by Penny Dee
Before anyone realized her intent, she grabbed a plastic glass of beer from the table and threw the contents all over Heath and the girls.
Candi and Bambi both squealed as amber liquid soaked them. They leapt up, swearing like truckers, hurriedly trying to fix their appearance and yelling at the blonde.
“You pig!” Black dress and boots seethed at Heath.
Candi and Bambi glared at her with panda eyes and soggy hair. Black dress and boots glared back.
Heath did the unthinkable and started to laugh.
Black dress stalked off while Candi and Bambi rushed to the bathroom to re-do hair and make-up.
“Another one of your fan club?” Jesse laughed.
Zack, the drummer, shook beer from his arm. “I gotta learn not to sit next to you man.”
Heath ripped off his t-shirt to expose a well-defined six pack and more tattoos across his chest. Involuntarily I gasped, inhaling deeply at the beautiful spectacle of a shirtless Heath Dillinger and then quickly averted my eyes. He threw his shirt at Zack who proceeded to use it to wipe beer off his arm.
“What did I miss?” Armie asked returning to the table with two beers.
“Another happy Heath Dillinger customer,” Zack moaned, still wiping up beer with Heath’s shirt.
“She threw Zack’s beer at Heath and his hoes,” Piper explained with a giggle.
“Not again.” Armie laughed as he handed me a beer.
“Again?” I asked. “You mean this is a regular occurrence?”
“When you piss off that many women, the odds are high,” Zack explained.
Heath grinned, unapologetic and raised muscular arms in an innocent gesture. “Hey, I don’t know what her problem was. I never promised her anything.”
Jesse pulled a black Led Zeppelin shirt from his backpack behind his chair, and flicked it across the table. “I want it back.”
The t-shirt landed in front of me and before I realized what was happening, Heath was next to me, his bare stomach leaning across me to reach the shirt, his glorious thick and muscular torso only inches from my face. His six pack was eye level, his Harley Davidson belt buckle only inches from my face. I could feel the heat radiating off his bare skin and a tingle ran up my arm where his jeans brush against me. Then he looked down at me, those gorgeous dimples deepening as he grinned at me.
Something inside me broke. Forever.
For.
Ever.
Feigning disinterest, I rolled my eyes even though my cheeks flushed beneath those amazing blue eyes.
“Oh crap,” Armie murmured, looking through the crowd.
I followed his eyes, and Jesse and Piper did the same.
“Here we go,” Jesse muttered.
The whole table watched as a pretty girl made her way towards us through the throng of people. With blonde curls and large blue eyes, she was pure mid-western America and the picture of pink innocence. Except for the sleeve of tattoos down one arm.
I looked at Heath who was already looking at me. He leaned down. He was so close his mouth was almost touching my neck as he murmured, “That’s Kelsey. Armie’s very own form of kryptonite.”
Armie had already moved away from me slightly and was staring gloomily into his beer. With his heavily tattooed arms, black spiky hair and body piercings he was a stark contrast to the girl making her way towards us. He looked like Satan had left him behind on his way to hell and she was straight out of heaven. Blonde. Shiny. Pink. Vanilla. Cute.
“Hi Armie,” she said shyly, dim light glinting off her shiny pink lips. Suddenly everyone at the table busied themselves, determined not to make her arrival a big deal and to give Armie some space with his girl.
“They are off and on. I don’t know why they break up so much. It’s a shame because they are perfect together.” Heath sat next to me and slipped the Led Zeppelin t-shirt over his gloriously muscular chest. It’s almost a crime to cover up that chest. I watched him lean his huge, muscular arms on the table. “Right now their relationship is in the off position.”
“If they are perfect together, why do they keep breaking up?” I asked, desperate to ignore how close Heath to me and the awesome scent he emanated. Is this guy for real?
“Something about her parents not liking her dating a guy in a band. It causes a lot of problems for them. I don’t know why they let it get to them.” He shrugged and sipped a ginger beer. “Love makes people do stupid shit, I guess. Not that I’d know. I’ve never been dumb enough to find out.”
