Back-Up

by A. m Madden

  He turns to look at me and waits a second before he responds. “Um, Jack and Scott are on the roof, no doubt arguing on how to start a barbeque.” I smirk at the image of a rock star trying to start a barbeque.

  There are burgers and hot dogs on the counter as well as different salads, chips, and all the necessary trimmings. I nod at the spread laid out. “I’m impressed. You boys know how to throw a barbeque.”

  Hunter smiles and says, “It’s all Scott. He is a bit of a foodie. We could give a crap about…pesto pasta salad?” I laugh out loud as he points to the green concoction and is obviously repeating what Scott told him it was called.

  Scott walks over holding a long spatula and says, “Fuck off. You never complain while you are shoveling my food into your face.” He turns to me. “Please tell me you appreciate my pesto pasta salad, Leila.”

  I smile back and say, “Hell yes. This one looks better than mine. I may need the recipe.”

  “See? She knows food too. Jackass.” He says to Hunter.

  Hunter simply says back, “She’s a girl.”

  “Quit yapping like women over the menu. I’m fucking starving.” Trey pipes in from the couch.

  “Then get your ass up and go explain to Jack how to light a grill or we will be ordering in pizza.” Scott retorts, making me laugh again. “He is so fucking stubborn.” These guys need a woman to take control.

  “I’ll go.” I say to Scott.

  Hunter immediately says, “I’ll come with you.”

  We both head for the roof, and as soon as we are on the stairwell Hunter stops and holds my arm. “I haven’t had a chance to talk to you alone, but I want you to know if you ever need to talk, I’m a good listener.”

  The look on my face must have prompted him to explain. “You’ve been…quiet.”

  “Has it been that obvious?”

  “Not to them, but I noticed. I did ask Jack what was wrong. All he said was you had some personal stuff going on. I just wanted you to know I’m here if you need me.”

  I’m touched by his concern. He truly is a nice guy. “Hunter I really appreciate that. It means a lot to me.”

  “I mean ever word of it.”

  He pulls me into a hug...a warm, friendly hug. “Let’s go check on him before he burns the building down.”

  Giggling at that visual, I follow him up to the roof.

  The second we step outside the smoke assaults us. We can barely see Jack in the corner from the plume of smoke surrounding him. Incessant coughing clues us into his exact location. Hunter turns to me with his raised eyebrows and says, “I told you so.”

  Jack turns towards the sound of my giggling with tears streaming from his eyes.

  Hunter and I walk up to the grill. “Where’s the flame?”

  Jack looks annoyed, hot, and sweaty and like he is going to slug Hunter. I bite down on my lip to stop from laughing. Once he looks at me, his face breaks out into a smile. “I’m working on it.”

  Hunter shakes his head and says, “We’d like to eat before Labor Day. I brought a professional.” He turns towards me. “Leila, please start our grill.”

  Jack waves towards the grill and says, “Have at it.”

  “Such pressure.” I grab the lighter fluid and matches from Jack’s hand. “You’ve over saturated the briquettes. Do you have newspaper?”

  They look at me like I’m speaking a foreign language, then turn to look at each other, neither of them moving. Finally Hunter huffs, “I’ll get it.” He stalks toward the door.

  “What’s a briquette?” Jack asks. I shake my head and openly laugh at him. “They have no faith in me.” He adds.

  “Gee, I wonder why?”

  “You can start it and we can always tell them I did.”

  “You want to take the credit for lighting this grill?”

  His head bobs up and down.

  “You know they won’t believe you.”

  “They’ll believe you.” He counters with a seductive wink that causes my insides to flutter. “I’ll make it worth your while.”

  “Hmm…sounds very tempting.” With that Hunter comes back with newspaper, hot dogs and hamburgers. “Oh well…opportunity over.” I shrug and pretend to be disappointed…with pretend being the key word here.

  “My loss.” Jack pins me with his gaze, causing my insides to ignite. Who needs lighter fluid with Jack Lair nearby?

  They both watch in awe as I effectively light the grill. “Did you boys pay attention?”

