by Hawke, Jessa
"There can't be many of those left," Jake said with a chuckle. "What is the freakiest thing you've ever done?"
The question took Danny by surprise. Not because he found it in any way embarrassing or inappropriate, but because he told Jake everything. There wasn't anything either of them had ever done that they had kept secret from each other. Still, he didn't hesitate to answer.
"It would have to be that time in Columbus when I let those twins tie me up."
"That's not freaky, that's just dangerous. They could have robbed you, or worse."
"Yeah, but dude, getting robbed would have been worth it. They were amazing! So how about you, what's your best freak-show memory?"
"The mother and daughter in Indy," he said without hesitation.
"The ones who licked chocolate syrup off you while the sister videoed it?"
"That would be it."
"Do you still have the video on your phone?"
"No," Jake said with a sigh. "I deleted it by accident.”
All this talk was getting Danny turned on, and for reasons he couldn't explain, it was making him uncomfortable, so he changed the subject.
"I think we need to think about replacing Pete and Jason." It was the first time either of them had said it out loud, and while he was sure Jake felt the same way, he wasn't sure how his friend would react to having it just thrown out there.
"You'll get no argument from me, but how are we going to do that?" said Jake.
"We have to audition new guys, and teach them the songs. All the time we spend doing that is time we can't make any money. I'm not sure about you, but I haven't exactly amassed a huge fortune just yet."
"I know what you're saying," Danny conceded, "but they don't share our vision. They're holding us back."
"Yeah, I know what you mean. The songs we write, it's almost like they're our children. Pete and Jason, they just don't understand. Creating this band, writing the songs, making the CD's, it's all very intimate."
Danny hadn't ever thought of it like that. Now that he did, it was strangely exciting, but for reasons he couldn't explain he felt that he needed to turn the conversation in a different direction yet again.
"Okay, so let's just get through the next few weeks," he said, pulling out his phone and flipping through his calendar. We're in Peoria this weekend but then back in Detroit for it looks like, the next three weeks after that. We can tell the guys we need a break from rehearsing to write some new songs. They won't question that. It will give them both some time to play house with their girlfriends. Hopefully in that time we can find a couple of guys who really want to make it big and aren't afraid to work at it twenty-four seven."
"Okay, but if I run short of money I'm moving in with you."
They stopped for dinner and checked out Rocks, the place they would be playing, before checking into the motel. It was a decent-sized place and even though it was Sunday night the crowd looked to be exactly the kind that would get their kind of music. The owner told them it would be okay to set up their instruments so they didn't have to leave them in the van all week, and told them he would open the place up for them each morning to rehearse. Danny thanked the man, a nice guy who looked to be in his forties with a receding hair line a bit of a paunch, and he and Jake set about unloading the gear.
As they were setting up the amplifiers and putting his bass on its stand, Danny noticed a hot redhead back in the corner She was tall with long hair and was wearing a tight white t-shirt that hugged her large breasts nicely. She didn't smile when Danny looked her way, but she didn't turn away, either. Danny continued to glance over as he finished with the amps and guitar stands, and he pointed her out to Jake when he started setting up the drums.
"It's been a while since I had a redhead," Jake said as he checked her out. She seemed to be checking him out, too. "They can be pretty freaky."
"Yeah, I know, and I saw her first," said Danny. I was just pointing her out so you'd know who I was banging after Friday's show."
"Well, she might have something to say about that," said Jake. Everyone knows redheads prefer drummers."
"Do you even listen to the shit you say?" asked Danny with a roll of his eyes. While they were going back and forth like that, they failed to notice the redhead coming up to the stage.
"So you guys are next week's entertainment?" she said, startling them both.
"Uh, yeah," said Jake, suddenly a little self-conscious. He wasn't sure how much she heard of what he and Danny were saying. "We're Bad Holiday."
"It's just the two of you?" she asked. "Or are you guys just the setup crew? I'll bet the band won't show up until later in the week, right?"
Danny knew right away there was something about her he found intriguing. It was more than those huge tits, too. "I play bass and he's the drummer. I'm Danny."
"I'm Taylor," the girl said with a smile. "Aren't you going to introduce me to your friend?"
"Why?" Danny asked. “Like I said, he's just the drummer."
"There's no such thing as just a drummer," said Jake as he cut in front of Danny and extended his hand to Taylor. "I'm Jake."
"Well, Jake the drummer," said Taylor as she lightly shook his hand, "I've heard my share of bands in this place the last couple of years and I'll tell you one thing. If you don't add a guitar or two to those drums and bass, you guys are going to suck."
"Our guitar players had to go home to their girlfriends," said Danny. The brazen way this girl talked to them was beyond interesting to him. "They'll be here Thursday."
"And what about you two?" asked Taylor. "You don't have girlfriends to take care of you back home?"
"Is that a problem?" asked Danny
"Not for me," said Taylor with a shrug. "What kind of music do you guys play anyway?" she asked, seeming not to be all that interested in whether or not they had girlfriends. The guys knew it was all just a game, but they didn't mind playing. It wasn't like they never had been through this before.
"Alternative rock," Jake answered her.
