A Box Of Rocks Pt. 03

Then he carefully took the restraints off, picked me up, and carried me to the shower, where he gently bathed me, then dried me with those huge fluffy towels he favored, and carried me to bed, in my old bedroom. "We'll change the sheets tomorrow," he said with a big smile. I was going to show him how grateful I was, but fell asleep while I was fondling him to erection.

I woke up the next morning with my hand wrapped around his erection, which I promply took advantage of. When he woke, he rolled me over and made soft, gentle love to me until I begged him to pound me. He did. I barely had the energy to crawl out of bed later, but the full breakfast he'd made me helped restore my energy.

"Wanna talk about it?"

I grinned. "I'm not sure. Did I like it? Way more than I thought I would. Up until you, there was never a man I would trust to do that with. I've always been independent minded, and the thought of being totally helpless and completely at your mercy turns me on. I'm getting hot now, thinking about it. Would I want it all the time? No. But every once in a while, I expect you to take me and treat me like a piece of meat. Understand?"

"I do," he smirked. "It will be totally random and you'll never see it coming. First thing in the morning, the middle of the night, early afternoon in the media room, wherever and whenever I feel like doing it. You are not allowed to say no, ever."

"That's exactly how we started, remember? I can live with it, although if I come to you with the cuffs on, I expect to be indulged. All right?"

"We'll see," he said, and left it at that.

Chapter 25

We took another vacation, and we all went to France. Jon showed us around, proud of his adopted country. I confess I didn't like Paris all that much, but a couple of the little towns charmed me tremendously, and when we hit the coast, I was in heaven. The top went first, then when we stayed at the clothing optional resort for two weeks, none of us went home sporting tan lines. I can safely say we all knew way more about each other than we ever thought we would.

They individually and collectively sat in with some of Jon's friends, which gave them a tremendous boost in popularity. I could see the wheels turning in all their heads, noticed them constantly typing on their phones, and knew a new songwriting binge would happen when we got home. Juan had joined us for part of the vacation, and jealousy reared its' head when we hit the resort. He blustered, and almost threatened, until Alison finally had enough. "What in the world is the matter with you? Do I need to hang a sign around my neck saying Private Property? Not gonna happen. Besides, I notice you don't mind eyeing us or any of the other women here, so give it a rest."

I noticed he also eyed a lot of the guys, but I didn't bring it up in conversation with Al. I had a feeling their relationship had just about run it's course. One of the things that bothered him was they took him on tour with them as an extra musician, introduced him at every concert, but he wanted full membership, and that would never happen. He got paid really well, and he needed the money, so he held quiet about it.

His band broke up three months later, and suddenly he was giving tell all interviews to all the gossip rags and television shows, hinting that we were all in a relationship with each other, in a polymoric way. Al turned Gwen loose on him, and soon he was giving printed retractions and follow up interviews denying his former claims.

They really didn't care, they didn't exactly have that wholesome family vibe, more like a wide open rock band that didn't give a shit. Then CBS wanted interviews, together and separately. Gwen pushed us to do it, saying the publicity would be good.

They did a segment of them all together, then each in different settings. Jon and Titty were living together still, and make no moves to hide the relationship. They did Al at her new home, a horse farm she had just acquired about ten miles from our house. Then they did Mason, at home. I tried to make myself scarce but he made me sit through the last half of the interview with him. The interviewer asked about our relationship.

"She's my love slave," he said with a straight face, before dissolving in laughter at the expression on her face. When he caught his breath he told her part of what he said was true. I was his lover, and I lived here with him.

She turned the charm on to me. "So what's life like with a rock star?

"It's all right, after I made him get the snakes out of the bedroom and cut the orgies down to no more than two a month."

Then it was my turn to laugh. "The truth is, we're terribly domestic. If it weren't for Mason's looks and his money, if people saw us out grocery shopping, they'd think we were just another couple in suburbia. His work ethic is probably on par with any CEO, and sometimes I have to threaten him to get him to slow down. Other times, I just start taking off my clothes. That tends to distract him really well."

Mason blushed, and the camera person caught it. It stayed in the piece.

They did a little side interview with Maddie, calling her the heir apparent to the music.

Chaptrer 26

Maddie was working on her second album, and Mason was determined it wouldn't suffer from the sophomore jinx. It's what happens to a lot of performers who have years to work on the material for their fist effort, and then rush through the second, just to get something out. They carefully wrote and vetted every song, and Maddie had turned into a pretty decent songwriter.

Her drummer left her band to concentrate on college, and in a move that surprised everyone, the drummer for the country rock band she had toured with last summer joined her. His band had broken up, egos getting out of hand, and she snatched him up. It turned out he also wrote most of the lyrics and several of the songs outright for his old band. I looked for collaborations on many different levels in the future.

He was almost tonguetied the first time we had him over, but he gradually relaxed. He and Titty hit it off, although he would never call her by her nickname, mostly it was just "Ma'am." It amused her no end. He was a natural drummer, and she taught him a lot of the technical aspects of their craft. You could tell it in the later tracks of the sessions.

