Star-Crossed ✔️

6

- 6 -

I fucked a guy in LA.

Allow me to back track for contextual purposes. It wasn't premeditated, it just kind of happened.

When Dustin and I landed in LA, we had already made our night plans. I begged Joey to let us crash in a hotel instead of the bus. We always got two rooms, one for each of us, just in case we wanted to bag some girls in private. This time, however, we got three rooms. One for Noah.

Apparently Joey booked his flight back for Sunday morning. We would be gone by then, but Noah would have plenty of time to hang out with Jax, if he so pleased.

I was really high for my show.

Dustin had gotten his hands on some coke and mushrooms. We decided to save the mushrooms for when we got back to the hotel. Coke mixed with Adderall had my heart thumping in my chest for hours. I couldn't see where Noah and Jax were seated from the stage due to the lights, but I sure saw them backstage.

When I'd gotten my mic off and was sweating enough to hydrate a small village, I headed backstage. Dustin was already there, his phone in the air to record me. He was playing loud music through the speakers, so I started dancing stupidly, making the both of us crack up laughing.

"You wanna take the shrooms now?" he asked.

I shrugged. "Why not?"

We sat down with a bottle of whiskey between us as he pulled out the little baggie. I checked my phone to see if Noah needed any help getting backstage, but just as I did, the devil walked through the door.

Noah was smiling when I saw him. Jax was smirking like he said something hilarious. Dustin handed me a decent sized mushroom and we cheers'd. I felt the two guests on the other side of the room's eyes on us, but didn't really give a shit. I was sure the both of them had done worse.

After chasing down the foul taste of earth and dirt with brown liquor, I stood up. "Hey," I said to Noah.

"Hey, great show," he said and I felt he was being genuine. "Best concert I've been to in years." Jax nodded in agreement and they sat down on one of the leather couches.

I held the bottle by the neck and threw back another shot, depositing it into Dustin's hands with disgust all over my face. I noticed Jax was sitting pretty close to Noah, his arm draped behind his shoulders on the couch. It felt so surreal to see Noah like this. Well, it felt surreal to see him at all, after all these years. But to see him comfortably sit with another man the way he was thought to sit with a woman? It was bizarre.

I'd known the guy since we were old enough to talk about boobs. I guess I just had to accept that I didn't know him anymore. Just like he didn't know me.

Joey walked in like clockwork. He eyed the baggie of mushrooms but didn't say anything. "Russo! How are you, kid?" he said, completely ignoring me. Maybe I should keep Noah around after all . . .

"Hey," Noah said politely, "I'm great, thanks. And thank you for bringing me out here."

Joey just waved him off before finally giving me the much deserved attention I needed. "Good show, watch the profanity," was all he said. I scoffed and turned away from all of them. He didn't say another word to me, just kept trying to talk to Noah.