"Do you have any CDs?" Taylor asked. "I'd like to know if you're worth coming by on Friday."
"Wait right here," said Jake and he disappeared out the back door to where they had parked the van while they unloaded their gear.
"So Taylor, what do you do for a living?" asked Danny
"I work over at Caterpillar in human resources."
"And you spend your Friday nights here listening to music?"
"Sometimes, if the band is worth my time," she answered with a small grin.
Just at that moment Jake reappeared with a box of CD's in his hands and a t-shirt slung over his shoulder. "Here," he said, setting the box down and digging inside. He pulled out two CDs. "This is our first one," he said, handing her a CD, "and this is our most recent. We'll mix in a few covers too, but we play mostly original music."
"Thanks," said Taylor, accepting both discs. "What do I owe you?"
"Not a thing," said Danny before Jake could. "If you like what you hear, tell your friends and we'll charge them double."
"That sounds fair," she chuckled. "Is that for me too?" she asked, pointing to the t-shirt Jake still had over his shoulder.
"It sure is," he said. "You're the first in Peoria to own an official Bad Holiday t-shirt. You're a small, right?"
"Do you really think I can get these babies into a small?" she said, cupping one hand under each ample breast.
"It might be fun to see you try," said Jake. "I'm only kidding. I brought you a medium. “They run big, so I think you'll be fine,” he said, holding it up for her to examine.
"Well thanks again," she said and accepted the t-shirt before turning to leave.
"See you Friday," Danny called after her.
"That depends on how these sound," said Taylor without looking back.
"Then we will definitely see you," said Jake, but still she didn't turn.
*****
After finishing with the setup, Danny and Jake headed over to the motel.
"Only one room?" asked Jake. Usually Danny booked a separate room for each of them, and one room for Jason and Pete. There was never any need for those two to have privacy.
"With being here the entire week I didn't want to spring for three," he explained. I figured one of us could go to that girl's house after the show."
"That could work," said Jake, thinking it over. "Hey, I'll tell you what. If Taylor has a roommate I'll make sure she sends her you're way. The two of you can have this room and I'll take Taylor back to her place."
"Very funny," said Danny. "We'll see on Friday who takes her home."
"Who knows? By then I may have found someone even hotter, and I'll let you have her," said Jake.
"How generous of you," said Danny with a slight smirk, and before too much longer, they both were in bed and asleep.
The guys busied themselves the rest of the week with trying to rehearse as best they could without Jason and Pete. They didn't see Taylor again, mostly because they rehearsed while the club was closed. They both thought about her, though. While they both knew that come Friday there would likely been any number of women just as hot as her, they both had to admit there was something about her that was exciting. Neither of them even considered for one minute that what they were feeling was anything beyond pure physical attraction, but it was unlike them to spend so much time thinking about one woman, no matter how sexy.
Their thoughts were about more than just her, though. They spent a great deal of time thinking about each other. This was something new. Neither man ever put much thought into the other's sex life, beyond the conversations they would have about the women they had the night before. This, however, was different. Jake spent the week wondering what Danny was going to say or do to try and score with Taylor. Danny was wondering the same thing about Jake. Without realizing they were doing it, they had turned this into an unspoken competition for this one woman.
Thursday brought the arrival of Pete and Jason, just as their wayward guitar players had promised, but with a slight twist. They brought their girlfriends, too. They strolled into Rocks that morning with Rachel and Carrie on their arms. Although they were a little surprised, Danny and Jake found that they really weren't at all upset. Maybe it was because they had already decided to part ways with Pete and Jason or maybe it was because they were still too preoccupied with how to best the other in the contest for Taylor, but either way, seeing the guys show up with their girlfriends had almost no impact on their moods.
If anything at all, both Danny and Jake seemed pleased to have the girls there to listen as they rehearsed. They were both appreciative to have someone cheering as they played, even though they themselves didn't think Bad Holiday was up to their normal high standards.
"Well that sucked," Danny said succinctly as they wrapped up two hours of rehearsal around one o'clock. Everyone agreed that they were hungry and thought getting some food in their stomachs might improve their energy and focus.
"We'll be fine," said Jason. "It's just that we haven't practiced together all week. By tomorrow we'll be fine."
"Well I hope so," said a voice from behind, and the entire band, along with Rachel and Carrie, turned to see a tall beautiful redhead smirking at them. "I have a lot of friends coming tomorrow night. I played your CDs for a few of them and they can't wait to hear you live," said Taylor. Her long hair fell down the middle of her back. It didn't look to have been combed, but Danny and Jake both thought the wild look just added to her sexuality. Jason and Pete knew right away that one of their band mates would be taking this woman home after the show the next night, even if they couldn't be sure which one it would be. Carrie and Rachel just thought she looked like a bitch.
"Well that's what we like to here," said Jake, shooting Taylor his most practiced smile. "Where have you been all week?"
"I'm not a rock star, I have to work, remember?"
"What about today?" asked Danny as he walked over and slid his hand lightly around her waist.
"We're having a meeting, and they have great lunch specials here," Taylor said and for the first time both men realized she wasn't alone. It then occurred to them that they had people with them, as well. Apparently, so did Taylor. "This must be the real talent in the band," she said, deftly moving away from Danny. She hardly seemed to notice Jake.
