Then the oldies band comes out to start their gig, and we join the crowd in the auditorium to watch their performance. It’s a four-piece-band whose name is ‘Tanja and the Teddyshakers’, and I’m startled to discover that their lead singer is Tanja, the blonde Taylor Momsen wannabe who spent the night with Bette after my first gig with ‘The Coldhearts’. She’s dressed like Taylor Momsen used to, wearing a white corset with black fishnets and garter belts, and platform shoes with incredibly high heels. The three guys in her band are dressed like rock’n’rollers from the fifties, wearing blue jeans and leather jackets, and an Elvis Presley hairdo.
I look at Bette, and she seems to be as startled as I am. Obviously, Bette and Tanja had other things to do than talking about Tanja being a singer, too. The four of us push our way to the stage, and when Tanja sees the four of us staring at her, she winks at us, as her band begins their set with a song that I recognize, because Joan Jett once covered it. The song’s called ‘AC/DC’.
‘She got girls, girls all over the world!’
I glance over at Bette. She looks like she can’t believe what she’s seeing and hearing. I’ve never seen her at a loss for words before.
‘AC/DC she got some other women as well as me!’
Tanja is obviously changing the lyrics, thus evidently singing about Bette and her sexual habits, as if she were wildly enthusiastic about them. I glance over at Nellie, who’s still holding my hand. She’s obviously very amused by the situation. I can’t help wondering…is this an example of what she called ‘compersion’? Then Tanja stares straight at Bette, and begins fucking her with her eyes, as she sings the words,
‘She got zing! You oughta see her ding-a-ling! Well, lesbian in it together, I guess she’ll be in it forever, you’ve got to take it now and ever…’
Ina starts laughing hysterically, while Nellie shakes with suppressed laughter herself. Bette covers her face with her hands, and begins roaring with laughter, too. When she straightens, and I can see her face again, I realize she’s been laughing hard enough to make herself cry. She shakes her head, grinning, and exclaims, “Fuck me Jesus! That is the Craziest Bitch ever!” When the song ends we all join the rest of the crowd in cheering and whistling.
Twenty or thirty minutes later, Bette takes a deep breath, and tilts her head, indicating the exit of the auditorium. She catches Tanja’s eye, holds up one arm, and points to her watch. Tanja nods back at her, grins, and blows her a kiss, which makes Bette grin back and shake her head once again. While Tanja and her three male band mates keep on playing, we push and shove our way to the exit. Once we make it outside, we bump into Emma, who has apparently been looking for us.
“Paula thinks it’s time for your performance,” she says, blushing.
“Yeah, and she’s fucking right,” Bette replies, shifting into her kickass mode. “That’s why we’re fucking here, Babe,”
“Let me show you the way,” Emma says, blushing even more. We follow her out the building’s exit. She unlocks a door back into the building, which leads us straight to the backstage of the aula, where Paula’s evidently been waiting for us anxiously. Her face lightens up considerably as Emma marches us towards her.
“Oh, good, here you are,” she exclaims. “When do you think you’ll be ready to start your gig?”
“Give us ten minutes,” Bette replies.
“That’s good. The crowd’s waiting for you.” Right, now that she mentions it, I can hear the crowd. It sounds like the huge auditorium is packed.
We gather in our usual circle for our pre-gig ritual, my arms around Nellie’s shoulder to my left, and around Ina’s to my right.
“Call us cunt band, we don’t care! Call us bitches we don’t mind! Black-hearted Coldhearts, Bitch Goddess Coldhearts, rock, rock, rock!”
As it always does the ritual makes me shiver, and I feel a weird rush of energy roar through my body. We high five one another, before I grab my bass guitar, and follow Bette with her Flying-V. The stage is dimly lit now, and we have just enough light to see by. A curtain hides the stage from the audience.
While our intro plays I pull at the hem of my new dress nervously. It still feels strange wearing a dress onstage rather than my jeans. I glance over at Bette and Ina to my left. Ina’s wearing skintight black jeans with rips at her knees and upper thighs, revealing a lot of skin. Around her slender waist is a studded belt with silver chains. Her cropped black tank top shows off her tattooed arms, as well as her toned abs. Bette’s wearing a scarlet mini dress that’s cut even lower than my own dress. It shows quite a bit of Bette’s splendid breasts, while her thigh high black leather boots complete her look. I sigh happily. The sight of my beautiful band mates never fails to thrill me. And then the curtain rises, the spotlights go on, and we thunder into our first song. The crowd roars their approval, and a shiver runs down my spine.
