American Love Songs (12 page)

Jake somehow doubted that, both from his tone and his body language, but he had no idea what else to do or say to make this better, and he had the sneaking suspicion that Parker wasnt going to enlighten him any time soon. “Okay. Ill try not to keep you up.”

Under the too hot, too weak spray of the showerhead, the situation didnt make any more sense. Jake washed away all traces of sweat and sex and come with cheap hotel soap because his body wash was still in his overnight bag and he didnt want to disturb Parker. Once he was clean, he stood under the running water for five minutes and leaned his head against the tile wall fighting off an onslaught of— something. Then the moment passed, and he shut the tap off, dried himself, and slipped into his pajama bottoms.

Parker wasnt sleeping when he went back out into the main room, the rise and fall of his chest too rapid, but he didnt say anything, so Jake followed his cue and crawled into bed, then reached up to turn off the light.

Sleep was a long time coming.

 

PRODIGAL: OFFICIAL BLOG OF THE WAYWARD SONS

 

Date: Friday, November 13, 2009 Author: Jake

 

Post-Show Commentary

 

Update: Holy shit you guys, I am tired. What a show! Thank you all
so much
for coming, your enthusiasm made our night!

That last set was INSANE! Did you see Parker rocking out on that solo? Eat your heart out, Jimmy Page! Allanna got it on her cell phone, were gonna put it up on the website as soon as were not all dying of exhaustion. I will be jerking off to that for the rest of my life (which wont be long from now, considering how Im already dying of exhaustion and everything).

Pantycount for the evening is: 10 thongs, 2 boy shorts, 3 bikini briefs, 1 pair boxer shorts (represent!). Theres also something we cant identify which may or may not be some type of bondage gear. You guys are awesome. We are running out of room for them on the sides of the tour bus lounge and have started hanging them from the ceiling. We are classy, classy gentlemen. Especially Jimmy. Here is a picture of him with our latest trophies.

Thats all from me for tonight. Time for me to hit the sack. See you next time! Peace!

 

T
HE cute blond guy in the fourth row had been staring at him ever since the intro to “Lucky Sevens.”

To be fair, there were a number of other people in the audience who were probably staring at him too—Jake wasnt the fan heartthrob that Chris or Parker was, but he knew how to use the Internet to boost his ego, not that he needed to. Still, it was unusual that he noticed— most of the time, he was too wrapped up in what was happening onstage to pay attention to someone checking him out.

He was definitely being checked out. It was the only possible reason the guy would not be staring at Parker during “High Fidelity.”

It took Jake until the last song of the set to decide what to do about it. They had kept up their tradition of closing with a cover song— Chris had stipulated that if they ever got big enough to have their own tour, they would have to play a Wayward Sons encore—and it was technically Parkers turn to choose. He and Jake had practiced “Hotel California” on the bus that morning, but it wouldnt be the first time their selection had changed at the last minute.

Before Parker could launch into the iconic opening solo, Jake burned through the raunchy opening bars of Foreigners “Hot Blooded.” Chris turned and shot him a look—doubtless he was wise to Jakes intention—but they all jumped in, anyway, and if Jake lent a little more of himself to the backing vocals than he usually did, well, that was between him and the hottie in the fourth row.

Jake surreptitiously sneaked into the audience when Red Star started their first set. It was the perfect cover—nobody cared to recognize him when a much more famous band was playing onstage. Nobody except Blondie, anyway, and even then Jake was practically in his lap before his eyes caught Jakes and widened attractively.

Jake grinned. “Enjoying the show?” he shouted over the scream of Elliots guitar.

 

Blondie nodded but didnt try to talk over the music. “Do you play?” Jake asked, nodding toward the stage to show he meant guitar.

Blondie recovered from his shock and shot him a coy smile. “Depends what instrument,” he replied in a yell Jake was only just able to make out.

Apparently Jakes gaydar was back up and running in top form. He smiled. “You want to get out of here?”

The blonds name turned out to be Justin, and he was everything Jake could have hoped for in a one-night stand: cute, easy, agreeable, and ultimately forgettable. He was also a tease, so much so that several times before they made it back to his downtown apartment, Jake had to push him up against the wall and kiss him, just to remind him who was in charge.

