"You know . . . I think I get why you two are together now. You were a secret creeper all along."
"What?"
"Don't lie. You like horror movies and blood . . . Do you worship Satan?"
"Girl, hush. No. Pick me up some accessories, please."
Mikki and Shawna painted each other's nails black and sifted through the different outfits. Mikki decided to go more biker chick than goth, stating that they were basically in the same realm. She wore heavy leather with muted, satiny dark red lipstick. Shawna didn't see anything in the pile she liked. Returning to her closet she pulled out the white dress she had worn when she and Virgil first began dating. It would be her little present to him on their six-month anniversary.
"Ooooh, Shawna. Where's the rest of it? I'm telling your mama."
Shawna laughed. "I'll wear a jacket over it. Virgil loves this dress."
"I love that dress," Mikki said, checking her makeup in the mirror. She had been saying more things like that to Shawna. Shawna shrugged it off, chalking up her sudden affection to Mikki trying to apologize for her behavior. Shawna slipped on the dress, put on Virgil's favorite perfume and they dashed out the door.
"I am really hoping this broad stays on her side of the fence. I'm not looking forward to meeting her," Shawna said as they climbed into the Mustang. Virgil had just sent it for detailing. It smelled like bubblegum soap and turtle wax. Mikki scratched the tip of her nose and shot Shawna a serious look.
"I'll take her out. Do you need me to take her out?"
"No. She's their consultant or something. I'd hate for the band to catch this mess."
"Okay, just so you know, though, if she wants to act crazy she can catch these hands."
"You and Derick are violent," Shawna said, sucking her teeth. The truth was, if it came to that point, Mikki might have had to race Shawna to whoop Janet's ass. "Don't worry. I got a plan. I'm going to handle it with style and grace. You'll see."
"I can hardly wait."
The parking lot was packed with cars and people. Shawna had a pass to use VIP parking, but she was still surprised by the turnout. Even the concert she went to with Virgil that fateful night where they had to fight off a group of thugs didn't have this full a parking lot.
"Did I ever tell you about that?" Shawna asked Mikki, recounting the fight.
"No, but I'm not surprised. Virgil sold out a shitload of people to keep his record clean. Don't be surprised if they come back. He should probably hire security."
"For real?"
"Oh, yeah. They talk about his ass from here to back home. The streets know Virgil's name. That's why I kept trying to get you to get away from him. But," Mikki said, raising her hands in surrender. "I get it. He’s worth it. But if you get shot, it's your own damn fault."
"Wow. Thanks."
Virgil's band had an eclectic group of listeners. Mikki and Shawna passed teenagers with colorful hair, people in their forties who weren't escorting kids, aging punk rockers in spikes, and hipsters in skinny jeans. Shawna kept her eyes peeled for anyone too sketchy looking. If what Mikki said was true, the concert could have ended up being an utter nightmare. She had told Virgil that she would wait until after the concert to see him. Going backstage now would have ruined the surprise. The idea of Virgil in full costume, on stage with a mic in his hand, excited her.
Mikki and Shawna sat in the front row with their arms intertwined, giggling and chatting about nothing in particular. The house filled quickly. The small venue held a little more than 500 people. The noise level climbed with the excited clamor of jittery girls and men bonding over bro-moments. As the lights came down another woman joined their row. A pair of hard-backed, auditorium seats separated her from Shawna and Mikki. Shawna only glanced for a moment before the stage exploded in rays of rainbow-colored light. The crowd went nuts and everyone jumped to their feet.
The drums came in hard; the bass reverberated throughout their bodies. Shawna recognized the guitar riff immediately and jumped up and down, bouncing Mikki along with her. The curtain raised and Erica's wild hair whipped back and forth as she beat the drums into submission. Rodger and Glen on lead bass and guitar turned to face the crowd. Fog filled the stage as a white grand piano seemed to float to the center with Rob at the keys.
"Cross my heart, I'm trapped under your spell."
Virgil came from the ceiling, lowered on cords, dressed in a long, dark-red, velvet Victorian-style coat, black leather pants and a poet's shirt. He landed gracefully in front of the mic stand and continued the song.
