Wild Secret

ego thing. I don't care how or why people find our music. I'm just happy that they do."
We clinked glasses again.
"I'm sure you guys are well on your way,” I said.
“That's kinda what I want to talk to you about."
"So, you came just to talk business?"
She frowned at me playfully. "No. I came to show my support. Getting some alone time with the cute manager is a bonus."
I grinned. “You think you can smile at me, bat your eyelashes, and get whatever you want?"
A devilish smirk curled her plump lips. They were slick with gloss and looked tasty. "Yes,” she said with a hip shake.
I had a sneaking suspicion that Sadie could get just about whatever she wanted. "So, what kind of business do you want to talk about?"
"You guys did really well with the video for All I Need. If we had a video that did a fraction of that, it could really catapult us."
"So you want us to shoot a video for you?"
She gave a hopeful nod.
"I'll consider it," I said, trying not to sound too eager.
"It'll be fun. Hot girls, short skirts, good music. What's not to love?"
“I believe I could be persuaded.”
She smiled. “Good. I’ll work on persuading you.”
We moved away from the bar and hung out at the back of the venue, avoiding the sweaty horde.
Two girls from the Official Wild Fury Fan Club sold merchandise from a table at the back of the club. They were happy to do it for free T-shirts and tickets to shows.
Sadie looked at the stacks of T-shirts on the table with envy. “See, that’s another thing I need to talk to you about. You guys are really good about the whole branding and merchandising thing. You sell T-shirts, koozies, key chains, collectors edition vinyl records…”
“Whatever we can think of,” I said.
“We leave so much money on the table not doing that kind of thing. Maybe you could give me some pointers.”
I smiled. “Maybe I could.”
Crash emerged from the crowd and headed toward me.
“You decided to show up,” I said, surprised to see him.
He gave me a handshake and a bro hug. “Yeah, sorry, man. I was in a funk for a few days there. I was mad, and I took it out on you. I apologize. I know you were trying to look out for me. Are we cool?”
I smiled. “Yeah. We’re cool.”
Crash hugged me again.
We hung out and watched the rest of the show. The band rocked out, and the audience went crazy. Wild Fury played a couple of encores to thunderous applause, then retired to the green room. We joined them, and there were high-fives all around. There was an awkward moment of tension between Faye and Crash when he first stepped into the room.
"Great show," Crash said, breaking the weirdness. He lifted his arm and displayed his cast. "I'm glad I get this off tomorrow. Too much more of this, and I might be out of a job."
“No way, dude," Dizzy said. "Wild Fury for life!"
"I'm glad you came to see my last performance," Faye said to Crash.
He struggled for words and just nodded.
"You doing okay?"
"Yeah,” he said. “I'm hanging in there. It's all good."
"Good.” She extended her hand. "Are we friends again?"
"Yeah. Friends."
The two shook, gazing into each other's eyes, that spark still there. Crash held onto her hand for a long time, and she finally slipped it away.
"I'm glad we got that settled," she said, trying to dissipate the awkwardness. "You want a drink?"
"Yeah, sure."
Faye spun around, and her frilly skirt twirled. She grabbed a bottle of whiskey from the table and poured two glasses, then handed one to Crash. She lifted her glass to toast. "It's been a fun ride, gentlemen. And I know I haven't always been easy to deal with."
Sadie chuckled.
Faye’s eyes snapped to her. "Shut it," she said playfully. Then continued her speech. "But I'll always look back at this time with fond memories. And I'll be able to say that I played with the mighty Wild Fu-u-u-ry!"
The guys roared and whistled. We all clinked glasses and took a swig.
"Party on the boat!" Dizzy shouted.
I gave a nod, and there was much rejoicing.
We finished our drinks, then loaded out the gear. If Wild Fury got much bigger, I was considering hiring a road crew to lug the equipment around. The streaming residuals were trickling in, and they were nothing to sneeze at.
We headed back to the practice studio, unloaded the gear, then drove to the marina. The guys had put the word out before we left Sonic Temple, notifying a select group of available women that there would be a late-night soirée. By this point in time, it was well known that the band liked to party after shows, and a growing bevy of groupies would turn up at the marina, invited or not.
The neighbors were always invited to our little gatherings, and we tried to keep the racket to a dull roar. But we did get the occasional complaint. Now and again, someone would call the sheriff, and an envious deputy would show up and tell us to tone it down.
We all stumbled down the dock to the Avventura, and I ushered the guests aboard. I took Buddy and Fluffy up to my stateroom to keep them out of the fray, and by the time I returned to the main deck, JD was behind the bar, pouring drinks.
Sadie and I headed up to the sky deck and hung out by the Jacuzzi. There were already a few topless beauties frolicking around in the water, pawing on Dizzy and Styxx. They wasted no time getting things rolling in a positive direction.
Sadie looked impressed. “Living the rock ’n’ roll lifestyle, eh?”
I nodded sheepishly. “Somebody’s gotta do it.”
"You guys sure are having a good time, aren't you?"
I smiled. "We have our ups and downs. Mostly ups."
"How can a girl ever hope to compete with this?" she asked with a seductive glimmer in her eye.
"It's not a competition."
She gave me a sassy