Jess is offered the opportunity of a lifetime to photograph Greta Van Fleet on their upcoming tour but is blindsided by how quickly one can fall in love from behind the lens. A story of love, family, and friendship, and finding balance between the t...
The next morning, I woke up, my head pounding. Thankfully the room had finally stopped spinning. The night before was a complete blur, and who's sweater was I wearing?
I could hear talking coming from the other side of the door. The last thing I wanted to do was walk out there in the middle of whatever was going on between them all. For all I know, I was the only one who didn't remember a single thing that happened last night.
I had to get it over with sooner or later. I slid the door open.
"There she is!" yelled Josh from his top bunk. His head propped up on his hand, he smiled at me. "How you feelin'?" "I'm fine.." I managed. Sam laughed. "No she's not." I looked around to see Jake towards the front of the bus, sitting down at the table. I made my way through and sat down across from him.
"Hey.." I sighed. He looked up at me and smiled. "Well, good morning." He said. "You doing alright?" "Yeah, I'll be fine. Just wish I could remember something from last night." "You.. don't remember anything?" He asked. "I think I was with Josh.. is.. is this his sweater? How did I get this?" he started blushing. "Um... y-yeah.. that's his." He said quietly. "You guys were pretty friendly all night.." "Great.." I mumbled. "I.. I'm not usually like that." He laughed. "I know. You told me." "I did?" He nodded, giggling to himself. "Yeah, and don't worry.. apparently nothing happened." "Good.." I sighed. "Yeah, but..he did seem a little disappointed." My cheeks burned.
I looked over at Josh. He was still propped on up his top bunk, talking to Danny. Little flashes of the night started to pop into my mind. His hand in mine, our fingers intertwined. Empty glass after empty glass on the coffee table. He looked over at me and smiled. I smiled back.
"So when do we get to the venue?" I asked, turning back to Jake. "We should be there in about an hour. We have interviews and soundcheck, and then the show starts at 9. I think you'd get the best stuff if you were around for all of it." I nodded. "I'm excited to see you guys play." "Yeah, after I saw your work I knew we had to have you for our tour." "You? ..I thought Jo-"
"You ready for the best show of your life?" Josh chimed in. He slid into the booth next to me, our legs touching again. Jake shot him a look. He shrugged it off. "Yeah, I was just telling Jake how excited I am to see you guys play. He said there were gonna be a ton of opportunities to get great shots." "Great! You can hang with me." Josh said. "I'll show you around so you'll know all the best places to shoot." He gently placed his hand on my leg. My cheeks burned again. "Great."
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I was surprised when we pulled up to the venue. It was much larger than I was anticipating. Come to think of it, they didn't give me much information when I was hired for this gig. And I didn't hesitate to accept, considering it was my first actual tour. I didn't want to waste any time asking questions.
"This place is huge!" I said, looking around. Josh flashed me a huge smile. "Just wait until tonight, it really lights up when everything get's going. And being on the water? It's amazing."
I could see what he meant. It was beautiful right now, so I could only imagine once the show got started.
"So where do you guys need to be first?" I asked. Josh moved closer to me. "We've got an interview in a half hour, but come with me, I wanna show you around.." He said, grabbing my hand. I quick peeked at Jake to see his face drop.
Josh lead me down through the seats towards the stage. I followed closely. The venue was still completely empty. I couldn't imagine this completely filled with people. Mainly girls, I'm sure. I knew the kind of crowd a band like this would draw in. Considering the single night shows I've shot before, I'm sure it would be nothing compared to what I would be experiencing for the next three months out here.
"Here would be perfect for you.." Josh said, pointing out an arena in front of the stage. "You could get us all, but I'm sure you'll have free rein once the show starts, if you wanted." He turned back to smile at me. His eyes sparkled when he smiled. I could feel myself blushing again.
"Josh, I think we should talk.." I said. His face dropped a bit. "What's up, mama?" He asked, letting go of my hand. He made his way up onto the stage, checking it out for himself. "About last night.." I said. He nodded. "Gotcha." he sighed. He was quiet for a moment. "It's not you, it's just.. I don't want anyone thinking I got this job.." "Cause you're dating someone in the band. I understand." I giggled. "We're hardly dating." He smirked back at me. "You know what I mean." He laughed. I looked up at him. He really was handsome, and even just standing up on that stage alone, you could tell he was meant to be up there. "I do." "Are you always this forward?" I finally asked him. He shrugged. "No, actually." He said quietly, shoving his hands into his pockets.
He was blushing now. It was cute.
"Then why now?" I asked. He turned back to me, shrugging. "You seemed...different." His tone changed. It felt less forced; real. "Well, you still do." He laughed. I smiled. "I'll back off.." He said.
I continued to stare up at him as he walked the perimeter of the stage, looking out at all angles. He pointed out another spot to me, I made my way over.
"But I think once you get to know me, you'll forget all about your silly rule." He smirked. My cheeks were burning again. "I guess we'll have to see." I said, smirking back up at him.