Shawna couldn't stop cheering and Mikki joined in. Shawna caught the eye of the woman standing two seats down. The rocker blonde shot Shawna a dirty look and turned her eyes back to the stage.
"I think that's her," Shawna said with her lips pressed against Mikki's ear. Mikki looked around Shawna and caught the same disgusted eye-roll from Janet.
"Ew. Ho," Mikki mumbled, before pulling Shawna to the side and switching seats with her. A crease formed in Virgil's forehead as he saw the quick change, but he didn't miss a beat.
The audience cheered, cried, and screamed for the band. They sang along and chanted. The audience knew every song. Shawna couldn't help but continue glancing at Janet on the other side of Mikki. She was pretty, thin, with her own style―everything she had imagined one of Virgil's exes to be. Janet fit in with the crowd, yet was clearly more of a star than the girls screaming for the band. She had a certain aura, a smoldering quality that was both attractive and distasteful. Shawna was sure she would have felt this even if Janet were nothing to her. She was used to trusting her instincts and some people she just didn’t like.
Janet’s presence made it hard for Shawna to concentrate on the show and enjoy the magic. As Virgil played to the crowd, he also played to Shawna, looking into her eyes, singing and flirting with her. Not once did Shawna catch his gaze wander in Janet's direction.
"This is a new one," he said after the last song. "It would mean a lot to me if you all like it."
The song was slower, but powerful, a monster ballad that tapped deep emotion. The crowd swayed to the beat and as Virgil reached the chorus and belted Shawna's name, Shawna's heart soared out of her chest. Mikki clenched Shawna's arm and screeched excitedly. By the end, the audience, Mikki included, wiped tears from their cheeks. Shawna turned to throw a smug look over at Janet, but her seat was empty.
* * *
Shawna and Mikki followed an usher down a long, narrow hallway to the backstage area. The brick walls wore a fresh whitewash but the graffiti still showed through. Another coat was needed, but there was no rush. The over-enthusiastic performers would just mark it up again. The small venue was used by a lot of the local talent―rock shows, small rap battles, high school talent shows and the like. Shawna had never been backstage after any concert, so this tiny venue's corridor was just as exciting as if it had been Madison Square Garden. The usher led them to a plain brown door and knocked. Virgil swept Shawna into his arms and kissed her passionately, barely giving her a chance to fully enter the room. Mikki squeezed by them and waited patiently for them to come up for air.
"You were great," Shawna said.
"You inspire me," Virgil said. "And you're wearing the dress," he whispered in her ear while running his hand down her back to her ass. Her ass was his anchor, his home. He curled his fingers into her hair and kissed Shawna's neck. As long as she was with him, he could get through anything.
"Before I tell you two to get a room, could you at least introduce her to us, Virg?" Rob asked, draping his arm around Erika's shoulder.
"I'll settle for getting to see her. If she looks anything like her pretty friend, then she's out of your league," Rob said, winking at Mikki. Mikki gave a short laugh and crossed her arms. Virgil stepped aside, cleared his throat, and introduced Shawna and Mikki to the rest of the band. Shawna expected Janet to be there, glaring at them from the comfort of her status within the group, but she wasn't.
"Mikki, huh?" Rob asked, seductively
walking forward with his hand outstretched. Shawna raised her eyebrows, watching Mikki hesitate to give Rob her hand. He kept moving forward when she didn't react and kissed Mikki on both cheeks. "Where do they hide gorgeous girls like you?"
"In places you never look," Mikki said, stepping back.
"Feisty. I like that."
"So, this is the beautiful woman who took our Virgil's heart and saved him from his witch mother?" Glen asked. He took Shawna's hand, bowed and kissed her knuckles.
"I don't know about all that," Shawna said. It had been months since she had even given Virgil's mother a second thought. Initially, she had tried to convince him to call his parents to see how they were doing. Virgil's visceral reaction to the suggestion was enough for her to drop the subject. After Virgil cashed his father's check for the pool house, he cut as many ties to his parents as he could. The idea that Shawna had liberated Virgil from his mother made Shawna a little uncomfortable. She refused to take credit for it. If anyone was responsible for the break between Virgil and his mother, it was Virgil.
