by Andi Bremner
It had become a thing for guys to throw roses on the stage now, ever since I had dropped a rose bud down the front of my pants and the stage was now littered with them. Picking one up I stuck it down the front of my dress, making sure the bloom peeked out between my cleavage. The guys at the front yelled some obscenities at me, things they’d like to do and whilst that part of the show made my skin prickle a little, I played along, throwing them kisses and winks. Empty promises. There was no one for me but Luke now.
Finally, the night drew to a close. Stepping up to them mike I thanked the audience for a great show before Gwen yelled “give it up for our girl Trinity” and the audience went crazy once again. I giggled and did a pretend curtsy, wobbling slightly as I did which only made me giggle even more. Then we were tumbling back stage. I immediately pulled off the high-heeled boots I had been wearing all night and rubbed my sore feet.
“Fuck that was amazing!” Gwen yelled. “Has to be one of our best shows yet.”
“The audience was on fire tonight,” Molly agreed, “they were loving Trinity.”
I managed a smile and took a sip of water as I sat down on a chair, my feet aching. Even though I was exhausted, adrenaline coursed through my body which thrummed with a lingering beat from our set. I looked up as Tony came backstage to join us, clapping slowly, a huge grin on his face.
“Fabulous girls you were fucking fabulous,” he drawled.
I managed a tight smile and nodded at him.
“And I have some great news for you,” he said, “something you will be very happy to hear.”
“We’ve heard that before,” Shawna said pointedly.
“What is it Tony?” Gwen interrupted.
“In our audience tonight was a representative from Sunlight Records and he wants to meet you.”
I frowned. “Who?”
“Sunlight Records,” Gwen explained, “they’re music producers. Nothing big but they’ve had done some good stuff.”
“Well?” Tony asked, “You want to meet him?”
“All of us?” Gwen confirmed, “Not just one.”
Tony laughed as if she’d said something hilarious. “That was all a misunderstanding before,” he said offhandedly as if I hadn’t had some old guy pawing at me only a few short weeks ago. “This guy is the real deal. He just wants to speak to you for five minutes, okay?”
Gwen glanced at us and we all shrugged. “Sure,” she said to Tony, “why not.”
The five of us exchanged glances and I could tell we were all excited but after last time we were keeping it downplayed. We had gotten so excited and it had all turned out, well, turned out bad. Nobody wanted to get their hopes up too much.
Luke appeared back stage as we were waiting for this mysterious music rep. He came right over to me and pulled me up into his arms, planting a deep and welcoming kiss on my lips. I was hot and sweaty and probably smelled like beer but I knew he didn’t care, this kiss was his way of laying claim to me, reminding him and me that I was his girl and letting anyone else around us know it at the same time. It was old fashioned, chauvinistic, and I loved it. Luke needed it after watching me on stage and I happily gave it to him.
“Get a room.” Molly giggled behind us and we broke apart, grinning stupidly at one another.
“Can you keep that dress on for later,” Luke said, his eyes wandering appreciatively over the strapless tartan.
I made a face. “I’m all sweaty.”
A slow grin spread across his face, his eyes darkening. “Sweaty I like. I plan on getting you even sweatier.”
A flutter of butterflies stirred in my stomach but I didn’t have time to indulge my fantasies as Tony emerged with another man following him. It was the guy from the back of the bar, the guy I’d seen Luke watching. Of course, made sense that he was the music representative.
“Charles Murphy, Sunlight Records,” he introduced himself and thrust his hand forward shaking each of our hands. His eyes lingered on Luke and mine’s hand which were entwined. “Ah, I see you really are a fan.”
Luke nodded but didn’t say anything and ignored the curious look I shot him.
“Let me start by saying girls that you are good,” Charles said, “very good.”
“Thank you,” Gwen murmured.
“You have a manager?”
We all looked at Gwen who stepped forward. “I act as manager.”
