by Tania Sparks
While the crowd are still shouting their enthusiasm I notice that Ash saunters over to Scott and whispers something in his ear. Scott leans back and looks at him with a questioning look and I see him mumble something back to Ash as if asking him if he’s sure. Ash nods enthusiastically. Scott shrugs his shoulders and holds his arm up to get the crowd’s attention. As they quieten down he starts to talk. “Okay guys, Ash here has asked that we do something special, so we’re going to take it down a notch or two and do a number for you with a mix of acoustic and electric guitars. Now it wasn’t in the original play list, so just give us a minute to get set up okay?” The crowd all clap and cheer. Scott walks across to the side of the stage to tell one of the stage crew something. In the meantime, Ash is walking around to Cody, Hansen and Nikki and is telling them what’s going on, each of them nodding in agreement. I see some stage crew bring out five chairs, each of them with a microphone set up in front of it. They’re placed in a small semi-circle right in front of us on the stage.
The guys move towards the chairs and sit down, each being handed a guitar from one of the stage crew. Ash is sitting on the end closest to us. The lights go dim and subdued spotlights focus on the guys. Scott leans into his microphone and the crowd quieten in response, “Okay, sorry to have kept you waiting there. I’m going to be handing over the reins for this song, Ash here’s going to do the vocals. This doesn’t happen often, so I hope you enjoy it.”
Ash leans into his microphone. “How we doin’ out there San Francisco?” he roars, confidence exuding off him. The crowd all cheer enthusiastically. The cheering starts to subside and Ash continues with a big grin on his face, “I’ve spent the last few days with a very special lady...”
The crowd cheer again and Ash raises his hands to quieten the noise. “This song’s a ballad. It’s one of our older ones that I wrote about six years ago and I’d like to dedicate it to her.”
Ash looks straight at me and says, “This is for you Angel.”
I panic for a few seconds thinking that Ash has just told Richard about us, but then I realise that Richard has no idea that Ash calls me Angel. I glance over to Richard and he seems unaware, so I sigh a breath of relief.
Cody counts them in by tapping his palm on his guitar. All five guys strum together combining their different sounds into a perfect harmony. Then Ash starts to sing, his voice is soft but raspy at the same time and oh so sexy. He looks down, staring straight at me then he moves his gaze away focussing on the guitar on his knee. The crowd light up their cell phone torches and sway as Ash sings. The other four band members quietly sing in the background. As I listen, the words of the song register. He describes having to let the love of his life go and the heartache and sadness that the loss causes him. It continues on to express hope that one day he will find his love again.
Ash sings the song with such intensity and feeling. I know from the words of the song that it’s one he wrote with me in his thoughts. My heart aches and I just want to jump onto the stage and hug him into my arms. I can feel myself getting emotional and I hope Richard doesn’t notice my reaction to Ash’s heartfelt words. But as I look around I realise that every female in the audience is swooning just like me. I chuckle to myself and then refocus back on Ash’s amazing voice and his astonishing talent.
When the song comes to an end Ash once again looks down directly at me and smiles warmly. He quickly refocuses on the crowd and grins wickedly raising his arms in a shrug as if asking them what they thought. They all cheer and holler their support eagerly. Ash stands up and takes an exaggerated bow, causing the rest of the band to chuckle and shake their heads. They all stand up, swapping back their guitars with the stage crew. They give each other high fives and head back to their respective places on the stage.
Oblivion quickly get back into the heavy thump of more songs and after three more songs and two as an encore, the show comes to an end. The band all leave the stage and the auditorium lights all come on. Richard grabs my hand, “Did you enjoy that Princess?” he asks.
“That was fantastic Richard, thanks so much for buying the tickets.” I say appreciatively.
“You’re more than welcome.” he responds.
I really need to get some alone time with Richard so I can explain to him that we can’t continue our relationship. I know it sounds harsh, especially after him spoiling me with these expensive VIP concert tickets, but I’m sure that my future is with Ash. He is who I really want to be with. “Back to the hotel then?” I ask, I’m keen to get to a place where we can talk privately.
“Yeah, definitely back to the hotel Eve, but we won’t go back to the room just yet. When Pete was showing me around backstage, one of the band, I think it was Nikki, invited us both to the band’s after party in their hotel suite. I thought we’d call by there for a bit first.”
“Oh.” I respond. “But Richard, we really need to talk!” I say exasperatedly.
“I know, I know Eve, but there’s plenty of time to talk, how often do we get to attend an after-party for one of your favourite bands?”
I sigh, and agree, “I suppose so, but I don’t want to stay too long okay Richard?”
“No problem Eve, as soon as you want to go, we can leave and go back to our room, okay?”
“Okay.” I agree hesitantly. I don’t know how I’m going to cope with both Richard and Ash in such close proximity, but I guess I’m just going to have to figure out a way until I can talk to Richard privately. Richard grabs my hand and we make our way out of the auditorium to catch a taxi back to the hotel. As there are so many people who are also waiting for taxis, we walk around the corner to get away from the crowds. We’re waiting for twenty minutes and still haven’t managed to catch a taxi. We stand mainly in silence, the quiet is awkward. “You okay Eve?” Richard asks concerned.
