the
capacity he was accustomed. He was a doer. When they told him he would sit
behind a desk, he couldn’t handle it. Duke was his dog. Tor did okay for a
while, but eventually the depression and PTSD were too much for him to handle.”
“Man,
I’m sorry. What about your parents? They must be proud to have a hotshot doctor
in the family.” Lee drank half his beer before coming up for air.
“Tor
and I were the only children. My mother passed when we were younger. My
father…” Erik took a long pull of his beer before continuing. “Let’s just say I
could be the President and my father wouldn’t be impressed. Not as long as I’m
gay.” Erik sat on the sofa and leaned his head back. “Since we’re getting to
know one another, what happened to your parents?”
“My
father killed them. He refused to give my mom the keys one night when he’d had
too much to drink. He ran off the side of the road, down an embankment. The car
flipped trapping them both. Mom died at the scene. Since Dad had so much
alcohol in his system, it took him a few days to finally kick it.” Lee shrugged
and sat down next to Erik on the long sofa. There was plenty of room, yet he
sat close to Erik. He turned on the cushion so he was facing Erik. Lee looked
tired. If Delilah was getting her sleeping patterns down and he had friends to
help, he should be getting at least some rest.
“Tell
me about life on the road. What’s it like to be a big rock star?” Erik was
curious if Lee would tell him the truth about what really went on.
“You
really want all the sordid details?” When Erik nodded, Lee looked away but
continued. “Okay, here goes. Depending on where we play, we either take the jet
or the tour buses. Sleeping on either is nothing compared to sleeping in your
own bed at home, so for three months at a time, I don’t rest well. We get up,
and we practice. We go to radio stations and do interviews. We sit in
conference rooms and talk to record executives arguing about contracts. We play
a long set then go backstage to meet and greet our fans. In the beginning we’d
take the ladies back to the bus and fuck ‘em after we snorted lines of coke off
their tits. Sometimes they would get out before Echo kicked ‘em out the next
morning. The stints in rehab kept costing us money. We’d have to postpone shows
until whichever one of us was clean again. As we got older, the drugs went
away.
“Sloane
got married, had a kid, got a divorce. Pauly has a couple of kids out there
somewhere he never sees. It’s near impossible to have a relationship in this
business. Even if you’re faithful and don’t fuck around on your partner, the
jealousy gets to be too much. Missed phone calls, the late nights, the
half-naked women and men who throw themselves at you constantly are not
conducive to a monogamous relationship. It’s lonely, man. So goddamn lonely.”
Erik
didn’t know what to say, so he didn’t say anything. Lee turned to him, “So,
that’s my sordid story. Why aren’t you married? Or at least in a relationship.
You told me about your ex, but that was a year ago.”
“I
really thought Brad was the one. I found out too late he didn’t want me for me;
he wanted me because of my title. It proved to me that I’m not a very good
judge of character where relationships are concerned. We were together a long
time, and the break-up hurt. Still does.” Erik needed another beer. He didn’t
want to drink too much with Delilah in the house, but all this personal talk
was making him sad, reminding him how fucking lonely he truly was. When he
rose, Lee grabbed his wrist, pulling him back down.
Lee
sat his empty bottle on the coffee table. Before Erik could fuss about it not
being on a coaster, Lee pulled on the wrist he was still holding. He placed his
free hand behind Erik’s neck, sliding his fingers through his hair. They were
so close their noses were almost touching when Lee said, “I’m going to kiss you
now.”
Chapter
capacity he was accustomed. He was a doer. When they told him he would sit
behind a desk, he couldn’t handle it. Duke was his dog. Tor did okay for a
while, but eventually the depression and PTSD were too much for him to handle.”
“Man,
I’m sorry. What about your parents? They must be proud to have a hotshot doctor
in the family.” Lee drank half his beer before coming up for air.
“Tor
and I were the only children. My mother passed when we were younger. My
father…” Erik took a long pull of his beer before continuing. “Let’s just say I
could be the President and my father wouldn’t be impressed. Not as long as I’m
gay.” Erik sat on the sofa and leaned his head back. “Since we’re getting to
know one another, what happened to your parents?”
“My
father killed them. He refused to give my mom the keys one night when he’d had
too much to drink. He ran off the side of the road, down an embankment. The car
flipped trapping them both. Mom died at the scene. Since Dad had so much
alcohol in his system, it took him a few days to finally kick it.” Lee shrugged
and sat down next to Erik on the long sofa. There was plenty of room, yet he
sat close to Erik. He turned on the cushion so he was facing Erik. Lee looked
tired. If Delilah was getting her sleeping patterns down and he had friends to
help, he should be getting at least some rest.
“Tell
me about life on the road. What’s it like to be a big rock star?” Erik was
curious if Lee would tell him the truth about what really went on.
“You
really want all the sordid details?” When Erik nodded, Lee looked away but
continued. “Okay, here goes. Depending on where we play, we either take the jet
or the tour buses. Sleeping on either is nothing compared to sleeping in your
own bed at home, so for three months at a time, I don’t rest well. We get up,
and we practice. We go to radio stations and do interviews. We sit in
conference rooms and talk to record executives arguing about contracts. We play
a long set then go backstage to meet and greet our fans. In the beginning we’d
take the ladies back to the bus and fuck ‘em after we snorted lines of coke off
their tits. Sometimes they would get out before Echo kicked ‘em out the next
morning. The stints in rehab kept costing us money. We’d have to postpone shows
until whichever one of us was clean again. As we got older, the drugs went
away.
“Sloane
got married, had a kid, got a divorce. Pauly has a couple of kids out there
somewhere he never sees. It’s near impossible to have a relationship in this
business. Even if you’re faithful and don’t fuck around on your partner, the
jealousy gets to be too much. Missed phone calls, the late nights, the
half-naked women and men who throw themselves at you constantly are not
conducive to a monogamous relationship. It’s lonely, man. So goddamn lonely.”
Erik
didn’t know what to say, so he didn’t say anything. Lee turned to him, “So,
that’s my sordid story. Why aren’t you married? Or at least in a relationship.
You told me about your ex, but that was a year ago.”
“I
really thought Brad was the one. I found out too late he didn’t want me for me;
he wanted me because of my title. It proved to me that I’m not a very good
judge of character where relationships are concerned. We were together a long
time, and the break-up hurt. Still does.” Erik needed another beer. He didn’t
want to drink too much with Delilah in the house, but all this personal talk
was making him sad, reminding him how fucking lonely he truly was. When he
rose, Lee grabbed his wrist, pulling him back down.
Lee
sat his empty bottle on the coffee table. Before Erik could fuss about it not
being on a coaster, Lee pulled on the wrist he was still holding. He placed his
free hand behind Erik’s neck, sliding his fingers through his hair. They were
so close their noses were almost touching when Lee said, “I’m going to kiss you
now.”
Chapter
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