by Mj Fields
“Did you feel better after? I always do,” Madison says.
“She got hosed down in the bath tub and passed out.” Memphis snickers as he pulls out onto the road.
“No way. Who …?” She pauses. “Did you hose her down?”
“Hell yes, I did, right after I hosed myself down. She smelled awful.”
“Aw, my brother can be a gentleman.”
“A perfect gentleman.”
I sit back and listen to the two of them talk back and forth. I have always loved watching how they interact. They may have driven each other crazy growing up, but they love each other immensely.
Then I realize how differently he is driving.
I shake my head and look up. He is staring at me in the rearview. He looks forward and grabs his sunglasses off the dash and puts them on as he cautiously drives us back to the house.
Once Mads and Tally are in the house and settled in their room, I call and order brunch. I’m starving. Everyone is still asleep, but I know, once they smell steak and eggs, they’ll come running like the dogs they are.
While I wait for the food, I decide to take a shower since I didn’t get to it this morning; my bed was too damn comfortable. Mmm-mmm.
What the hell am I going to do about this little obsession with POW!? I need to tap that ass, but she’s—well, she’s fucking Tales.
I kick off my slides, pull my tee shirt over my head, and shed my shorts.
I look down and shake my head, looking at my cock. “You need to take a fucking break right now, anyway. Tour time, you’ll be well fed and exercised. You won’t be frowning forever.”
Freshly showered and feeling like a million bucks, I hop out and towel off before dressing.
When I walk into the kitchen, the food is spread out on the island, and no one is eating. I grab a piece of bacon and shove it in my mouth before grabbing a croissant and heading down the hall to tell Ta … Mads that it’s time to eat.
The door is cracked, and I hear Mads chewing off Tally’s ear.
“No fucking way,” she gasps, and I can picture Tally’s face turning pink. “The senior? Tall, dark, and smoking hot?”
“Handsome, talented, and kind,” Tales corrects her.
“Throw a ball cap and some ink on his arms, and he’d be hot as hell, just sayin’,” Mads says.
“He isn’t that kind of—”
“Fine. I get it. So tell me; how was it?” Mads interrupts.
I’m leaning in closer to hear because I want to know, too.
“It was sex, Madison,” she whispers.
“Like hot, sweaty, all night long, ass smacking—”
“Dear God, Madison! No, of course not. Gross.”
“No, not gross at all.”
I’m ready to bust in and demand a name, an address, and all that shit from Madison.
“I don’t want to hear about you and what’s-his-name.”
“Well, sometimes it’s what’s-his-name and sometimes it’s what’s-his-name.” Madison laughs.
I grip the door jamb and hold myself back from kicking the door open and demanding to know all that information when I feel a tap on my shoulder and jump back.
Finn is standing there with his arms crossed over his chest and a shit-ass grin on his face, shaking his head.
“What?” I whisper in a hiss.
“Don’t do it, man.”
“Do what?”
“Go in there, ready to be the white knight for little sis when you wanna go dark knight all over her friend.”
I glare at him, and he shakes his head, steps around me, and raps on the door.
“Chow time.”
I storm down the hall, and he follows. Annoyed, I look over my shoulder at Finn chuckling.
“Laugh it up, asshole,” I snap, which makes him laugh louder. “Why don’t you…?”
“Don’t I, what?” He laughs.
“Go shave your fucking beard or something,” I snap as I grab a plate.
“Fuck that. Ladies love it.” He smirks as he strokes it.
“Especially those whose beaver curtains are bare,” River comes in and says with a wink.
“How the fuck do you know?” I snap at him.
He sticks his tongue out slowly, then pulls it back in. “Most rode tongue in the state.”
“If you read the Internet gossip pages, that would be my brother. Lead singer with the tongue made for her pl—”
“You clearly mean the drummer,” River says with a perma-grin on his face.
River’s high. I know it, Finn knows it, and Billy … Yeah, he doesn’t know it. I laugh to myself.