Charles nodded. “You really should think about getting yourselves an independent manager, someone who is not a musician in the band. I find that it works better that way, having someone to focus on all the managerial and administrative tasks. Frees up girls to focus on the creative side of things.”
We all nodded. It made sense, but it didn’t really seem that relevant. I mean it wasn’t as if we had a huge amount of administrative or managerial tasks at the moment. We rehearsed in a garage for god’s sake and had only one regular gig.
“So I am interested girls,” he continued, “very interested. I think you have a lot of potential, both commercial and indie. Trinity,” he focused his eyes on me, “I think you are incredible as the lead and your voice is incredible. Are you trained in opera or classical music?”
I flushed under the compliment but shook my head. “No. No training.”
He nodded. “Raw talent. I like it. Anyhow, I would like to meet with you girls and see what we can organize,” he handed each of us a business card, “so give my office a call on Monday and we can tee up a time to meet. I will let you get back to your after party.”
We all shook hands with again and then he was gone. As soon as he was out of earshot the five of us let out an ear-shattering squeal and began jumping up and down and holding one another.
“Did that really just happen?” Molly squealed.
“I don’t know,” Shawna replied, “pinch me and I will tell you if it’s all real. Ow!”
“He seemed legit didn’t he?” Olivia confirmed, “I mean, he didn’t sound dodgy at all. And he said to call his office didn’t he?”
“First thing Monday,” Gwen confirmed. “Oh my god, did that really happen?”
I nodded. “I think it did.”
“Fuck I need to get shit-faced right now.” Molly grinned.
“Tony’s?” Shawna said.
Everyone nodded. I glanced over at Luke who was watching us with a smile on his face, his arms folded across his chest. “I think I’m gonna pass on Tony’s.”
Gwen shook her head. “Oh no you’re not. Not tonight. We need to celebrate and you need to celebrate with us. Luke will come won’t you, Luke?”
“Of course I will.”
I glanced back at him apologetically. I knew he wanted to get home and get into bed as fast as possible. Or at least that was what I wanted, but I also didn’t want to let the girls down and people expected to see me at the after party at Tony’s. I hadn’t been for weeks now. Tonight wouldn’t hurt.
****
The girls were on a high, high on alcohol, the post-gig buzz we always got and the extra buzz of Charles Murphy’s interest. I found them all out the back of Tony’s house which was packed with people as per his usual Saturday night. Funny, how it was his house, but we rarely ever actually saw him. I wondered idly where he hid out whilst the party raged.
Molly handed me a shot of tequila and then reached behind me to give one to Luke. She raised her glass in the air, made a toast to Moonstone and then we all downed our drinks. Immediately a warmth spread throughout me. I pressed myself against Luke and pressed my lips to his neck feeling him react beside me.
“Give it a break you two.” Olivia grinned with a roll of her eyes. “And don’t think that we haven’t noticed that you are a little late.”
I flushed. We were a little late, but as we drove over to Tony’s house I’d been so excited and had started kissing Luke’s neck, my hands roaming over his body and touching him until he’d been forced to pull over and pull me into his arms. My body tingled in response as I remembered him tugging off my jeans and pa
nties before plunging into me, his face flushed and his breath coming in short pants as he pushed us both over the edge. When we’d sat back up we’d giggled when we realized we had completely fogged up all the windows and my foot had left an imprint on the windscreen.
“Hey, Trinity baby!” Toby appeared behind us and pulled me into a great big bear hug. He was off his face, high or drunk or both. “Long time no hear!”
I shook my head. “What are you talking about Toby? You could’ve come to the gig tonight.”
A slow grin spread across his face. “Oh I wasn’t talking about hearing you sing, baby. I was talking about hearing you scream.”
I burned with embarrassment but that didn’t stop him continuing. He threw back his head and feigned a high pitched girly voice. “Oh Luke, that’s it, oh Luke, oh Luke.”
