful of the other guys were still around, wanting to witness the fight. They were going to be quickly disappointed. Chris stopped in front of Kevin.

"You going to fight me, pussy?"

"No."

"Your loss."

Chris hit Kevin in the face three times before Kevin fell to the ground, hurt, and bloodied, but knowing he'd won.

Sitting up, Kevin said, "You're all witnesses. He attacked me. I'm calling the cops."

Kevin took his phone out of his pocket. Chris started to kick Kevin, but by then, a few of the other guys had moved in and held Chris back.

"You fucking pansy. Just wait. Next time, you're fucking dead."

Chris shook off the guys holding him and walked away. Kevin finished his phone call to the cops and sat on the ground, waiting for them to arrive.

A little while later, Kevin explained to the cops what happened. Four of the other guys, who apparently had no problems displaying their disgust with Chris, hung around and corroborated Kevin's story. It hurt, but Kevin smiled when Chris was taken away in handcuffs. He walked into his and Eric's hotel room after the dust had settled.

Not yet seeing Kevin, Eric asked, "Troubles packing up?"

"You could say that."

Eric turned around, "Oh, my God. What happened?"

"I accidentally bumped into Chris, causing him to drop a drum. He decided to wait for me when we were done packing up and hit me a few times."

"I hope you got in a few licks yourself."

"Only one. I smiled when the cops took him away in handcuffs."

"You didn't fight back?"

"No. I knew I couldn't win that way. I may have to come back to Cleveland with a few of the other guys if he's stupid enough to plead not guilty to what I suspect are assault and battery charges. Four of the guys also told the cops what happened. I don't think we'll be seeing Chris for the foreseeable future."

"But does it hurt?"

"Yeah, a little. I picked up a couple packs of Tylenol on my way into the hotel. I'll be fine by the day after tomorrow for the Columbus show."

"Shit. I don't know if what you did was smart or stupid. He could have hurt you badly. Do you want to go to a hospital and get checked out? You may have a broken nose, or worse."

"No. If I'm still hurting tomorrow, I'll go to an urgent care center or something. You might get some heat, though. Chris accused me of getting special treatment, well, that my shit don't stink, because you're fucking me."

"I hope you set him straight."

"I said nobody was fucking anybody. But we were still inside at that time, so anyone there will believe what they want to believe."

"We'll be okay. It's funny, with the day off tomorrow and a relatively short drive, I was actually thinking we might go further tonight."

"Sorry, I guess I ruined that idea. I'm not sure I want to do anything but take the Tylenol and crash."

"If anything, Chris ruined it. But, I get it, and it's okay. We've got plenty of time to take the next step. Although the downside would be proving Chris right."

Kevin started to laugh, but cut it off when the pain took over.

"Oh, God. Don't make me laugh. It hurts."

"Sorry. Why don't you go take a hot shower, wash off the blood, and we'll just cuddle until one of us falls asleep."

"I think I can handle that. See you in a few."

Kevin washed up, and he and Eric laid in the bed. Kevin quickly won the race to sleepyland.

The next morning, Eric woke up first and looked at Kevin. The bruises on his left cheek were darker. He had the beginnings of two black eyes, and his nose was swollen to nearly twice its normal size.

"Kevin. Wake up."

"Huh?" Kevin turned to look at Eric, "Ahhhhh. Fuck, that hurt."

"I can imagine. You don't look very good."

Kevin sat up too quickly and felt dizzy, lying back down immediately.

"Dizzy?"

"Uh huh. Fucking face hurts, major league headache."

"Let's get you dressed. You need to go to the hospital."

"Urgent care is fine."

"Not if you could see yourself. You're not winning this battle, because I'll be driving, and you're going where I say you're going."

"Come on. It can't be that bad."

Eric helped Kevin stand up and led him to the mirror.

"Oh, fuck."

"Yeah. Sit back down. I'll get your clothes, then make a couple calls."