He never saw the camera flash, but that was no wonder. PRODIGAL: OFFICIAL BLOG OF THE WAYWARD SONS

 

Date: Wednesday, November 4, 2009 Author: Jake

 

Holy. Shit.

 

I just got this e-mail from Mike. I am
freaking out
.

 

J,

 

Lucky Sevens just broke into the American Top 40.

 

Seriously, thank you guys
so much
. Youre making all our dreams come true.

 

Us Weekly

 

Issue dated November 6, 2009

 

Wayward Sons Gay Love Affair?

Fans of alt-rock newcomers the Wayward Sons will be interested to know that hit “Lucky Sevens” lyricist Jake Brenner was caught on camera last week making a little luck of his own—with another man.

Us Weekly
can exclusively reveal that budding heartthrob Jake Brenner, bassist for the band the Wayward Sons, whose album
Manifest Destiny
has been climbing the charts steadily since its release in September, is not only gay but seriously involved with an unnamed partner, a source close to the band reveals.

“Jake is over the moon,” the source confides. “Hes not normally the monogamous type, but hes making an exception.” He certainly
looks
smitten! So, Jake, whos the lucky man?

“
J
AKE! Hey, Jake, wake up!”

Jake groaned and rolled over, pulling the pillow over his head. What the hell was Allanna doing in their room so early? “I know its not morning yet,” he tried to mumble, fully aware the words came out in an incomprehensible slur.

“Its sort of important,” Parker put in.

Jake cracked one eye open and glared at him. The traitor. He must have let Allanna in. “What do you want?” he complained, rolling over and rubbing at his eyes with one hand.

Allanna thrust a glossy magazine in his face. “Congratulations, youre famous.”

Jakes eyes were still too close to sleeping to see much, so he reluctantly sat up in bed and blinked them a few more times before trying to focus. When he did see the picture in the magazine, it took him a few seconds to process the fact that it was of
him
. Well, him and Justin, though you couldnt see much of Justins face. “They didnt really get my good side,” he said with a slight frown.

He was pretty sure his reaction wasnt what Allanna had been going for, but really, what did she expect? Jake was just not the discreet type. He looked up at his audience and flipped back to the magazines cover. There was a giant picture of some waif-thin celebrity doing a line of coke on the front. “Look at that, I didnt even make the first page.”

Allanna yanked the magazine out of his hands and smacked him ungently on the head with it. “This is a joke to you?”

 

That pissed him off. “No, its not a joke,” he said acerbically. “Its my life, and Im not going to live it in the closet!”

Allanna flinched like shed been slapped. Even Parker winced. Then Allanna sighed and dropped into the chair beside his bed. “Im sorry. Look, I wasnt suggesting….” She sighed. “Did you even read the article?”

He hadnt, but he took the time to do it now, groaning aloud as he reached the end. “Great, now Im going to look like a slut.” He didnt miss Parkers inelegant snort.

 

“Oh, shut up.” But there was a smile trying to work its way out between his lips. “Let me guess: Mike called you.”

“Youre lucky, you know,” she told him, putting her feet up on the vacant chair. “Another label would probably want you to deny everything.”

Jake made a face. “How would I go about denying that? „My tongue tripped and he caught it with his mouth?”

 

Parker snickered.

 

“You just love this, dont you?” Jake accused. “Youre enjoying my pain.”

 

“Im enjoying the fact that youre going to have to explain that you dont even know your supposed one and onlys last name.” Jake stared at him. “Im shocked and appalled, Parker. Shocked and appalled.”

 

“Back to the topic at hand,” Allanna said, diverting him. Sighing, Jake flopped back into the pillows. “What does Mike want?”

 

“Ideally, I think hed like you to do
Oprah
, but her people havent called him back. Youre not that famous yet.”

 

“Cant I do
Ellen
instead? Seriously.” Jake barely resisted the urge to pull a pillow over his face. This was going to
suck
. “Actually,” said Allanna, “I have a better idea.”

People
Magazine
Issue dated November 13, 2009 Jacob Brenner Sets the Record Straight
On his sexuality, his boyfriend, and the Wayward Sons on tour

Sure, hes still cute, but in his street clothes youd never guess Jacob Brenner was a rock star. Fresh-faced and dressed in jeans and a faded T-shirt, he met this lucky interviewer for lunch in a café in his hometown of Independence, Kansas.