I feel as though the eyes of the whole audience are on me, in my skimpy dress, and my fishnet thigh highs, and I feel self-conscious at first, but then I become more and more excited. Ina tilts her head back and nods to Bette and me, and we begin to bang our heads to the rhythm of our song. I throw my long hair back, and glance at Nellie behind her drums, and my heart seems to jump out of my chest. She grins at me, and I grin back at her. I look back down at the audience, at that strange mix of rockers, hippies, and punks, and the crow cheers and whistles. And then I see a group of girls standing right in front of me… They all seem to be dressed as members of ‘The Coldhearts’. Two or three of them are actually wearing black jeans and green tank tops! They are all staring at me, checking me out, and fucking me with their eyes. They are cheering and dancing and having fun. I’m lost in a daze as we run through our set, and I’m actually shocked to realize we play our last song of this first part of our set.
The curtain falls while we go backstage, and as a DJ takes over, I can hear chants of “Jet-Black Jenny, Jet-Black Jenny”.
“You were fucking amazing tonight, Jen,” Bette says to me with a grin, while I gulp down a bottle of mineral water.
“Maybe it’s the new dress,” Ina adds giggling. “And all those girls who liked you in it.”
Bette laughs boisterously. “And who obviously would’ve liked to get you out of it.”
I groan and shake my head. I can’t believe my band mates noticed that.
Nellie puts one arm around me. “You were absolutely wonderful, Jenny,” she says, a big smile on her pretty face. “You played as if you were in a trance, it was so amazing. And as far as all those girls are concerned…even I heard them screaming your name.”
“Yes, that was really weird,” I mutter.
“Oh c’mon, Jenny, you’re a rock star, and you look like one,” Nellie says, punching my arm playfully with her free hand.
“Maybe Jenny should play a bass solo,” Bette says, thoughtfully.
I shake my head emphatically. “Nobody wants drum or bass solos now. The seventies are over.”
“We could integrate it into a song, and instead of a guitar solo we’d have a short bass solo. Think about it,” Nellie says coaxingly.
“Yes, why not,” Ina agrees.
All eyes are on me now. “I’ll think about it,” I reply.
“That’s my girl,” Bette says with a smile. Then she changes the subject abruptly. “Now I’m gonna go find that Crazy Bitch Tanja or some other crazy chick to take home with me tonight. Is anybody but Ina coming with me?”
Ina grins cheerfully, and looks at me intently, as does Bette. I blush and shake my head. Nellie smiles at our band mates. “I’m staying here with Jenny,” she says, while Bette and Ina grin at us like cats, and go.
Nellie nods at the cheap white plastic chairs nearby, and we sit down together. She reaches out and strokes my tattooed arm with the back of her hand.
“Didn’t you want to go with them, Nell?” I ask, staring at Nellie’s toned legs.
“You know, I have a particular reason for not going off with Bette and Ina to look for ‘Crazy Bitches’ to
night.”
“Oh?” My heart skips a beat and my body begins to tingle. Nellie nods and puts one hand on my shoulder.
“For one thing, no girl here could possibly be more beautiful than the one who’s sitting next to me right now,” Nellie says. “And for another thing…you’re the only girl here I’m in love with.”
I sigh and feel the heat increase in my body. I can’t even speak, because I’ve become lost in her dark eyes.
“I mean every word I just said, Jen,” Nellie says, and suddenly her hand moves to the nape of my neck, pulling me closer, and our lips meet. Without thinking I part my own lips to let her tongue caress my tongue. The kiss sends shivers down my spine. It feels strange to kiss somebody else than Emilia, but I can’t help it, it feels too good. I put my arms around her waist, and I close my eyes, and leaning into her, I press my body against hers, and I forget everything but her, and our kiss…
Finally we have to break the kiss, so we can both breathe. I have no idea how long our kiss went on. I just know I’m panting for breath, and that my panties are wet. Nellie looks flushed, and she’s breathing heavily, too.