Chapter 27

They were all writing, but at a much more relaxed pace. It didn't take them long to realize that if they weren't stupid with their money, they could live in style for the rest of their lives just on what they had earned so far, and it reflected in their attitudes. Jon was dabbling with a jazz band he had formed, mostly with a few members from his old band. Mason produced their album, on his label, and it was very well received, peaking at number nine on the jazz charts.

Al was working with people she had met through Juan, and came out with a Spanish language record that stormed up the Latin charts. She sang on about a third of the songs, they had two male vocalists who were very good, and were certifiable hunks, making the young girls swoon. One song had them lying on a beach, in speedos, while Al was in a thong. A very small thong. It blew the top of the charts off, and the video was the most played for eight months in South American markets. It must have really steamed Juan, because he was not invited to join.

Titty had formed another all woman power trio, and the guitarist was almost as good as Al and Mason. Their sound was raw, driving, and mesmerizing. Al produced their record, and Mason engineered it, making sure it held to the cutting edge of the genre, and it was probably the most successful of all the side projects.

What did Mason do? He built a state of the art studio on a few acres he'd bought, that joined the house property, and was well on his way to being one of the most preeminent producers in the business. The artists he worked with knew they couldn't bullshit him, and if you got stupid he'd sever the relationship, wish them the best of luck, and send them on their way. Due to how his old band had disintegrated, he had an extreme aversion to drugs, and drinking, if they were around him.

Some were veterans of the business, and didn't mind arguing with him over the way they wanted their songs to go. Often they would take a break, have lunch or dinner, grin at each other, and go back to work. The new ones in the business were often so meek it irritated him, but he tried to bring them along.

Then he surprised me by bringing me a young man. He was certifiable eye candy, brilliant teeth, wavy blonde hair, shining blue eyes, with the physique of a bodybuilder. I wasn't really all that surprised when I learned he had been a professional fighter. He fought in MMA, and I realized I had watched him with Mason. He was an absolute terror in the ring, and was well on the way to being champion when another fighter gave him a cheap shot that ended his career. Kicked him in the head between rounds, as his back was turned, listening to his trainer. It put him in a coma for six weeks, and when he woke the doctors told him he could never take a head shot again. It could result in instant death.

The other fighter was banned from the ring for life, although he did fight in a few foreign countries where the ban wasn't recognized. Then it was his turn, and karma kicked his ass. Well, it was Karma dressed like an asian gang. It seems he was supposed to take a fall and decided to win instead. They smashed his knees and elbows, and broke one ankle. He could walk in a slow shuffling way, and had limited mobility in his arms for the rest of his life. He was killed by the police of the country he was in when a robbery went wrong. He died at 32.

Aaron, it seemed, had been careful with his winnings, and had a very good portfolio, so he was financially secure. He always wanted to sing, and decided it would be his post fight career. He connected with Mason through a mutual friend, and sent him some tapes. Mason immediately invited him to the studio and worked with him on a few songs. Then he brought him to me.

"I'll be producing his album, but I told him we couldn't start until he had legal protection. He's all yours, if you two hit it off."

Gwen agreed to take him on, and Mason made it plain I was to manage him. He seemed to be a genuinely nice guy, but life in general and this business in particular had taught me the hard way that looks could be deceiving. After the pleasantries were out of the way, I asked him what he expected.

"I really have no idea. I've had a little experience with the spotlight, and that doesn't mean as much to me as you'd think. I always concentrated on what was going to happen inside the ring, not the circus outside it. Would I like to be successful? Of course. Will I be? That in large part will depend on the people I trust to give me direction. People like you, if we come to terms. The word is you did a pretty good job with Maddie Taylor, and your association with Box Of Rocks gives you quite a bit of street cred, for lack of a better word. Wanna help me achieve a goal?"

We signed the standard forms, and Mason let me listen to what he'd done. The man was an old style crooner, in the late 50's early 60's style. I could hear the lush arrangements Mason had devised, and they fit his style perfectly. I had visions of him touring with a small orchestra, always impeccably dressed in a suit. The women would pelt him with so many panties he'd be able to open a lingerie shop after he'd gained a little exposure. Surpisingly, he could write pretty good lyrics, he just needed a little polishing.

After we told him what we thought was the direction he should take, he broke out into a grin. "Thank God! I was afraid you were going to push me towards country or something! When do we start?"

Mason smiled at his enthusiasm. "Soon. My suggestion is we do a few old standards, to set the scene. I want Jon to be your arranger, because he has the strongest background in this type of music. We need to find original songs as well, to establish you in your own right. I'm telling you now, this is going to be some hard work."

Aaron still had the silly grin on his face. "If I can go through the training it takes to fight at a championship level, this will be a piece of cake."