  Hunter shakes his head. “I don’t do grill prep. I do beer prep.”

  “Did you, Jack?”

  “Nope. We’ll just have you over every time we grill.”

  “Good plan.” I smirk. “Just give me a day’s notice so I can drop everything to accommodate you.”

  “Sounds like the perfect plan.”

  Oh god.

  “Go away, I have work to do.” This man is killing me.

  Somehow it becomes my barbeque as I take over the meal. During my grilling duties, I delegate Hunter to get all the drinks, Jack to get the plates and utensils, Scott to get the sides and trimmings, and Trey to drag over the large table in the corner.

  All the burgers and hotdogs are cooked in no time. As I’m flipping my last burger onto the platter, Jack comes up behind me and touts, “Now you are just showing off.”

  I shrug. “Maybe.” Adding the burgers and hot dogs to the table, it finally looks like a barbeque.

  Trey, Scott, and Hunter all start applauding when they see everything laid out and ready to eat. As I take a bow, Jack takes one as well and I shove him away. “You’re riding my coattails.”

  He bends and whispers, “You do have adorable coattails.” As he walks towards the food, he leaves me dazed and confused and squirming.

  He’s just flirting. He isn’t coming on to me. It’s just the way he is. I need to stop flattering myself and stop taking every comment he makes so literal.

  By the time I take some food, the only seat left available is on the couch next to Jack. I put as much distance between us as the couch allows. No one speaks, except for the moaning coming from their filled to the brim mouths.

  “Scott, everything is so good. This pesto pasta salad is to die for. Patti is a lucky girl.”

  He blushes and looks thoroughly embarrassed. “Thanks.” He ignores the way the guys start snickering at him. “These idiots take me for granted.”

  We fall into a comfortable conversation about how much we got done in the studio, and the approaching tour. I’m starting to feel more like one of the guys, and I’m glad I came.

  At one point Jack excuses himself and leaves the roof. He returns quickly with a chilled bottle of white wine.

  “I hope it didn’t cost more than six bucks.” I point out. “Otherwise it will be awful.”

  “Nope, five-ninety-five. It’s even a screw top.” He pours a cup full and brings it over to me on the couch.

  “It’s delicious, especially in a red Solo cup. Good job.” Jack sits next to me so our thighs are practically touching. I catch Hunter watching us but he quickly glances away when he notices and resumes eating his food.

  Once we are done eating Jack orders, “Trey, clean up.”

  Trey gives him a fuck off look. Jack looks at me smiling wide, causing the clenching to commence, and the wine’s not helping in the least.

  We make our way back down to the apartment after we all clean up and it feels so good to be in the air conditioning. Trey, Scott and Hunter immediately plop themselves on the couch and start watching a ball game on TV. Jack pulls up two chairs for him and me.

  So this is what a Devil’s Lair does on their free time. It’s comical actually. If all those screaming fans could see them now. The only thing that would make this scene funnier is if Trey was to stuff his hand into his waistband and Scott was to belch.

  “What’s so funny?” Jack says watching me grinning.

  “You guys are such party animals.” This draws their attention to me.

&nbs
p; Uh oh.

  Jack takes the first jab. “Are we too boring for you Miss Marino? What would you like to do, play strip poker?”

  “Um, no. Baseball is fine.” I motion towards the TV. “Resume watching baseball.”

  Suddenly Trey lets out a laugh. As we all look at him, Jack starts laughing too.

  “Oh no. Keep your fucking trap shut.” Hunter threatens. Scott immediately starts to blush profusely.

  Jack and Trey persist until I can’t stand it any longer. “What? Was it something I said?”

  Jack shakes his head and looks at his roommate.

  “Don’t.” Hunter warns.

  “Oh, come on Hunt, it wasn’t that bad.”

  Trey chokes on his beer.

  Hunter stands up and walks into the kitchen, mumbling under his breath. Jack takes this as a sign to enlighten me on what has them cracking up. He tries to speak but cannot stop laughing.

  “You are killing me…” I point out as I patiently wait for him to tell this story.

