by M. B. Feeney
"Thanks." I smiled sweetly at her. "God, I hate rude people. I bet you five dollars she spits on my steak."
Gage threw his head back and gave a full-bodied belly laugh. "She wouldn't dare. Losing my business would be a bad idea. Imagine the people I could bring here to eat. She wouldn't risk that. I will bet you five dollars, though, that she'll be taking pictures that will end up online within five minutes."
"Oh, that’s a given. I can guarantee I’ll get cut out of them. The fans only want pictures of you." I tried not to think of my own file of Gage pictures on my computer back home.
Looking down at my phone. I saw I had no missed calls, but there were a few texts from family and friends, wishing me a happy birthday. I’d reply to them once I was back at the hotel with access to Wi-Fi.
"So, why the spending? Houston's pretty far just to buy jeans, a pair of boots, and a hat." I watched his lips as he took a swig of his bottle of beer.
"Well, it's my first time in the States. I needed new boots, and only the best will do. I love jeans and hats, and I'm all sorted for the kids for Christmas, so why not treat myself?"
"That's a good point, darlin. So why Houston? Most Brits do New York or California."
"I have a thing for the southern states, always have. I just wanted to see it for myself before I start my new career."
"I can understand that. I love it here in the south. It’s home." His phone beeped in his pocket, but he ignored it. "How long are you here for?" He leaned forward on his elbows.
"I fly back home tomorrow evening."
"Wow, short visit." Was I imagining it, or was there a hint of disappointment in his voice?
"Yeah, not a lot of time or money. I want to come back in a few years, maybe bring the kids. My daughter would love it." The thought of my horse-mad daughter and my baby boy made me smile. I missed them both, but it was nice not to have to worry about lunch times and keeping them amused.
"Maybe you'll manage it one day." Gage ignored his beeping phone again when Amy arrived with our food.
"Thanks, Amy. Sure looks great." He dazzled her with his trademark smile before tucking straight on in.
I picked at my chips, testing for saliva. It all seemed okay, so I started in on my steak. It was absolutely delicious. I actually moaned, and Gage looked up at me, eyebrow cocked.
"Sorry, but this is better than chocolate. Maybe even better than sex."
"Oh, I highly doubt that."
Trying not to let his flirting distract me, I carried on chewing my steak before I replied. "Someone sure thinks a lot of himself."
"Someone sounds like they need convincing."
Unexpectedly, he leaned over the table. I managed to swallow my food before he kissed me, hard. Straight away, his tongue was in my mouth, moving against my own. Yet again, I let out a moan.
All too soon, he sat back, a self-satisfied smirk on his face. "How's your steak now?"
"Delicious," I exaggerated, putting another chunk in my mouth and chewing as if it were the best thing I'd ever eaten. In reality, I could barely taste it. The man was cruel and knew exactly what he was doing.
"You sure?" His phone beeped again, but this time he looked at it, muttering something that sounded like the word 'challenge'.
"You've been ignoring that for the last half hour. The guys are going to kill us both if you don't get back."
"Yeah, you’re right. Give me five minutes. I'll just be outside." He walked out with his phone glued to his ear.
I watched him through the window, using the opportunity to ogle him without getting caught.
"Hi, is everything ok with your meal?" Amy was back, and oh, what a surprise, she was being nice to me.
"Yeah, everything's delicious, thank you. Any chance we can have another round of beers, please?"
"Oh, you’re English?” I nodded with a small smile. “That’s awesome. I'll be right with you."
I laughed to myself while I watched her scurry away.
"What did you do to Amy? She's awful keen to please you now." Gage sat back down opposite me.
"Oh, I think that was you." I finished the last of my meal and took a sip of the fresh beer that Amy had brought. She hovered for a moment, but left when Gage didn’t pay her any attention.
"If you insist, but if I remember right, you weren't complaining." That smile was back and driving me wild.
"I'm not even arguing with you. Is everything okay?" I indicated his phone.
"Yeah, just Matt being a big pansy. I've assured him I'll be there on time." Gage sat back and drained the rest of his beer. "You done?"
