Rough Erotica

by Lexi Lovelost

  “My name, sir… Rails. Kelley Rails.”

  “Ah, yes. Kelley Rails. Sorry about that.” He grinned at her. “Three months, eh? And I must say, the six feature articles you penned… were mighty darn impressive.”

  “Oh… I… thank you, sir.” Kelley felt the weight of her anxiety lifting.

  “Yes, they were excellent, Miss Rails. Loved them all - great reviews, great sales and even greater response in the online editions.”

  “Oh, er… so does that mean I’m going to be full time staff now.”

  “Very perceptive of you, Rails.” Fender laughed. “But yes, I think you’ve earned it… or will earn it, after this next assignment.”

  “Oh, I’m all up for it, chief.”

  “Lucid Razor’s national tour hits our shores this weekend; they’re playing three sold out arenas here in Grasonville.” The editor-in-chief leaned closer. “I’ve got word that our rival publisher is out to do a full feature, cover and all, on the band for their Spring Edition… so we’re going to beat them at it… we’re making the band feature on our Festival Edition, a whole forty days before them. Hoo Aahh!”

  “Uh… okay.”

  “Okay? It’s more than okay, dear girl.” Fender leaned back, making his well worn chair groan in protest. “They’re the biggest selling act in the hard rock circuit this month… and we’re going to ride that tide before anyone else can.”

  “You want me to write an article on them?”

  “Not just an article, Rails. The whole she-bang. You’re going to cover their entire Grasonville tour; get exclusive interviews with the band, especially the front man, Ferris Lacer… get everything. We have three weeks, it has to be great.”

  “Er, sounds good. But there’s one problem…” Kelley knew she was about to shoot her own foot now, but she was just too uncomfortable with the hard rock scene. “I’m not all that into the hard rock music thing, I mean, I like rock and roll, but I’ve never done this whole over-the-top arena rock thing…”

  “Well, there’s a first time for everything, kid.” Fender flicked a cigarette out of the pack and placed it on his lips. “You won’t get far in this business, hell in any business, if you pick and choose your way around. You want to make this job stick, you want a career in this field… you go after the best in the business, baby.”

  “Um, I’m flattered by this opportunity, chief…” She stared uncomfortably at the unlit stick of rolled tobacco in his mouth. “…but isn’t this Jack’s area of coverage.”

  “Yeah, but Foley’s been assigned to the Loopy Zoom Music Festival in Antwerp, he’ll be back in a month.” Her boss told her as he flipped his lighter open. “That’s why I need you on this, Raleigh… you’re the only one available with the chops to deliver the goods on this. Now get going, drop anything else you’re doing and make this your only priority. And did I mention, there’s a raise at the end of this… and a reward.”

  “I… sure thing, Mister Fender.” Kelley smiled tightly and stood up. “I’ll give it all I got… when you put Kelly Rails on a job, it gets done.”

  “Atta girl, Rails.”

  * * * * *

  “Heavens, Kel! What the hell is that god-awful racket?” Deidre Lee stood before the blaring television with her hands on her sexy hips.

  “Hard rock music.” Kelley yawned and shrugged at her blonde roommate.

  “Sounds more like a train wreck meets monster trucks showdown.” The younger woman shook her head and reached for the open can of beer beside Kelley’s stack of resource material.

  “Yeah, that’s Lucid Razor, and apparently one of the greatest music acts of our times.”

  “These old timers.” Deidre laughed. “They look like there’re all fifty and over. Fucking geezers.”

  “Yeah, they’ve been around since the early 1990’s”

  “Wow! They’re even older than my parents.” The eighteen year old undergrad pointed at the screen. “Except for this guy, the singer… he looks ruggedly cute.”

  “Yeah, that’s the front man… Ferris Lacer.” Kelley told her roommate. “I have to do a feature on them.”

  “You mean, like, you’re going to meet them and shit.”

  “Yes. I’m going to cover all their shows here and also do a few interviews.”

  “Well, you gotta be careful.” Deidre stood upright and chewed on her lip. “These rock guys are notorious womanizers… they think every woman in the world wants to sleep with them, the fucking old horndogs.”

  “Yeah, I suppose.” Kelley shrugged and fiddled with her phone. “I’m going to the first concert tonight, I have a press pass. You wanna come with me?”

  “Really? I can?” Deidre’s blue eyes lit up.

  “If you want to.”

  “Sure, I mean… I can’t let you risk being around those horny old men all by yourself. Who knows what all could happen.”

  “Nothing’s going to happen, Deed.” She laughed and shook her head. “I’m not some giddy fangirl, in fact I don’t even like this kind of music… we’ll just do a few interviews, take a few snaps and it’s done.”

  “Sounds like fun.”

  An hour was all it took to drive from her place to the football stadium where Lucid Razor was doing the first leg of their Grasonville tour. The place was packed to capacity, and parking would have been a nightmare if not for the press sticker on her car windshield. She eased the little yellow Volvo down the narrow pathway leading to the parking lot reserved for reporters and stadium staff and found a dark corner to park. The back entrance of the place was just five minutes away and that suited her fine.