"Oh, yeah," said Danny, trying to recover. "This is Jason, and this is Pete," he said, pointing to each in turn.
"And we're they're girlfriends," said Rachel. It was not hard to guess her attitude towards this woman who appeared out of nowhere, apparently with the idea of flirting with every man in the bar. Taylor, however, didn't seem concerned in the least.
"These guys seem pretty full of themselves," she said to Rachel, tilting her head to indicate Danny and Jake. "After I heard their music I knew there had to be some greater force driving the band."
"I think they all work together pretty well," said Carrie.
"Oh I was talking about you two," said Taylor. "Like the old saying goes, ‘behind every good man, there's a great woman.'"
"We're not really ‘behind' Jake and Danny," said Carrie.
"I get that," said Taylor. "You seemed far too together for them. I'm Taylor. I watched your boyfriends' friends setting up the other night and I was intrigued, so I listened to their CDs. This group has some real talent. I'm sure the two of you must be proud of them."
"We are," said Carrie, putting her arm around Jason.
"Since no one is going to introduce us, I'm Rachel and this is Carrie," said Rachel.
The truth was that neither Danny nor Jake knew what to say. They were not at all used to a woman they had slept with talking to Pete or Jason, much less their girlfriends. While it was true that they hadn't yet slept with Taylor, they both considered it a foregone conclusion that one of them would.
"I hope you all are a bit more entertaining tomorrow night," she said with a slight twitch of her nose that for some reason both Danny and Jake found incredibly sexy. Then she turned back to Carrie and Rachel. "So you'll both be here for the show, right?" When Carrie assured her they wouldn't miss it, Taylor said she hoped to see them both again. Then she excused herself and joined her friends from work.
"She seems interesting," said Rachel as they all watched her leave.
"I don't know if that's the word I'd use," said Carrie.
"I know what word I'd use to describe her," said Jake.
"Oh, I think we can all pretty much guess what that word is," said Pete.
"Well, I'll let you all know how interesting she is come Saturday," said Danny with a cocky grin.
"You're disgusting," Carrie told him
"I'm glad you noticed," answered Danny, but he was still staring at Taylor, who appeared to have forgotten about all of them. With that, they all sat down to have lunch, each of them still thinking about Taylor.
*****
Friday's rehearsal went much better. Everyone agreed they seemed back to where they needed to be. Jason and Pete sent Rachel and Carrie off to shop at the local mall and Danny and Jake managed to put Taylor out of their minds as they got ready for the upcoming show. No woman, no matter how sexy, could come between the two of them and their music.
It was for that reason, in fact, that Jake decided to let Danny have Taylor. Danny was his best friend, the one person he counted on most in the world. If anything, especially a potential fight over one hot woman, was to come between them, it would be too devastating. Danny and the music the two of them created was worth more to Jake then a piece of ass.
What Jake had no way of knowing is that Danny had reached the same conclusion as Jake. Women would come and go, and even one as potentially freaky as Taylor wasn't worth causing any friction between the two of them. There would be at least a dozen women at the club that night that would be begging to let him show just how freaky they could get. Besides, one woman had gotten boring. Danny knew that one on one, no matter how creative, wasn't going to cut it.
Eight o'clock came and people star
ted to roll in. The band wouldn't start for another hour, so it was only a few at first. Danny and Jake both found themselves looking for Taylor, even though both still swore they were going to let the other one have her. Eight thirty came and still she didn't show. Carrie and Rachel had arrived, and grabbed a table right up next to the dance floor. As the band ran through their sound check, Jake idly wondered what Jason and Pete would do if other guys started hitting on their girlfriends. After all, just because they were annoying didn't mean they weren't hot. He only had a minute or two to consider before spotting Taylor.
Just like the day before, her hair was down and hanging loose and wild. She was wearing the t-shirt they had given her Sunday, but with enticing alterations. She had cut a "V" in the collar to create a plunging neck line that barely contained her near-perfect breasts. Also, she cut the bottom of the shirt so that it exposed her midriff. Her stomach was tight and flat, and Jake thought it was almost as sexy as those breasts. She had on a black leather mini skirt and thigh high boots to complete the ensemble. As hot as she looked in that outfit, Jake wanted nothing more than to take her in the back alley and tear it off of her. He was not surprised when he looked over and saw that Danny had noticed her, too. He could tell by the look on his friend's face that their thoughts were identical. After a minute or two she made her way up the stage.
"It's going to be a great night boys," she said to them. Pete and Jason had gone off to say something to Rachel and Carrie.
"You know it," said Danny. "I thought you were bringing friends?"
"Oh they'll be here."
"You look amazing," Jake told her.
"Thanks," she said with a smile, and did a little twirl. "The two of you look pretty hot yourselves. Good enough to eat." Danny and Jake both grinned. At that moment they were rethinking their decision to let the other have Taylor. "Well, have a good show."
"Thanks, we hope you have a great time tonight," said Jake.
"Oh, I'm pretty sure you guys will make sure of that." Without another word, she turned around and went back to her table.