“Jesus Christ, Jenny,” she gasps, “That kiss was absolutely amazing. You really know how to kiss, Jenny.”
I nod at her, and I whisper, taking a deep breath to try to calm myself. “I’m going to want more after that kiss, Nell.”
“You can have more any time you want it, Jen,” she replies in a soft, husky voice.
I take another deep breath, unable to say anything. We sit there in silence, just holding hands, until we hear Bette and Ina come back, giggling.
“Well?” Nellie says. “Did you two find what you were looking for?”
“More like it found us, Nell,” Bette replies, and then she glances at me, looking startled. “Holy fuck, Jenny,” she says. “We leave you alone with Nellie for ten minutes, and your panties are wet already?”
Panic stricken I look at myself, and when I can’t see a wet spot on my dress, I wonder how Bette could possibly have known how wet my panties really are. I look up at her, only to discover she and Ina are both laughing hysterically. I feel how I begin to blush.
“Oh shit, Jenny,” Bette exclaims, “I was just fucking with you, Babe! And it’s actually true?” She shakes her head, and starts laughing again.
Ina puts in, “you two better not sleep in separate rooms tonight. You won’t be able to stand it.” The two of them start laughing again.
I dare a brief glance at Nellie, who’s still holding my hand. She doesn’t laugh at me, but smiles, and caresses me with her eyes. I’m unable to look away, as I get lost in her dark eyes. But it’s only for a moment, before Bette literally snaps us out of our trance.
“Okay you two fucking lovebirds,” she announces. “We gotta get ready to hit the stage for our second set. Play now, and fuck later.”
Going through our little pre-gig ritual helps me to regain my focus, and after we high five one another, we return to the stage. I’m amazed how the magic I felt during our first set returns immediately. There seems to be an invisible bond between the four of us. I’ve felt a bond with ‘The Coldhearts’ from the very beginning, but it seems to become stronger with every gig and song we play, and I firmly believe our bond has now been sealed by my passionate kiss with Nellie.
The audience seems to sense the magic of the moment, and alternates between listening in rapt silence and going absolutely crazy. There are a lot of girls in the audience who are screaming and crying, but there are also quite a number of guys who are nearly as enthusiastic.
And then finally, Bette announces the last song of our regular set: our special version of ‘Drive’. And once again the song does its magic. There’s absolute silence in the aula while we’re playing, but as soon as the song ends all hell breaks loose. The audience cheers and roars, and the shrill screams of the girls in the audience are absolutely deafening. We smile and bow and curtsy to the audience, and then we leave the stage.
I look at my band mates who are covered in sweat as much as I am, and they look ecstatic. I grin at them all, and then Bette starts to laugh raucously. “Oh fucking hell, that was absolutely, fucking shit amazing.”
“Absolutely awesome performance,” Nellie says, toweling sweat from her pretty face.
I don’t know where my sudden courage comes from, but I suddenly hear myself yell. “Let’s go out again, and destroy that place.”
“Yeah, let’s do that,” Ina squeals.
Bette stops laughing and grins at me, a fierce look in her blue eyes. “Okay, Jenny. I like your fucking attitude. And you know what? We’ll do your new ‘Cold-hearted Woman’ song for our encore!”
My stomach turns over, taking a bit away from my enthusiasm, but I manage to nod in reply to her. Since joining ‘The Coldhearts’ I’ve written two new songs, and while my first song ‘Back from the Dead’ looks like becoming a part of our repertoire soon, we rehearsed my latest song only two or three times.
The audience explodes in applause as we hit the stage for our encore. Bette walks up to the microphone, and lifting her arms she makes the sign of the horns. “Do you feel alright?” She screams, and the crowd cheers. “I can’t hear you! I said, do you fucking feel alright?” And the crowd cheers and screams even louder. “Our next song was written by our Jet-Black Jenny here! It’s called ‘Cold-hearted Woman’!”
I feel all eyes on me as I begin with a slow, but heavy bass intro, before the rest of the band joins me. Once again a shiver runs down my spine as Better sings in her husky voice,
‘My heart is black, my heart is cold, my heart was broken long ago…’
And then the song explodes, becomes heavy and hard, and Bette growls,
‘I’ve become a bitch with an ice-cold heart! I’ll make you shiver and fall apart!’
