It wasn’t the same though.
My breakfast should have been me burying my face between Lexi’s legs.
Making her cry out like a rooster calling for the sunrise.
What the fuck does that even mean, Reed?
I shut my eyes and pictured it.
My tongue lapping between Lexi’s legs, taking all of her morning dew…
In my vision I lifted my gaze and saw Abby looking down at me.
I opened my eyes and groaned.
I grabbed my phone and crashed on the couch.
With the music blasting, I put a blanket over my head and shut my eyes.
My plan of avoiding Abby was going to be tough.
We were meeting up in the studio in just hours.
I opened my eyes again and sent Lexi a text.
Come to the studio with me, honey. Let’s see how hard you can come all over the soundboard. We’ll ruin all the equipment and make the record company pay for it.
I waited a minute.
Just as I was about to put my phone down, Lexi texted me back.
A middle finger emoji.
I smiled.
I had such a way with women, huh?
* * *
I hit the notes on my bass and kept my eyes on the piano player.
His name was Jack and he looked like he belonged in England in the sixties.
I liked the look. And he could play piano like a mad man.
Not exactly the rock star vibe we all had, but for this song, he was perfect.
There were parts of the song he added to - with and without asking the band.
Those were all things we could deal with later.
Our only goal today was to get the song recorded.
The first recording, at least.
Then we’d listen to it three hundred times and make changes.
Nash was in his booth.
The three singers were in their own booth too.
When they sang, all I heard was Abby’s voice.
Not that I tried to pick out her voice, but it was just so damn strong. She could out sing people without even trying.
So far, so good today with her.
We hadn’t spoken a word to each other.
Jay went into his last guitar solo.
Nash’s vocals faded out.
Jay’s guitar cried as I popped the last note on my bass.
Dex strummed the last chord of the song on his guitar.
The song ended with the ooohhh’s and aaahhh’s of the three singers and the intro piano part being played again.
Jack looked at me with his small framed glasses with their red tint and he grinned and nodded his head as he played the riff one last time, then hitting the low note on the piano and holding it.
Just like that, the song was over.
I quickly took my guitar from around my neck and leaned it against the amp.
“That was awesome,” Sab said as he stood up from behind his drum kit.
“Not bad,” Dex said.
Nash came from the vocal booth. “We’ll have to play that back a few times.”
“Send me the file,” I said.
“What?” Jay asked. “You’re leaving?”
“Yeah,” I said. “We came to record and we did. I’m not fucking around with anything else today.”
“We have to go back through it, Reed,” Sab said.
“No shit, Sab,” I said.
“Let’s get fucking tuned up and keep this song rolling,” Jay said.
“I’m out,” I said.
I side eye glanced toward the other vocal booth and saw Abby.
She looked better than I thought she would.
Fucking Neils and his fucking magic smoothie.
“What the hell is going on here?” Nash asked.
“I’m just out of here,” I said. “You’ve all done it before. I’m tired.”
“Too much pussy last night?” Jay asked.
“I hope not,” Dex said. “Are you slipping, Reed?”
“You should talk,” I said. “What’s it like eating the same pussy each night? It’s got to get old sooner rather than later.”
“What did you just say?” Dex asked.
He took a step and Jay put his hand out.
“Whoa, brothers, what’s the worry here?” Jack asked in a soothing voice.
“Reed, don’t,” Nash said.
I turned and looked at Jack. “Maybe it’s all peace and love in your heart, Jack, but stay the fuck out of the band’s business. And don’t fuck around with what we wrote. Don’t add parts. Don’t fuck with our song.”
I walked out of the studio and slammed the door behind me.
What Jack added to the song was good. I’d have to eat that crow later in life.
Right now, I just needed to get out of the studio and away from Abby.
I kept moving and kicked the door open to go outside.
The sun smacked my face.
I had dozens of places to go.
There were enough bars and strip clubs to keep me busy for years.
I had enough contacts in my phone to keep my dick busy for years too.
I threw my leg over my motorcycle and heard someone scream my name.
It wasn’t anyone in the band.
I hesitated for a second.
Just to hear her voice again.
Screaming my name.
I started my motorcycle and took off as fast as I could.
Leaving Abby in the dust behind me.
Just like before.
10
ABBY
Nobody knew about me being in Reed’s house.
I hadn’t had the nerve to confess it, not even to Jess.
Mostly because I was still trying to understand what had happened.
I didn’t remember much about that night.
Just the main parts.
Like me throwing up all over Reed’s driveway.
Him putting me on the bedroom floor to sleep.
That was it for the night.
I dreamt of Reed cuddling with me. My hand holding his. That was more of a nightmare than a good dream.
Then came this morning when I had to wander through his house.
Some guy named Neils was waiting for me with a large breakfast and smoothie that he said would cure my hangover. The way my head felt, I would have tried anything.
