The band had already set up yesterday for tonight's show, so there was nothing left to do today. River and Gabe wanted to go up into the Rocky Mountains for a little sightseeing. River loved the outdoors, and I figured Gabe just wanted to get higher. Buck and Chuck were interested too, which surprised me because I thought Chuck would prefer to power through another bed full of groupies.
I was definitely fine with the idea of getting away from the arena and the insistent pressure of fans. It seemed like a welcome diversion. So they decided to enlist Big Tim to drive us on the tour bus, out of the city and up into the mountains. Naturally, Jason loved the idea of our tour bus rolling through the countryside, advertising the band.
We got on the road, and Gabe lit up a joint. Chuck took a few shots of tequila, and the rest of us went for some beer and soda.
At one point, just before the second round of drinks hit the table, Buck changed into a ratty Fiery Boys T-shirt with a picture of Chuck on it. I regarded the singer's face with some level of curiosity. "Since when are you a fan of Chuck's?"
Buck grinned. "This is my beer-drinking shirt. Watch. . ." He set the bottles on the table and opened them, using the shirt to twist off the caps. Each time he opened another bottle, the shirt tore a little more. Chuck's picture was starting to look like the victim in a horror movie. I have to admit I appreciated each new rip, because it let me see more and more of Buck's fine body. He might be difficult, but he was phenomenally hot.
I had a fresh bottle of beer in my hand and was about to propose a toast to the band when the bus suddenly slowed down and pulled to the side of the road. Gabe got up to talk to Big Tim, then came back and collapsed on the sofa. "Bad news. The engine's overheated, and we're stuck for a while. Big Tim's calling for service."
I got up from my seat, excited by the thought of a broken engine. To me, they'd always been interesting puzzles, fun to solve. And this engine was even more interesting because it was sure to be huge. I'd never worked on a bus.
Big Tim was outside, so I left the bus to go find him. I was wearing a casual outfit today, blue jeans and a black T-shirt. I used to dress like this ten years ago when Zed and I would work on engines. Except that the shirt I wore then was my work shirt, so it was already stained with grease and oil. Now I had on clean clothes, and I was ready to check out this new toy. I found Big Tim at the back of the bus.