I didn’t say anything but nodded. My thoughts drifted back to Colton and everything I had just left behind in Georgia; a boyfriend, now an ex because he broke us with an affair with my now ex-best friend.
Life could be bizarre. And sometimes it just didn’t make sense. Yesterday I had been standing in a high-end dressmakers studio being measured and pinned for a debutante dress in preparation for a massive event in Savannah high society in six months’ time. Today I was in a dimly lit, alcohol pit of a bar, sitting at a table with the band with residual beer sparkling on my arm. I couldn’t help but smile. Apparently my summer adventure had begun.
“So tell me a story, H-bomb. What’s a good girl like you doing in a bar like this?” Heath asked.
As he took another sip of ginger beer, his beautiful blue eyes rolled over my dress and the string of pearls around my neck.
“H-bomb?” I couldn’t help but smile when Heath made the explosion gesture with his hands again. I rolled my eyes. “I do have a name, you know.”
“Ahhh, that’s right. Harlow-I’m-never-having-sex-with-Heath.” He grinned. I liked that he didn’t take himself too seriously. It was disarming. “It’s a rather long winded name don’t you think?”
“Absolutely.” I grinned. “You should hear my last name.”
“Tell me.”
“It starts with an F and ends in a U.”
He whistled and sat back in his seat as if I had pushed him. “Is it all guys you hate? Or is it just me that brings out the friendly side of you.”
“I don’t even know you,” I said.
My eyes dropped to his beautiful mouth and watched it curl into a smile. His straight, white teeth were perfect. And his dimples were too damn endearing for his own good.
“But it seems to me you make the girls around here bipolar. They either love you and will go to all kinds of ridiculous extremes to get your attention. Or they are stabbing you to death with their eyes and throwing beer at you.” Raising one eyebrow I met his gaze, staring right into his too-damn-beautiful eyes. “I plan on staying right here in the middle where it’s safe; impervious to your charms and just out of your reach.”
He started to laugh and I kind of hated him for being so damn hot.
“Bipolar?” He leaned closer to me, bringing with him his intoxicating warmth. “Can we at least be friends?”
“Does it come with the pre-requisite of sleeping with you?”
“No. I don’t sleep with my friends.”
“Then consider me your friend.”
Placing both elbows on the table, he rested his face on his strong forearms and looked up at me with twinkling eyes. “You know what H-bomb, my gut tells me you’re going to be my bestest friend in the whole world.”
He winked at me and I couldn’t help but feel like something had just begun.
Chapter Two
HARLOW
I didn’t mean to stick around. But when the band returned to the stage I found it hard to leave. They were good. Really good. Plus Heath had promised me breakfast and a continued restraint from trying to sleep with me if I stayed to the end. He had lost interest in Candi and Bambi, and they had left in a huff at his indifference to them.
Piper was relieved to have someone other than scantily clad groupies or Heath’s one-night stands to keep her company and kept giving me drinks.
I looked around at the sea of faces, mainly beautiful Californian girls wearing little clothing, many of them hoping to catch Heath’s attention.
Holy hell, it gave me goosebumps!
He did it so effortlessly. So flawlessly. And like everyone else I was spellbound. By everything. The way he moved his body to the music. The way he grabbed the mike between his hands. The raw but perfectly pitched gravel of his voice. And if I was being honest with myself, I kind of fell in love with him a little bit. Right there. Right by that stage.
But I hadn’t come to California to have my heart broken and Heath Dillinger was a heartbreak waiting to happen. We could be friends. And I had a feeling that being his friend was going to be one hell of a ride.
His powerful, raspy voice drew my eyes to him and I realized he was looking right at me as he sang.
Goosebumps followed the surge of adrenalin tearing through me. I started to laugh and when I saw his dimples I knew he was smiling back at me mid song. Which was kind of strange since it was such a heartbreaking song.