“Yeah, I’m fine Richard. This all just seems a bit much, I haven’t seen you for a month and now you’re sort of acting like nothing happened, I’m confused and we really need to talk.”
He looks at me bashfully, “I know Eve, I was an idiot. I just got scared. I started to realise that I was really falling hard for you and I didn’t know how to handle it. I guess I freaked out a bit. At the time I thought that a break from being together would help me sort out my feelings. I know it was stupid. But the past month has only made me realise how much you mean to me. I want us to be together Eve, I love you. I know we need to talk, I have so much to tell you about how I feel, we can talk later this evening or in the morning. Right now I just want to be with you and have some fun. I’ve missed you.”
I hold my breath and although I know that now is not the ideal time to tell Richard that our relationship is over and standing on the side of the road is definitely not an ideal place to have that conversation, I really don’t know if I can wait until later. I feel like I’m being dishonest and even worse, I feel like I’m cheating on Ash. I’m just about to say something when a limo pulls up at the curb in front of us. Pete gets out of the driver’s seat and comes around to open the doors for us. Pete smiles widely and says, “Ash thought you might have some trouble getting a taxi after the concert, so after I dropped them off he sent me back to pick you two up. I believe you’re both coming to the after-party? Just jump in guys.”
Chapter 9
The limo drive back to the hotel goes quickly with Richard and Pete chatting casually to each other about the concert. When we pull up to the hotel, Pete passes over the keys to the valet and escorts us up to the 23rd floor. As soon as the elevator opens it’s evident that the party’s already in full swing with the whole floor in party mode. Loud music’s playing and there are people everywhere. Pete escorts us through to the main penthouse suite, tells us to help ourselves to some drinks and walks off into the crowd of people.
Richard grabs a couple of bottles of beer and hands one to me. I start to scour the room trying to locate Ash. It doesn’t take me long as Pete’s walked straight over to him, obviously telling him that we’re here as he nods h
is head over in our direction. Ash looks over to me and our eyes lock. We stand staring at each, neither of us with any sort of expression on our face. Then Ash smiles cheekily and starts making his way towards us. Shit! shit! shit! This is not going to be good. Our eyes are still fixed on each other, I widen my eyes raising my eyebrows and I silently plead for him to behave himself. I can see that Ash knows what I’m thinking as he shakes his head slowly, squints his eyes and glares at me slyly through his eyelashes. What the hell is he going to do? As he gets closer I start to panic but before I get a chance to dart away Ash reaches us and holds out his hand to Richard, “Richard I believe, nice to meet you, I’m Ash, guitarist with Oblivion.”
Richard shakes Ash’s hand, “Nice to meet you Ash, awesome show!”
“Thanks.” Ash says with a huge smile on his face as he shrugs his shoulders. Ash moves his gaze over to me, “Eve… trust you enjoyed the show?” He leans in and kisses me politely on the cheek. As he does he whispers in my ear, “Don’t forget you’re mine Angel.” He scowls slightly at me, but by the time he straightens up, his charming smile has returned. “Anyway guys, enjoy the party.” Ash slaps Richard on the shoulder, gives me a piercing look and walks away. I’m so relieved that he didn’t make a scene and I’m thankful that he’s giving me the time to do what I have to do. I need to talk to Richard, but it’s too early to insist we leave the party just yet as we’ve only just arrived.
Richard and I spend the next hour sipping our drinks and casually chatting to people. He’s always either holding my hand, has his arm wrapped around my waist or is resting his arm across my shoulder. It doesn’t feel right. I’m conscious of Ash’s constant surveillance and I can feel his eyes burning into me. I’ve managed to spot him a few times, he’s continually watching me with a scowl on his face and he doesn’t look happy at all, his mood seems to be getting worse and worse as time goes on. Him and Nikki are constantly conversing intensely and although Nikki’s normally laid back and light-hearted, tonight he doesn’t look happy either.
I haven’t seen Ash for the past ten or fifteen minutes so I look around the room trying to locate him. Then I spot him and instantly my blood boils. Rage explodes off me, my body tenses and my fists tighten. He’s in the kitchen. A blonde floozy is perched up on the counter top and Ash is standing between her spread thighs. Her fingers are roaming over his chest and his hand is resting possessively on her waist. What the fuck does he think he’s doing! He must feel the anger radiating off me from across the room because he suddenly looks straight at me, a smirk on his face. He sees my fury and for a split second the smirk evaporates, but is quickly replaced by an even more smug grin as he shrugs his shoulders and raises his eyebrows. I fiercely wriggle out from under Richard’s arm.
“You okay Eve?” he asks concerned.
“Yeah.” I say “Just going to the bathroom.” I don’t even look at Richard as I stomp across the room towards Ash. I suspect Richard’s watching me, so as I walk past Ash I discretely growl at him, “Ash. Bathroom. Now.” Ash sniggers at me and steps away from the blonde who glares at me and tries to grasp onto Ash to stop him from moving away. Ash shrugs her off roughly. She gets the message and slouches off across the room.