I wanted to crawl under a rock and hide, but instead I turned and pushed my face into Luke’s shoulder. Luke shoved Toby who stumbled back. “Hey man, since when did you start fantasizing about me whilst you are jacking off?”
“Huh you wish bro.” Toby laughed. “Trust me I have my own fantasies that don’t involve you.” His eyes suddenly darted around the circle and landed on Gwen who was staring at her feet. Uh. Interesting. Gwen and Toby hadn’t hooked up in weeks and when I’d asked her about it she said they had just been having some fun but it was over now. She hadn’t seemed overly concerned about it and I hadn’t pressed her for more, knowing what it was like to want to keep things private. In the meantime Toby had had a steady stream of girls traipsing in and out of his room who all knew his name quite well, although a few of them got him confused with God at times.
“Excuse me,” Gwen muttered suddenly, “I have to use the bathroom.”
She turned and stomped away toward the house. I watched her go for a second before extricating myself from Luke’s embrace and following after her. She might not want to talk about it, but at least I could offer her my company and let her know I was here if she needed me.
We climbed the stairs, pushing our way through the throng of people until we reached the top floor. Tony’s house was huge and there were plenty of bathrooms and bedrooms. I wondered idly how he made so much money, and if The Silver Den was so profitable why the hell didn’t he fix that stupid sign out the front.
I waited as Gwen used the bathroom, leaning against the wall outside. There were heaps of people around me, grouped together chatting and drinking, a few couples making out in the darker corners. I ignored them all as I waited.
“Hey, Trinity right?”
I looked up and into the eyes of a guy I recognized as a regular from The Bean. I smiled. “Hey, right.”
He held out his hand. “James.”
I shook his hand. “Nice to meet you, James,” I glanced at his red cup of beer. “I see you drink more than just skinny macchiato.”
He laughed. “Hey you remember my order!”
“Of course,” I replied a little smugly, “you’ve been coming in for years.”
His eyes lightened as they met mine. James was a college student, a little older than me and quite good looking. He’d been coming in regularly for years, sometimes on his own, sometimes with a group of friends and often with a girl. I could always tell when exams or assignments were due with James because he came in grumpier and surlier than normal, although he was never rude.
“I didn’t think you noticed me,” he said, “I mean not any more than any other customer.”
I shrugged. “I know most of the regulars.”
He moved a little closer as someone passed us, causing me to press back against the wall.
“I saw you tonight,” he said now, “at the Liv Den.”
“You did? I didn’t see you there.”
“You’re pretty amazing,” he gushed, “I didn’t realize the girl who serves me coffee was so damn fuckable.”
At his words my stomach hardened and I froze. I managed a little smile. “It’s all for show I promise.”
He moved a little closer so that I could feel his breath on my cheek. He smelled like beer and something else too, something harder and darker. Suddenly the mood around us changed, from light and joking to something thicker. “Oh I don’t know,” he crooned, “I reckon you would be pretty fucking amazing in bed.”
I started to move past him. “It’s for the stage and I have a boyfriend.”
He grabbed my wrist, causing my eyes to go wide. “I don’t care about boyfriends.”
I glanced down to where his fingers held my wrist. My skin burned. “I care about my boyfriend. Can you please let me go?”
The panic was starting to rise in me, I could feel it bubbling up in my stomach. I glanced around but everyone was ignoring us and Gwen was still in the bathroom. I didn’t want to create a scene but I didn’t like this guy, which was odd, because if you had of asked me just a few minutes ago about him and I would have said he was just a nice college guy who collected coffee on a regular basis.
“C’mon a girl like you doesn’t really give a shit who she fucks around with,” he continued, “and I promise I won’t tell him.”
I blinked at him. “You’re still touching me.”
He pressed against me, knocking me back against the wall. I could feel the hardness of his body against me, the hardness of him. My skin crawled.
“C’mon, babe,” he crooned, “just a little blow job. How about that?”
