The street lampmade such a beautiful orange glow when it filtered through Reno’s fingers, reflecting off the curl of smoke from the tip of his cigarette and the jewels glued to his fingernails. He sat, curled into himself on the folding chair outside the motel room with his faux fur coat tucked tight under his chin and thick socks pulled up over his knees. Taking a long drag, he watched the smoke curl out and away from him in the thankfully still night, enjoying the silence after the show.
He’d wondered all these years what brand of cigarette he had shared with Luka outside of that venue. He couldn’t remember the taste anymore. It had been the first cigarette he’d ever smoked, and he’d wrongfully assumed he’d never forget.
“What’s on your mind?”
Reno looked up at Christoph, who had broken the peace, and watched as he took the empty chair next to Reno. Reno hummed, took another drag, and appreciated that Christoph didn’t pressure him to respond quickly.
Christoph cracked open a can of beer and leaned back, looking first at Reno then out into the nearly empty parking lot.
“Got one of those for me?” Reno uncurled, stretching his legs out then tugged a sock that had slipped down back over his knee.
“Yup.” Christoph held out a cold beer for Reno with an all-too-knowing expression. He had his wavy, brown hair tied back and a gray hoodie half zipped to show off the low cut of his tank top underneath. When he handed the can over, the rings on his fingers caught the streetlights and made the tattoos under them look pitch black.
“Domo?1.” Reno popped the tab and took a drink then offered a cigarette, which Christoph waved off, uninterested. “Nothing’s on my mind, really.”
“I know that’s not true,” Christoph said, fiddling with the drawstring on his hoodie. “You always have something going on up there.”
Reno figured he wasn’t wrong, but didn’t feel like sharing all the time. “Can’t a man just admire the view?”
“Of the parking lot and highway beyond?” Christoph chuckled. “Not exactly pretty.”
“It’s a nice night.”
“How’s the new song going?” Christoph changed the topic, leaning back and opting to look at Reno instead of at the admittedly crummy view. “Angel’s already in bed.”
“We got a lot done. You’ll like it. They are very inventive.” Reno’s fingers felt properly worn after the night. He and Angel had left the venue together after the show, and they’d worked for several hours at the motel, mapping out a new song for Hearts n Hell, only stopping when Angel started to doze off. “It’s always fun collaborating with them. I hope after tour we can keep working together.”
Christoph made a pleased noise. “I think we would all like that. You can come stay with us in Gothenburg, get away from London for a while.”
“Maybe. I’m not home enough as is, though. I’ll see what the label allows.” He flicked ash off the end of his cigarette. “Angel said we can do some video calls sometime to play.”
“Sterling keeps you too busy,” Christoph complained.
Reno shrugged. “The label invested a lot in me. If I don’t keep working and improving then what was it for?”
“You already made it. Why don’t you relax a little?”
Reno pursed his lips, feeling dangerously close to getting annoyed. He pulled his phone out instead of answering right away, flipping WhatsApp open to see if his mother had messaged yet.
Luka
how'd it go?
Really good, at the motel with Christoph now. Got to start a new song with Angel earlier which felt good
Sage
Okay I'm not letting u off the hook just cause I had to work earlier.
Reno decided to speak his mind. “Just because I’ve made it or whatever doesn’t mean I get to stop working.”
“Is that what you were doing the other night? Working?” Christoph was smirking now and Reno stubbed out his cigarette on the ground.
“Sure.” Reno smirked back. “It was a lot of work and no play.”
Christoph raised an eyebrow. “Vad kul?2, youcanrelax sometimes.”
“Wouldn’t you like to know.” Reno stood from the chair, pulling his coat around him tighter, and cradled his drink against his chest. “Thanks for the drink. Ja ne?3.”