Kevin struggled to get dressed, but somehow managed to complete the task. Eric called Cary and Jason to tell them what happened. Jason was a little pissed at Chris, but not surprised. Eric told them he'll be driving to Columbus with Kevin after he was checked out.

Three hours later, Eric and Kevin walked out of the hospital. Kevin had a concussion but fortunately, his nose wasn’t broken. The bruises on his face were deep, but no broken bones were discovered.

"I'm glad you don't have anything severely wrong. But you're going to have to take it easy for a couple days. You feel like eating lunch?"

"Yeah, I'm starved. I guess I should be happy Chris didn't punch me in the jaw, he probably would have broken it."

"You were lucky. I’ve decided, what you did was stupid. You should have at least tried to protect yourself."

"You're right. But I knew I was losing a fight anyway. Going down early kept the damage to a minimum."

They ate lunch at a fast food place, then Eric drove to the nearest Cleveland Police Station.

"What are we doing here?"

"Making sure that Chris gets what he deserves."

They spoke to the desk sergeant, telling him Kevin was the victim of an assault the previous night and he wanted to know if charges had been brought. The sarge confirmed there was a charge for simple assault levied against the culprit. Further discussion provided the information that Chris was looking at a potential sentence of 180 days in jail, a $1,000 fine, and five years of probation. The sergeant called a detective, who took pictures of Kevin's injuries. Kevin later found out that Chris pleaded to negligent assault and would serve fifteen days in jail, pay a $1000 fine, and have five years of probation. Kevin had two weeks before he had any chance of seeing Chris again. He suspected that he would indeed run across him.

Eric and Kevin hit the road again, headed for Columbus, and checked into the hotel. Kevin wanted a nap, and due to the concussion, Eric agreed but would wake him in two hours, which would be a good time for dinner. The band and Jason asked Eric to bring Kevin with him to dinner so they could see how he was doing.

Eric and Kevin met the others at the hotel’s restaurant. Kevin still wasn’t feeling himself and didn’t want to go far.

Jason was the first to ask, “How are you feeling, Kevin?”

“The aches are weakening, but honestly, I still feel like I was hit by a train.”

Jason had heard most of the details, but the band, sans Eric hadn’t.

Cary asked, “Do you mind telling us what happened? I mean we know Chris nailed you, but what was the fight about?”

Kevin left out the part about being accused of Eric fucking him, but otherwise, gave them complete details.

Pat knew about the bump, he’d seen his dented drum, “He flipped out because you bumped into him?”

“Not just that. I’m pretty sure he had wanted what I have in my closeness with Eric, and he hated me right from the start.”

Jason agreed, “Yeah, I’ve heard him grumble about that. He rubbed a lot of people the wrong way, but he was a hard worker for the most part. That’s the main reason I kept him even with all the conflicts. But he definitely went too far with you.”

Mike joined in the fun, “I can’t believe you just stood there and let him hit you.”

“I knew I wasn’t going to win any kind of fight, I’m really skinny and Chris probably outweighs me by thirty or forty pounds. My only hope was he’d jump me and I get the cops involved.”

Mike continued, “You sure paid a heck of a price doing that.”

“Yeah, but if I tried to fight back, I would have gotten hit more and probably not done any damage myself.”

The rest of them agreed with that.

Kevin had to take the night off in Columbus, and the next night in Cincinnati, but was well enough after the two-night break before Richmond, Virginia. It was a long drive, roughly eight hours and one of the other roadies shared the driving with Kevin, Joe Spess, the one he was moving the amp with in Cleveland, when Chris got bumped. That incident started a bit of a friendship between the two, Joe didn’t have a car, so it worked pretty well. Kevin started having company on the road between concert dates.

Joe was straight, but didn’t have a problem with gays. They got along pretty well. Joe was one of the four that stuck around after the fight and talked to the cops. Joe also didn’t care that Kevin was with Eric nights. He loved the job, being on the road, and seeing places he’d never see otherwise. That and he was a big Black Crowes fan. The Black Crowes were the headliners on the tour.

Next up - "More Problems Down the Road"