I nodded, and he went to the bar to pay the bill, leaving Amy a generous tip. After I gathered my bags, I made my way slowly towards him.
"Come on, darlin’. We best be getting you back to the hotel. You look like you could use a lie-down."
As soon as we stepped out onto the street, I hit Gage on the arm, hard.
"Ow. What was that for?" He rubbed the spot, his bottom lip sticking out in a slight pout, which was not helping.
"That comment you made as we left. Poor Amy's probably having an embolism right about now."
He burst out laughing. "Serves her right for being rude to you. C'mon, we best get back before we're hunted down by our friends." He led me towards the hotel, walking at a slow pace. "That is, if you've got everything you want."
Well, there was a loaded sentence if ever I'd heard one. I looked at him, . and he actually had the grace to blush.
"I didn't. . . I mean . . . "
My ringing phone cut him off, sparing him the embarrassment of digging himself in deeper. I looked at the screen and saw it was a call from home. "Hey."
"Hi, just thought I'd see how you're getting on. Are you enjoying your birthday?" Perfect timing. We'd hardly spoken for years, and now he wants to chat.
"Yeah, it's good. I've been shopping this morning and had lunch. Now I'm just heading back to the hotel for a rest before the gig tonight." I could tell Gage was trying not to listen.
"Have a good time. I thought I'd just let you know that the kids have done a great job with the tree. Enjoy the gig, and we'll see you tomorrow sometime."
"Yeah, bye." I couldn't keep the sadness out of my voice. All we ever spoke about lately was the kids. Was that the only thing we had in common anymore? I tried not to look at Gage while I threw my phone into my bag and pulled out my cigarettes, lighting one and taking a deep drag.
"You okay?" His voice was beautifully soft and full of concern.
"Yeah." I couldn't manage any more than that. A lump formed in my throat. I wouldn't cry. I couldn't.
"Hey. Come on, don't get upset." Gage pulled me down to sit on the curb and tucked his arm around my waist, drawing me in to lean against him. "What's wrong?"
I couldn't stop myself from spilling my guts about my 'non' relationship back home while the tears started to roll. "I really shouldn't have kissed you. I led you on. I'm sorry." My voice was low and quiet, and I expected him to walk away from me, but he didn't.
"For one thing, I was the one who started both of those kisses."
I opened my mouth to argue, but he placed a finger against my lips, preventing me from getting any words out.
"Don't beat yourself up about it. So you have stuff going on at home. Don't let it stop you from having a good time this weekend before you go back and get your shit sorted once and for all."
What was my life right now? I couldn't believe I was sitting in the middle of a Houston street, crying and being comforted by Gage Weston. Things had turned bizarre since I got to the States.
"Thanks. I know I need to do just that, and I’d already decided to speak to Dermot when I got back home. Right now, what I need is to get back to the hotel and sort myself out. I have lots of hair that needs straightening." I stood up. "Seriously, thank you for being so sweet."
"Shh." He looked around us like a lame bad spy in some sort of spoof movie. "I don't need people to hear that. I'm too rock-and-roll to be sweet."<
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Laughter burst out of me before I could stop it. "Whatever, Elvis."
I gave him a playful shove with my elbow and started walking away from him. Before I managed to get very far, I felt his strong arms around my waist. He lifted me up and spun me around.
"You do realise this is not helping the rock star rep you want to protect." My words came out as a loud squeal while I tried to catch my breath.
"For some reason, I don't care today." He placed a gentle kiss on the tip of my nose. "Let's get back. I need to catch up with the guys before they kick me out of the band." Gage put me down, but I noticed he didn’t let go of my hand .
After leaving me at the door of the hotel, he ran off to the venue to get ready. I smoked one more cigarette and then headed up to my room, nervous about facing the girls. There was no sign of them in the bar or hotel restaurant, but as soon as I unlocked the door to my room, I realised where they were. The entire group was sitting around Jenny's laptop, huge smiles on their faces.
"Hey, ladies." I dropped my bags on the floor by my bed and sat down. "Whatcha doing?" Each set of eyes turned to me. "What?"