Piper glanced sideways at me with a grin. The music was too loud for conversation but I knew what she was thinking. Heath hadn’t taken his eyes off me. Whatever that meant. But I had a feeling I had walked straight into his sexual crosshairs.
Three girls standing in front of us glanced over their shoulders to see what Heath was looking at and gave me the once over with heavily made up eyes. Their glossy lips were pouty and their expressions dripped with disdain. Obviously, I was a disappointment because when they saw me they scoffed and turned back to the stage with their noses in the air.
“Groupies!” Piper mouthed to me, rolling her eyes and laughing as Heath hit such a powerful note I thought the roof would cave in.
The crowd screamed with appreciation and as the band finished their set, they started chanting Vengeance! Vengeance! Vengeance! The band relented and did an encore, Led Zeppelin’s ‘Rock n Roll’, which was a perfect end to a perfect show.
A swarm of adoring fans and scantily clad groupies descended on the band as they came off stage.
Piper looped her arm through mine. “Let’s go get a drink. It’s always a nightmare to get through the fans at the end of the show.”
At the bar they served us bourbon on ice, which was free, thanks to band’s bar tab.
“I noticed Heath doesn’t drink,” I said, smacking together my bourbon soaked lips and resting my empty glass on the bar.
Piper rolled her eyes. “The big jerk is on probation.” She knocked back the last of her drink and chewed on the ice. “Punched the shit out of some guy.”
“Why?”
“He has a hell of a temper.” She indicated for the bartender to refill our glasses. “A hell of temper. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever met a more passionate guy. Once he took on two guys for picking on another dude, just because he thought two guys on one guy was so unfair. Another time, he leapt off the stage mid-song and took on a guy who was pushing a girl around in the crowd. He had watch them argue and when the guy shoved and slapped the girl and Heath flew off that stage with guns a blazing. Big dummy. Always fighting for the underdog. It gets him in trouble every time.” She held up her shot glass. “I’ve never seen him lose a fight though. Ever. You only need to look at him to see what a machine he is.”
We clinked our glasses and downed another shot of rich alcohol. Its heat spread across my chest.
As she slammed her empty glass on the slick bar top, Piper’s eyes crinkled across at me. “You’ve certainly grabbed his attention.” She grinned. “I’ve never seen that before.”
I didn’t get a chance to respond because Jesse snuck up behind her and pulled her into a bear hug. She squealed and laughed and then kissed him. It was easy to see that these guys would never grow tired of each other.
I used their preoccupation with each other to sneak off to the bathroom, where I checked my reflection in the grubby mirrors.
Surprisingly, my appearance had held up since leaving Savannah almost twelve hours earlier. Despite the beer and bourbon. Not that I really wore much makeup, but what I did have on seemed to be okay. I dabbed on some extra gloss and tousled my messy hair until it tumbled over my shoulders.
Fuelled by a heady mix of beer, bourbon and the afterglow of watching the band own the crowd, I left the bathroom to find Heath. I couldn’t help but smile as I worked my way through the throng of people still in the club, feeling some kind of crazy excitement about my breakfast date with Heath. Which was stupid because I didn’t even know him.
I spotted him near the back of the club and fought off another stupid smile when I saw him, until I realized he wasn’t alone. A young woman had wrapped herself around him, all tanned legs and heels. Long red hair swung down her back as she seemed to be swallowing his tongue.
I froze, suddenly confused.
Wait. Wasn’t he waiting for me?
And if so, why was he halfway down this other girl’s throat?
Oh crap. Obviously he hadn’t really meant it when he’d asked me to breakfast. I groaned inwardly and felt the prickly heat of embarrassment against my cheeks. Clearly it had been an offhanded invitation. One he had probably forgotten about as soon as it had left his amazing lips.
I mentally slapped my forehead. Oh God I am an idiot!
Before he could see me standing there like a drooling groupie, I disappeared back into the crowd. I found Piper and Jesse back at the bar and hurriedly bid them goodnight. What was I doing hanging around anyway? I didn’t belong here.
