After the show, the boys made their way to the bus. I followed at a distance, unwilling to get caught in their band hell or the backwash of stage door groupies. I waited for the four of them to climb on board before I came out of hiding and ran to the bus.
The locker-room odor now overpowered the smell of beer and pot. The bus simply stank. I saw River duck into the bathroom, a towel around his narrow waist. Buck and Gabe were collapsed at the living room table, while Chuck could be heard from the bedroom along with some number of women.
I sat at the living room table and tried to make conversation. "You were wonderful tonight."
"Thanks." Gabe smiled and lit a joint. He took a deep drag, then held it out to Buck. I noticed a moment of hesitation before Buck took the joint and puffed on it. Then he handed it back to Gabe and wandered to his cubicle. Gabe watched him leave the living room and laughed. "Lightweight." He held the joint out to me.
I considered his offer. It's not like I'd never gotten high before, and Gabe was really my only friend in the band. But I was still high from my first night with the Fiery Boys, so I didn't need to get any higher. I waved my hands to decline.
But before he sank into total oblivion, I decided to ask about the scantily clad leather fan girl, screaming for my blood. "Hey, Gabe, this may be a stupid question, but did you notice that woman in the front wearing a skimpy red corset?"
Gabe laughed. "You're right, that is a stupid question." He took another drag and held it for a few seconds before exhaling. "She's a Vegas showgirl. Her real name is Mary, but she calls herself 'Inferna.' Nice Fiery Boys name, huh? She runs a popular website and claims to be our biggest fan."
"So that's Inferna." I'd heard her name before, and I'd read her blog. One of my biggest haters, as far as I could remember. And I understood why, too. I was a major threat to her reputation as the best Fiery Boys fan ever.
Gabe nodded. "She drives from city to city, gathers a crew, and monopolizes the front of the dance floor." He frowned. "I saw what happened tonight. Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." I laughed. "She claims to have bedded Chuck lots of times."
"Yep. They go way back. Chuck lives in Vegas, too, so they're fuck buddies. And she has visited the bus a few times since we started this tour. Chuck thinks she's a fine piece of ass."