“Dude, I don’t think you know how long it’s been since you joked around and were an absolute shit to someone,” Kane said.
“’Cause it’s not my thing, it’s Winter’s.”
“Oh I call bullshit!” Bobby snapped. “It was just as much your thing as his when we were starting out. Then you started getting all uptight and judgy, which has been a major drag these last few years.”
Okay, now that bit of information crashed over him like a wave, leaving Tripp stunned and staring at the coffee table, afraid to look over at his bandmates.
“Why didn’t you fuckers ever say anything?” he asked when he couldn’t conjure up a single credible defense.
“We did, you just weren’t hearing us.”
“’Coulda been blunter,” Tripp muttered, yet even as the words left his mouth, he knew he wasn’t being fair to them.
“How, without beating the words into that thick skull of yours with a baseball bat?” Kane grumbled.
“This break has done precious little to quell your violent tendencies,” Tripp couldn’t resist pointing out. “Does that mean you didn’t wind up with a choker from Damien?”
“Before this tour is out, I will have his collar around my neck and my leash in his hand,” Kane growled, the dark look in his eyes all Tripp needed to hear to know he’d hit the nail on the head with what he’d said to him.
“I don’t know man, I’m willing to throw down five to one odds that you strike out completely, considering you’re like the odd couple,” Shanny said. “Do the two of you even speak the same language.”
“We communicate just fine, fucker. I don’t see you with anyone.”
“And you won’t.”
“Uh-huh. I’ll remind you of that when we roll into Spokane next month.”
“You do that.”
“I will. And while you’re at it, put me down for two hundred,” Kane said. “I’m going to laugh in your face when you have to fork over a grand.”
“You’re on.”
“Seriously though,” Kane said as he passed Tripp a bottled tea. “This place and Zakk have done wonders for you, which makes me wonder why the fuck you’re over here with us sorry bastards?”
“’Cause it’s our first day back on the road, and Zakk and I both wanted to spend it with our bands getting back into the flow of things,” Tripp explained. “I can ride with them whenever, they’re all good with that, and I hope no one has an issue with him riding over here.”
“Nope,” Bobby said.
“When you head over you can always restore the balance by sending Damien over here,” Kane suggested.
“I’ll keep that in mind. Now, what is this about Spokane?”
“Not one damn th….” Shanny started to say, before Kane’s hand landed over his mouth and everything to come after that was muffled.
“So get this,” Kane said, speaking over the outraged protests; Shanny squirming and getting nowhere in his efforts to get away. Considering the size difference between the two, Tripp didn’t know why Shanny was wasting the energy. “Our boy has an admirer of the not so secret kind, and they’ve been corresponding since we spent a week there last June.”
“Wait, seriously?” Tripp asked, glancing between the two. “And here I thought you’d finally given up whoring around after that little wort scare.”
“YOW!” Kane yelped as Shanny bit him to get free.
“I’m gonna kill Winter,” Shanny declared.
“You sayin’ he was lying?” Bobby challenged
“No, I’m saying he wasn’t supposed to share that with anyone!”
“Oops.”