Rick woke up alone with a pounding headache. His mouth tasted like a cat's litter box. Painfully bright sunshine leaked through the heavy curtains.
He groaned and threw off the covers, then stood up and stumbled naked to the bathroom. One thing about expensive tequila--the hangovers wasn't as bad as the ones he'd gotten from the cheap shit in the early days. He took some aspirin, drank three glasses of water, brushed his teeth, and then climbed into the shower.
The water was cold, but warmed up quickly. He held his head under the stream for a long time, then straightened up and muttered "Hello Computer" in a thick Scottish accent.
"Yes, Master." The computer answered with Igor's voice from YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN.
"Play 'Sunday Morning Coming Down.'"
The opening chords of Johnny's Cash's version sounded. Rick groaned and shook his head. "Make it Kristofferson. Album version."
Kris Kristofferson started singing. Rick sang along as he soaped his body, mumbling the first verse, getting stronger and clearer on the second, and pushing into the "On the Sunday morning sidewalks" chorus in full voice.
He followed up with Willie Nelson's "Bloody Mary Morning," paused to wash his hair, and then sang "Two More Bottles of Wine" with Emmylou Harris while toweling off.
When he left the bathroom, he was feeling better. Country music always cheered him up. His first paid gig had been playing guitar and singing harmony in his older brother's western swing band, when he was 12.
Rick came from a musical family. His mother was a church organist and piano teacher. His father ran a music store and played guitar in a rockabilly band. His brothers and sisters all sang and played at least one instrument.
He'd played saxophone through middle and high school and started his first band, The Third Coast Rockets, when he was 14. Their set list was heavy on Bruce Springsteen and ZZ Top, but included everything from David Bowie and Queen to Berlin's "Take My Breath Away" and Thomas Dolby's "She Blinded Me With Science." The band members were too young to play bars, but they got steady bookings for school dances and private parties.
Still naked, Rick walked through the bedroom and into his little private writing room. It held a digital piano, a small desk, and an acoustic guitar leaning against a love seat.
A bottle of golden tequila sat on the desk, beside an empty crystal tumbler. Rick made a face and returned the bottle to the small bar in the corner.
He took a machine rolled joint out of a polished wooden box on the desk, but then dropped it and settled on the love seat. He closed his eyes and sank into the cushions, thinking about Dale Wood, his boyfriend.
Three months ago, the band had hired Dale to play Rick's sax and keyboard parts live. He and Rick had fallen into instant lust. They were great in bed, but the rest of their relationship was nonstop drama. Rick was a tomcat and Dale was insanely jealous.
Their fight last night had set a new record for craziness. Dale thought Rick had had sex with Jack Hammer yesterday. Sure, he'd spent several hours alone with the hot detective, but that was business. Literally, life and death business.
That was too bad. He WAS attracted to Jack and he could tell it was mutual. Maybe after this was resolved...
Dale had finally stormed off to his own quarters and Rick had hit the tequila. Now, it felt like a "Bloody Mary Morning." Or maybe another "Tequila Sunrise."
Rick sighed and shook his head. It'd been years since he'd gotten hammered like that. All the stress of releasing an album and getting ready for a tour was bad enough. Add the tension with Dale and a potential assassin... He reached for the joint, but then changed his mind and dropped it again. He picked up the acoustic guitar and ordered the computer to play "Tequila Sunrise."
He strummed the guitar and sang along with the Eagles, trying to forget about everything else. Maybe when this was over, he'd put a low-key country rock band together and play some bars. Get as far away from the rock star trip as possible.
The song ended but Rick continued playing, just fooling around with chords.
"Uh... Hi." Dale was standing in the door, dressed in a bathrobe. Like Rick, he was tall with long curly hair.
Rick put the guitar down and looked at Dale silently.
"I'm sorry," Dale said. "About last night. I got a little crazy--"
"More than a little," Rick said.