The Infinite Beat

By Christine Michelle

The Infinite Beat (T.I.E. Book #2)
Chelle
I was a stowaway, on tour with a rock band, because my brother and I both lost our paying gigs when his band Seduction and Sacrifice imploded. David had been their bass player; and I'd been their merch girl and all-around gofer.
Instead of going on tour as part of the opening act David ended up getting a spot with the road crew. He pulled me along since we no longer had a means to afford our crappy L.A. apartment. I pretended to be one of the guys and blend in. It worked until he saw me, saw through my disguise, and then changed my world.
Evan
That was no dude dropping stuff by my kit.
Too slight. Too sweet. Too beautiful for anyone to mistake her as anything but the feminine perfection she was yet the morons on the road crew had referred to her as a dude named MJ.
One look from her stopped me cold. One smile of hers skipped my heart. One laugh brought it all back
into focus. Then, one test changed everything.
Forever.
The Infinite Everything (T.I.E. Series)
Book 1: The Infinite Something
Book 2: The Infinite Beat
Coming Soon:
Book 3: The Infinite Truth
Book 4: The Infinite Triangle
Book 5: The Infinite Everything
The Infinite Beat was updated in Sept. 2022 (new book cover, more story content). It was originally published in March 2019.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Moonlit Dreams Publications
• Release date: Mar 27, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463492833

Book preview

PROLOGUE

~ Chelle ~

Ryan and Webber, my brother’s bandmates, screwed us royally with their antics. They got wasted – whether drugs, alcohol, or both remained to be seen – and nearly killed an aging Hollywood producer when they ran him over and crashed the rental car that they took for a joyride. We were supposed to go on tour in two weeks.

Two weeks, and they couldn’t keep it together. My brother was their bassist, and they were supposed to open for The Infinite Everything. I was supposed to be their merchandise salesgirl on tour. We had everything set and ready. Our apartment was emptied of the few belongings we owned. Our lease had not been renewed, because we thought we could get a better place when we got back. My brain nearly exploded as I processed exactly what our recent change of circumstance meant.

What are we going to do? I posed the question to myself, but my brother spoke up as if I’d said it aloud.

Just calm down and let me think for a minute, okay?

But those idiots got wasted, totaled that car, and landed themselves in a hospital after almost killing a man. If they miraculously don’t go to jail for the accident, it will be a miracle. Either way, they’re looking a stint in rehab and there’s no way The Infinite Everything, or the people behind the tour will allow them to go.

My brother was aware of everything I’d just spewed at him. I was in panic mode though, and the words had to come out or they’d continue to repeat in my mind. Besides, it was my job as his sister to needlessly reiterate all his current woes to him. No matter what, I shared his concerns since our lives were so closely linked. Dave’s bandmates were supposed to be people we could count on, too. In the bright light of the morning, it became all too clear just how little we could trust them to keep it together.

I’ll call Dylan and see what the plan is since Ryan and Webber fucked themselves up. Just hang on a minute and let me wrap my head around that fact that my dreams are falling apart at my feet right when I thought I was finally getting somewhere. Okay, Chelle?

Ugh. I wanted to cry. My brother’s band, Seduction and Sacrifice, opening on tour for The Infinite Everything had been a once-in-a-lifetime chance that most unknown bands didn’t have fall in their laps. It was supposed to be their big break. It wasn’t even just that we couldn’t go on tour that was upsetting me, or that my brother was going to miss out on his dream. I hated it for my Dave that he might miss out on the opportunity of a lifetime simply because his bandmates were irresponsible assholes. Ryan and Webber started partying like rockstars before they ever earned the title. Too bad for them that it was likely a career-ending bout of stupidity.

I glanced around the emptied apartment that we were only able to stay in for a few more days. Surprisingly enough, super cheap and horribly run-down apartments were not easy to come by. So, when we refused to sign a new lease because we knew we’d be on tour for a few months, the apartment had already been snatched up by someone else. I had a job, my brother had a job, we were going places, and both of us just knew that once we got back to Los Angeles, after the tour was over, we would be able to upgrade to a not so horrible, slightly more expensive apartment in a less run-down complex.

We both had grandiose ideas of maybe even upgrading to one that had a functional pool we could swim in instead of watching wanna-be skaters cracking their heads in the perpetually empty pool just outside of our window. I found myself panicking again, afraid to lose the only place we had to call home, even if it was the shittiest imaginable apartment.

David was still staring at his phone when it started ringing. Shit! That one word groaned before he released a long, shaky breath, told me that whoever was on the other side of that call was not going to have good news.

Hey, Deacon, Dave answered. Deacon James was the man in charge of Wicked Web Tour Management, and the one who put together the contracts to ensure Seduction and Sacrifice were billed as the opening act for the duration. My brother listened for a moment and then heaved his body into the lawn chair we were currently using as part of our living room furniture.

