Lennon's Jinx (Lennon's Girls #1)

by Chris Myers

  Lennon taps the mike. “These are crappy. Danny Boy, let’s get our mikes, the Rowland amps, and our soundboard.

  Danny beats on the existing drum set. “I’m going to get my snare and cymbals, too.”

  Clive stays while Lennon, Danny, and Susan go out to the SUV.

  “Susan shadows Danny,” I say.

  Clive laughs. “I didn’t think it would last. Danny was a bigger whore than me until Susan came along. They’ve been together for over two years, sharing an apartment since they started college.”

  Danny is really good looking, but they all are, even sleazy Lennon. “Danny’s older than us?”

  “By a couple years,” Clive says. “College is the backup plan. Danny Boy wants to make this work, but Susan keeps him real. Poor guy.”

  That doesn’t sound too bad. “What do you want to do after you graduate?” I ask.

  Clive shrugs. “This is good for now. I may go to the university. Haven’t really thought about it much.”

  “What’s Lennon doing?”

  “No big plans. His life revolves around Currie. If he wanted a recording contract, his dad could get us one.”

  “Why doesn’t he?”

  “Lennon doesn’t get along with his old man. I don’t think they even speak to each other. They do yell a lot when they’re together.”

  “Why? He can’t be that bad.” If my dad were a famous musician, I’d beg him to help me get started.

  “Jonathan Tyler was never a father to him or Currie, and Heather isn’t much of a mother.”

  Clive must know Lennon well. Maybe I shouldn’t have butted my nose into Lennon’s business over his dad. Before I can ask further, Lennon returns, carrying two amps and a soundboard. Susan has the mikes and a snare drum, and Danny has two more amps and cables.

  Lennon takes off his jacket, rolls up his sleeves, and hooks up the equipment. He tests and adjusts the sound with the mixer. “Let’s run through your solos real quick. The Billie Holiday first, Aretha Franklin, Celine Dion’s two songs, and then the Cliff Black duet.”

  Every song, except the last one, stretches my range to the point of cracking. It was awful when I tried them last night. Some parts sounded good but others were downright embarrassing.

  Lennon straightens my posture. “Sing in your upper register for the high notes. Don’t strain your voice to reach them.”

  We work on the Cliff Black duet When I Said I Do. It’s incredibly sexy and Lennon’s voice complements mine. This song is well within my range and melts into me as we sing it together. My cheeks burn when I realize how he’s looking at me with those shark eyes of his.

  “What do you think?” Lennon asks the guys.

  Danny Boy flips his drumsticks. “The duet is hot. The Holiday song and My Heart Will Go On are Jinx’s two best.”

  Clive sets his bass down. He puts his hands on my waist. My body tenses as memories, lurking in the shadows of my mind, take hold. I have to get over this, or I’ll never get Zach back. “Calm down. I won’t bite unless you want to get frisky later. Waggle your tongue. Loosen your throat. Go back over the build up for the Celine Dion song. I’ll pinch you when your throat closes.”

  As the song reaches its pinnacle, Clive squeezes my waist. I forget about what I’m doing wrong, and my throat opens. It sounds awesome. It’s amazing how much these guys know.

  “Thanks.” I’ve learned much from them, and Lennon doesn’t seem to hate me for dumping beer on him, though the thought of Bailey’s face buried in his crotch still makes me gag. He did get to see me soaked in alcohol, which gave him way too much pleasure.

  The wedding guests filter into the ballroom and head to the open bar. Supposedly, anyone who’s somebody will be here.

  Mr. Winthrop arrives with his wife. I recognize them from the newspaper and all the hype for his daughter’s wedding. Mrs. Winthrop wears a designer gown while he wears a suit much like the band’s. Wealth exudes from the guests entering the ballroom. It’s the kind of affair Lennon would normally be a guest at if he weren’t playing.

  Mr. Winthrop comes over to Lennon and shakes his hand. “How’s your father?”

  “He’s doing well.”

  If he never speaks to his dad, how would he know? So he just lies?

  “I’m looking forward to the music we selected,” Mr. Winthrop says. “I can’t wait to hear that Billie Holiday song.”

  I swallow and feel my knees buckle under me. Clive comes to the rescue by steadying me. The guys certainly watch out for each other, including me. And Lennon, he’s not the complete sleaze I thought he was.