  He wipes his eyes and continues, “Ok…ok. We were on tour with MACE. We were in Detroit?” He glances at Trey for confirmation. I’ve never seen Trey smile this much, nonetheless laugh.

  “We were in Detroit and there was an after party in a hotel near the arena. We met some girls at the bar who were in town on business. After a few drinks, they invited us up to their room.” He sees my discomfort and shakes his head. “It wasn’t like that. They convinced us to play strip poker.”

  From the kitchen, Hunter mumbles, “You two are such dicks.”

  “Oh come on Hunter, did you honestly think this story wasn’t going to come up eventually?”

  Jack looks at Trey nodding in agreement and continues. “So we are losing our asses to these girls, except for Trey. They hustled us. We lost every single piece of clothing we were wearing. Thankfully they had mercy on us, and let us keep our underwear.” Trey chokes out a laugh again.

  “Oh my God.” I say getting a visual.

  Jack nods. “They kicked us out. I had nothing on but my underwear. Trey lost one shoe. Scott had on…” He bursts into a laughing fit and can’t finish his statement. Meanwhile, Scott curses their antics and gets up to join Hunter in the kitchen.

  Jack composes himself and blurts out, “Scott had on Sponge Bob boxers!”

  “They were the only clean pair I had.” He is still flushing beet red. “I love Sponge Bob.”

  I almost pee my pants.

  Jack takes a deep breath and wipes his eyes before continuing. “Wait…it gets better. Unfortunately Hunt decided to go commando that night.”

  “Oh no…” I look at Hunter who is clearly reliving that experience in his mind. He looks mortified. “Poor Hunter.”

  “We had to walk through the hotel lobby, and there was a wedding going on.” Trey loses it, and his entire body begins to shake uncontrollably.

  “To make matters worse, MACE was still in the bar hanging out at the after party. We never saw Hunter run so fast in our lives.”

  Hunter curses them out again. Ignoring him, Jack continues, “Someone got a picture of Hunter running through the lobby, and made a ton of copies. The next day our tour bus was plastered with them. Let me tell you, his ass was very pale.”

  Trey falls off the couch, I’m bent in half holding my stomach, Jack is on the floor shaking, and Scott even starts in until Hunter slugs him in the arm.

  He looks at Jack like he is trying to be angry and fires back, “Sure, laugh at my expense. Trey was fully clothed and you looked like a friggin’ Calvin Klein underwear model.”

  Wow, I just got another visual, and a hot flash.

  “I never leave home without my Calvin’s.”

  “I’m sorry Hunter. That must have been traumatizing for you.” I try very hard to gain my composure, yet fail miserably. Biting my lip barely helps.

  He looks at me shaking his head. “You have no idea. It was freezing out and a long run to the bus.”

  It doesn’t help matters when Jack offers to pay for a spray tan session for Hunter’s ass or when Trey starts singing, “Who lives in a pineapple under the sea.” Fifteen minutes pass before we finally calm down.

  During the course of the night they proceed to tell more stories, but none are as funny as the strip poker story.

  After the boys attack the rest of Scott’s pesto pasta salad, as well as every last brownie, we head up to the roof to watch some fireworks. I really am having a great time and am disappointed that it’s already past ten. Jack stands so close that I could feel the warmth of his skin. The familiar sensations take hold once again, and I responsibly decide it is time to go.

  “I should get going.”

  He nods somberly and admits, “I feel bad you have to drive all the way to Hoboken. I probably should have told you to pack a bag. Why don’t you stay and leave tomorrow?”

  My heart skips a beat at the thought of staying here with him overnight. “I’ll be fine. Thanks guys, I really had fun today.” Trey and Scott both wave, and Hunter comes over to give me a hug.

  “I’m sorry I laughed at you.” I confess.

  He shakes his head. “I’m used to it. Drive safe. I’ll see you tomorrow. And I meant what I said earlier.”

  “I know. Thanks.”

  Jack says, “I’ll walk you out.”

  He walks me to my car and opens the door for me.

  “I really did have a great time. Thanks for including me.”

  “Of course we would include you. You are one of us now.” His expression becomes serious. “Let me drive you home. I’ll take a cab back.”