  “So this is what arena rock is all about?” Deidre laughed as she stepped out of the car.

  “Yeah, I suppose.” Kelley nodded, feeling a little intimidated by the ominous roar of the crowd coming from inside the stadium. “It’s my first time doing this too.”

  “And you’re glad that I came along, eh?” Her roommate linked her arm to hers and they walked down the pathway to the private entrance for staff and reporters.

  “More than glad, babe… I owe you.” Kelley gave the younger woman’s arm a squeeze as they approached a rather oversized security guard at the gate.

  “Tickets please.” The burly gateman glowered at them.

  “We’re Press.” Kelley told the ferocious looking guy. “Kelly Rails, Totally Music Magazine. This is my shooter, Deidre Lee.”

  “Hm?” The guy grunted in ape-like fashion as he stared at the press card she held up at his huge face. “You sure don’t look it… wait here, let me call it in.”

  Kelley shrugged at her roommate as the guy made his phone call. The sound of the crowd seemed to grow more and more restless as time went by.

  “Alright, you check out.” The gatekeeper nodded with a frown. “Could have sworn you two were groupies. Press enclosure is that way, through there and the first right.”

  They walked past the sullen man. He was just doing his job, Kelley understood. She knew how some women threw themselves at celebrities, especially rock musicians. And most of these rocker types loved that. But she couldn’t really be too sure of that… she hardly knew much about the genre. Maybe these guys, this band, would be different and she could get herself an education about the lives of hard rock musicians, about their dreams, successes and failures. Popular music and Jazz was more her scene; and she would have preferred to cover the latest MTV sensations over ageing and boisterous rockers. But then, as her boss told her, picking and choosing would only keep her where she was, and Kelley had her own ambition to realize, her own heights to scale.

  “Look, they’re already on stage.” Deidre squealed as they stepped into the press enclosure, right in front of the stage.

  “Hm, don’t think so…” Kelley peered hard at the six member band making a lot of noise. “There’s a girl singing…”

  “Are we at the wrong place?” The lithe blonde looked at her wide-eyed.

  “No, I think it’s the opening act…” Kelley found their seats an
d settled down. “Most of the famous bands have an opening act or two, usually local bands looking for a break. Let’s take some shots and get a feel of the place.”

  “Wow! It’ll be fantastic to sing and dance before a crowd like that.” Deidre panned her camera-phone all around the howling crowd behind them. “How many people are out there?”

  “This place can accommodate eighty thousand people… and it looks like a full house.”

  “Whoa! That’s a lot of bodies out there, Kel… and all of them are here to go wild. Brrrr!”

  “Oh, look… I think the main act is coming on,” Kelley peered at the dim area of the wings, noting the crew wearing ‘Lucid Razor’ t-shirts getting the equipment ready. “Keep on clicking, take as many pictures and videos you can.”

  The opening act ended their set and left. The crowd’s decibel level kept on rising as the crew of the main act got the stage ready. A deafening roar went up when the band finally took the stage. The burly drummer, the tall laid-back bass player and the two hyperactive guitar players took their places and began to play. Kelley was taken aback by the sheer wall of sound that hit her. This was hard rock, live and reverberating all around the packed arena. The music grew in intensity, the thundering drums, the booming bass and the rabid scream of the distorted electric guitars. And then, like a posturing god of rock and roll, the leanly muscled form of Ferris Lacer rose up from a trapdoor on the stage. Grabbing the microphone, the handsome ageless rocker began to belt out one of the band’s big hits.

  “Oh, man… that sound, it’s so loud and primal…” Deidre shouted above the music and gripped at Kelley’s arm. “It makes me want to move my body, Oh, Kel… can you feel it… oh, fuck… this is crazy… I think I’m going to love this… this hard rock music.”

  Kelley understood exactly what her roommate was talking about. She was experiencing the same thing. The energy that crackled all around her was what made a show like this, not just the music, or the musicians, or even the songs – it was the atmosphere, the charged up ambience, and it was an experience worth taking the effort for. She felt alive, more alive than anything in her life. Listening to this music on a DVD, or watching the band on TV, couldn’t be compared to this live performance. It was an entirely other world all together. She watched awestruck as Ferris Lacer crooned his magic, his voice – gruff and harsh, and also rich and melodious - was a strange concoction that made her feel things she could not explain. Something about watching him live in front of her, his posturing, his Rock God act… it left her breathless. She felt drawn to him, and to the music… that otherwise had always given her a headache before. She realized that it was all just a state of mind, and the more she opened her mind to new things, the more enriching her experience would become. And added to all that, Ferris Lacer being the most handsome and interesting man she had ever seen, made this experience worth thanking all her stars for.

  “I know what you mean, Deed.” She shouted back at the blonde. “These guys are awesome… I could totally get into this.”