The audience listens, rapt, and when the song ends, the crowd cries out for more. Bette grins at me like a wildcat, and gives me a thumbs up, before we begin our final song for tonight, ‘Love Potion No.9.’ I think of the kiss Nellie and I exchanged earlier, and it occurs to me that the two of us might as well have been drinking ‘Love Potion No.9’ ourselves.
+++
We aren’t driving ourselves home from the ‘Rockers Ball’. Instead, a chartered minibus is taking us back to ‘The Coldhearts’ farmhouse. I guess that’s a good thing, because someone’s opened a bottle of champagne, and we’re all ‘getting drunk off our asses’, as Bette would say. Nellie and I are sitting in the backseat of the minibus, and when she hands me the bottle of bubbly, I take a big swig from it, and hand it back to her. She reaches up to the seat directly in front of us, taps Bette on her shoulder, and Bette breaks her kiss with Tanja. She turns around grinning, and takes the bottle from Nellie.
I’d been surprised to see that it was Tanja that Bette had chosen to go home with, because it’s a novelty for me to see Bette with the same girl twice, and I’m not sure if Nellie has either.
Sitting in the seat in front of Bette and Tanja, Ina whispers something in the ear of a girl with long red hair. Her hair makes me think of Emilia, and my heart suddenly sinks. But then Nellie puts one arm around me, and she squeezes my thigh gently with her free hand, and my heart flutters. I’m suddenly lost in a warm haze, overwhelmed with my love for her. I rest my head on Nellie’s shoulder, close to her hair, which is still moist from the bottle of water she poured over her head after our gig. I smell her intoxicating scent, a mix of perfume, sweat, and Nellie’s own natural scent. It’s a very arousing mix, and I can’t resist raising my head a little more, so that I can find Nellie’s lips. Our lips meet, and then our tongues do.
The magic is back! This kiss feels so good, so right, it’s new and exciting, and the thought of Nellie wanting me arouses me. I know she wants me more than anything. And I desire her, too.
And just as our previous kiss did, this kiss leaves us weak and panting for breath. I glance in front of us, and I see that my other band mates and their partners for the night are kissing on
e another passionately, too.
Bette stops her kiss with Tanja so she can break another bottle of bubbly, and after they both take long swallows from the bottle, Tanja hands the bottle back to me with an innocent smile. I take a big gulp from the bottle myself, before handing it to Nellie. I’m still high on adrenaline from our gig, and from my kiss with Nellie, and the sparkling champagne only increases my excitement and arousal.
We stumble out of the minibus when we arrive home at the farmhouse. We’re all half-drunk, or maybe more than half-drunk. Bette opens the front door, and she leads our little party into the huge living room. She immediately sinks down on the couch with Tanja giggling and clinging to her. Grinning mischievously Ina turns on the sound system, and Joan Jett’s version of ‘AC/DC’ blasts from the speakers. It makes Bette laugh so hard she falls over, with Tanja giggling hysterically, and landing on top of her.
Ina brings another bottle of champagne from the kitchen, takes a long swig, and hands the bottle to the cute redhead. I look at Nellie questioningly. I’d rather be alone with her than go on partying. I’m already pretty tipsy, and I know the night will end in a disaster if I keep on drinking.
Bette suddenly sits up, fixes Nellie and I with a wild-eyed look, and grins at us fiercely. “You two better go upstairs right now,” she says, tilting her head in the direction of the bedrooms upstairs.
I blush furiously, while Bette smirks and goes on. “You don’t look like you’re going to be able to control yourselves for much longer.”
Tanja, Ina, and the redheaded girl all look at us, and start giggling. Nellie starts giggling, too. I’m staring at Bette, wild-eyed, my heart pounding wildly, not believing my ears. Nellie takes my hand and squeezes it, while Bette continues, “Seriously, you two, it’s your time. The rest of us are going to stay down here for a while. We’ve got to wait for Ralph and our road crew to arrive. I’m sure they’ll need a drink or two once they get here, and the girls they’re bringing will too.” She laughs again, and says, “Now off you go, and fuck each others’ brains out.”
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