Page 100 of Make Me Laugh

God, I wanted her backstage so bad tonight.

I hadn’t realized how accustomed I’d grown to knowing she’d be there after I finished a set, waiting to record my exit like she’s been doing for weeks.

I don’t love Joey being in the audience. I can make this woman laugh all day long behind closed doors, but the man on stage isn’t technically the man Joey pretends not to have feelings for.

Another exclamation point appeared on her reminder today. She even made the font bold. Poor Joey’s trying so hard not to fall in love with me. It might be the only thing I’ll ever wish for her to fail at.

She works for West Parker.

She’s falling for West Isakson.

“Frankie thinks we know where you got your shirt from.” Kell crosses his arms, ready for me to back him up.

The line starts to move, pushing them away from the corner where we’re able to stand beside them. The older man behind them waves us forward. “Please, come on in. We loved your show tonight!”

People in line start to take notice of me, happily agreeing they wouldn’t mind if Enzo and I cut in. I thank them as we both choose to step over the chains, chatting for a second so as not to seem rude before I return to the conversation about my shirt.

“Today’s the first time I’ve ever seen it,” Enzo admits.

Frankie slants her eyes, looking at us like she might catch us in a lie if she stares harder. “Fine, if you say so, but I seriously need to know where you got your hands on this thing.” She steps forward and grabs the bottom of the freshly cropped T-shirt, rubbing the material between her fingers to make sure it’s an original. “Number 31.”

Frankie lets go of the shirt and laughs. “How funny he somehow gets shirt 31 during your thirty-first year.”

“Imagine that,” Joey hums, trying to sound casual, but her voice is tight, and it’s the first thing she’s said since I walked up.

I look from the number on my shirt, smirking when I catch Joey’s gaze. “I Googled you after I got off stage the first night we met. Someone was selling a rare HexedHeroine shirt. At the time, I thought it would just be a funny way to make you talk to me in the future.” I shrug like it’s no big deal, but Joey tries to hide her face when her cheeks turn pink. “I bet the seller was pissed when he found out how much more it’s worth now.”

Dude seemed like a slimeball. I would have paid ten times the amount just to get it out of his possession.

“Jo’s gonna act weird about it, but I think it was well played. Very well played indeed.” She shoots me an excited smile and two thumbs up while her best friend isn’t watching.

“I’m not gonna act weird about it.” We all know when she says something with that tone, she’s already doing whatever it is she said she’s not going to do. She looks at our expressions and adds, “anymore.”

It takes her a minute, but she does eventually relax.

From the Ferris wheel, we move to the questionably safe bumper cars where Frankie laughs so hard she has to pee the second we get off.

After bathroom breaks, we spend another hour riding some more shitty carnival rides. Enzo can’t fit in a few of them, and we decide to call it quits after the T-Rex he chooses on the carousel struggles to move.

Enzo’s a big guy, but the carousel is old and in need of retirement, fighting to keep up with even Frankie’s tiny ass. His was just the most noticeable as it squeaked, fueling everyone but Enzo’s laughter until well after we'd exited through the ride’s gate.

Frankie’s leaving in the morning, and we’re staying one more night in Philadelphia after tonight, taking advantage of one less day cramped inside the camper.

I don’t think any of us realized how tight our living space was until Joey joined us. We hadn’t been living in the camper very long, but we were making due on a much smaller budget the first month of tour.

Joey managed to get the first couple brand deals to pay quicker than a standard thirty-day term, and within the week I’ll have more money than I know what to do with. There’s going to be a ton extra in the budget to splurge more throughout the rest of the tour if brand deals keep coming in too.

I’m hoping tonight’s stunt on stage is enough to have another mega-viral hit. We’ll know in the next couple hours…

We found an empty picnic table to share food on, chatting over big mugs of beer that make Frankie look more miniature than she already is. The last band of the festival is playing under the tent behind us, filling the night air with lively energy, and the smell of fried food and German-style dishes makes me want to send Kell on another snack run.

He’ll never say no to food.

Frankie sighs, replying to something Kell asked. “The music industry isn’t kind to women when they reach a certain age. I don’t have the same appeal as a nineteen-year-old, especially without record breaking sales.”

Enzo and I scoff at the same time, but he beats me by saying what a crock of shit that is. “Fuck that, you’re not washed up. You’re in the prime of your life and have industry experience. Any label would be lucky to have you.”

“Doesn’t matter.” Frankie shrugs. “Leaving performing doesn’t mean I have to leave the industry. I might just have to pivot.” She stares off into the distance, drumming her fingers across the wood tabletop. “I could teach voice lessons…” Her smile doesn’t show the small gap in her two front teeth.