I’ve dabbled in some heavier stuff. When we first started playing together, River and I got fucked up a couple times, but a couple times of doing a line or two wasn’t enough for him. No, fucker would go on a binge, and then he’d crash. As a result, I only take a couple hits of chillz once in a while when I am feeling froggy, like yesterday. I didn’t want to put that temptation in his face again.
Finn doesn’t touch shit. He smokes cigs, drinks like a fish when he’s in a mood, but he hates drugs. I knew there was a story behind it the day I had to pull him off River. He spilled it about someone OD’ing and told River he was a selfish fuck. When I asked him later if he wanted to talk, he simply said no.
Billy walks in. “Good morning.”
We all say it back, and as we load our plates, I see him and Tally exchange a look that pisses me the fuck off. Mads notices the exchange, too, and she elbows Tally and giggles. Tally looks at her with a clueless confusion, and I can’t help smirking. Tally sees me, shrugs, and continues placing bird-sized portions on her plate. She is clearly uncomfortable, and it pisses me off.
“Tales, you have got to eat more than that, girl.”
Billy smiles at her. “She ate well last night.”
She ate well last night, I mock him in my head.
“Then she threw up. Eat, Tales.”
“Memphis.” Madison looks at me like I’m crazy. “She’s a grown woman. I think she can handle herself.”
“Yeah, you’re both all sorts of grown up now, aren’t you?” I sneer, then walk to the door with a full plate. I decide to eat outside because I already want to kick Billy’s ass, lock up Mads, and tie up Tally and show her a thing or twenty about sex.
I sit at the outdoor high top where the sun is already blazing. There is a breeze that feels really good, but even as beautiful as this place is, nothing is distracting enough to un-hear your kid sister talking about banging his or his.
“What’s your problem?”
I look up to see Mads walking out and shutting the door behind her.
“How’s school?” I can’t help the irritation in my voice.
“Great.”
“Learning a lot?”
“Why the inquisition?”
“Why avoiding the question, Mads?”
“Okay, I love it. I get up and finish my classes by one in the afternoon. Most of the time, I am done with my homework by four or five, and then I hang out with friends.”
“What kind of friends?”
Tally walks out now, sets her plate on the table, and pulls her shades down.
Mads and I stare at each other. She’s clearly pissed, and so am I. Neither of us says a word.
“Should I go?” Tally thumbs behind her toward the door.
Mads says no, I say yes, and Tales sits, looking down.
“Don’t be a dick, Memphis,” Madison snaps at me.
“Or what? You’ll tell Mom?” I snap back
In true Madison form, she dramatically shoves her chair back and storms back into the house.
“Why are you fighting with her?” Tally asks in an even tone that kind of infuriates me.
“I heard you two. She’s banging all sorts of boys at school and …” I stop when Tally starts to smirk. “I said bang, not fuck, Tales. Jesus, keep it together.”
“It wasn’t the word, Memphis.” She scowls. “I’m kind of used to them by no
w. It was the fact that you’re judging her, yet live the life you do.”
“Me, judging?” I gasp. “This coming from the preacher’s daughter.”
Her mouth forms a straight line.
“I didn’t mean it to hurt you, Tales.”
“Well, just so you know, I don’t judge. There is a huge difference between being religious and being a Christian.” She’s pissed, but so am I.
“So what would Jesus say about you fornicating in the dorms, Tales?”
She pushes back and stands. “That’s none of your business. Who are you to judge me or her?”
“Wait just a damn minute. I’m not judging—”
“It’s okay for you to sleep with everything with two legs and boobs?” She blushes immediately.
“You just wait a minute, Tales. I’m a little bit pickier than two legs and tits—”
“I find that questionable when you’ve been trying to get me in bed.”
“Tales, I don’t try. I do. Don’t kid yourself. If I wanted to fuck you, I would. Then your little dorm indiscretion that, I assume, left a bad taste in your mouth would be like fucking crack, and you’d be all but dry humping my—”
Without warning, she slaps me across the face, and hard, too. Then she runs into the house.
