stayed.
Chapter Six
THE GUYS IN the band were jealous when they found out Brad was boning an older woman who was hornier than hell. He felt more confident sexually than he ever had, and she gave him suggestions once in a while. She was sweet about it, but he could take a hint, and he felt like his time with her was making him a better lover.
He finally got his first tattoos that summer—he started with a half sleeve down his right arm. That was pretty expensive, so after that he just had some of his song lyrics tattooed on his left shoulder. Then he started banking his money, saving up for things for the band. His mom was nice enough to let him continue living with her. He knew why, though. It was a huge two-story, four-bedroom house that would have felt too empty. She didn’t charge him rent, either, but Brad made sure he continued doing chores so he kind of earned his keep.
And he lined up a few gigs for the band. He wasn’t able to schedule as many as he would have liked and all but one were out of town, but it gave them some practice in front of an audience, and the experience was invaluable. Playing onstage was so different from fucking around in his garage. Even when they’d played entire sets together, it was nothing like doing it live. They couldn’t simply stop when something wasn’t right. They had to keep going, push through the mistakes, recover, go on. And the energy was exhilarating. Brad didn’t understand why Ethan felt the need to get stoned before going onstage. His friend was missing some of the best highs he could imagine. They also met some great bands to network with.
Brad felt like he was laying solid groundwork for the future. He imagined these bands would help his own band go further in the future. He’d already landed two gigs thanks to other bands. The band he felt the most solid connection to was a band out of Denver called Last Five Seconds. They were good guys with a hardcore sound, and Brad was surprised they hadn’t made it already. All he could figure was that they just hadn’t been heard by the right people.
Ethan didn’t get to know any of the bands, though, even when they partied together, because the guy was taking his chemical dependency to new levels. Brad started to worry and considered talking to June about it, but he knew that would only make Ethan worse. He knew, because they’d been there before. The previous summer had been almost as bad, but when school started, Ethan managed to keep his partying confined to weekends only. Brad hoped having to attend college in the fall would have the same effect. In the meantime, he did his best to keep Ethan upright and away from the worst stuff. He now regretted the time last fall he and his friend had tried meth together, because it was something Ethan played with now and again. Brad never thought there would be a day he’d be glad to see his friend taking heroin, but it was better than meth and crack. Ethan seemed to prefer the drugs that made him mellow, anyway, and meth didn’t work that way.
By August, he felt like he was completely over Leah. Part of him would always care about her, but he no longer felt sad. He was having the time of his life, because Misti only wanted him for sex. She didn’t want a relationship. That opened the door to occasional other girls who just wanted a little fun with a guy who could sling an axe. He finally discovered the secret—sex, lots of it, was the cure for a broken heart. Did he feel a little empty? Yeah, but he was willing to pay the price. As one of Bullet’s frontmen, the confidence he was gaining by becoming a master in the bedroom was priceless.
He still wasn’t cocky, though. That wasn’t his bag. It was a quiet confidence. He had no need to get in people’s faces about how good he felt about himself. There was no need. But it was an attitude that drove him forward,
Chapter Six
THE GUYS IN the band were jealous when they found out Brad was boning an older woman who was hornier than hell. He felt more confident sexually than he ever had, and she gave him suggestions once in a while. She was sweet about it, but he could take a hint, and he felt like his time with her was making him a better lover.
He finally got his first tattoos that summer—he started with a half sleeve down his right arm. That was pretty expensive, so after that he just had some of his song lyrics tattooed on his left shoulder. Then he started banking his money, saving up for things for the band. His mom was nice enough to let him continue living with her. He knew why, though. It was a huge two-story, four-bedroom house that would have felt too empty. She didn’t charge him rent, either, but Brad made sure he continued doing chores so he kind of earned his keep.
And he lined up a few gigs for the band. He wasn’t able to schedule as many as he would have liked and all but one were out of town, but it gave them some practice in front of an audience, and the experience was invaluable. Playing onstage was so different from fucking around in his garage. Even when they’d played entire sets together, it was nothing like doing it live. They couldn’t simply stop when something wasn’t right. They had to keep going, push through the mistakes, recover, go on. And the energy was exhilarating. Brad didn’t understand why Ethan felt the need to get stoned before going onstage. His friend was missing some of the best highs he could imagine. They also met some great bands to network with.
Brad felt like he was laying solid groundwork for the future. He imagined these bands would help his own band go further in the future. He’d already landed two gigs thanks to other bands. The band he felt the most solid connection to was a band out of Denver called Last Five Seconds. They were good guys with a hardcore sound, and Brad was surprised they hadn’t made it already. All he could figure was that they just hadn’t been heard by the right people.
Ethan didn’t get to know any of the bands, though, even when they partied together, because the guy was taking his chemical dependency to new levels. Brad started to worry and considered talking to June about it, but he knew that would only make Ethan worse. He knew, because they’d been there before. The previous summer had been almost as bad, but when school started, Ethan managed to keep his partying confined to weekends only. Brad hoped having to attend college in the fall would have the same effect. In the meantime, he did his best to keep Ethan upright and away from the worst stuff. He now regretted the time last fall he and his friend had tried meth together, because it was something Ethan played with now and again. Brad never thought there would be a day he’d be glad to see his friend taking heroin, but it was better than meth and crack. Ethan seemed to prefer the drugs that made him mellow, anyway, and meth didn’t work that way.
By August, he felt like he was completely over Leah. Part of him would always care about her, but he no longer felt sad. He was having the time of his life, because Misti only wanted him for sex. She didn’t want a relationship. That opened the door to occasional other girls who just wanted a little fun with a guy who could sling an axe. He finally discovered the secret—sex, lots of it, was the cure for a broken heart. Did he feel a little empty? Yeah, but he was willing to pay the price. As one of Bullet’s frontmen, the confidence he was gaining by becoming a master in the bedroom was priceless.
He still wasn’t cocky, though. That wasn’t his bag. It was a quiet confidence. He had no need to get in people’s faces about how good he felt about himself. There was no need. But it was an attitude that drove him forward,
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