Life had returned to normal for me and my band, Conscious Nightmare. Shaki had gone on the rest of her tour and I was getting out to clubs more, myself and the band that is. Ever since that Tonight Show appearance with Shaki all those months ago the requests were pouring in like water through a broken dam. Problem was they were looking for Kain Thornn the classical player, not Kain Thornn of Conscious Nightmare, the abrasive metal band. Even with as many requests that backed out on learning we were a metal band, there were still gigs galore to be set up. Our manager, Mike, even considered hiring a higher scale management company to help us keep it all together. The timing was great since out second CD was just released. Demand for the new disc pushed us to using a larger pressing plant and distributor, at a substantial cost, but the sales and shows were paying for it nicely.
At this point, we were 2 months into our first serious coast to coast tour, 85 stops in major (and some not so major) cities from California to New York. The city we were in at this time was Denver, Colorado, and cold doesn't begin to describe the weather. We wanted to shoot Mike for getting us up here in goddamn January! But it was only for three nights, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, with no show Sunday, but the club was gracious enough to pay for our rooms at the Holiday Inn for Sunday night as well so we figured, why not?
The shows went great! The Colorado fans were as hungry to see us as I've ever seen anywhere. They certainly were friendly; one young lady kept sending Corona Lights up to the stage for me. She waved each time; I saw a head of long black hair, straight and flowing, with a really nice smile and some rather unflattering glasses. Oh well, she can see better right? I'm not going to argue free drink. I definitely planned to relax Sunday.
As I was stepping out Sunday for a bite to eat, a little early so I could beat the after church crowd, I was stopped before I left my hotel room by a knock. I expected to see one of my band mates, but when I looked through the peephole I saw the woman with long black hair from last night's show, looking right up into the lens outside. She was very petite; I doubt she was much more than 5 feet tall! Her glasses cast a reflection that obscured her eyes, but I could tell it was the same woman who was buying me Corona Lights all night. I could also tell she was cold by the steaming breath escaping her lips, so my soft heart opened the door and let her in. She hurried in and shut the door behind her; and just stood in front of the door looking at me with a growing smile. Being me, I noticed what she had on right away, a long skirt, sneakers, and a thick ski jacket. I didn't think anything at the time, until recognition started slipping into my mind. That spicy fragrance she had on triggered a memory switch in my mind, but I still couldn't put a finger on it. I had barely drawn a breath to speak when she grabbed me, spun us around, pushed me against the door and covered my mouth with hers. Her lips were quite warm in spite of having just come in from the cold. Her tongue slipped into my mouth and familiarity rang again. Instinctively, I slid my hand into her hair, combing through the raven locks and everything stopped as the hair came off in my hand. A wig! And under the wig were some very familiar blonde curls.