Angry is not a strong enough word to describe what the hell I’m feeling right now. I storm toward the house and see the guys looking out the window. They saw everything.
Embarrassed? I probably should be, but I’m not.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Finn asks, and he’s not laughing, either.
I don’t answer. I go to my room and grab a duffel bag.
“I asked you a fucking question, man. Don’t disrespect.” Finn’s voice is low and angry.
“Tell them motherfuckers, if they touch Mads or Tally, I will quit this fucking band.” I throw a change of clothes in my bag and walk past him.
His voice booms behind me. “Where are you going?”
“To the fucking woodshed,” is all I say.
He steps back and gives me a nod. “Any idea when you’ll be back?”
“Two days, tops,” I answer.
“Work it out, bro. I’ve got this covered.”
***
I crawl out of the bed and look down at the chick from the hotel bar. She’s hot, blonde, tall, has big titties, and a nice ass. I worked it out, all right, for three hours, and she took it like a champ. I will definitely be giving her a VIP pass if we tour down here.
I look at my phone lying on the floor next to my shorts. It has fifteen missed calls and ten text messages, all from Madison.
I shoot her one back.
Mads, I will see you in a day or two. Stay put and enjoy.
Her reply is immediate.
Where is the woodshed?
I laugh to myself and shake my head as I type.
Ask Finn. See you soon. Airplane mode commencing.
I sit, and I write.
I look down at the paper, pretty content with myself. I haven’t worked something like this out in a year. Finn is the man behind the lyrics lately when it used to be my thing. Today, it all comes back.
I feel hands resting on my shoulders.
“How did you do?” she asks in the raspy tone I have admired for a few years now.
“Inspiration at its finest.”
“I see that.”
I look up and see she is looking at my notepad.
“No way, babe. This is mine.” I flip it over.
“And every time I hear it on the radio, I’ll think about what happened next.”
“Oh, yeah, not before?” I ask, pushing back in the wheeled chair and turning it so I am eye level to her jugs.
“I’ve seen you live in concert, Memphis. I know how well you perform, but your encore … Nothing beats that.”
“You ready to be rocked my way?”
“Rock me any way you want.”
And I did.
She didn’t stay over. I didn’t ask.
***
I spend the entire next day writing in the hotel room.
Two songs in two days.
X-man asked for five. I knew Finn had two, so that meant only one more.
When I walk into the house, Madison glares at me.
“That’s a nice welcome back,” I say with an eye roll.
“Tally is leaving,” she yells.
“When?” I ask, trying to ignore the anger boiling inside of me.
“In a couple hours, and she told me everything.”
“Madison, don’t.”
I look up to see Tally walking toward us.
“Memphis, did you ever find my phone?”
“Shit, Tales.” I run my hand through my hair. “Give me a second. I’ll—”
I stop when she nods and then heads to my room, seeing the laundry basket of clean clothes sitting on my bed. I only brought one change of clothes when I left, and I need a change, so I pull my shirt off, then grab a white tank out of the basket of folded clothes and throw it on.
I dig through the clothes and find her phone. “Fuck.”
“You found it?” I hear her behind me and spin around.
“Yeah.” I feel anxious. “Look, Tales, we’ll get you a new one if this one is shit now. And please don’t leave. Mads will be … well, mad, and I feel like shit about—” I stop when I see her eyes widen, and her mouth make a little O. “Who is your phone provider? I’ll call right after I call and have your flight changed back. You can’t leave, Tales. Come on.”
“I can’t stay,” she says in a more hostile tone than I expected.
“Please, Tales. I’m sorry, okay?”
“You don’t get to say sorry, Memphis. I slapped you. I got drunk. I let you”—the way she says you is like a kick to the nuts, the disdain nearly taking my breath away—“make me sleep in that bed.” She points at said bed and then stops.
