JJ meets Brit (reboot)
sand_mercury and I discovered that JJ and Brit needed a reboot like WOAH considering things changed the more we talked.
Collectively, they dropped their bags into the center of the living room with a thud. Despite having two shows left on this headlining run, San Diego and LA were really just local stops and easy to prep. The gear and luggage they'd unloaded before heading to Alaska was still at the studio; they'd get it tomorrow. They were, in effect, done. Done with travel. Done with bunks and smelly buses and bad showers in crappy venues. They were done. Well, for a whole month.
Well, they were due at the label in the morning to discuss the EP and had to be in studio at 3:00 to meet up with their producer and sound engineer. So "done" really was a malleable term.
JJ and Micah collapsed onto the couch, Elena onto the bean bag chair by the fireplace.
"That ..." Elena said, her voice muffled given that she was face down in the chair, "was fucking awesome. And I don't know if I have the energy to actually get up and do San Diego and LA this week. Is there any way you can just put a photo of me up on stage and play backing tracks?"
Micah snickered. "We wanted headline, we got headline. And I might never move again."
"I wanna do it again," Elena said, rolling over. She slipped and ended up on the floor, prompting snickers from everyone. "Headline, I mean. We might be able to pull it off next year." She unlaced her converse high tops and tossed them over by the door. "And by then we might have recovered."
JJ laughed. "Um what are our winter and spring plans?"
"Fuck me," Elena groaned.
"Nope," Micah said. "Well kids," he said as he stood up and grabbed his backpack. "It's been fun. But, I'd rather sleep in my stench than shower because there are clean sheets on my bed and at least now I can sleep naked and you know, air out. I'll see you guys in a few hours."
"Ha," Elena said as she scooted back up onto the bean bag. "Sleep well."
Micah disappeared into his room at the back of the house. JJ turned and stretched his legs out on the couch, toeing his shoes off. They clunked to the floor, barely missing the end table. "I'd go to bed, but I don't think I can move." He did crack open an eye and looked at Elena. "Hey, El. Thanks."
She smiled, "For what?"
"Finding it in the budget to do Alaska and Hawai'i. I know we could have done it differently and probably not have been so crazy."
"Hey," she shook her head as she got to her feet, "it's our first headline. I wasn't going to pass up the chance to celebrate if it's also the last. And it was worth every penny we're going to be spending on ramen for a while." She walked to him and leaned over to kiss his forehead. "I'm going to bed."
"You think it'll be the last?" He asked.
"Nah," she smiled. "We did good. We did really good." She waggled her fingers at him. "Bed."
"You doing okay?" He pointed to his eye and then to hers.
She nodded. "Yeah. And I don't think I'll even need to take anything." She walked back over to the pile of stuff and grabbed her backpack. "Get some sleep, sweetie. We did good."
"Yeah we did." He grinned. "And I'll crash after I hear from Brit."
"And how is your unicorn?"
He chuckled. "Well, we decided it might be good to get together tonight just to hang you know. Away from the weirdness of her having to meet me and you guys at the same time."
"You? Making smart choices about a woman, JJ? You okay there? Do I need to call for the paramedics?" She searched around for her phone. "Hang in there honey, it'll be okay."
"Shut up and go put arnica on your face."
She raised her good eyebrow at him. "Low blow."
"Yeah," he winced. "Sorry." Quickly he moved on. "But yeah, she has to work tonight, so she's going to tell me when and where to meet her. I want to wait for the text to come in because I want to know when to set my alarm otherwise I'll totally stand her up and keep with my douchebag standing among women. So. Awake it is. I'll get some stuff taken care of."
"Fair," Elena laughed. "All right. I'll see you later." She started to walk toward her room. He cleared his throat.
"Hey, El," he hazarded. "Can I borrow your car?"
She turned and tilted her head at him, "Yes. But I don't think she's going to care what you show up in. Especially if you're meeting up with her so you don't have to drive her anywhere in that death trap that's still somehow street legal."
"Be nice to Baby." He snickered. "And maybe someday I'll have the money to buy a new one. Someday. But ... honestly, I have no idea if there's enough gas to start mine right now and I know yours will actually get across town."
She dug into her backpack for her keys. "Here you go." She tossed them at him and then headed into her room. JJ heard the door click shut behind her and Tobie. With his bandmates passing out, he knew he should take advantage of the shower and the first run at laundry. At least until he heard from Brit. He dragged his backpack to the washer and dumped all of the clothes in, set the water and soap, and barely remembered to close the lid.
Really, they'd had some time to unwind in Alaksa and Hawai'i but it wasn't until they walked in the door to the house that he'd realized things were actually settling for a few weeks. Not that they'd have any time off. They had four weeks to record the EP, finish the details for Europe, and get the accounts from this tour settled. He knew Elena wasn't actually asleep in her room. She was probably ordering merch and checking in with the label and making sure travel was secured for Europe.