  Barely had she gotten accustomed to the hard, driving force of the music of Lucid Razor, she found herself utterly flabbergasted by their next number. Lacer’s voice was suddenly smooth and soulful, reaching deep into her. The music had a slow, melodious groove to it, despite the distortion effects, and Kelley suddenly felt like she had missed out big time with her prudish attitude towards this genre of music. The powerful rock ballad was moving her more than any love song she had heard before. And then just as she felt her knees would give out, the band set the stage ablaze with their next number, loud and hard enough to rival the volcanoes in Hawaii.

  Three hours, twenty songs and several beers later, Kelley still sat thunderstruck on her chair. Deidre sat beside her equally blown away, mechanically taking pictures with her phone. The crowds went on chanting behind them for more, but the crew was already dismantling the equipment. A fat balding man stepped up to them and gave Kelley a wide, gap toothed smile.

  “You from Totally Music?” His red face was gleaming with perspiration. “I’m Hank Colby, manager for Lucid Razor.”

  “Oh, hi.” Kelley stood up quickly. “I mean, yes… yes… we’re with the magazine… I have an interview to do of the band.”

  “Can we go backstage… and meet them?” Deidre sounded like an excited schoolgirl.

  “Backstage isn’t a good place to do a magazine feature on the band, Miss.” Colby wiped his wide forehead with a handkerchief. “The band’s moving to the hotel now, why don’t you join us there for the after-party?”

  “We can?” Kelley looked around at the chaos in the stadium. “I mean, yes, of course… that’d be so much better.”

  “Okay then, I’ll see you there, terrace garden at the Grand.” The fat man nodded and hurried off.

  “Oh, boy!” Deidre squealed. “We’re invited to the band’s private party… oh, this is so going to rock.”

  “Yeah… but I hope I can get some decent answers and information…”

  “Oh, sure… we’ll get a lot more than that…” Her roommate hugged her arms around her own slender body. “When we can get these hot guys all to ourselves in their private hotel suite.…”

  “Didn’t you call these guys over-the-hill horndogs only this afternoon?” Kelley laughed at her giddy roommate as they hurried out to the parking area. “And you were going to keep me safe from them… or is it now that I have to keep them safe from you?”

  “I don’t know what’s happening to me, Kel.” Deidre cried out in a high pitched voice. “The whole thing just did something to me… drinking beer and watching those guys rock, feeling all that aggressive energy… oh, fuck… it’s made me so… so damn horny… so horny for these old geezers.”

  “You need a cold shower.” Kelley joked, but deep inside she felt just like Deidre, and being three years older was what allowed her to keep those rather embarrassing feelings in check.

  The hotel was an hour away from the concert site and after parking her car in the spot reserved for those invited by the band, Kelly and her roommate walked into the lobby. The band had booked all the four penthouses in the terrace garden and a full blown wild party was going on as they stepped out of the elevator. Kelley’s press card allowed her access past the burly bodyguards and she walked up to where members of the band were having a great time with beers jugs in hand and skimpily clad groupies all over them. Ferris Lacer was the centre of all the attention among the reveling band members, road crew and fans.

  “Ah, Totally Music… my favorite magazine.” Lacer looked right at her and clapped his hands as she walked up to the rocker. “Welcome to my world… what can I do for you?”

  “Hi, Mister Lacer.” Kelley pushed herself through the crowd towards him and stood before the rocker. She felt his hand slide over the small of her back and he pulled her closer, crushing her against his body. He grinned at her, his breath a mixture of whisky and strawberries.

  “Well, so here you are… to make me bare my soul all over the pages of your publication.” His voice was just as mesmerizing as it was on stage.

  “I must say I was hoping for the interview to be a little more exclusive.” She didn’t struggle against him, strangely feeling at ease by the proximity to him and his touch. “Could we go somewhere private… or less noisy?”

  “I know just the place…” The handsome man laughed and nodded at his manager. “If you don’t mind taking a little ride with me.”

  “Where are we going?” She asked, staring into those dreamy blue eyes.

  “Not too far, and you shouldn’t be worried… after all it’s your city.” Lacer’s grin made strange ripples go fluttering through her belly.

  “Uh, sure.” She nodded. “My shooter, Deidre will come…”

  “Let her have a good time here.” Lacer said, jerking his head toward the rest of the party. “She’s seems to be really letting her hair down.”

  A sudden chill ran down her back. She turned quickly to see Deidre laughing and dancing with a
couple of the band members, her arms around their necks and their hands all over her.

  “Oh crap!” She couldn’t help being alarmed. “I’ve got to get her out of here.”

  “Why? How old is she?”

  “Nineteen… almost.”

  “She’s her own woman then, Miss Rails.” Lacer shrugged. “And we may be a rowdy looking bunch on stage, but we’re not ruffians or rapists. My band mates will do nothing to her that she doesn’t already want.”

  “Oh, that’s what I’m afraid of.” Kelley couldn’t hide the concern in her voice. “She won’t know where to draw the line… she won’t even know…”

  “Are you her guardian?” The rocker sounded a bit testy.

  “What?” She looked into his eyes. “No, but… I mean…”