One Last Shot

by Archer, Julie

  Richey’s response was to pull her towards him, his hand around the back of her neck, lips crushing hers, stubble grazing her skin. His hands were all over her, manoeuvring her body so she was underneath him. The rough callouses on his fingers scratched across her skin, so different to Jed. His thumbs caressed her hipbones, edging the waistband of her yoga pants down. She wanted him to go further; the anticipation fizzed around her bloodstream as she raked her hands through his long hair. His kisses were fervent, and she found herself wanting more. It had been the first time in a very long time that anyone had touched her like that, and she threw herself headlong into the feeling with reckless abandonment. All that pent up attraction they had harboured over the past few weeks was spilling out.

  Richey’s phone started to ring, causing him to pull back momentarily. “Nah, not worth it.” He breathed before returning to Eva’s lips. After a couple of minutes, it rang again, but they ignored it.

  When it rang a third time, Eva pushed Richey off her and reached for the offending item, handing it to him. “Someone is obviously desperate to get hold of you.”

  She watched as he looked at the screen.

  “Don’t recognise the number,” he said. A text followed on from the calls, and a cloud descended over his face. Without a further word, he reached for his t-shirt and left the room.

  Eva stared after him. She pulled her hoodie back around her, suddenly feeling exposed, and wondered what she’d done wrong.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Richey ran up the stairs and slammed his bedroom door behind him. He collapsed on the floor, resting back against the bed. He stared at his phone. Three missed calls from a number he didn’t recognise, followed by a text from the same number. The text read simply Richey, where are you? We need to talk, Kim x.

  He pressed the heels of his palms into his eye sockets, wishing he could make the message disappear. Now wasn’t the time for Kim Marcus to come back into his life.

  Richey felt like shit for walking away from Eva. She was certainly something he wanted. She probably thought he was a bit of a dick right now. But he couldn’t tell her the truth about why, at least not yet.

  His thoughts went back to that dark time and the events that led to him being kicked out of his first band. Back then, drugs were very much a way of life for him, just as much as Deeds Of Eternity were. They had been close, so close that they hung out together twenty-four seven. They’d spent hours rehearsing, joined by friends and family and other people who wanted to rub shoulders with the up-and-coming group. It had seemed that everyone wanted a piece of them and to share in their success. Richey had coped with the added pressure by increased consumption of anything he could get his hands on, mostly cocaine, occasionally speed, and always alcohol. He’d started missing rehearsals and messing up gigs, and the rest of the guys in the band had started questioning his commitment. For a while he’d stopped, or at least cut down on what he had been doing. He’d tried to get his act together and get clean, and it’d briefly worked.

  But one night had changed all that.

  He and Kim went out to a lot of gigs and parties, her knowing she had to be at work ridiculously early and staying up most of the night, snorting lines of coke just to stay awake. It was inherently accepted in her line of work at the time; if you abstained, you were classed as the loser. They had gone out with some of her work friends. People that Richey considered to be pretentious, monied, arseholes, but an opinion that soon changed as he’d discovered that their affluence was able to procure some of the best cocaine he had ever experienced. They had been at a club, alternately drinking and doing lines in the toilets. At the start of the night, Richey had felt invincible, on top of the world, but as the evening wore on, he’d started to come down, getting aggressive with her friends when they refused to give him any more coke. There had been a scuffle, and Richey lashed out at one of the guys, pushing him into a table full of drinks. He didn’t remember much more about the incident, just Kim dragging him away before he passed out.

  Hers was the first face he’d seen when he regained consciousness. The next were the police. He’d ended up with a formal caution and a conditional discharge.

  After a few days in hospital, where his heart had been monitored and his drug use discussed, he was released and faced the rest of the band.

  There had been a frank and open discussion; Richey didn’t have a place in the band anymore, and his chance at the big time had gone. He’d tried to make a go of things with Kim, but it didn’t work out.

  Richey got up and went to the wardrobe and ferreted about for the jeans he had worn at his first Blood Stone Riot gig. The one where he had met Leo Kendrick. He found what he was looking for and resumed his place on the floor. He held up the bag, and his eyes bored into the contents. He knew what would happen if he succumbed, but it was so tempting. He could forget about the memories Kim had just dredged up for him.

  He had been on the brink of opening the bag when he had a startling moment of clarity. Now he had a second shot—both at making a success of his music and having a proper relationship. Why was he about to jeopardise everything that he had worked so hard for? Just for a swift hit to make him feel better? He went towards the door, with every intention of flushing the contents. But if he could keep the temptation within reach and resist, then he could prove to himself that he was strong. He stuffed the bag into a drawer and tried to forget about it.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  When Poppy opened the door to find Parker Roberts standing there, it was a complete surprise. It had been a few days after seeing him in London.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked.

  “That’s a nice welcome. I wanted to talk to you.”

  She ushered him into the house and made a pot of coffee before taking it into the living room where India was playing in front of the TV. Instinctively, she started to tidy up the mess of toys. She wondered what he must think of her, dressed in her mum uniform of jeans and a t-shirt that had several unidentified stains on it. But why should he think anything of her? Parker picked up India’s favourite rabbit toy and pretended it was a puppet for her. She gurgled contentedly as he wiggled it around in front of her.