He had a few moments in the next eight months when he reevaluated that statement, but he persevered. When his debut recording, A Night We'll Never Forget, came out, he flew up the adult contemporary charts to number one in twenty-two weeks, and peaked at 33 on the top 100 regular chart. Jon did arrange the music, and when he went on a limited tour Jon was there with his jazz band and a few extras, to fill out the lush sound. We'd dropped a few videos of him in the months prior to the tour, and he had no problem filling the small halls we'd booked him into. The film crews were able to capture the intimacies of the venues. All of Box of Rocks and Maddie could be seen floating in and out of his videos. Mason was a big hit, playing the stand up bass as he backed him. Jon did one where it was just him on a grand piano as Aaron leaned against it, Mason on bass, and Jaime on drums as he crooned to the cameras.

We managed to get Maddie to do a duet with him, even though she didn't particularly care for that type of music, and it hit the chart at number five, shooting to number one in nine days. They planned a few more collaborations, which seemed to bother Jaime, her boyfriend/slash drummer, until they included him in the band. His lessons with Titty paid dividends when he did brush work on a couple of numbers, and in one eight minute long song he got a ninety second solo. Jimmy watched old shows featuring drummers from the forties and fifties, especially Buddy Rich, and styled it after his work. Then Vegas wanted him, one of the best resorts offering him an impressive deal for a four month engagment.

He rejected the offer out of hand, because they wanted him to do two performances a day, and three on the weekends. I managed a compromise, one performace daily during the week and two on the weekends, with Mondays off. The resort balked until they understood Aaron didn't care, then they couldn't sign fast enough. I would fly out twice a month to make sure things were going smoothly, and Mason was almost always with me. I think he liked Vegas, and he often joked it was where old performers went to die.

The band did a four month tour, and I had learned a lot about what it takes to keep a band on the road and on schedule. The band had all been doing it for years and had learned a trick or two. We set their tour up where they only played twice a week, Thursdays and Saturdays, mostly. That gave the crew plenty of time to set everything up and tweak it if the venue wasn't being used on Fridays. If it was, our crew were there at seven in the morning Saturday, ready to go.

They decided not to fly because of their relaxed scedules, and we leased four buses and three big rigs, to haul the equipment. One bus held the band, and me. The next one hauled the support personnel, the equipment techs, and the other two road managers. They divided their efforts, handling storage rooms, dressing rooms, player lounges, the meet and greets they usually did after a show. They recruited and supervised the local crews it took to put on a quality show, as well. The last two held the roadies, the buses lined with bunk beds.

I worked with the venue management, security consultants, and any other management personnel necessary. The band was not picky, but if the venue tried to slip something by us, or be a little cute, I put all kinds of things in the contracts, a personal massuese in one, a specific type of candy in another, to be kept at an exact temperature, a certain brand of water, or beer, or wine. They would grin and pretend to be unsatisfied, just to yank their chain.

The massages were a hit, Titty was usally pretty sore after a performance, and Al and Mason tended to move a lot. Jon strained the least, mostly sitting at his keyboard, but he found them very relaxing as well. Maddie, Jaime, and Aaron, when they toured with us, it got to the point that we had to have two and sometimes three techs. We paid them double rates, with tips, and they got a lot of photos to keep. When the trade found out where we were touring, there was now a flood of studios competing for the business. I found myself in the line, and we all slept like babies, our buses in a secured and patrolled lot.

I had been having the sniffles for a couple of days, and we were in Detroit, then St. Paul, Denver, and Salt Lake City. It was early winter, but when we hit Chicago, a blizzard blew across the Great Lakes and dumped a ton of snow. I still had meetings to attend, so they got me a four wheel drive vehicle as well as a local driver, but it was miserable getting from the car to the offices. My sniffles turned into a raging cold, and Mason was surprised to find me missing after the show, and found me in the bus, soaked in sweat and running a fever of 103 degrees. He immediately had me rushed to the closest hospital. I was there for three days while they got me stabilized, waiting for the fever to break.

I was on a lot of meds and weak as a kitten. I'd never been sick a day in my life and it scared me. I would cling to Mason and he would hold me tightly, stroking my sweaty hair and telling me it would be all right. He chartered a private plane to take me home, and waited on me hand and foot until it was time for another show. I insisted he go a day early, just to go through the playlist a time or two, well knowing what kind of profectionist he could be.

I moped around the house for a week. April and Maddie came over and stayed with me, petting me relentlessly. By the time he got home, I was feeling a lot better, and aching to feel him against me while I slept. He cuddled me the first night, but I was aggresive the second. It wasn't the hard physical mating we were both used to, but a slower, gentler love, that seemed to go on forever. I drifted off with a satisfied smile. My life was perfect.

Chapter 28

Then suddenly, it wasn't. Two months went by, and I started having nausea and upset stomach, especially in the mornings. Mason was upset and forced me to go to the doctor. He ran me through some tests, and came in looking at a paper, grinning.

"I've found the problem," he said with a smile. "It's nothing a little time won't fix."

We had a tour scheduled in six months, something the band was really excited about. When I told him he frowned. "You might have a scheduling conflict. It would be better if they waited because I doubt you could travel with them."

"Why not?"

"Because in six months you will be a little less than a month from giving birth."

I fainted.