"You have some storytelling to do, my dear." Jenny turned the laptop towards me. There, posted onto the wall of our online group, was a picture of Gage swinging me around like a kid.
"Holy crap. That was only about half an hour ago." I knew my family wouldn't see, so I couldn’t find it in me to be bothered. Even so, I was amazed at how fast this stuff worked. "Is that the only one?"
"There's a couple, all of the two of you walking down the street looking all coupley and shit, but this is our favourite. Shows our man being carefree and unguarded for once." Jenny gave me a big hug, whispering her thanks in my ear.
This led to all the girls piling onto me and hugging me. Unsure why they were thanking me, I just laughed along with them.
"You bunch of crazies," I told them once they let me sit up again. "Anyway, I need to start in on my hair."
It didn't take me long to get my hair sorted, so I offered to do Jo's, too. While I worked my way through her soft hair, the girls filtered out to their own rooms to get ready. Soon, only Jenny was left, tapping away on the laptop.
"You okay, chick?" I asked when I started the last section of Jo's hair.
"Yeah, just letting the other girls know how we're getting on over here. Well, more like how you're getting on. They like the pictures." She grinned at me.
Our online group was made up of about twenty Lyricists who all had a fondness for Gage. Of course, she would be telling them all about my day of shopping with the man himself. “They want intimate details, but of course, I’m not saying a word.” She blew me a kiss and carried on typing.
"Oh, stop teasing the poor girl," Jo said with a grin. Jenny simply stuck her tongue out at us and left to get ready.
"Thanks, babe. It’s weirding me out enough as it is." I finished Jo’s hair and set the straighteners down to cool off.
"Why?" She looked at me in the mirror.
"Oh, come on. This whole situation is like a dream. Who expects to go to a concert, meet their crush, and manage to get a date with him?"
She laughed at me.
“And we haven’t even made it to the show yet.”
"Stop stressing out, and go and pretty yourself up for your man." She swatted my arse and went to look through her suitcase. I pulled my own case from under my bed and retrieved what I’d planned to wear.
"Ooh, pretty." Jo indicated my clothes. "Making most of that figure, huh?"
"Just wanted to be comfy." Knowing it would get hot in the venue, I'd decided on denim shorts and a simple Pocket Full of Lyrics tank top. I was going to wear my new boots to round things off. After all, when in Rome . . . or Texas.
"All you need is a Stetson and some spurs, and you'll be set!"
"Piss off.” I couldn’t help but laugh at the idea of me rocking a ten gallon, spurs clinking while I walked. “Need the bathroom?"
"No, you go ahead. I just need to change. I made use of the shower before you got back."
It didn't take me long to have a quick wash to freshen up at the bathroom sink and get changed, so I sat on the edge of the bath for a while. I could feel my nerves building, making my stomach churn. The venue was bound to be full to bursting with fans watching the guys’ every move, so I wasn't sure how things were going to pan out when I saw Gage again. That made me even more nervous. I didn’t know if he’d acknowledge me in any way. Frustrated, I threw my hands into the air and paced the small, tiled room. After taking a deep breath, I walked back out into the room to fix my face with a little makeup.
"Wow, Jo. Check you out.” I attempted to wolf whistle, but it didn't work. She was wearing skin tight black jeans with a blood red satin corset. “Hot momma is gonna get some eyeballin’ tonight.”
"Not too much?" She looked as nervous as I felt.
"Don't be silly. It's my birthday night out, and I feel under dressed."
"Believe me, Charlie, in those shorts you're anything but underdressed."
She was right, a bit. I hadn't worn them for a while, and I had forgotten exactly how short they were. While they showed off a little more than I liked, when they were teamed with the tank top, I avoided being on the wrong side of slutty. It was my birthday, and I was going to celebrate in style, despite my advancing age.
"By the way, I got you a little present." Jo handed me a small box.
"Oh, Jo. You shouldn't have. Thank you." Slinging an arm around her shoulder in a quick hug, I kissed her cheek before opening the box. Inside were a shining pair of cowboy boot earrings. "They're just too cute."