  “I wanted to see how you were,” he said, without looking at Poppy. “After I saw you the other night.”

  Poppy was floored. Chrissy’s words floated through her head. She couldn’t be right. Could she?

  “Um, thanks. I’m fine. Thanks for arranging the taxi home too.”

  “My pleasure.” He smiled.

  Poppy caught the smile, and her mind flashed back to how the evening at Jewel had ended. She had been thinking about the kiss constantly since then. She was cross with herself for giving in to him, but there was a large part of her that had enjoyed it immensely. Despite Eva questioning her about the night out and how she had arrived home in such style, she hadn’t told anyone what had happened.

  She told herself that she and Nate were on a break and that wasn’t how she should behave if they were going to get back together. But she also told herself that if Nate wanted to stay with her, then he wouldn’t be sleeping somewhere else. It had to be too soon for her to move on. Although, it wouldn’t exactly take long to count the times that she and Nate had been intimate over the last year or so.

  “How are things with you and Nate? Have you seen him at all?”

  Poppy shook her head. “We’re not really speaking that much, although it’s not all that different to when he was away. He’s been round a few times to spend some time with India.”

  “And are you okay financially?”

  “We’re fine.”

  “If there are any issues, you should let me know. Maybe I can help.”

  “I will.” Poppy poured them both more coffee. Their fingers brushed as she passed Parker’s mug back to him.

  “Sorry, I shouldn’t be bothering you with all this; you shouldn’t have to listen to me wittering on about band stuff. Tell me more about you, Mrs McKenna.”<
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  Poppy caught her breath at Parker’s reference to her as Nate’s wife. Perhaps that was what the problem was. She had simply become Nate’s wife, India’s mother, and somewhere along the line she had lost herself as a person. She was conscious of Parker watching her, a troubled look crossing his face.

  “Are you okay?” he asked.

  “How did you find it when Lexi was the more,” Poppy chose her words carefully, “well-known, and maybe more successful, person in the relationship?” She watched him tense. “What did you do to make sure you didn’t lose yourself?”

  Parker paused before answering. “I guess that depends on how you define success. If it’s measured on column inches in magazines, then Lexi was definitely the winner. But think about what I do. If I can take a band and get them out there so they get those column inches too, then I’ve got that level of success by association. It might not be me out there in the public eye, but I’m the one who helped them get there. Look at what I’ve done with Richey and getting Blood Stone Riot back on track. That’s success. Not Lexi fucking her co-star in some seedy hotel.” He gulped a few mouthfuls of coffee.

  Poppy found her admiration for him growing again. She could learn a lot from his attitude.

  “Then I look at you and see what a strong woman you are. You’re bringing up a child practically by yourself.” Parker gestured to India, who was gazing up at him. “And I know some of that is my fault, pushing Nate out on tour when he probably should be at home with you. But you’ve also taken in Richey when you didn’t have to. He could easily have stayed in a B&B somewhere, but you invited him into your home.”

  “That was Nate,” said Poppy. Her feelings were all over the place. She hated Parker for what he’d done to her relationship, but she couldn’t erase the memory of their kiss. And here he was, telling her how fantastic she was and what an amazing job she was doing.

  Parker looked down at the carpet. “I should probably go,” he said.

  “I can make some more coffee?” She wanted to continue their conversation, get to know him better, understand him. Maybe even kiss him again.

  He shook his head. “I’ve outstayed my welcome.” Parker stood up. “The other reason I came over was to say that the band are playing at the Roccia Awards at the end of this week. It would be great if you could come. Someone dropped out at the last minute so they’re playing a short set. It’s a great way to get them into the spotlight before they go out on tour.”

  Poppy frowned. “But Nate and I aren’t...”

  “I’d like it if you could come.” Parker bent down and briefly kissed her on both cheeks. “I’ll let myself out.” Then he was gone.

  Poppy sat there, nursing her now cold mug of coffee. Her mind whirled as she replayed the conversation. Was Parker saying that he was interested in her? Or was he just being polite because of what happened at Jewel?

  “What do you think, India?”

  India shook her head solemnly, as if she had considered everything that her mother had said. Poppy laughed and picked up the rabbit toy that Parker had been playing with for her daughter.

  “I’m just being silly,” she said. “Why on earth would he be interested in someone like me?”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  “Parker was adamant that I came to the Roccia Awards.” Poppy ran her fingers over the material of one of the dresses in the formal section of one of North Ridge’s main department stores. “Even though Nate will be there. He said he would like it if I was there.”

  Eva sipped her latte. She screwed her nose up at the garment that Poppy was examining. “Then you need to find something way more interesting than this.”

  “What are you going to wear?” asked Poppy. She followed Eva over to one of the more fashionable brands in the shop.

  “No idea. I’m not exactly blessed with clothes and I’m not sure that I can get my Indigo Lounge budget to stretch as far as something brand new. I might try the Blue Orchid vintage shop.”

