Turn the Page Read Online Free Page B

suck.”
    “Realize you’re in love, then tell me how you
feel about bein’ apart,” Jacob said. He headed to his dressing
room.
    “Jake, you have to do the encore!”
    “Give me a minute!” His throat was sore and
he didn’t think he could get through another three songs without
remedying it.
    The short PA ran to catch up to Jacob’s long
strides. “Sir! Sir, you can’t just walk off. If you need something,
ask me to get it for you. The road manager is quite upset.”
    He kept walking, opening the door to his
dressing room and going straight to his kit. Rummaging with one
hand, he found the small bottle of olive oil. “Unscrew the cap for
me,” he said, the neck of his guitar still in the other hand. With
the bottle open, he took a healthy swallow, feeling the oil coat
his throat, and shuddered.
    Setting the bottle on the table, he headed
back to the wing of the stage. Bob spotted him first and signaled
Aaron to start drumming out the beat.
    Jacob took his place at the microphone and
the roar of the crowd was deafening.
    Just three songs and one more gig…
    New Year’s Eve
    Tokyo, Japan
    The concert had been timed for the last song
to end a minute before midnight. The big screen behind Jake and the
band showed the crowd as the camera panned over the audience. They
screamed.
    “Grab someone you love, and if you came
alone, make a friend,” he said into the mike.
    A timer popped up on the screen counting down
the seconds.
    He dialed a number on his cell phone, then
held it up to the shouting crowd.
    “TEN…NINE…EIGHT…SEVEN…”
    Her voice mail would pick up at this hour,
but it didn’t matter.
    “FIVE…FOUR…THREE…TWO…ONE!!!”
    He held the phone’s microphone close to his
lips to be heard over the celebrating crowd. “Happy New Year, baby.
I’m comin’ home.”
    Bob was playing a guitar solo of Auld Lang
Syne , but Jacob doubted most of the arena could hear it. Didn’t
matter much—the concert had turned into one big party. He yelled
“goodnight” into the mike and left the stage.
    Back in the dressing room, their crew was
popping champagne. There would be a wrap party at the hotel that he
was almost too exhausted to attend, but he owed it to them to show
up for a few minutes.
    A few minutes became a few hours including a
buzz that wasn’t helping his cold. By the time they got on the
plane, he felt like death warmed over.
    “Dude, you look like shit,” Bob said, handing
him coffee.
    “Thanks. I’ve got a cold and we’re thousands
of feet in the air, you git. My bloody head’s going to
explode.”
    “Isn’t that what your PA’s for, to bring you
Nyquil?” He propped his long legs on the seat across from him. They
were on a private jet again.
    Jacob sighed. “He’s not Beth.”
    “No kiddin’.”
    She’d set a high bar as an employee within
the first month on the job. The new kid tried, but he was in over
his head. Several months after being hired, he still couldn’t keep
up with Jacob’s needs on tour.
    “I’ll start lookin’ for someone else. He’s
fine around L.A., but…”
    “Get Beth back, then.”
    “Are you out of your mind, mate?”
    “What? You wouldn’t be apart then and I
wouldn’t have to listen to you whine about it.”
    “You can’t be the boss of your girlfriend,
that’s insane. Relationship kryptonite.”
    “Just a thought, geeze. You’re so bitchy when
you’re sick.”
    “Bite me.”
    “Cute, but you’re not my type.” Bob stood and
left him alone.
    Yeah, he was grumpy, but being cooped up on a
plane for ten hours wasn’t his favorite place when he was healthy,
let alone under the weather. He wanted sleep and there was no
private bedroom, nor could his mates keep the noise down when stuck
together.
    When they finally landed at LAX, it was
evening, but on what day, he couldn’t tell. A car took him home
alone, and once his luggage was inside, he trudged upstairs and
dropped on the bed still fully clothed.
    The world could