  “Jack, don’t be ridiculous.”

  “It’s late.”

  “And?”

  “Leila.”

  Here comes the possessive, dominant Jack who surfaced when I was sick. I would like nothing more than to have him drive me home and stay with me all night. My brain quickly takes control of the situation, reminding me that I don’t have hairy legs, mismatched pajamas or Nyquil numbness as a deterrent. I can’t allow him near my bedroom or me tonight. I’m all fired up and horny as hell from all the clenching, fluttering and heart stopping that occurred today.

  “I’ll call you as soon as I get home. I promise.”

  “Are you ok to drive? Are you sleepy?”

  “Nope. I’m totally awake.”

  “Fine. Don’t forget to call me or I’m driving to Hoboken.”

  Smiling at his threat, I nod. “I will. I promise.” He bends and kisses me lightly on the cheek, leaving a tingling sensation from the touch of his lips.

  I quickly get into the car, putting much needed distance between Jack’s lips and me. My emotions are swirling inside me like a whirlpool as I drive off. I’m happy I finally feel like a true member of Devil’s Lair. I’m excited for the tour that’s a few weeks away. But mostly I’m scared that these past few weeks haven’t lessened my feelings for him at all.

  Not. At. All.

  ***

  I am dying to talk to Evan. It’s been a few days since they got home from the competition and a brief phone call and a few texts were all I got to let me know they did fantastic. I need details. I’m glad he has had this distraction from what’s happening with his personal life.

  Our schedules have prevented us from hanging out and catching up. Today is Sunday, and he said he was coming by my place early. Then he wants to join dad and me at brunch. I’m very nervous about this. Not that I think Evan would pull anything, but I love these two men very much and it hurts me that they aren’t on good terms right now.

  I’ve had a few conversations with dad since that fateful day. He told me that there were many times when he wanted to tell Evan the truth, especially after mom died. However, he thought if he revealed the truth and Barb still took him away, it would hurt Evan and my mom unnecessarily. It took many years for dad to build a friendship back with Barb. He resented her for what she did although he began to understand it over time.

  The day Evan and I became friend’s dad felt
it was God’s way of sending a message. When it was clear we were getting closer and closer, dad and Barb actually had a sit down. I’m not sure Evan is going to be happy with this information. I told dad that he might not want to share that with him.

  My doorbell jolts me out of my thoughts.

  Evan walks into my apartment looking happy and carefree. “Hey sis, I missed you.” He has taken to calling me sis, which tells me he is more comfortable with our situation.

  “Hey. You look good. Are you ok?”

  “Yep, I’m great.”

  I grab his hand and drag him to the couch. “Tell me everything.” I plop down beside him.

  “It was so awesome, Lei.” He proceeds to tell me every single detail of the competition, the crowd, and the great job Lori did in getting them seen and noticed by some of the local radio deejays. She had a bunch of CD’s made and handed them out to record producers. The best part was they came in third place out of ten bands. Third place at their first competition, I am so proud of them. “Hey, I didn’t mean to upset you. We missed you Leila. It would have been even more perfect if you were there.”

  “I know. Things do happen for a reason Ev. If I didn’t get the job with DL it wouldn’t have caused the chain of events that got you to the competition.”

  “DL?” He questions and I shrug. “You’re right. You’re always so smart.”

  “I know.”

  “Humble as shit, too.”

  “I hate to bring this up but we have to go.”

  He nods.

  “Did the competition help you forget what happened?”

  “Yes, and no. I’ve done a lot of thinking. It is what it is, and I’ve gained more than I lost.”

  “I’m so proud of you.”

  “Don’t be so proud yet. I’m not ready to forgive her.”

  “Evan, she needs you.”

  “And I’ll be there for her. But it still hurts when I remember her lies.” He runs his hand through his hair. “Hell, my name shouldn’t even be Evan Miller. Evan Miller never existed.”

  He’s right.

  He has a lot mottling up the possibility of forgiving Barb right now. He needs to work through this his way.

  We reluctantly set off for brunch with Dad.