He opened the fridge and mourned how empty it was. It was about to be full of pizza boxes and takeout cartons because it wasn't worth going to the store for how short a time they were home. Which, since he was hungry, he grabbed his phone, ordered a couple of pizzas and a salad since he knew Elena would bitch about not having any vegetables in the house. He wished they had the liquor that had also been sent home before Alaska, but everything was at the label.
He'd about hit the wall when the pizza came. He took a slice, put everything else in the fridge, and was about to just hope he caught Brit's text before he made a fool of himself and slept through the night when it popped up.
I'll get off around midnight if you're cool with that. Don't know if you need to sleep.
Was she as nervous as he was?
He glanced at the clock. That gave him eight hours to sleep and another hour to shower and get to wherever she wanted to meet. I'm good. We're home. I'll crash now.
He was asleep before he hit the pillow.
***
Brit had been smart, texted him a place where to meet up because really, he knew she had no idea if he was a serial killer or something. And maybe he was. They talked online but how the hell did she knew he was the real deal? He appreciated her caution. Respected it. It's a small bar with a smoking patio that isn't too crowded so we can chat out there while everyone is inside salivating over whoever is playing.
He knew the bar, actually. They'd played there a handful of times over the span of the first couple of albums. It was just better than a dive, but not by much. The stage was small, the drinks a bit watered down, and the bathrooms a death trap. Backstage was a joke.
He found a parking spot about a block away and slid Elena's Audi into it, glad forever that her parents insisted on keeping her in decent cars. His POS would never have been able to maneuver this street and he was not about to be back alley death fodder. Inside the bar, a band was raging away onstage. He ordered a beer and a shot, left the tab open, and made his way back to the porch.
JJ liked to consider himself an enlightened male. He'd been raised by a woman who didn't take shit from anyone. He worked with one of the most talented musicians he'd ever met, who also happened to be one of the most beautiful women he'd ever laid eyes on. He listened to his female friends discuss their issues with the world, let himself be educated, and tried not to act like the typical dumb male most of the time and when he did, he usually apologized. But, seeing Brit sitting by the edge of the porch, her hair long and loose, her fingers running idly up and down the beer glass in front of her, he had to look down to make sure his heart wasn't beating outside his chest a la Looney Toons style.
Swallowing his hormones, and a quick sip of the beer, he made his way over. "Brit?" He asked.
The look she cast at him was almost enough to quell his racing libido. It wasn't cold, but it was dry. One he recognized. The wall around her had to be six feet thick, made of concrete, and reinforced with steel. But she still smiled and he returned it and he could see the smallest crack in her armor, one he believed he'd created just in their conversations over the past few weeks.
"Well, the rockstar showed," she said. Clearly, she hadn't been expecting him. Good. Point in his favor. He needed them. Cracks in the armor aside.
"Yeah well, can't turn down the chance for a drink with a hot chick," he teased. Sinking into the chair across from her, he raised his shot glass. She raised her own. They downed their drinks and the ice was broken. At least enough to get back to where they'd been flirting before.
"So how was Hawai'i?" She asked in between sips of beer.
"I want to relocate the band," he answered. "Fucking beautiful. Sand. Sunsets. Surfing."
"Well you know, tropical island paradise and all that. If it didn't live up to the hype, it would be disappointing."
"Oh it did."
"How's Elena?"
He liked that she asked after her. "Kinda looks like Frankenstein's monster, but she's okay. Stitches come out in a couple of days. She has plans for Halloween makeup, so ..."
"Figure a girl that badass could handle it," she said. "But glad you guys kicked his ass."
"For the record, she kicked his ass. We just called the cops." He grinned when she did and took a sip of his beer. "Two of you together in Europe just might be the end of all us guys."
"Good," Brit smirked at him. "You guys could use being taken down a peg or two."
"Ouch." But he grinned.
Brit was smiling, it was warmer this time. More the girl he'd come to know. "This place has a pool table," she challenged.
"You're ready to lose?"
She stood up and tossed her hair over her shoulder. "You just got off a nationwide tour, flew in from Hawai'i today, and still have what? Two? Three shows? I think the advantage is to me."
"I accept that challenge." He followed her to the pool tables, his hand hovering a few inches from the small of her back. She paid for the first half hour rental. He broke.
Ten minutes in, she leaned against him, pushing him out of her way with her hip. He paid for the second round.
When they were down to two balls, he slipped his hand around her waist and pulled her close. The kiss didn't last long, but it promised more.
"You win," she said, "we go back to your place. I win, you get my hell hole of an apartment."
He chuckled. "You're on."
She won.
They still ended up at his place, tripping over equipment as they stumbled toward his bedroom. "I'll give you the tour in the morning," he promised. She laughed and only in the morning, when they were still wrapped around each other, did he remember that she'd made no promise to stay.