  “How did the ceremony go?” Lennon asks.

  Mr. Winthrop grins and elbows Lennon in the arm. “My wife is pleased, so it went very well.”

  “Understandable, Sir. We’ll play some light music as your guests arrive.”

  “Good, good.”

  This is such a different side of Lennon. Unlike school where this big guy floats through school like a ghost, he fits in with these people. I will never be one of them, and it’s not that I want to be. There’s a fake quality to these people that I can’t describe, like they have to impress everybody. That’s where Lennon differs. He’s polite but indifferent to them.

  The wedding party waltzes into the ballroom. From what I’ve read, Katie wears a Vera Wang strapless gown with a Basque waistline that cost as much as a new Porsche. She’s stunning. I can never wear a dress like that unless I wear plenty of makeup to hide the zits dotting my shoulders. Her skin is flawless.

  As the Winthrops set up the receiving line, Katie shoots a glance our way. Her gaze locks onto Clive. His smile tells me and anyone else who’s looking that he knows this girl indecently well. The groom doesn’t seem to have a clue.

  My mouth gapes open because one of the first guests is Rena. She skips the receiving line and beelines over to us. Lennon grins at her. She gives me an excited wave and sits next to Susan at a far table next to the stage.

  Lennon sits at the baby grand while Clive pulls out his violin. They play classical music as the guests arrive. Danny Boy motions for me to sit down and relax.

  Rena pats the chair next to her. “How’s my date?”

  “What?” I ask.

  “Lennon invited me so you’d have someone to talk to and because I begged him. This is as big as Kim Kardashian’s wedding. Celebs, Bulls, Bears. I heard Tiger Woods is coming.”

  “I’m looking forward to it,” Susan says. “Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer are supposed to show up.”

  I look at her strangely. “Who are they?”

  Rena throws her hands up in the air. “Come on, Jinx. True Blood. The sexiest, steamiest TV show on the planet. Eee. I can’t wait to see them.” She throttles my hand. I haven’t seen her this excited since Byron first asked her out.

  Susan nods at the bride. “Check that out.”

  Her bridesmaids clutter around her. They keep glancing at Clive playing the violin. He’s incredible. I certainly can’t play as well as him or Lennon. They certainly don’t need me.

  Rena studies the game of eye tag. “Oh my God. Katie boinked Clive. That’s awkward.”

  Susan studies the girls watching Clive. “More troublesome and deadly. Look at the size of her husband Joel compared to Clive. Katie hooked up with Clive for a few months while she was seeing the Bears receiver. Money talks, so she went with Joel.”

  I’m laughing so hard at Susan’s comment I spit out my ginger ale. “Clive has money,” I say. His dad is a professional musician, not sure about his mom.

  “Not two mil a year rich,” Susan adds. This is a whole other side of her, and I like it. She’s not just a Danny Boy appendage. “Now if Lennon talks to his dad and gets a recording contract, Katie will have to wait in line for Clive. But that will never happen. Clive says when Jonathan and Lennon are in a room it’s like two rams dueling over the herd.”

  A really pretty girl winks at Danny. He smiles at her politely while Susan clenches her jaw.

  “How do you do it
?” I ask Susan.

  “Do what?” Susan asks.

  “How do you put up with all the girls hitting on Danny?” I ask.

  “I don’t really.” Susan watches the girl making eyes at Danny. “It took me months before I’d go out with Danny. Girls crawl all over band boys. It’s too much temptation for most.”

  “Has he cheated on you?” Rena asks.

  “Not once. I worry about it all the time, but he says he’s had his fill of strange. He’d rather fight and have makeup sex with me.” She laughs.

  “There’s hope for Lennon then,” Rena says.

  “It’s hard to fit that man-child and his ego in one room,” Susan says. “He’s got it going on. By the end of the reception, a dozen girls will have hit on him. It’s hard for any guy to say no to all that.”

  “Danny does,” I say, curious why he changed.

  “Danny comes from a normal home life,” Susan says. “His parents celebrated their twenty-fifth anniversary last week. Lennon is a head-case. Clive says his parents are both screwed up. I doubt there’s much hope for him. Clive will probably grow out of his one nighters. He’s at least had a girlfriend or two.”

