The bass of you

Chapter 44

An hour later we're out on the sea somewhere, I can see the sun slowly going down over the water and it's gorgeous. I've never had such a great view of the sundown. The sun is a fiery red, the sky is an amber yellow, there's red and pink clouds scattered about, and the reflection is on the water. It's so bloody beautiful, I want to watch every second of it. There are boats scattered around in the distance. It looks like a painting, I just love it. I'm drinking up the view as much the Jägermeister in my hand.

There's eyes on me, I can feel them. Looking around at everyone, I see nobody is looking at me, until I turn to Chase beside me. He's watching me and smirks as soon as I look at him. I don't know why, but he just looks so fascinated by me, like I'm some sort of strange invention that he's trying to figure out. It's flattering, but I don't understand it.

Chase slips an arm around my waist and pulls me into him. Moving my hair away from my ear, he leans in. "You admire sunsets in a special way," he whispers softly. Then pulls away, looks up at my bandana, and down to my mouth. "I think it's beautiful."

"Yeah, the sunset is beautiful," I look back at it, savouring the colourful essence of the sun. "I've never seen it from a view like this before."

"Though the sunset is beautiful, I wasn't talking about that."

Looking back to Chase at his charming comment, I press my lips together into a shy smirk and drink the rest of the Jägermeister form my cup. Jackson is taping his foot on the lounge and his hand on his thigh, jerking his head forward to some unheard rhythm that doesn't match the song being played right now. He's looking around him : looking at everyone's faces, the boat, the sea, the sun. 

"Sailing on the sea is cool for me," Jackson sings.

"Wouldn't be so fun if you were underneath," Chase sings along, then looks at me and winks. 

"Rocking around, drowning in the darkness, that's how I feel," Jackson sings as he looks at Chase.

"I can't explain, baby, how this poison feels," Chase sings back.

"Heroin dreams  and marijuana fields," Wolf joins in.

"Addicted to the darkness that fucks around with me," Chase sings.

"Fuck yeah, man. Where's that fucking notepad you had, man?" Jackson asks Chase excitedly. "Gimme that fucking notepad! Those lyrics would be awesome in that new riff you guys had going."

Chase picks up the notepad and pen and leans over to pass them to Jackson. Jackson's eyes are eager as he snatches them off Chase, leans back, and looks up at the blue sky as he tries to remember what was just said. When it all comes back to him, he bites down on his lip and grins as he starts writing down everything rapidly. He's writing so fast that I'm sure that nobody else is going to be able to understand his writing except for him. 

As soon as I look back at Chase, there's a commotion with the guys. Isaac is standing up, aiming the camera at Jace, Ace, and Wolf, and keeping well away from the end of the deck. The three of them are looking over the edge, Jackson and Layla are now laughing about something, causing me to suspect that something is about to happen and this this has me interested.

Ace takes Jace's shades and as soon as Jace turns to look at him, Wolf grabs his shirt, lifts him up enough, then with help from Ace they push him overboard. There's a panicking shout from Jace, then it fades as he disappears over the edge and a loud splash is heard. Everyone is laughing hysterically - including me and Chase. Isaac is standing at the edge, pointing the camera down at the water to film Jace in his soaking-wet state of shame.

Jackson and Chase are both getting up from the lounges, sprinting over to the end of the deck, looking overboard at Jace in the sea. "Fuckers!" I hear Jace scream.

Me and Layla hold our stomachs as we laugh so hard they begin to cramp. The boys are laughing too. Chase and Jackson exchange looks, Chase nudges Ace, exchanges looks with him, then jerks his head to the side at Wolf as he's looking over the edge. Together the three of them grab at Wolf, pick him up, and throw him overboard too. Wolf doesn't have enough time to realise what's happening before he's falling into the water and there's another deep splash.

Ace unties his bandana, runs over to me, slaps it inside my hand, then runs across the deck and leaps over the edge. Chase pulls off his shirt, chucks it on the lounge, then jumps over the edge too. Jackson follows. Isaac is loving this, he's laughing his head off, filming everything. Me and Layla are just watching these guys go crazy and have fun - all the while amusing us at the same time.

Me and Layla both get up at the same time and kneel on the leather seating as we look over the edge at the water below. Five bobbing heads scatter about : arms flaying about everywhere, wiping water from their eyes, flicking their wet hair. They're all chuckling, shoving each other in the water, kicking each other, splashing water on each other. The chemistry between these band members is extraordinary. They really are the best of friends.

If I ever did let myself try out with other musicians and end up being in a band someday, this is exactly the sort of chemistry I would want between me and my bandmates. I couldn't be in a band where it's just about the music. The music will always sound better if you click with your bandmates and not forcing the connection. 

Layla elbows me gently in the ribs. When I look at her, she has glistening eyes from the cool air drying out her eyes and making them water. "What I would give to live a life like this."

When the guys come back onboard, they're all shaking their heads, water from their long hair flinging about onto everybody and everything. Bill sees the boys in their soaking states through the cabin window and when he does, the grin he once had as he laughed with the security men disappears. He watches them with a confused, stern expression as they walk about on the deck. After a minute or so, and after seeing the boys laughing and shoving each other playfully, Bill shakes his head and smiles at the boys through the window - even though none of them are looking at him. He has a fatherly-figure when it comes to the boys in Black Dagger. It doesn't take a genius to see that he only wants what's best for them and he cares for them deeply. It makes him smile knowing the boys are alright and having fun, I saw it with my own eyes when nobody else did.