I get inside the bathroom and stand with my back against the vanity, my arms folded sternly across my body. After a few seconds Ash follows me in, closing and locking the door behind him. He stands on the opposite side of the large bathroom with his back against the door, his arms also crossed firmly across his chest. He looks angry and he snipes, “What Angel, what do you want?”
“Who the hell’s the blonde Ash?” I blurt.
Ash shrugs and smirks, “I don’t know, just some random groupie.”
“What the fuck Ash!” I scream. I’m glad the music is blaring loudly because otherwise I’m sure everyone would hear us.
“You jealous Angel?” he smirks.
I stand there staring at him for a few moments trying to figure out what to say. Tears start to pool in my eyes as I whisper, “Is this how it’s going to be Ash? Are there always going to be groupies? Are you always going to be fawning over other girls?”
I see a blur of black rush towards me as Ash darts across the bathroom, his arms clasp around my waist tightly and he nuzzles his face into my neck. “Angel, no, no, please don’t think that. I was just trying to make you jealous. I was so mad. You’re here with that dickhead and he has his hands all over you. You’ve been driving me fucking crazy all night. I’ve already punched a hole in the wall and smashed some shit. I almost came over about half a dozen times to yank his fucking hands off you. Nikki’s spent the whole night trying to calm me down. You still haven’t told him it’s over between you two and I’m losing my fucking mind here! I thought if I grabbed some groupie, I’d make you as jealous as you’ve been making me.” He pauses and grins wickedly. “Looks like it worked too!” he shrugs.
His lips crash into mine. He takes what he wants and gives me exactly what I need. The warmth of his mouth and the sensual movement of our tongues makes my body heat as our limbs intertwine and we struggle to get more of each other. I run my fingers through his hair and he tugs me closer, lifting me so I’m perched on the edge of the vanity. I wrap my legs around his hips and he thrusts his hardness against me, both of us moaning in appreciation. His warm moist lips graze my ear and he begins to nibble on my earlobe. He growls, “You’re mine, only mine. And I’m yours, only yours. Do you understand me Angel?”
I murmur back, “Yes, I understand you Ash.”
“Tell me Angel, tell me who you belong to, tell me who I belong to.”
I lean back slightly and assertively say, “I’m yours Ash, and you’re mine. Always have been. Always will be.”
“Too fucking right!” he rasps. His mouth moves down to my throat, nibbling, licking and kissing. His hands reach behind my neck and he releases the clasp holding my halter neck up. It drops down to my waist as his hands move to softly caress my breasts. His thumbs rub and encircle my nipples. His mouth moves down as he takes one into his mouth, sucking and lapping it to a hard peak. His lips move to the upper curve of my other breast and I feel him sucking and biting, hard! He leans back with a smirk on his face and mumbles “Mine.”
I look down and realise that he’s marked me with a large purple bruise. I look at him amused, shaking my head and smiling. He calmly reaches down and lifts up my top, refastening it behind my neck. Ash looks at me seriously. “You need to get out there Angel. You need to take Richard somewhere where you can talk. You need to tell him it’s over between you two. Then you need to come back to me so we can start our life together.”
He lifts me down from the vanity and takes a step backwards. Smirking he says, “Anyway, what the hell do you see in him Angel? He looks as boring as shit, I bet he even fucks with the lights off!”
“Ash, be good!” I scold.
He glares at me not saying anything. Then he snarls as he nods his head towards the door, “Go Angel, go tell him it’s over.”
“Okay Ash, I’ll speak to him and I’ll be back here to you in about an hour.”
“An hour!” Ash shrieks. “What the fuck do you need an hour for!”
I grasp onto both of his hands and look at him reassuringly. “Ash, please, just give me an hour. I don’t think it’s going to be an easy conversation, Richard wants me back.” I hear Ash growl loudly but I carry on, “I need to tell him that I don’t want him. I need to do it right, I owe him that much.”
Ash’s looking down at our joined hands as he grumbles, “It’s going to be the longest fucking hour of my life.”
I lean up and kiss him on the cheek. “Just an hour Ash, then I’m all yours, for as long as you want me.”
Ash moves his gaze from our clasped hands and his sapphire blue eyes burn into my hazel ones. “I want you forever Angel. I’m not letting you go, so don’t even think this is temporary. We’re meant to be together. Go and get rid of that mother-fucker, then come back to me. I’ll be waiting for y
ou.” We hold onto each other tightly then he releases me giving me a chaste kiss on the lips and a gentle push towards the door.
I leave the bathroom and walk straight up to Richard, standing directly in front of him so we’re face to face. “I want to go now Richard.” I say solemnly.
He looks at me concerned. “Umm, all right…not a problem.” He places his drink on a side table, grasps my hand softly and we walk out of the penthouse in silence. We get into the elevator. “Everything alright Eve?” he asks cautiously.
“I just really needed to get out of there. We need to talk Richard and it can’t wait any longer.”
“Okay.” he says hesitantly. We remain silent as we take the elevator ride down and walk along the corridor to get to my room.
Once we get inside I encourage him to take a seat on the bed. I pull a chair out from under the desk and place it down in front of him. I sit down so we’re facing each other. I can see that Richard is concerned and confused. “Eve, you’re scaring me, why do you need to talk to me so urgently?”