And it worked.
Whatever he put in that smoothie, it made me feel better.
I was able to go to the studio, where I stared at the back of Reed’s head while we all recorded the new FILTHY LINE song.
Then Reed took off.
I made an ass of myself as I ran from the studio to go after him.
Of course, he sped away, leaving me feeling stupid and embarrassed.
I ended up getting into my car and leaving, texting Toby that I was feeling under the weather.
All of those thoughts raced through my head as I opened the back of Sasha’s SUV and ripped the red hair wig off my head. I reached back and unclasped the baby blue dress and wiggled out of it.
“That wasn’t bad,” Rae said. “The dad was kind of hot too.”
“Is that all you think about?” I asked Rae.
“Yeah. Pretty much.”
Maybe you should be in the studio with FILTHY LINE then.
That only made me feel jealousy.
“Hey, are you okay?” Jess whispered to me as she put a cigarette between her lips.
“No smoking near the costumes,” Sasha said.
“Oh, fuck off,” Jess snapped.
“You fuck off,” Sasha yelled.
I grabbed for Jess’s wig. “Both of you fuck off.” I threw the wig into the back of the SUV. “Jess, go over there and smoke.”
“Whatever,” Jess said.
She walked away, mad at Sasha.
Sasha went to the front of the SUV and got behind the wheel and started the vehicle. Rae was face down in her phone, probably staring at dick pics.
; I wandered away from the SUV and went to talk to Jess.
She stood on the sidewalk, smoking.
“Bitch,” she said to me.
“Stop. Everyone is emotional today. Must be that time of the month.”
“No. It’s just Sasha. Sometimes she gets on my nerves.”
“Well, get her off your nerves. We have a busy week.”
“Yeah. I know. And what’s your interest? I thought you’d be off fucking some rock stars by now.”
“Not even close,” I said. “It’s…”
My phone started to ring.
When I saw Toby’s name, I gasped.
“That’s… I have to take this.” I turned and started to jog. I took the call. “Toby, hey.”
“Abby,” he said. “We need you to get into the studio. Right now.”
“Now?”
“Yes. We need to re-record your vocals.”
“Just me?”
“You and the other two,” he said.
“What about the band?”
“No band today,” he said. “We want to focus on your vocals. Is that a problem?”
“Not at all,” I said in a cheery voice.
No band equals no Reed.
“Do you need a ride?” Toby asked.
“No. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
I ended the call and Jess came up from behind me.
“Booty call?”
“Booth call.”
“What?”
“Vocal booth call,” I said. “I have to go to the studio right now.”
“Well, look at you… fucking fancy…”
“Thanks for that,” I said.
I hurried back to the SUV and told Sasha I needed to get to the studio.
“We have a call for later,” she said as she drove. “Can you make it?”
“I’ll do my best,” I said. “You can wait outside the studio for me if you want. It’s just my vocals. Well, our vocals. The backup singers.”
“We get it,” Rae said. “You’re fucking famous.”
She looked at me and winked.
I didn’t say another word after that.
Joking aside, it still felt weird being in a studio.
But this time there was no band.
No band meant no Reed.
I smiled.
* * *
It was really different being in the studio without the band.
All of their stuff was there.
Just no cursing, drinking, drugs, and wildness.
It was calm and cool in there.
The guy who was doing the recording had us sing the part together twice.
Then he had each of us sing the part alone.
I got to stand in the vocal booth on my own and sing.
That was really fun.
When Dawn went to sing her part, I caught myself walking around, casually staring at Reed’s bass. I paused and plucked at one of the thick strings. It didn’t make much of a sound. It amazed me that these instruments were so quiet yet in the hands of the band and on stage, they were so loud.
It was so cliché to think of music as magic, but it kind of was.
Music always meant so much to me.
My mother never appreciated it. She always played it safe in life. Which I understood to a point. She was a single mother. Raising my brother and I. Her only goal was to keep us fed and sheltered. My brother Joe tried to push my mother out of her box but she still refused. Now she claimed she was too old to do anything crazy.
I crouched down in front of Reed’s bass.
There was a childish part of me that wanted me to pick my nose and rub it on the strings of the bass.
Or maybe just spit on the bass.
Not that it would matter to Reed.
But… still…
I cleared my throat and puckered my lips a little.
“Are you okay, Abby?”
I gasped and jumped to my feet.
I looked at Toby and nodded. “Fine. Just admiring.”
“It’s odd being around the instruments without the guys,” he said. “Truthfully, I don’t mind the quietness.” He laughed. “Uh, we’re pretty much done here. We’re going to mix the vocals into the track and let the band hear it.”
“Okay,” I said. “If you need anything else, let me know.”
Toby casually pointed to the door.
