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4.Roadie Rage

Pour Some Sugar On Me // Def Leopard

Lifting heavy shit blows.

"Where does this one go?" I grit my teeth as my biceps bulge with the load I'm carrying.

"On the truck. Same as the one before. And the one before that. And before you ask about the next load, it goes on the truck, too." Archie, the big boss sounds irritated with me. To be fair I've asked a shit ton of questions. But now I'm asking the dumb questions for the reaction I get. Archie doesn't disappoint. He adjusts his hat while grumbling something about newbies.

Damn, this is taking hours. Needling Archie has been the only fun part of this job. We spent an entire day setting up before sound check, during sound check and still more after sound check. During Brianna's show it slowed down for a bit but not much. We still had things to move. Now the show's been over for hours and we're still taking everything down and loading the truck to take it to the next venue. The tour hasn't officially started but this is a decent preview of my life for the next few months. If there's some kind of roadie privilege to working with rock stars that keeps these fuckers coming back for more, I haven't seen what it is, yet.

Makes me want to wring the neck of that casting director that passed on me.

"We'll see," I grumble to myself, remembering the comment he gave meant to string me along.

"We'll see your ass at the unemployment line if you don't keep hauling." Archie barks from the loading area. Looks like his hearing hasn't been damaged from the decibel level of the concerts he's worked over the years. Good to know.

"Sure thing, boss." I salute the man and put a little more effort into my current load. I'm not as sold on this job as I was a few days ago. I haven't even seen Char around here at all today, which is the entire reason I signed on for this. To be near her. To work past whatever bullshit got in our way and get to the woman who gets my heart racing. I could use some excitement in my life. I'm tired of the hook ups. I haven't had nearly as many as Char makes it sound. A girl here and there, sometimes it leads to a second date, but more often than not I'm bored out of my mind. These Hollywood girls need a ton of ego stroking.

Yes, I think you're pretty.

No, that girl isn't as hot as you.

Of course, you're good enough for this part.

Maybe I sound like an asshole, but a guy can only reassure a girl so many times before he taps out. Although I'm starting to understand their neediness after this last round of auditions. Trying to make it in this industry tears at your self-worth more than I realized.

I take a deep breath, because the last thing I need is a guilt trip about the ghost of girlfriends past. I can't change how I've been before. I can only deal with now. And right now, I'm itching to get more alone time with Char. To make her smile. To hear her rip me apart a little. To watch the shock on her face when she's underestimated me. That happened a couple of times at the coffee shop. Now I need it like a drug. I'm addicted.

"Hey, you've got to see this." One of the other roadies calls to us. "Some guy just proposed to his girlfriend up in the nosebleeds." The guy holds out his phone, waving for us to gather around.

"The show's been over for an hour. Why was he still here?" Another guy asks. I think his name is Randy.

"Apparently he's got an in with the resort owner and Brianna's people. They were at the after party up the hill with her and the Citizen One guys, that event center we had to carry Brianna's keto meals to."

Zack's keto meals. Brianna eats like a normal person. But I guess no one cares who the stuff belongs to if Brianna's the one paying the crew. Her entourage has taken over this entire mountain resort which is in the thick of a three-day music festival. Brianna was the headliner so the energy at this show was pretty epic. The performers and their guests are all partying at a fancy event center on the resort grounds not far from the on-site concert venue. Zack invited me to join them after we finish breaking down.