Our apartment was just as shitty on the inside as it was outside, because we were broke and had been on our own since Dave was sixteen and I was fourteen. He’d been taking care of me since our parents died. We were left in the care of a distant male cousin named Tim, the only family member who would claim us, and let’s just say he didn’t have the best of intentions where I was concerned.

The moment Dave walked in on our evil cousin trying to peel my nightgown off me, he knocked the asshole out, gathered up as much of our stuff as he could, stole all the money in Tim’s wallet and what we found lying around the rest of the house, and managed to get gone in less than fifteen minutes. It had been just the two of us ever since. Struggling. This was supposed to be our time, our moment, and the magical thing that was going to finally lift us far enough out of poverty that we could stop worrying about where our next meals were coming from. We could even start buying frivolous things like a couch that hadn’t been pissed on after being left out on a curb by a neighbor, or lawn chairs that weren’t procured by less than honorable means.

Yeah, I understand. Can you, my brother started, stopped, took a breath, and then fought through whatever pride was wanted him to keep his mouth shut. Do you think you could let me know if there’s any room with the road crew for the tour? My sister and I were counting on this contract and let our apartment lease go in anticipation of being gone for months and coming back with money in our pockets. We… Dave must have been cut off because he appeared to be listening again before he blew out a frustrated breath and then grimaced into the phone.

Yeah, man, thanks. Then he flipped his phone shut. Yep, that’s how suck-ass our lives were. We still had flip phones, because they only cost $20, and didn’t require a mobile data plan that we couldn’t afford.

Tour’s canceled, huh?

The tour isn’t canceled, but my part in it has been. Seduction and Sacrifice won’t be going on tour since our contracts were nullified when the wonder twins got their asses hemmed up in legal bullshit and bad headlines in the paper. The guy they hit was Sal Giovanni, the eighty-two-year-old producer of the Immortal Vengeance Series, and he’s in the hospital with a broken hip and collapsed lung so charges are being pressed. Webber won’t be playing drums any time soon anyway since he fucked up his hands.

What about the crew spots?

Deacon told me I could check in with Smithy, but he was pretty sure the crew was full.

You gonna check anyway? I asked, not knowing if the depression over failing us was going to kick in and keep my brother down, or if he was going to attempt to rally and figure something out. I hated the fact that he’d had to rally far too many times over the years to make sure I always had food on the table, even if it wasn’t much. It was going to be hard to put food on a table when we no longer had a table or a roof to put over our heads.

Of course, I’m going to check in and see if we can squeeze on. Shit, what the hell else do we have right now?

Yeah. That was it. What else could I say? We were literally out of options and all because my brother’s bandmates couldn’t keep their shit together long enough to get on tour, and possibly get set up with a record contract if they did well enough. All of that was shot to shit now.

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Guess what happened today? David asked me as he barged into the apartment, just two days after finding out that we’d lost our spot on the tour.

You learned how to shout really loudly and be extremely obnoxious all at the same time? I teased him considering the way he had just come bounding in our mostly empty apartment like the Hulk on a mission to destroy whoever pissed him off last.

David grinned at me, his dark, overly long bangs flopping down over his left eye as he did so. Oh, he stated as his face took on a sullen turn. I guess you’re right. I shouldn’t share my news and good fortune with my bratty sister. He turned around, giving me his back while he slumped his shoulders. I’ll just go tell someone else.

I growled at my drama queen of a brother, and the way he found joy in tormenting me, then I jumped on his back in a failed attempt to tackle his ass to the floor. When that didn’t work, he ended up catching my legs with his hands and locking me in place until he dumped both of us backwards onto the couch. I was on the bottom, considering my position after having launched myself onto his back.

Wonder where my favorite sister got off to? He asked in much the same way he used to do when we were small children and he had to entertain me to keep me quiet. I played along, same way I always did, because I couldn’t help myself around my big brother.

I’m right here, asshole! I yelped as he wiggled around, squishing me further into our very uncomfortable and not exactly pleasantly smelling couch. What’s your good news? Did you find a shelter we can both stay in until we get enough for new deposits on a place?

Even better. Chelle! I just need to convince my little sister to become my little brother for a while.

What in the hell did you just say?

You’re going to need a sex change, but don’t worry, it will be all costume changes; no nipping and tucking of your girl bits. He cringed outwardly as he stated that fact.

Um, I smacked him to get him off me. When he turned to look at me again, there was no denying just how serious he was about the sex change bullshit. I think this might go without saying, but you need to explain yourself.

I had lunch with Smithy today, he couldn’t hold his grin in as he relayed the most pertinent information.

You found a crew position? My question came out breathy as hope kindled a new fire in my belly.

