Paris, 1962 Inside Bohemia After Dark, patrons squinted through an ashen haze at the nightclub's featured combo. Stained indigo under mood lighting, a quintet of animated ebony carvings whisper-shouted wordless, haunting languages. Cigarette embers winked; wine glasses clinked; heads nodded with appreciation as notes jitterbugged in a tempo hurricane. The tenor man dismounted from the rollercoaster rush of a melody he'd r...

My Name Is Jack, and I was the lead guitar player for a rock band back in the day. We toured and had quite good times. It was springtime in Colorado, Perfect for outdoor and indoor concerts; this is where my story begins! I stood behind the curtain, waiting for the roadies to clear the stage from the opening act and set up for our show. Six shows in ten days were kicking my ass, I was dragging from it all, and I loved it!...

Ryan covered a yawn as she walked into the hotel lobby. The show had gone well and she was beat. Tired enough, she had decided, to head back to her room while the others hung out somewhere. Her fatigue must have shown, since none of them had made more than a token effort to convince her to go with them. She pondered that in the elevator. It was unlike Lara to leave her alone these days. Ever since the day Lara had forced...

Brody was bored. He stared up at the ceiling, wondering just how bored he could get. It was the middle of July and no one was around. Mark was gone for the summer, Bax and his family had returned to Boston and Ryan was on tour. Last he'd talked to his parents, they'd suggested he come to Michigan for a while, but he'd said no. There was no reason, he told himself. He was not going to change his plans just because Ryan had...

"Did you have a good time?" Brody asked. "Yeah, I did. Thanks for taking me." Ryan smiled to cover the awkwardness she felt. It had been a nice evening, despite the undercurrent of tension between her and Brody. They'd been able to ignore it while with Bax's family but there was no hiding from it now. "Not a problem. I mean, Bax invited both of us and I don't mind driving." "Good." They fell silent as Brody drove. Ryan st...

Lara looked at Ryan over the top of her latté. "You guys fought over a tour again?" "Well, we didn't exactly fight," Ryan said with a rueful smile. "I got out before it became a fight. But there was definitely a difference of opinion." "What happened?" "I already told you. Brody got upset when he realized I would be gone the rest of the summer. Then I got upset and left. I just knew if I stayed and we kept talking, it wou...

Brody checked the lasagna while he waited for Ryan. He hoped she hadn't gotten stuck in traffic, although he figured she'd call if something like that happened. It seemed strange that the six weeks were over. The only thing wrong was that he wasn't still playing hockey. Not that he would be even if the team was still in the playoffs. He was improving and would try skating again the next week. Still, he chafed at the restr...

Ryan found herself with time on her hands. The sound check was finished for their next show and she'd had lunch. With a few empty hours in front of her, she considered a swim in the hotel's pool. Upon inspection, she rejected the idea. Green water was a nice decorative touch, but not something she wanted to swim in. She hoped Brody would call soon; she'd texted him a while ago but had held off on calling. When her phone r...

After watching Brody suffer his concussion, Ryan could not sleep. She laid in bed and dozed fitfully at best, giving up around seven a.m. She dressed quietly to avoid waking Lara and went for a walk. After close to an hour, she still was not ready to return to the hotel. She found a diner a block away and went in and ordered some coffee. When her phone rang, she grabbed for it. "Hello." "Hi, Ryan? This is Bax. Chuck Baxte...

Game five back in Washington was even more tightly-contested than game four in Montréal. Brody saw the puck sliding to the corner and charged after it. He caught a flash of white out of the corner of his eye, knew he had a step on the defenseman, and sped up as he focused on the puck. A few feet out from the boards he felt something slam into his back and then he crashed into the boards. He dropped face down to the ice. "...

Ryan downed the soda she'd ordered at the bar. They were in Hartford, Connecticut. She felt the stage fright creeping up but ignored it. Once they'd gotten through the first couple of shows, her anxiety had eased a lot, even if it hadn't faded entirely. Word was getting around about the tour as well. Old fans and new were posting to the band's Facebook page which was like free publicity as people reviewed past shows and n...

Brody hung by the blue line, waiting for his defensemen to get to the puck out of the corner. Time slowed as players jabbed at the puck, trying to free it from under skates and sticks. After what seemed like forever, the puck dribbled free and Bax snagged it and started up the ice. Brody followed him and saw Tolya joining the rush. They crossed the red line and Bax dumped the puck down the ice. Brody put on a burst of spe...