Lucas needed a night out with his best friend so he could forget about Sindy, at least for one night. Since the day she came into his life she had his head spinning. She’d stirred every emotion inside him from frustration to anger to wanting to be with her all the time. He tapped his fingers on the bar, wondering why Mason wasn’t here yet. New York City traffic could be horrendous, but the guy drove like a madman and could zip in and out of lanes with his Lamborghini as if he was at the Indy 500. Then he realized Mason probably took an Uber since they would be drinking a little.
He scanned the room for his friend, and two girls smiled at him from the other end of the bar. He returned an uninterested smile and looked away.
“Dude!” Mason wore his usual happy-go-lucky smile and gave Lucas a pat on the back in greeting. “Sorry I’m late. I’m so pumped about recording our first single I lost track of time talking about it with my pops. And then a group of people stopped to talk to me on the way in. I can’t wait until we go on tour. The real tour, not the promo tour. It’s been a long time since we’ve been on the road together. Man, we’re gonna have a blast!”
“I hear ya.” The excitement rubbed off on Lucas, which is what he loved most about Mason. The guy was in a perpetual good mood and filled with so much positive energy that it was impossible to stay in a bad mood with Mason around.
“The promo tour’s nothing but work. It’s the national tour that’ll kick ass,” Mason added.
Lucas didn’t really know what to expect from the promo tour. He’d toured the world with Immortal Angel, but they were arena tours not promotional appearances. Mason had been through all of this already when he first set foot on the music scene. “What’s the promo tour like? Is it that different?”
“It’s a lot of the same repetitive crap. Schmoozing with radio execs and D.J.’s. The occasional small performance at a radio station, usually only a song or two.” He sounded bored, but then his face perked up. “The TV shows are cool. My mom has been on the phone nonstop so we dominate the late night/early morning circuit. I think she got us booked on almost every talk show broadcasted on every major network and cable station.”
Although Lucas and Tessa’s photos have made their way into certain media clips and articles, their parents had protected them from the probing paparazzi. He’d never been on TV before.
“It’s awesome because we get to play in front of a live audience,” Mason continued. “And the host comes out at the end and plugs the album. Sometimes we even get to play another song or two off the air for the audience.”
“That’s cool.”
“It’d be a lot cooler if we got paid for it.”
Lucas nodded. “I guess that’s why they call it promo.”
“Don’t sweat it, man. It’s all part of the journey. We record the single this week, it hits the air, then the promo tour, then we sit back and watch the numbers light up while the dough rolls in.”
The bartender took their order and placed two beers on the bar. Mason picked up one and took a long swig from the bottle. “My mom and Aunt Kira got release day covered. They’re plugging the single and pushing it out to radio stations everywhere. We’re gonna get more airplay than anyone has ever seen on a debut single. The name Abelman goes a long way in this business.”
Lucas hung his head, but didn’t say anything. It felt as if he was the only one who cared about making it on their own merit. He had genuine gratitude toward Mason’s family for using their connections in the industry to get Prodigy airplay, but, was it that far-fetched that he wanted to experience the journey of climbing the ladder like everyone else?
“Lighten up, man. Sometimes you just gotta take what’s handed to you. You don’t always have to claw your way up from the bottom.” Mason placed his arm around Lucas’ shoulder and shook him a little. “This is a good thing. People are going to gravitate to Prodigy because our music rocks, not because our parents are part of Immortal Angel.”
“Our music does rock. Especially now that we have Sindy. She really kicks it up a notch. Did you see her on stage that night? The audience went fucking nuts for her. They loved her.” Just talking about Sindy made his chest tingle and goosebumps rise on his arms. He started to think that a little kick-starter, in the form of Audra and Kira’s connections with the radio stations and television networks, might not be such a bad thing. The rest of them were already well off and it didn’t matter if fame took a little longer to make it without help. Sindy was barely scraping by. Refusing help, when it was so readily available, would hurt Sindy, and he felt like a selfish bastard for resisting. “Tell your mom and Kira I said thank you. I really appreciate all their help. I don’t want to sound ungrateful. I think it’s awesome that they’re gonna get us airplay.”
“That’s the spirit, man.” Mason raised his beer. “To fame and success. Hey, you know what I was thinking? Since Sindy joined the band it evens things out. Two chicks and two dudes. Sindy and Tessa rock. They’re gonna lure all the dudes and we’re gonna get all the chicks. We got all bases covered.”
All the dudes? Mason was right. Sindy was a hot and sexy talented guitar player. Guys love chicks who rock. They’d be all over her. And Tessa, as well. His insides burned from jealousy at the thought of a slew of guys hitting on Sindy. He thought he was OK with the close friendship they shared without sleeping together, but standing by and watching Sindy possibly hook up with random guys? No fucking way.
“What happened?” Mason chuckled. “You look like you want to punch somebody in the face.”
Lucas softened his clenched jaw. “I was just thinking about all the guys who are gonna be hitting on my little sister.” Which wasn’t exactly a lie, because he was always protective of Tessa, and he’d never stand for it if someone disrespected her.
“Don’t worry about that. Between me and you, no one’s getting near Tessa.”
The bartender placed two more bottles of beer on the bar and pointed to a pair of girls who stood behind Lucas and Mason – the same two girls who had smiled at Lucas earlier.
“Hello, pretty ladies.” Mason flashed one of his best dimpled smiles.
“Oh my God. It is you!” The blonde covered her mouth with her hand. “You’re Mason Wilder.”
“In the flesh.”
Her eyes widened, and she looked as if she was about to jump up and down.
“And you’re Lucas Blade, right?” the brunette asked, not nearly as star-struck as her friend, but still staring at him with wide-eyed excitement.
“That’s me,” he answered, returning her smile.
“I’m Cathy,” the blonde said. “And this is Joanna.”