"It's alright, love. The rest of us had been trying to get him away from that madwoman for years," Rob said, attempting to throw an arm around Mikki's shoulder. Mikki ducked out of the way and stood on Shawna's other side. "If it weren't for his new life," Rob continued, unfazed by Mikki's reaction, "we probably wouldn't have made it this far. Thank you for saving our heart, darling." Rob kissed Shawna's cheek. "But, really, sweetheart, what's going on with your friend?"
Shawna laughed and threw a glance over her shoulder. Mikki shook her head. Mikki had one person on her mind and Rob wasn't it. Although the more Mikki saw Shawna and Virgil together, the more she understood Shawna's attachment to him. He wrote her a song and played it in front of a huge crowd that included his ex. He had a past, but there was a kind of purity about him too―the hard-won kind. Mikki shook her head at her thoughts. She was getting too damned soft.
The door opened and Virgil pulled Shawna out of the way. Janet waltzed through, clapping slowly. "Good job, gents," she said. "And Erika, doll, you're the best. I don't know about that last song, though."
"I love it," Rodger said defensively. "Hell, I'm in love with it. I've been playing the track nonstop for the last month."
"I like it, too," Erika said. "And I'm not just saying that because the muse is in the room."
Janet raised her eyebrows and turned, pretending that she didn't know Shawna and Mikki were present. "So, you're Shawna," Janet said, tilting her head. "I imagined something . . . different."
"White," Rob said. "She means white."
"It is . . . odd. But we've had our share of black fans. Mexicans, Asians, we've got the whole goddamn rainbow, baby."
As Janet spoke, Virgil was busy studying Shawna's earrings with his teeth and feeling how Shawna's dress followed the contour of her body. He stood behind her, pressing his entire body against her back. Neither of them heard a word Janet said. Mikki giggled behind her hand and averted her eyes to study the rest of the dressing room. There were black-dyed roses and various items in blood red. Silver jewelry hung from the mirrors as good luck charms. The band had worn their costumes in and would wear them back out into the world. No one changed in the room. That was just where they waited to go on stage.
"Mikki has a question for you," Shawna said, trying to wrench free of Virgil's loving grip.
"Is that right?" Virgil said turning his gaze to Mikki. His silver contacts made his already gray eyes glow.
"I have a charity function that needs a band," Mikki said, folding her arms. "A local record exec happens to be attempting to find community service for his delinquent son. Just so happens that all of his clients are out of the country or otherwise on tour."
Virgil narrowed his gaze. "Why us?" he asked. By which he really meant "why me?"
"Because I don't know any other musicians, and I doubt my church choir would be a major hit."
"So . . . you want us to basically do you a favor?"
Anger flashed in Mikki's eyes so quick that if Shawna had blinked she would have missed it, but Mikki quickly tucked her frustration back into her purse. Clasping her hands in front of her and smiling sweetly she said, "Yes, Virgil, a favor, but this isn't only a good thing for me, it's a good thing for you, because, see, record executives know other record executives. There would be a lot of important eyes and ears on your band that night."
"And we could play whatever we want?"
"Yep," Mikki said, shrugging. "As far as what I've heard, you're not offensive, if that's what you're worried about."
"I say we do it," Rob said. "I don't care if it's some exec's kid's bar mitzvah. If it gets us in front of the right people, it's where we need to be. And what is it that you do again, my precious gem?"
"I'm a PR rep for some of the most troubled rich people in the state."
"Including my mother," Virgil added.
"That's the most metal thing I've heard all week. Marry me."
Mikki booped Rob on the nose with her well-manicured forefinger and said, "If you play your cards right, soldier, maybe you'll get to shoot your gun." She kissed Shawna on the cheek and saw her way out. "I'll see you guys later. Shawna will have the details when I do."
"Fuckin' A, what a woman," Rob sighed.
"Yeah, she's a spitfire," Virgil said darkly.
"She's trying," Shawna said.
"I know, I know. I appreciate it."
Janet threw her hands up and cleared her throat. "What am I? Chopped liver?"