That was my hint to leave.
I exited the room and walked through the studio alone.
I wondered if I should have gotten to know Dawn and Carla better.
Wasn’t that how most big break stories happened? Someone meets someone randomly and then it blossoms into something else… right?
The only problem there was that I wasn’t sure what I actually wanted anymore.
Did I want to sing professionally? Did I want to be a backup singer for FILTHY LINE? Did I want to sing on stage by myself?
Did I want to keep singing in a female barbershop quartet?
One of those questions was an easy fuck no.
But that was the one thing that kept me going at the moment.
Even when I got the money from FILTHY LINE, I couldn’t see myself quitting Sasha, Rae, and Jess. That money wasn’t going to last forever. Nowhere near forever.
And if I did go on tour with the band and got paid, that wouldn’t be enough to survive for the rest of my life either.
I wondered how that all worked.
Maybe I should have gotten a lawyer or agent or someone involved.
If the song became a smash hit… was I going to get paid each time it was streamed?
I really had no idea where this was all going to end up going.
Or what Reed would end up doing to hurt me.
Or embarrass me.
I exited the studio and saw Sasha’s SUV was gone.
I put my head back and sighed.
Where are you?
I stood in the parking lot and looked around.
My phone buzzed in my hand.
Went to get coffee! Coming back in a few. Sorry.
I took a few steps and heard the squeal of tires.
When I turned my head, I saw a black car with neon red stripes moving very fast through the parking lot.
It was coming right for me.
Watching this car barreling toward me, I froze in place.
I put my hands out like I had some kind of magical powers.
The car made a quick turn and came to a screeching stop.
The passenger side door was a few feet away from me.
I heard the sound of music playing from inside the car.
The driver’s side door opened and someone stepped out.
He turned and looked right at me, grinning.
He was devilishly handsome.
Messy black hair that he tried to slick back with his hand. Bracelets and rings all over his fingers and wrists. Black sunglasses on his face.
He lifted the sunglasses and his eyes were piercing green.
They were so striking that I gasped.
I knew exactly who it was too.
He slowly smirked at me.
“Need a ride?” he asked.
“No,” I said.
“You know, a pretty thing like you shouldn’t be left alone. Ever. You never know when something or someone dangerous is going to show up.”
“I can handle myself.”
“No, you can’t. But I can handle you. Get in the car.”
“No, thanks.”
“I’m not like the others,” he said. “I’m not going to parade you around a strip club, trying to get you jealous enough to dry hump my dick into submission.”
“Wow…”
“I have my own set up at the house. You’re going to love it.”
“I have to go,” I said.
“Yeah, right. You’re singing on their new song. Sad to see them selling out, you know? Bringing in a band. A piano. Come on. That’s not rock music. That’s insane.”
“I’m just doing my jo
b,” I said.
My teeth started to chatter together.
“You do that,” he said. “Give me a call when you’re ready to get wild. Why be filthy when you can be raunchy?”
He winked at me and pulled his sunglasses down.
He tossed a piece of paper over his car and got back inside.
His name was Venom. But everyone called him Ven.
He was the lead guitarist for RAUNCHY RECKS.
The engine revved and then Ven took off.
I took the piece of paper off the ground and looked at the number.
Who the hell did these rock stars think I was?
How the hell did Ven know about me?
My mind raced as Sasha pulled back into the parking lot.
The passenger window was down and Rae whistled for me.
“Let’s go, bitch,” she called out. “We have to play princess again!”
I tucked Ven’s number into my pocket.
I had no idea what to do with this situation.
Unless, of course, I wanted to make Reed insanely jealous…
* * *
I felt a hand cup over my ass.
My cheeks tightened out of instinct.
I kept the smile on my face as the pretty blonde woman - wife and mother - took a picture of us.
In front of us was Grace.
It was her seventh birthday.
And her father’s hand was cupping my ass for the seventh time since we got here.
I tried to shake his hand away and he started to squeeze.
I spun around and looked at him.
He was smiling for the camera.
A clean cut, good guy, businessman kind of face.
The one that said he spoiled his wife and daughter but probably only did it for the image and not out of love.
He probably fucked other women…
He looked down at me and winked.
“Turn around, princess,” he said.
“Keep your hands to yourself,” I whispered.
“I’m paying for it,” he said. “I’ll do whatever I want.” He looked at his wife. “Hey, Lisa, get over here. Get a picture with all of us.” He pointed and yelled, “Hey, Steve! Come here. Get a picture of this for us!”
I took a deep breath.
The neighbor from across the street ran over.
He took the camera from Lisa and she joined the picture.
“This is so perfect, Don,” Lisa said to her husband. “Thank you for this.”
“Anything for my girls,” he said.
A FILTHY Enemy: a filthy line novel Page 9