  “I’m just glad you agreed to come with me,” said Poppy. “I don’t want to be Poppy-No-Mates on an evening like that.”

  Eva avoided looking at her. She hadn’t told Poppy about what had happened with Richey, and the thought of going to the awards, seeing him there with Gabrielle, was eating away at her. But when Poppy had begged her to accompany her, she could hardly refuse. She tried to muster some enthusiasm as Poppy went over to another concession. Her phone vibrated. She looked at the screen and saw a message from Richey. He said he wanted to talk to her and asked if she would meet him after his shift. Eva deleted it.

  “Right, let’s just grab a load of dresses and see what suits you best.” Eva moved around the displays, selecting items for Poppy to try on, and headed into the fitting room, Poppy trailing behind her.

  Eva settled herself on the chair outside the cubicle, waiting for Poppy to come out. Anything to stop her from thinking about Richey.

  “Really? You think this says guitarist’s-rock-chick-ex-wife-makes-a-new-start?” Poppy came out in a midnight blue, velvet dress that would be better suited to a politician.

  Eva giggled. She had deliberately chosen things that weren’t right to ensure that Poppy went for the killer dress she had really picked for her.

  “Hmm, maybe not. Why don’t you try something else?”

  The next few dresses also received a resounding no. Finally, Poppy appeared in a heavily embellished silver number that skimmed her thighs. Cut low at the back, it appeared demure from the front and sparkled as Poppy twirled under the lights. The smile on her face was just as sparkly as the dress.

  “What do you think?” Eva grinned.

  “I love it! And it will go perfectly with those shoes I bought the other week. Who says I can’t recycle things?” Poppy grinned back. “I’ll just pay and we can get a coffee before we find something amazing for you.”

  A little while later, Eva and Poppy were crammed into one of the corner tables at The Green Tree. It was busy for a Thursday lunchtime. As they waited for the waiter to bring over their drinks, Eva’s phone pinged again. She glanced down, trying to shield it from Poppy. This time Richey asked her not to ignore him. Which she did.

  “What’s the set up for this awards dinner? Do we have place settings and everything?” asked Eva.

  “No idea,” replied Poppy. “I haven’t been to anything like this before. It’s about the highest profile thing the band have done, apart from the Wilde Park Festival. I gather Parker made it happen.” She blushed at little at the mention of Parker’s name, which Eva picked up on immediately.

  “Do you like him?” asked Eva. She had listened to Poppy talk about the manager on several occasions, and not always in glowing terms.

  “Don’t be ridiculous. Nate and I are still married.”

  “But you and Nate haven’t really been together over the past year.”

  Poppy glared at her. “I don’t have a thing for Parker Roberts. It wouldn’t be right after everything that Nate and I have been through.”

  Eva raised her eyebrows. She thought that Poppy was protesting too much, but she wasn’t about to pursue it.

  “Maybe you’ll meet someone at the awards,” said Poppy.

  Eva laughed. “Mmm, I don’t think so.”

  “Waiting for Richey to make a move?”

  Eva cursed her friend for being so perceptive. “Um, he sort of already did...”

  Poppy’s eyes grew wide. “When? Why haven’t you told me before? Tell me everything!”

  Eva sipped her coffee first, then told Poppy the whole story of what had happened a couple of nights ago. “He just disappeared upstairs and shut himself in his room. I have no idea what’s going on.” The two of them had been working opposite shifts, so they hadn’t seen each other at The Indigo Lounge, and Eva had deliberately stayed in her room when she got home so as not to see Richey before he went out.

  “Is he still seeing Gabrielle? Was that who called him?”

  Eva shrugged. “I have no idea.” She looked d
own at the table top. “He goes away soon, maybe it’s better we don’t start anything now.”

  “You may be right about that.”

  “I guess I don’t want to start something I can’t continue. Richey wants to talk to me, but I’m scared he’ll tell me it was a mistake.”

  “Perhaps the two of you should talk, at least try to understand what there is between you, because it’s clear to me that there is something.” Poppy paused. “I did tell him not to mess with your head after everything that happened with Jed.”

  Eva’s head snapped up. “You told him about Jed?”

  Poppy shook her head. “Of course not, it’s not my place. But I did tell him he needed to sort himself out and decide what he wants.”

  It was clear from his messages that Richey did want her. Or at least wanted to find out whether there was something between them that could flourish.

  “You should talk to him, Eva. At least you’d know where you stand.”

  Poppy was right, but there wasn’t a great deal of time. Richey at least deserved the opportunity to tell her why he had run off the other night. Eva resolved that she would find out, one way or another.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  The Roccia Awards were being held at the Paragon Hotel, near Kensington Gardens. Poppy and Eva had travelled together, having booked a cheap hotel near the awards venue. Parker had arranged for the band to stay right around the corner from the Paragon, and they had headed off early to ensure all the equipment got to the venue in one piece. They joked that it would be practice for when they went out on tour the following week.

  Richey was ready for the set, more ready than he had ever been before. This was the chance for things to become real, for his place in the band to be properly cemented. The gig at The Vegas had been the beginning, but there were bigger things to come and he was looking forward to them.