Better! He reached over and ruffled my long hair. I found two crew positions. They’re both for stagehands so we’ll work on setting up and tearing down the stages which means your scrawny little arms are going to get a good workout.

Oh my God! I yelled as I bounced up and down on the couch that had no bounce, thanks to its worn out cushions. Wait, what does that have to do with me needing a sex change?

I told Smithy that my little brother, MJ could take the second slot.

You don’t have a brother named MJ.

No, but I have a sister named Michelle Jewel Anderson.

Why can’t I just apply for the job as Michelle Jewel Anderson instead of some boy named MJ? I asked, miffed that being a girl would preclude me from accepting a job that I already had experience doing, thanks to trailing along after Dave’s previous band and helping them with setup and take downs. That was obviously on much smaller stages, but bigger just meant more of the same shit.

The other problem with taking the job was that I hated lying, and Dave knew that. I also hated being put on the spot and eventually called out on a lie. Not that it happened often, but sometimes desperate times called for desperate measures, and my brother and I were no strangers to desperate times.

Look, Chelle, it was one thing to get you on as a merch-girl when I was in the opening band. I don’t have that sway anymore, or the band bus to house you on. These guys aren’t too keen about hiring women because then there have to be special rules for the bus. Most chicks are too sensitive to see the shit that goes down with the groupies that get rejected by the bands. The men who work the crews don’t want to monitor the things they say and do because some chick is onboard. He scrubbed his hand through his hair as he eyed me, waiting for a response. When he didn’t get one from me, he hit me with a truth bomb. I’m not exactly ecstatic that you’ll be put in that position either, but we’re out of options, kid.

I sighed. There may have been plenty of good reasons not to do this, but desperation negated them all. Even if I would never be that girl who was easily offended, or the girl who cared if some dude was nailing a nasty groupie on the bus in front of her, it wouldn’t matter. It was all about how they would perceive a woman they had to work with who might see what went down.

Okay, genius, but don’t you think it’s going to be pretty obvious that I’m a girl? I held up a lock of my long chunky brown waves and wiggled them at him.

Dave shrugged his shoulders at me. Lots of guys on the crews have long hair. It’s a rock-n-roll staple. You’ll have to tone down the care you put into it though.

What about when I’m on my period? Where the hell am I supposed to store my tampons on a bus full of men who think I’m a dude?

My brother’s eyes bulged, and he looked thoroughly disgusted that I would even bring up my natural, girly bodily function. The idiot even slid further away from me, as if having a period might be contagious somehow.

Seriously? I mention my period, and it’s like the cooties scandal from second grade all over again? Get over yourself, Dave!

Well, I’m sure we can think of something. Just tell them you’re in charge of stocking shit like that for Mags and the intern chick that’s tagging along with Fourth Down.

I can’t believe I’m going to have to pretend to be a boy for months, I sighed.

We don’t really have a choice, my brother reminded me.

I know. This is just one more reason to hate your previous bandmates, Dave. This was supposed to be your big break, and instead we’re working as stagehands, and I have to pretend to be a man! If they ever want to get back together, your answer better be an unequivocal, No".

You don’t have to worry about our old band getting back together. That shit will never happen. You know you were an integral part of the band too, since you were part of the reason we got the gigs that got us noticed to begin with. So, one day, we’ll get a chance for another big break. I’ll start looking for a new band when we get back from this tour. If I’m feelin’ lucky, I might even look for bandmates that aren’t complete idiots. He let out a small laugh and wrapped me into a big hug. I’m going to fix everything for us, I promise.

I love you, Dave.

Love you too, sis. We’ve got this.

1 – BECOMING MJ

~ Chelle ~

Dave had not been wrong when he said that most roadcrews had plenty of long-haired men working on them. If it weren’t for my short stature, I would have fit in with them flawlessly, especially since I had purposely not washed my hair the day before, applied any product to it, or attempted to style it in any way other than pulling it back in a long, low ponytail at the nape of my neck. The baggy clothing Dave had procured for me helped in disguising my womanly figure, as did the one-size too small sports bra that worked to squish the ta-tas and had a bonus of making it incredibly hard to breathe. Who needed lungs, anyway?

Yo! Shorty, grab that case and bring it over, would ya? A man called out from the recesses of a shadowy portion of the backstage area. A moment of panic flared up when I thought about being caught with an unfamiliar man in the shadows while everyone else was too busy scurrying around and working like dogs to notice if something bad happened to me. Then I reminded myself that this was my last option besides dipping into a woman’s shelter until my brother got back from the tour, and that got my butt in gear quickly.

I did as the man asked and attempted to get by without having to speak to him. The man was having none of that as he scrutinized me. You’re Anderson’s younger sibling, right? He asked, to which I nodded in agreement, but again refused to speak out loud as I handed off the case that he had asked for. The man