Collectively, they dropped their bags into the center of the living room with a thud. Despite having two shows left on this headlining run, San Diego and LA were really just local stops and easy to prep. The gear and luggage they'd unloaded before heading to Alaska was still at the studio; they'd get it tomorrow. They were, in effect, done. Done with travel. Done with bunks and smelly buses and bad showers in crappy venues. They were done. Well, for a whole month.
Well, they were due at the label in the morning to discuss the EP and had to be in studio at 3:00 to meet up with their producer and sound engineer. So "done" really was a malleable term.
JJ and Micah collapsed onto the couch, Elena onto the bean bag chair by the fireplace.
"That ..." Elena said, her voice muffled given that she was face down in the chair, "was fucking awesome. And I don't know if I have the energy to actually get up and do San Diego and LA this week. Is there any way you can just put a photo of me up on stage and play backing tracks?"
Micah snickered. "We wanted headline, we got headline. And I might never move again."
"I wanna do it again," Elena said, rolling over. She slipped and ended up on the floor, prompting snickers from everyone. "Headline, I mean. We might be able to pull it off next year." She unlaced her converse high tops and tossed them over by the door. "And by then we might have recovered."
JJ laughed. "Um what are our winter and spring plans?"
"Fuck me," Elena groaned.
"Nope," Micah said. "Well kids," he said as he stood up and grabbed his backpack. "It's been fun. But, I'd rather sleep in my stench than shower because there are clean sheets on my bed and at least now I can sleep naked and you know, air out. I'll see you guys in a few hours."
"Ha," Elena said as she scooted back up onto the bean bag. "Sleep well."
Micah disappeared into his room at the back of the house. JJ turned and stretched his legs out on the couch, toeing his shoes off. They clunked to the floor, barely missing the end table. "I'd go to bed, but I don't think I can move." He did crack open an eye and looked at Elena. "Hey, El. Thanks."
She smiled, "For what?"
"Finding it in the budget to do Alaska and Hawai'i. I know we could have done it differently and probably not have been so crazy."
"Hey," she shook her head as she got to her feet, "it's our first headline. I wasn't going to pass up the chance to celebrate if it's also the last. And it was worth every penny we're going to be spending on ramen for a while." She walked to him and leaned over to kiss his forehead. "I'm going to bed."
"You think it'll be the last?" He asked.
"Nah," she smiled. "We did good. We did really good." She waggled her fingers at him. "Bed."
"You doing okay?" He pointed to his eye and then to hers.
She nodded. "Yeah. And I don't think I'll even need to take anything." She walked back over to the pile of stuff and grabbed her backpack. "Get some sleep, sweetie. We did good."
"Yeah we did." He grinned. "And I'll crash after I hear from Brit."
"And how is your unicorn?"
He chuckled. "Well, we decided it might be good to get together tonight just to hang you know. Away from the weirdness of her having to meet me and you guys at the same time."
"You? Making smart choices about a woman, JJ? You okay there? Do I need to call for the paramedics?" She searched around for her phone. "Hang in there honey, it'll be okay."
"Shut up and go put arnica on your face."
She raised her good eyebrow at him. "Low blow."
"Yeah," he winced. "Sorry." Quickly he moved on. "But yeah, she has to work tonight, so she's going to tell me when and where to meet her. I want to wait for the text to come in because I want to know when to set my alarm otherwise I'll totally stand her up and keep with my douchebag standing among women. So. Awake it is. I'll get some stuff taken care of."
"Fair," Elena laughed. "All right. I'll see you later." She started to walk toward her room. He cleared his throat.
"Hey, El," he hazarded. "Can I borrow your car?"
She turned and tilted her head at him, "Yes. But I don't think she's going to care what you show up in. Especially if you're meeting up with her so you don't have to drive her anywhere in that death trap that's still somehow street legal."
"Be nice to Baby." He snickered. "And maybe someday I'll have the money to buy a new one. Someday. But ... honestly, I have no idea if there's enough gas to start mine right now and I know yours will actually get across town."
She dug into her backpack for her keys. "Here you go." She tossed them at him and then headed into her room. JJ heard the door click shut behind her and Tobie. With his bandmates passing out, he knew he should take advantage of the shower and the first run at laundry. At least until he heard from Brit. He dragged his backpack to the washer and dumped all of the clothes in, set the water and soap, and barely remembered to close the lid.
Really, they'd had some time to unwind in Alaksa and Hawai'i but it wasn't until they walked in the door to the house that he'd realized things were actually settling for a few weeks. Not that they'd have any time off. They had four weeks to record the EP, finish the details for Europe, and get the accounts from this tour settled. He knew Elena wasn't actually asleep in her room. She was probably ordering merch and checking in with the label and making sure travel was secured for Europe.