I pulled them out of the box and put them in straight away. A glance in the mirror made me decide to wear my hair tied up, so I grabbed a hair band and pulled up my hair into a scruffy ponytail. "That's better."
Sitting at the dressing table, I began to apply the bare minimum of makeup. Mascara, a touch of eyeshadow and lip gloss, and I was done within 5 minutes. Unable to sit still, I walked across the room to my bed and sit back against the headboard to watch Jo apply her own make-up. When she was finished, I grabbed my bag to make sure I had my essentials. Camera, phone, cigarettes, gum, hotel key, and purse. Check. All there.
"I'll take my room key, too, just in case I end up coming back on my own," she teased as she zipped her bag closed.
I threw the lighter I’d been playing with at her. "Oh, shut up. I’m sleeping with you tonight, babe.”
She threw me a wink when I stood up. “Are we set?"
I looked at my watch and saw there was only an hour until the show was due to start.
"Yep. I dunno whether to take a coat or not." Jo paused before grabbing her faded denim jacket.
I grabbed a cardigan rather than a jacket. I didn't tend to feel the cold, and I was planning on drinking, which would warm me up. "Let's go and wait for the others in the bar."
We walked arm in arm to the lobby, where we found the rest of the girls already waiting for us.
Obligatory ‘before’ shots of outfits and fresh faces were taken before we swallowed a shot of whiskey each. Once we were done, we walked to the venue. Excitement had each and every one of us hyped up on adrenaline.
The walk took us nearly half an hour because we took photos of the most random things to help capture the weekend and preserve memories we might forget in an alcoholic haze. I hadn't taken any pictures during the day, even with my phone, because I was with Gage, so I planned to get my fair share throughout the evening. I managed to get a few good ones of the girls horsing around, and when we arrived at the venue, we asked one of the doormen to take a group shot of us under the sign advertising the show. We weren't the only ones. There were gaggles of girls taking pictures before heading inside.
When we walked in, the heat of the club hit us like a brick wall. The amount of bodies crammed inside seemed immense for such a small venue, and it wasn’t a shock to discover that the crowd was predominantly female. I spotted many fans wearing Pocket
Full of Lyrics memorabilia or tops that were obscenely low cut while we elbowed our way through the crowd to the bar.
After getting beers and whiskey chasers, we managed to manoeuvre ourselves almost to the front of the crowd, pissing a few other people off in the process. We stood around talking while we waited for the show to start. I'd tucked myself in behind a couple of the girls because I was beginning to feel self-conscious about what I was wearing and yet hoping for something to happen with Gage, as ridiculous as I felt for wishing.
Soon enough, the lights dimmed, and the crowd began to get worked up, cheering and whistling. The supporting band walked onto stage and got into place. I'd not heard much of Inventive Remedy's music, but as soon as they started playing, I found myself enjoying it and danced with the others. In what seemed like no time at all, their set was finished and they left the stage, making way for the main act. I decided I needed a fresh drink, so I let the girls know I was heading to the bar.
I squeezed through the crowd, feeling like a nervous teenager at her first school dance. Halfway to the bar, I changed my mind and turned to head outside for a calming smoke, and I heard Gage's voice above the screaming crowds before I exited into the cool air outside.
"You okay, ma’am?" one of the doormen asked me when I came to stand less than five feet away from him.
"Yeah, just need a quick hit." I held up my cigarette.
" His smile was wide. You best hurry, you'll miss the show."
"Will do." I smiled at him as I took a long drag, trying to stop my hands from shaking.
Once I'd finished, I re-entered and headed to the bar for a beer. I pushed my way back through the crowd to where the girls were singing along to ‘The Blind Man'. Once I was behind Jo, I pulled my camera out of my bag and shot off a few pictures of the guys while they bounced around the stage. There was group of teenagers right in front of the stage who went absolutely nuts every time Gage was anywhere near them.
"Right, we're gonna slow it down a bit for y'all right now. This is a song I wrote while I was filming Wings a while back.”