Ace (Playtime Series Book 1) by Gemma Arlington (distant reading TXT) 📕

brushed my teeth before I felt respectable enough to head into the theatre that was hosting the gig. JED was playing about ten shows throughout Alabama and I was going to enjoy every one of them. Capri was a small town just east of Alabama’s capital city.

It just so happened to be my hometown, the tiny lake-side community where my Aunty raised me after my mother passed away when I was all of ten.

My father never seemed to be on the scene at all and I grew up thinking very little of the subject… to be exact, I really didn’t care, but I guess it would have been nice to have a father.

“Rehearsal for twenty then you can take a break. Keep in mind, the crowds have already started to gather, so if you’re taking a break take it inside the confines of this building, security is provided for your own safety,” I informed the band with a quick smile. The last thing I needed was for them to get mobbed outside by the screaming hordes.

JED was happily in their positions on stage; Jake at the front, Eric to his left and Damon on his right. Lucas played an unusual looking guitar with six strings, but the guy was simply a genius. He was positioned behind Damon but you could still see him. Chris, like always, hid behind his drums.  The guys were a sight to see when they were performing on stage, they knew how to work well with each other and I gathered that’s what drew the crowds’ attention.

JED had a crisp, clean sound; but the lyrics to their songs were intriguing to say the least.

When I had been in the studio recording

their new EP I watched how they worked together in order to write the music they brought to life on stage.

Eric was great with riffs; he could play not only the bass guitar but also drums and acoustic. It was nice to see them meld into one united front and pump out lyrics and notes to make a complete song. The other clients I worked with usually had writers do all the hard work while they sat back and relaxed, waiting until their EP was ready to be recorded. Others liked to help here and there but I had never once seen a whole band collaborate like these guys did.

I stepped out onto the floor of the small stadium JED would be playing in tonight. Within hours this place would be packed full of screaming girls and I would be happily tucked away backstage waiting for it all to end. The truth was, it never really ended because once we got on that bus the routine seemed to start again. Another night, another town and another girl in the tour bus who obviously didn’t get the message that she wasn’t welcome.

However, all in all the boys seemed to behave but I knew this would all eventually backfire.

Five sexy, hot rockers on a bus with no females but me was bound to end in disaster.

I just hoped that I could try to think of a

little reprieve from them so that they wouldn’t

drive me mental and drive each other to fisticuffs.

“What the fuck are you so happy about?” I turned to see Jake yelling at Eric, who was grinning from ear to ear. These two boys needed to give up on the male testosterone fight and forget their stupid feud. I actually had no clue what this quarrel was about, but from what I had overheard, Jake and Eric were always at logger heads with each other.

“What the fuck crawled up your ass?” Eric retorted.

“Wipe that smug smile off your face or you know I’ll do it for you,” Jake yelled back.

“Are you wanting to fight Jake, because you know what happened last time I fought you,” Eric smiled, arrogantly.

I realized we weren’t alone; Forman had stepped into the room and was standing just behind me. He was here to protect us, so I gathered he would step in if these two boys couldn’t control their tempers and sort out what ever issue they were arguing over. I didn’t need to try and explain why these two had black eyes or why the concert wasn’t going to happen tonight.

“You fucking weak prick, you know that you sucker punched me,” Jake bellowed.

Eric went to step towards Jake and before I could think, I had placed myself between the

two boys while they continued to yell.

“Shove it brother,” I yelled, stepping closer towards Eric and pushing him. I wasn’t going to have this spiral out of control.

“Stay out of this Ace,” Jake roared.

“Shut the fuck up Jake,” I barked back.

“If you two want to argue and throw your weight around with each other that’s fine, but you do it after the tour. I will not have the media getting hold of anything that makes you all look like the bunch of teenage boys you’re acting like right now. Grow up, pull your heads in and get over whatever bullshit you two are harboring,” I spat out the words, realizing that I was practically yelling at Jake alone, but it seemed he was the one trying to make this fight bigger than it needed to be.

I turned my focus back to Eric who was staring down at me with a look of hunger. I was a little wound up and I knew he would only have to say the wrong thing and I would go off at him. I shook my head warning him, which only seemed to fuel his desire to annoy the shit out of me even more.

“Don’t,” I cautioned.

He smirked before turning and leaving the room. Forman followed him. I looked back at Jake who was scowling and seemed even more pissed off than what he was previously.

“What the