I see tears pool in her eyes, and the pain in my chest is worse than the one that felt like a kick.
“I need to leave.”
“No. No, you don’t. I won’t say a word. I won’t do a damn thing. I want you two to have fun.” I go to reach out to grab her hands, and she jumps back. “Tales, come on; it’s me. I promise. My word is good, okay?”
She turns to walk away.
“Tales, tell me you’ll stay.”
“Tell me you’ll leave me the hell alone,” she retorts as she walks out.
“Thank you,” I call behind her.
When the door shuts, I about bust up laughing. She said hell.
I walk in the bathroom and grab my toothbrush, the one Tales used. I squirt some paste on it and look in the mirror.
“Da fuck!” I say as I see the fucking hickies and scratch marks all over my neck. “Son. Of. A. Bitch.”
There is a knock on the door when Madison is in the shower. I hesitate, not wanting to see him. Fearing I will stare at the … love marks all over him.
I hate that I allowed myself to believe for only a short time that he was interested in me. I hate that I wasted a year daydreaming about that stupid night.
There is another knock, and then the door opens. “Tales?”
“Oh, sorry.” I stand up and straighten my shirt. He notices, and his lips curl up, but there is no smile in his eyes.
“What’s that guy’s name? The one with the crazy orange hair on your shirt, the one—”
“Beaker,” I answer.
“Right, meep meep?” He smirks, handing me a box.
“What is it?” I ask as I look down. “Oh, no. No way.”
“Yours was ruined,” he says, pushing the box with the Apple logo on it back toward me.
“This is way too much.”
“Renter’s insurance,” he answers quickly.
“Oh, come on, Memphis. An hour after my phone shows up damaged, the insurance company—”
He nods his head, and I shake mine.
“Fine, but the claim’s been filed, so I’ll get the cash back
. Just take the phone, Tales. You need it.”
“Renter’s insurance?”
“Yeah.” His eyes shift, and I am almost certain he’s full of bologna. “Same number, but they couldn’t retrieve the contacts.” He sighs. “Tales, just take the phone.”
“I—”
“Please?”
“Fine, but how did you do it without my permission? I mean—”
“I can be pretty persuasive.”
“Yeah.” I nod, looking down at the box in my hand. “My old plan was grandfathered in, so I should call them and—”
“No need to call; it’s the same plan.” I give him a questioning look. “Okay, it’s not, but you just give me, like, ten bucks a month and—” I try to hand it back to him. “Nope. It’s yours.”
Madison walks out of the bathroom, toweling her hair off. “Is he pissing you off?”
I shake my head. “He needs to take back the phone.”
“Oh, wow,” she says, looking at the box then at him. “Feeling like a douche? Don’t forget you pretty much ruined my first couple days of this vacation, too. Making my best friend cry and—”
“Madison,” I say quietly, closing my eyes and wishing I was invisible.
“I’ll take it in diamonds and—”
“Mads, I told her I was sorry. Now I’ll say it to you, and then we move the fuck on, got it?”
“Fine,” she huffs.
“I can’t take this phone. It’s too expensive, and I am sure ten dollars a month is not truly what it costs, anyway.”
“It is. Mine’s on his plan, so are our parents. He gets a discount because he is affiliated with Steel Inc., and it’s an added line.” She looks at Memphis. “But I don’t think she owes dick a month.”
“I don’t care about the money,” he huffs.
“Oh, that’s right, Mr. Bigtime,” Madison says in an exaggerated tone as she grabs her clothes and walks in the bathroom. “You’re taking us out to dinner tonight.”
She shuts the door, and I am left looking at the box in my hand and trying not to look at him.
“Where do you wanna go, Tales?”
“I really don’t want to go out.” I shake my head and look up at him.
“I’m really sorry. I crossed a few lines.”
I nod, then shrug. “I have never hit anyone in my life.” I swallow down the guilt and clear my throat.