Page 56 of His Last Chase
“Love you, too, Little Songbird. Break a leg!”
“Come with me,” Diamond said as he turned and walked to an opening beside the stage, and I followed. He’d found the perfect spot out of the fans’ line of sight for us to watch the show from.
As soon as the boys took their places the announcer’s voice boomed over the PA system. “Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Embrace the Fear!” The curtain flew open, Rhone kicked it off and my boy dove in on cue, belting out the opening lyrics. The crowd went wild, and I smiled like a loon from backstage as I watched them come togetheras one cohesive team.Beautiful, was the word that came to mind. As one, they were gloriously beautiful.
I glanced over at Diamond who gave me a thumbs up which I took as he was pleased with their performance. I knew his opinion mattered to them, especially with Rhone who Diamond had personally mentored.
“Oklahoma, how are you doing tonight?” Chase bellowed into the mic and the crowd roared. He turned and caught my eye and winked before he proceeded to tear the shirt from his body and throw it out into the crowd. You would have thought it just rained down money on them.
“We’ve got two more songs for you before Chaotic Abyss hits the stage.” More screams. “Are you ready for,” he paused then animatedly announced, “The Shroud!”
His words were met with more screams as the band broke into the song. Chase was the ideal frontman. He kept the crowd engaged but even from where I stood I could see the sweat pouring off him. I couldn’t imagine what the temperature underneath the massive amount of stage lighting was. How did they do it? I’d have melted into a puddle.
At the end of their show, they took a bow and tossed out various trinkets to the crowd before they left the stage.
“Great show.” Diamond high-fived them while this proud Daddy stood off to the side smiling. I didn’t want to get in the way plus I thoroughly enjoyed watching Chase interact with everyone.
When it was my turn to congratulate them, Chase walked up to me, and I handed him a bottle of water.
“What did you think?”
“You guys were fucking fantastic!” The energy was palpable, and I’d been sucked into the show. Adrenaline coursed through my veins like it never had before.
“Ooohhh, Chase’s Daddy said a bad word,” Seltzer teased as he passed us by, and Chase flipped him off. “Did you see that?” Seltzer tattled.
“I did but you deserved it.” My arms wound around my sweaty boy. “Is this okay?”
“More than okay.” He pressed his lips to mine. “I am yours to do with as you please. I’m not ashamed of you or what we have.”
“Good answer. Damn, it’s hot as hell to watch you onstage and I don’t just mean the heat from the lights.”
“Oh yeah, we might have to work off some of that heat you’re feeling later, Daddy.”
Jesus Christ. My dick never got so hard sofast before.
“Do you want to watch Chaotic perform?” Chase was still so full of energy that he’d need a bit of time to come down off that high.
“Sounds great. Shall we?”
We watched with Diamond and the others from where we’d stood before. Chaotic put on a great show but nothing compared to my boy. I was a ridiculously proud Daddy. Once Chaotic’s show finished the guys were ushered to tables for a meet and greet. I stood to the side and watched as the boys signed so many things that my hands cramped. Reminded me of grading papers and the camera flashes had me seeing spots.
Security stood nearby, as did Diamond. Occasionally he’d sign something and pose for a picture but never once did the man smile and I wondered if he even knew how.
“It’s called resting Diamond face,” Easton whispered to me.
“Got it. This is kinda crazy in a really cool way, though. I mean, imagine having a gift that brought happiness to this many people.” Sure, I enriched lives and helped pave the way for students to what I hoped was a bright future for them. But this was beyond that. Music not only paved ways but for some it was an outlet. A way to release anger and get through tough times.
“That’s a great way of viewing it. For me it’s a scheduled, move it along kind of job whereas forthem they have to constantly be on and ready for the next fan. I can see how it would grow tiresome but they’re still so young and new that it’s a rush for them.” I saw both sides of the coin as Easton had but this being the first time I’d witnessed not only their show but the interaction with the fans afterward, I was in awe. “Social and Maiden have done their time, so to speak, but they’ll occasionally pop up and surprise fans as Diamond is tonight. You’ll get to meet Joey and Stoli in Albuquerque and the guys from Maiden in Tucson and Phoenix. They’re Arizona boys, well, all but Shadow, but he’ll come and hang out.”
“How do you keep track of everyone?” My mind was a mess trying to place the right guys with the right band and he managed all four of them. Well, he and Jeremiah did.
“I guess that’s my gift,” Easton smiled. “We’re looking to sign more bands. Jeremiah is doing a great job with Chaotic and Embrace. Maiden and Social are my babies but they don’t do much touring anymore. We’ll hire and train another manager when we sign new talent. We’ve purchased a recording studio in Seattle and Maiden uses the one Derek has on his property. I can eventually see us buying one in all the major markets. Growth is upon us!”
“It sounds like it.”
“We could always use a chief writer and editor on staff. We love to keep it in the family. Just a bit of food for thought.”
Could I see myself doing that? I was a tenured professor and I’d hate to lose that but the thought of being with my boy full-time was quite appealing.