  It makes me sad for Lennon. No parents. No one who loves him.

  My breath hitches when Bailey walks through the receiving line with her plastic surgeon dad, his ex-wife, and his twenty-something bride. That’ll put a damper on Lennon’s carousing.

  Lennon’s mom is not far behind them. A black and white chiffon flows on her, and a black brimmed hat shades her eyes. She’s movie-star beautiful. Even the young guys trip over themselves when they see her. Mr. Winthrop kisses her hand. He’s obviously quite the fan. While Mrs. Winthrop speaks with the mayor, Mr. Winthrop introduces Heather to a Bulls player.

  Alex waltzes over to our table. My body trembles all over. His dad is one of the coaches for the Bears. I don’t like Alex, and he knows it, so why does he keep pestering me?

  “Hey, girls,” he says. “Jinx, I hope you save a dance for me later.”

  “She’s working,” Rena says in Momma bear mode.

  “My loss,” he says. “I’ll talk to you on break then.”

  I’m frozen solid to my chair. What’s wrong with me? I have to learn to stand up to sleazes like him.

  When he leaves our table, Susan says, “Is it me or does he seem creepy?”

  “It’s not you,” Rena says. “He’s a jerk.”

  I don’t understand why Alex doesn’t understand the word no. It freaks me out whenever he talks to me. I sit back and try to relax.

  Lennon and Clive play throughout dinner and the toast. They take a break and eat dinner with us. They serve us as if we’re actual guests. Bailey eyes Lennon like candy, but he doesn’t once look over at her. What’s up with that? I thought he liked her.

  Lennon takes a glass of champagne from the waiter flirting with me earlier. When the waiter winks again at me, I return it with a warm smile.

  Lennon laughs at this. “Why don’t you try for an athlete instead of the poor waiter?”

  “I’d rather have someone who won’t cheat on me.” I wince because that probably hurt Rena’s feelings when it was meant for Lennon.

  “Jinx is right,” Rena says. “You can’t trust them. Money attracts a lot of maggots.”

  The maid of honor glides over to our table. She’s a bouncy little brunette. “You must be Lennon Tyler. I’ve heard so much about you.”

  Lennon gives her that winsome smile. “All good I hope.”

  It makes me want to laugh.

  Bailey’s mom eagle-eyes Lennon while Bailey pouts. Her mom glares at Lennon like she wants to put him on a spit and barbecue him.

  Katie waves her bridesmaid back. Her eyes linger a tad too long on Clive who gives her the head-to-toe once over.

  “Have to go.” The bridesmaid’s hand slides over Lennon’s chest. “I’ll see you later.”

  “I’m looking forward to that,” he says.

  “You are such a tramp,” Susan says after the girl leaves, which are my thoughts exactly.

  Lennon gets in her face. “I love it when you talk dirty to me.

  She gives him a shove back and chuckles. “Down, boy.”

  “Even better when you play rough.”

  Danny laughs nervously. I don’t think Lennon would do anything with Susan, but one never knows. He does have a reputation.

  “About the third song in, let’s do the Billy Holiday number,” Lennon says.

  I’m so nervous I have to pee, so I get up and find the bathroom. As I pass the bride’s chamber, I hear Katie laughing and Clive speaking low to her. He comes out and clutches my waist.

  “You’ll do fine,” he says before wandering back to the band.

  Why would he go back there with her when Joel is in the next room? Is he out of his mind?

  The guys are ready for the first set when I return. Lennon opens with Falling in Love with You, an old Elvis Presley tune. His voice is a deep, rich silk that sinks into me.

  The bride and groom dance close together. Joel wraps his fingers around her hand and kisses it. When several people clink their glasses, Katie gives him the kind of kiss she used to give the boys behind the high school bleachers. Iz and I would sneak into the shadows to watch her because we both used to imagine ourselves popular like her.

  Mr. Winthrop dances cheek to cheek with his wife when it’s my turn to sing the Billy Holiday song. Clive gives me a squeeze just before the high note. My throat loosens up. Danny reassuringly nods at me, letting me know I did good. I exhale with relief.

  By the second set, most of the guests are lit up. The maid of honor has been eyeing Lennon all night, along with several other girls. When we break in a rear room, she comes back there and sits on his lap. Can she be any more forward?