“I don’t think so.” I averted my head and pushed hard against him. Honestly, who the fuck did this guy think he was.
“Hey, you can’t tease me like that and then not deliver.”
“What are you talking about?” I demanded, pushing harder against him but finding I wasn’t able to budge him even a little. “I never teased you.”
“Yes you did,” he insisted, “you’ve batted your eyes at me every day when I collected my coffee and then on stage tonight. Don’t tell me you weren’t as turned on as I was.”
“There were like five hundred people there!” I cried. Surely this crazy dude did not think that I had just given a private performance for him.
“But you were looking at me each and every time you licked your lips or blew a kiss.”
I shook my head. “You are crazy and you need to let me go.”
“Not until I’ve gotten something, baby,” he leered toward me, his breath hot on my cheek, “c’mon just a little kiss.”
I pushed against him even harder as I felt his wet mouth press against the side of my face, his tongue flicking out to trace over my skin. Disgust roiled in my belly and I brought my knee up to kick him off but he was just too damn huge.
“Hey, buddy.”
I closed my eyes at the sound of Luke’s voice and knew that this horrid moment was over.
“Fuck off.”
“I will when you have got your hands off my girl.”
Suddenly the guy released me and I sagged back against the wall with relief. Then I looked over to where Luke stood, his face like thunder, his jaw was set hard and a muscle flexed in his cheek. His eyes glittered darkly and I knew he was seriously pissed off, which was good, because so was I.
“She your girl?” the guy jeered, “seriously tell me, is she a hot fuck or—”
Luke’s fist connected with James’s jaw before he even finished the sentence and I squealed, jumping back as he sagged against the wall. The bathroom door flung open and Gwen was there, staring at Luke and at me and then at the guy on the floor. Her face was pale and I could tell that she’d been in there crying.
“What the fuck?” she asked, staring at James who was starting to get to his feet.
“C’mon,” I said, tugging her with Luke and me as we left. At the bottom of the stairs Gwen left us, returning to the other girls outside, but Luke kept tugging me until we were outside and in his car. After buckling in and pulling away from the curbside with a skid, I turned to look at him. His fingers curled tightly around the steering wheel and he stared straight ahead. His jaw was still hard and the glitte
r of darkness stilled flashed in his eyes.
“You okay?” I asked after a few moments. He was angry, I could see that.
“Am I okay?” he repeated tightly. “No I am fucking not okay. That guy had his hands all over you, Trin, and his mouth.”
“I’m sorry,” I whispered, “I serve him at the coffee shop and at first he was nice but then he turned and got a little mean.”
“Fuck!” he suddenly slammed both on hands down on the steering wheel causing me to jump in my seat. “It’s not your fault babe. I am not angry at you, but man, I hated seeing him touching you like that. I hated it.”
“It wasn’t much fun for me either,” I told him quietly, “trust me.”
“What on earth made him think that you were fair game like that? That you wanted him touching you,” he fumed, “fucking bastard.”
“He saw the show,” I told him, “for some reason he thought it was a private performance just for him. I think he’s a little unhinged.”
“He’s fucking dead if he thinks he can touch you like that.”
I reached out and touched his arm, pulling it from the steering wheel and entwining his fingers through mine. At my touch I felt him start to relax. “Hey,” I crooned, “nothing happened. I am yours and yours alone. I’m just glad you came along when you did.”
“Me too, babe. Me too.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Luke
“So you punched a guy last night?”
“What? Oh my god Luke what is she talking about?”
I frowned at my little sister wondering how on earth she had heard about that already. It was Sunday and I was at my parents for lunch. I hadn’t been back to visit them since I’d taken Trinity with me a few weeks ago. I’d barely spoken to them since then either but my mother had kept calling and leaving messages and had insisted I visit for lunch today. I had wanted to bring Trinity, my mother had graciously extended the invitation to her, but she had declined telling me they had rehearsals for some gig they had next weekend, the one she had bought the fancy dress for.