Glen rose from his place and wrapped his arms around Janet's waist. "No, we heard you. You loved the set, hated the last song. We disagreed and moved on. Now, I say let's go get some grub, unwind, and see where the night takes us."
"No, thank you," Janet said, her eyes narrow, her back straight. Now she looks like some uptight bitch slumming, Shawna thought, not a rocker. Wonder what her mama’s like? "I have to get your set list together, find you more lucrative gigs than some felon's ball, write some songs to replace whatever that last one was, and book recording time. You know, be useful."
"Oh, don't be like that, Janet," Glen called after her, following her through the door and out the hallway.
"Well, that was awkward," Erika said. She hooked her arm into Shawna's and rescued her from Virgil's vise-like grip. "Come on. Let's go share an ice cream. I've earned it."
"Ladies," Rob said. "I think Glen meant that we were supposed to go get food together. Although, I must say with your gorgeous friend missing, I'm a little put out about it."
Erika laughed, tossing her blonde hair over her shoulder. "Well, Glen is gone. Virgil, I'm stealing your girlfriend and her sexy dress. Buh-bye."
When the ladies exited, Virgil turned to Rob and Rodger, shrugging. "Women want my girlfriend more than they want me, and I don't know how to feel about it."
"Ohhhhhh," Rob said. "That's what kitten's problem is, eh?"
"Who, Mikki? I don't know. She's . . . complicated."
"I like complicated."
"We know," Rodger said. " . . . little soldier boy."
Rob threw a stuffed bear a fan had given him straight at Rodger's head, missing by several inches. "That's alright. I'll set kitten to purring."
"Good luck with that," Virgil said, mildly grossed out.
Rob stretched and checked his phone for the time. "You know what, lads? I'm going to call it a night. I don't see dinner being much of a thrill with Janet running off with Glen on her tail and our other ladies gone to parts unknown. Good show, mates. Don't call me in the morning."
* * *
Erika wrapped her arm around Shawna’s arm. The younger woman stood a whole head shorter than Shawna. Her youthful, round face softened as she sank against Shawna’s side. The wind blew through the lobby doors and they shivered together.
“Can we be friends?” Erika asked. “I moved here a few years ago, but . . . making friends is hard when you’re not in kindergarten.”
“Sure we can be friends. I love making new
friends. Mikki and I can always use a third for card night.”
Erika laughed as they got in line at the concession stand. She ducked her head and let her hair fall into her face just as a couple of rocker-kids walked by talking about the concert. “I hate fans. I mean, I love them, but . . . you know, hate them.”
“I can get that.”
“Can I ask you a question?”
“Sure.”
“Well, it’s not really a question . . . I . . . Do you think we were better with Janet here?”
“I, uh . . . I wouldn’t really know. I’ve never heard you guys live before. Virgil is weird about it. I do like the first album you were part of.”
“I don’t like her,” Erika whispered. She intertwined her fingers with Shawna’s and sighed. “I mean . . . I don’t know. She’s . . . evil.”
“Wow.”
“Like, I know you probably don’t think highly of her for obvious reasons, but . . . I don’t know.”
“Are you okay?” Shawna asked. Erika shifted her weight from one foot to the other. The woman had just barely turned twenty. Her parents moved to the city in the middle of Erika’s senior year of high school. Her youth enhanced her goth Lolita charm.
“I really don’t like her. When I first joined the band, Virgil was like . . . cold. He didn’t smile or like . . . he was all serious. It was just do the music and go home. Then you came and it’s like someone turned on a light. He became alive and playful. We did more things outside of the studio together. I felt like I had a second family. It was great! Then Glen brought her in and . . . Gosh, Shawna, you would’ve cried if you’d seen his face. He froze. It was like he was traumatized or something. Then, like . . . she started fucking with me when the guys weren’t around.”
“What?” Shawna said, incredulous.
“Yeah. Like she keeps talking about how I’m just a placeholder and shit. She’s trying to make me lose confidence. I think she’s trying to turn them against me.”
Shawna rubbed Erika’s back and Erika wiped away the tears that escaped. “These guys are all I’ve got,” Erika said. “I don’t have any other friends.”
BWWM Romance: Crossing The Line: Interracial Romance / Wealthy Love Interest Page 14