KISS: In The Band

Ch 32: You Want Me to What? (Eric C)

I set down my drawing tablet with a sigh, running a hand through my hair. "Hey Care Bear!" I called. "Yeah what's up?" she shouted back from the depths of the house. "You wanna do something today? I finished my last commission so I'm done with work!"

She walked into the kitchen, giving me me a smile and a kiss. "I'm fine with that! What do we want to do?" I frowned, pulling her onto my lap and slipping my arms around her waist. "I dunno! That's a really good question." "It is a good question," she muttered. We sat there in silence trying to figure what to do while also being okay with just being with each other. "Damn I really love being married to you," I said abruptly.

Carrie gave me a sweet smile, leaning back on my shoulder and kissing me. "Eric Carr you are truly the sweetest man ever and I could not ask for a better husband." "Oh yeah well you're a better wife!"

Before Carrie could respond, the doorbell rang. We exchanged glances before she grinned. "Rock paper scissors for who answers it." "Aw come on it's just the door!" I protested. "Then go get it!" I gave her a flat look before holding out my hand. "Alright rock, paper, scissors, shoot!" I looked at my paper and her scissors and sighed. "Best two out of three?" I asked hopefully. "Nice try, go get it!"

Heaving a sigh, I gently pushed her off my lap, giving her hand a squeeze before walking to the front door and pulling it open. "Oh shit hey Gene!" I said, feeling a smile immediately split my face. He gave me a sheepish grin, holding an envelope. "Hey Eric! Hey uhh...can I talk to you about something real quick?" he asked.

"I'm confused, yet intrigued. So yeah sure, come in! Oh, how's Nick been doing? I heard from Paul he got sick, is he doing okay?" Gene smiled but thankfully nodded. "Yeah, he's doing fine. Still recovering but he's pretty much back to normal, which is good." I nodded, leading him into the living room. "Oh hey Carrie Gene's here!" I called over my shoulder, motioning for him to take a seat. "So what's up?"

Before he could answer, Carrie walked into the room, leaning against me and giving Gene a smile. "Hey Gene! Been awhile, how've you been?" she asked. He shrugged, running a hand through his hair. "Uh, I've been fine. Look um...I have this for you guys, it's way later than I meant to give it to you guys and I know your wedding was over a month ago, but congratulations on getting married!" he said, handing us the envelope.

"Aw Gene you didn't have to do that!" Carrie said, accepting the envelope with a wide smile. Gene's face grew red and he laughed slightly. "Well, no, I kinda did. I mean...I did crash your wedding and it's terrible etiquette to show up without a gift. So yeah, sorry it's been like...almost two months." "Yeah, you did need to give us one," Carrie teased. "But hey, better late than never! Don't sweat it man!" I said.

"Alright I'll go set this in our room and let you two talk," Carrie said, giving me a kiss and walking off. I turned to Gene. "So you need anything besides dropping off our wedding gift?" I asked.

Gene sat down on the couch, heaving a sigh. "Look, I'm so sorry for everything we did, everything I did to you. I want to be your friend, I love you man!" I nodded, giving him a smile. "Okay, I know! We've talked about this though, I've already said it's fine! So why're you here?"

"Peter's out of the band and you're the best drummer I know and I wanted to ask if you wanted to become a part of Kiss," he blurted out.

I blinked, staring at him in shock. "What?" I asked after a pause. "We need a drummer. Peter's...ah, he's falling into a drug addiction again, so we're asking him to take a break to get help. So we need a new drummer. And like I said, you're the best drummer I know. I understand if you don't want to be a part of it but--"

"Dude, no! I'd love to be a part of the band! I'm really flattered you asked me! I-I mean I'd have to talk to Carrie of course, to make sure we're on the same page with it, but yeah! I'm still a freelance graphic designer so my job wouldn't even be an issue!" I said excitedly. Gene gave me a huge smile. "Really? Oh sweet man! Oh damn that's fantastic! Hell yeah! Of course you know we'd have to get you a makeup design and all that and costumes and shit but we have time, we're not playing anymore for a bit. We've got a gap before our next tour to get everything figured out!"

Absolutely stoked, I nodded, giving him a huge smile. "Sick! Aw hell yeah man thanks so much for reaching out to me! I-I mean I hope Peter's okay though, but in the meantime I'm really happy to fill in for him!" Gene rose to his feet, giving me a hug. "Perfect! Yeah I'll call you in a few days and we can go over the finer print and stuff!"

"Sounds good, I'll see you then!" I said, leading him to the door. Once he was gone, I turned around and immediately ran into our room, scooping Carrie into a huge hug. "Hey baby guess what?!" I cried, so excited I spun her in a circle.

Laughing, she gave me a kiss. "What?" "Gene asked me to join the band! I'm gonna be a rock star!" I said gleefully, bouncing up and down on my toes. She gave me a huge smile, grabbing my hands. "Oh Eric! That's fucking fantastic! I'm so happy for you!" she cried, throwing her arms around me and nearly tackling me as she gave me hug.

"I'm gonna be a rock star," I said again, half to myself. Eyes shining, Carrie gave me a soft kiss. "You were already a rock star in my eyes."