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“No shit,” Tripp replied. “But try telling them that.”
“I take it that didn’t go over so well?”
“Like a fart in church.”
“Wouldn’t know.”
“Trust me when I say people notice.”
“Alrighty then.”
“Shanny ended up with the earring at the end of the tussle and wore it to the next show. Can’t leave the damn thing in when you’re sleeping, not with all the hair he’s got, so, he took it out and left it in his boot at the foot of his bed, according to him.”
“Only it wasn’t there when he went to put the boot on.”
“Nope, which meant round two, and one broken pull-out bunk, a cracked window, and Tavis performing with a boot print on his cheek.”
“Over an earring? Jesus fuck! You guys be sure to keep your violent tendencies on your own fuckin’ bus when we tour.”
“Eh, we’re too old for that bullshit now, but yeah, those first couple years, we had more than a little bit of bloodshed while we were on the road. Everyone’s pretty much mellowed out now. Shanny even gave up caffeine, not that it’s left him less twitchy, but he’s not the first to throw a punch these days.”
“Just remember what I said.”
“I will. But are you really gonna stand there and say you guys have never had a knock-down-drag-out, even when Wade was part of your crew?”
“First off, I’m going to lie here and tell you that, ‘cause I don’t think I’m up to standing yet. Secondly, no, none of us have ever laid a hand on a bandmate. I wanted to though when I found out Wade dumped us.”
“Oh, come on, in all those years, you never wanted to throttle Riley?” Tripp pressed. “How about all those times he got you guys lost?”
“I’m not saying I’ve never wanted to choke the life outta him, I’m saying that neither I nor anyone else in the band ever gave in to the urge.”
“That takes a level of self-control even I don’t have, and I’ve had to bite my tongue more times than I can count to not get in another slugfest with Winter.”
“Another means there was at least one, so spill, what the hell led to that?”
“Simon Leroux.”
“Uh-oh, is this one of those twin swap moments?”
“You could say that.”
“And you could spill the damn tea a little faster ya know.”
“I’ll take that under advisement.”
“Tripp….”
“Okay, that’s exactly what it was.”
Zakk shook his head, shivering now that the heat of the moment had worn off. His clothes were…somewhere, but the whole moving thing wasn’t at the tip of his capabilities list at the moment. “Then I don’t blame you for beating his ass.”
“Oh…I didn’t win, not even close,” Tripp admitted. “At least, not the fight. The guy on the other hand…”
“Could he really not tell the difference between you and Winter?” Zakk asked. “All I have to do is hear one of you talk or smell your cologne to know who’s who.”
“That’s ‘cause we’ve had time to develop our own personalities and mannerisms. Back then, we were still in the copycat phase, which in this instance, worked to my advantage.”
“To your….” Zakk’s words melted on his tongue as he struggled to sort out exactly what Tripp was trying to say. “Wait a minute…was the guy Winter’s boyfriend first?”