He opened the fridge and mourned how empty it was. It was about to be full of pizza boxes and takeout cartons because it wasn't worth going to the store for how short a time they were home. Which, since he was hungry, he grabbed his phone, ordered a couple of pizzas and a salad since he knew Elena would bitch about not having any vegetables in the house. He wished they had the liquor that had also been sent home before Alaska, but everything was at the label.
He'd about hit the wall when the pizza came. He took a slice, put everything else in the fridge, and was about to just hope he caught Brit's text before he made a fool of himself and slept through the night when it popped up.
I'll get off around midnight if you're cool with that. Don't know if you need to sleep.
Was she as nervous as he was?
He glanced at the clock. That gave him eight hours to sleep and another hour to shower and get to wherever she wanted to meet. I'm good. We're home. I'll crash now.
He was asleep before he hit the pillow.
***
Brit had been smart, texted him a place where to meet up because really, he knew she had no idea if he was a serial killer or something. And maybe he was. They talked online but how the hell did she knew he was the real deal? He appreciated her caution. Respected it. It's a small bar with a smoking patio that isn't too crowded so we can chat out there while everyone is inside salivating over whoever is playing.
He knew the bar, actually. They'd played there a handful of times over the span of the first couple of albums. It was just better than a dive, but not by much. The stage was small, the drinks a bit watered down, and the bathrooms a death trap. Backstage was a joke.
He found a parking spot about a block away and slid Elena's Audi into it, glad forever that her parents insisted on keeping her in decent cars. His POS would never have been able to maneuver this street and he was not about to be back alley death fodder. Inside the bar, a band was raging away onstage. He ordered a beer and a shot, left the tab open, and made his way back to the porch.
JJ liked to consider himself an enlightened male. He'd been raised by a woman who didn't take shit from anyone. He worked with one of the most talented musicians he'd ever met, who also happened to be one of the most beautiful women he'd ever laid eyes on. He listened to his female friends discuss their issues with the world, let himself be educated, and tried not to act like the typical dumb male most of the time and when he did, he usually apologized. But, seeing Brit sitting by the edge of the porch, her hair long and loose, her fingers running idly up and down the beer glass in front of her, he had to look down to make sure his heart wasn't beating outside his chest a la Looney Toons style.
Swallowing his hormones, and a quick sip of the beer, he made his way over. "Brit?" He asked.
The look she cast at him was almost enough to quell his racing libido. It wasn't cold, but it was dry. One he recognized. The wall around her had to be six feet thick, made of concrete, and reinforced with steel. But she still smiled and he returned it and he could see the smallest crack in her armor, one he believed he'd created just in their conversations over the past few weeks.
"Well, the rockstar showed," she said. Clearly, she hadn't been expecting him. Good. Point in his favor. He needed them. Cracks in the armor aside.
"Yeah well, can't turn down the chance for a drink with a hot chick," he teased. Sinking into the chair across from her, he raised his shot glass. She raised her own. They downed their drinks and the ice was broken. At least enough to get back to where they'd been flirting before.
"So how was Hawai'i?" She asked in between sips of beer.
"I want to relocate the band," he answered. "Fucking beautiful. Sand. Sunsets. Surfing."
"Well you know, tropical island paradise and all that. If it didn't live up to the hype, it would be disappointing."
"Oh it did."
"How's Elena?"
He liked that she asked after her. "Kinda looks like Frankenstein's monster, but she's okay. Stitches come out in a couple of days. She has plans for Halloween makeup, so ..."
"Figure a girl that badass could handle it," she said. "But glad you guys kicked his ass."
"For the record, she kicked his ass. We just called the cops." He grinned when she did and took a sip of his beer. "Two of you together in Europe just might be the end of all us guys."
"Good," Brit smirked at him. "You guys could use being taken down a peg or two."
"Ouch." But he grinned.
Brit was smiling, it was warmer this time. More the girl he'd come to know. "This place has a pool table," she challenged.
"You're ready to lose?"
She stood up and tossed her hair over her shoulder. "You just got off a nationwide tour, flew in from Hawai'i today, and still have what? Two? Three shows? I think the advantage is to me."
"I accept that challenge." He followed her to the pool tables, his hand hovering a few inches from the small of her back. She paid for the first half hour rental. He broke.
Ten minutes in, she leaned against him, pushing him out of her way with her hip. He paid for the second round.
When they were down to two balls, he slipped his hand around her waist and pulled her close. The kiss didn't last long, but it promised more.
"You win," she said, "we go back to your place. I win, you get my hell hole of an apartment."
He chuckled. "You're on."
She won.
They still ended up at his place, tripping over equipment as they stumbled toward his bedroom. "I'll give you the tour in the morning," he promised. She laughed and only in the morning, when they were still wrapped around each other, did he remember that she'd made no promise to stay.