“Wait, aren’t you going to breakfast with Heath?” Jesse asked, drawing on his cigarette.
I thought about Heath at the other end of the club, busy sticking his tongue down the redhead’s throat and forced a smile, waving off the idea like it was no big deal. “I’m a bit tired. And I think he may be a bit busy. I’m just going to grab a cab from out the front.”
“I can drop you home,” Jesse offered.
“No, don’t be silly. I saw a cab rank out the front.” I pretended to yawn, desperate to cover my embarrassment over misunderstanding Heath’s invitation. He would be dining on the redhead before I even made it back to my apartment. “Thanks for a great night.”
I raced out of the dingy club before I ran into Heath and his friend. And before Jesse and Piper picked up on my embarrassment or the reason I was so desperate to get out of there. I ran down the narrow stairwell with the grimy walls and climbed straight into a cab.
Settling into the worn leather cab seat I rested my head on the back of the seat, suddenly feeling the effects of too much alcohol. My head swirled and I felt sick.
California lesson one: don’t get involved with the bad boy.
I sighed and nodded. I had just dodged a bullet.
I wouldn’t need reminding.
* * * * *
HEATH
It felt good. It had been another successful gig and proof that we were gaining more popularity.
Eighteen months ago no one even knew who Vengeance were. Now we were seeing more and more people at our shows and familiar faces at the different venues we played.
Okay, granted, some of the familiar faces we could do without. Like that chick in the black dress and boots who threw her beer at me. I had nailed her after a show a few weeks ago … Deanna? Diana? Donna?
If memory served she was only too happy to splay her legs open on the backseat of her Pinto. She had offered and I obliged. And somehow that made me the bad guy?
What had she thought? That we were dating after one blowjob and a frantic fuck in the back of her car? I never made promises I couldn’t keep. I never whispered sweet nothings. I never lied to get in their panties. It required a lot less effort than that; they offered and I obliged. Simple. Then I was the asshole for not calling them, or dating them.
Another familiar face I could do without was the one who had attach
ed herself to my mouth. Kristen was an out-of-state model who always looked me up when she was in town for a photo shoot. She took it for granted that I would be at her beck and call whenever she rolled into the club.
Wildly beautiful with a knock out body, she had turned up tonight after club-hopping with her rich, elitist friends. She had swooped in, grabbed me on the cock and proceeded to shove her tongue down my throat.
But I wasn’t feeling it. My mind kept wandering back to Piper’s friend, the H-bomb with the amazing sea-green eyes. Even as Kristen worked her mouth against mine, all I could see behind my closed lids was the H-bomb’s perfect … everything. In fact, I was desperate to detach Kristen from my body so I could find her and take her to breakfast.
For some reason I was looking forward to spending a bit of quiet time with her and getting to know her. And hopefully peel back the prude layers of cashmere and pearls and find out what was really hiding beneath all those good girl clothes.
Strangely enough, I was happy to pass up mind-blowing sex with Kristen for a chaste date with a girl who was never, ever going to sleep with me. I didn’t know why. All I really knew was that when I had seen her from the stage she had grabbed my attention, and despite the efforts of a few other girls, she kept it.
Talking with her during the break in our set had only fuelled my interest in … what? I didn’t know. I just liked being around her. And if being just friends meant that I got to hang out with her, then just friends it would be.
“Hey, I don’t feel like I have all of your attention tonight, baby,” Kristen cooed, stopping her assault on my mouth long enough to pull back and look me in the eye. Her hand found my crotch and a lack of interest there. “And this? Normally you’d be a fucking ramrod by now.”
I took this as a chance to disentangle myself from her.
“It’s been a long night,” I said, undoing her hands from around my neck. “And I’m actually here with somebody.”
She leaned back, her eyebrow cocked as she scoffed, “You’re kidding me.” Her hands went to her hips. “You mean I left some pretty influential people to come and slum it with you and you’re telling me you’re here with a date?”