The big smiles and loose posture cant contain the energy lurking beneath the surface, though; Brenner has a hard time keeping still, seeming to need to be in motion. Its easy to see why the fans adore him.

Over Reubens and mac and cheese, Brenner opens up about a wide variety of topics. There seems to be nothing he wont talk about, from sex, drugs, and rocknroll to the current presidential administration. Of course, the former topics are a lot more interesting.

Q: The Wayward Sons are now three months into a cross-country tour with the legendary Red Star. Whats that like?

A: For the first month or two it was kind of unbelievable. It was just go, go, go all the time. We didnt really have time to absorb everything that was going on. And of course, I got the flu, like, the first week, and recovering on the road is tough. It took us this long to finally hit our stride, and now I can safely say its amazing. At first it was weird hanging out with guys who have been doing this since we were in high school, you know? Im pretty sure they played Red Star songs at our middle-school graduation. But the guys are pretty cool, and theyve given us some really good advice. Hopefully Elliot (Dane, Red Stars lead guitarist) isnt mad at me for implying that hes old!

Q: What kind of advice do they give you?

A: Well obviously they forgot the part about how not to get caught kissing another man on a street corner. (He laughs.) Stuff like how to handle having an off night, what to do when you start chafing from living in each others pockets, how not to burn out on tour. How to keep in touch with your family so you dont get a big head. Important stuff like that.

Q: Since you brought it up—you recently came out of the closet as gay. How has that affected you?

A: (He laughs.) You know, people always look at that headline as me being “outed,” but you can ask anyone, I couldnt even find the closet with a map! Anyone whos ever read my blog knows I bat for the other team, so most of the really hard core fans already knew. Sure, theres been a hateful comment or two, and if people want to stop buying our records and listening to our music because one of us is gay, thats their business. I cant say it doesnt hurt, but its nothing I havent dealt with my whole life, just on a slightly larger scale. And on the plus side, now Im getting propositioned by guys who didnt know I was gay before, so thats something thats changed for the better.

Q: Tell us about the man in the photograph.

A: I know the rumor is that hes the love of my life, and I hate to disappoint, but a rumor is exactly what it is. We had a good time together and now its over. End of story. I know its boring, but not everything can be an epic love story!

Q: Theres been a lot of speculation about you and the bands guitarist, Parker McAvoy. Can you comment on that?

 

A: Seriously? People think that? Im going to have to start reading the comments on my blog again, arent I?

 

Q: So thats a “no”?

A: Parkers my best friend and I love him. If I could get him to sleep with me, I would have to be a complete idiot to go get caught with other guys. I mean, have you
seen
Parker? Give me some credit. Im not that stupid!

Q: So are you seeing anyone?

A: Ill tell you what I told my mom. (He laughs.) Im too young to fall in love. Im too busy sowing my wild oats! Maybe someday Ill be ready to settle down and start writing love songs, but its not going to be anytime soon. (Another pause.) Of course, now that Ive said that, Ill probably meet someone amazing tomorrow.

Q: You mentioned writing love songs. Thats not what youre working on now?

A: Oh, the new album—I say “new album” like weve started recording, but were just in the preliminary phases really—will have a lot of exciting stuff on it, including a few love songs, but I didnt write them.

Q: Any idea when well be able to hear it?

 

A: With any luck, we should be recording by the time the tour is over. So—summertime, maybe, if were lucky.

 

Q: Looking forward to it. Thanks for talking to us.

 

A: Thanks for lunch!

 

I
N
G
ATLINBURG, Chris and Parker bought cowboy hats.

They were just passing through on their way through to Nashville, and Chris wanted to stop for a smoke. The next thing Jake knew, he was being dragged into the kind of place a self-respecting gay man wouldnt be caught dead in. There were dead animals on the wall. He had to suppress a shudder.

Chris and Parker acted like total kids, putting on fake
²⁹
southern accents and whipping out pretend six-shooters and generally being clowns. Jake was too charmed to see them actually having fun together to care much that he was in a shop with a floor made of raw timber, and the shop owner had a copy of the latest issue of
People
, the one with Jakes “coming out” article in it, on the desk, and he hadnt even batted an eye.