  Her hands interlock behind his neck. She sloppily kisses him with a lot of tongue. The same thing happened at the bar last night. Girls crawled all over him. He’s like an ice-cold beer in the middle of the Sahara Desert. It’s creepy and fascinating at the same time.

  Alex wanders into our little soirée. “There you are,” he says to me.

  I’d like to run and hide, but I can’t move because I’m shaking so hard.

  Lennon loosens one arm from the bridesmaid. His hand seeks out mine. He leans over and whispers. “It’s okay, Jinx. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

  His reassurance puts me at ease. From his recent behavior, I know he would never take advantage or physically hurt me.

  Alex stares at the bridesmaid. “You should choose more wisely. This one’s infected.”

  She gives Alex a seductive smile. He stumbles and holds onto a chair for support.

  “I’ll make sure Lennon double wraps then.” Her mouth closes over Lennon’s, and he lets go of me.

  I’m on my own, I think. Though for whatever reason, I believe Lennon will watch over me like he does Currie and Zoe, and that comforts me.

  “You should go,” Lennon says to Alex when he comes up for air.

  “I was invited. I’ll do whatever I want.”

  Rena scoots close to me, so that we both turn our backs on Alex. Everyone in the room ignores him until he disappears. I completely relax when he’s gone.

  “Want to go for a drink after the reception?” the bridesmaid asks Lennon.

  “I’ve got to be somewhere,” Lennon says. “Some other time.”

  “No time like the present,” she says.

  Lennon gives her a half-hearted smile. His mind isn’t with us. I know he went to the hospital this morning to see Zoe. After the way he treated the girls to the American Girl Place, it must bug him that Zoe’s suffering.

  “Where are you going tonight?” I ask.

  Susan throws a wadded wedding placement card at him. “Yeah, Lennon, got another girl lined up tonight?”

  The bridesmaid waits expectantly for his answer.

  “I’m having dinner with the girls at the hospital until Mrs. Nowak comes back. She wants to help Brea g
et ready for her first date.”

  The town slut is campaigning for sainthood. I don’t get him at all.

  After another twenty minutes or so, I check my watch. We only have another hour to play before we can leave. I’ll drive home this afternoon, which gives Lennon more freedom to be himself, a total slut. I’m sure he’ll squeeze in a brief encounter of the fourth kind before he has to go to the hospital.

  A huge crash comes from down the hall as loud as a bowling ball striking all the pins. Lennon practically dumps the brunette onto the floor he gets up so quickly. He saves her by grabbing her arm. “Excuse me.”

  He’s down the hall before any of us can chase after him. Danny Boy and I follow.

  Susan stays glued to her chair and secures Rena from leaving by taking her hand. “It doesn’t concern us.”

  Lennon turns to Danny. “Get Jinx out of here before we have a bigger mess.”

  “Why am I a problem?” I ask.

  Danny grabs my shoulder and pulls me back an inch or two while Lennon enters the bride’s chamber. We peer around the corner. Joel has Clive by the throat. Katie’s Vera Wang is rumpled. Clive has loosened his tie, or possibly Katie has, and his clothes are a mess. There’s no doubt what happened here.

  “It’s okay, honey,” Katie says, her hands shaking as she touches Joel’s shoulder. “Clive’s an old friend.”

  Danny’s trying hard not to laugh, clamping a hand over his mouth.

  “Did he—” Danny’s hand covers my mouth before I say what Clive was doing to Katie.

  Danny tugs me back, but we remain by the door to listen. “Lennon knows what he’s doing, so keep quiet,” he whispers into my ear, “so we can watch the show.”

  Lennon palms Joel’s shoulder. He’s as big as the receiver, maybe bigger. “Nothing was going on here. I’m sure Katie was just getting a good luck kiss from the Irish.”

  Joel stomps his feet but loosens his hold on Clive who’s turning blue. “He’s not Irish.”

  “Oh, yes I am,” Clive says, imitating an Irish brogue.

  Oh my God, he’s too much. Danny’s trying hard to hold back his laughter. I’m about ready to lose it myself.

  “Yes, he is sweetie.” Katie kisses Joel so seductively that he stumbles backward and loses himself in her embrace. I wish I could do that to a guy.