Lennon's Jinx (Lennon's Girls #1)

by Chris Myers

  Clive pulls the strap of his guitar over his head. “What are you doing out there, Jinx? You’re making us look like amateurs.”

  He stabs a finger at me. “She better get her act together by tomorrow.”

  “Give it a rest,” Danny Boy says. “It’s her first night.” Danny’s debut had been just as rough. He could barely keep it together as stage fright consumed him, but he eventually got over it.

  Jinx purses her lips. “Was it really that bad?”

  “Yeah,” I say, “but we all have to start somewhere.” I clutch her shoulder, and she doesn’t bolt or shudder at my touch. “It’s okay.”

  “You have to keep in mind that Clive comes from a family of professional musicians,” Danny Boy says. “When you go home tonight, work on the cover songs. The ones with asterisks are the most popular at weddings.”

  “There’s a few solos I need for you to work on, too,” I add.

  Jinx nods and stares at the wood floor. She steers away from Zach as she threads her way through the crowd to her table of friends. Zach’s gaze trains on her, and I don’t like it.

  Rena hands Jinx a mixed drink and slings an arm around her. “You didn’t do that bad. Sing like you do in choir.”

  Even Susan says, “Don’t worry. You’ll do better next time.” Which isn’t the best thing to say, but she tries.

  “I didn’t think you were coming,” Jinx says to Rena.

  “Iz and Gabby pulled my hair,” Rena says. “Besides, I didn’t want to miss your big debut.”

  I manage to get to the bathroom before groupies snag me. While I’m in there, Zach shows up.

  “What’s up with Jinx?” one of his friends says. “I thought she was supposed to be pretty good.”

  Zach shrugs. “I don’t know. She’s off. That’s why we didn’t let her play in our band. She got all flaky on me.” When he realizes I’m standing nearby, he blushes. “Hey, Lennon.”

  It bugs me when guys dish on their old girlfriends. “Where’s your current basket case?” I ask.

  “Don’t talk that way about Kelly,” he says.

  “Why? I bet Jinx never cheated on you.” I bet she never had sex with him either. I know Kelly puts out.

  Zach’s distracted for a moment while he processes that I implied Kelly screwed another guy. “That’s the weird part. I think Jinx did.”

  That leaves me speechless. So she isn’t a virgin. With her fear of guys, she didn’t give it up willingly.

  A hurt expression shadows Zach’s face. He must still like Jinx or he wouldn’t have come here without Kelly or tried to take Jinx home the other night. Ex-boyfriends are tough competition.

  “Where was Kelly the other night?” I’m being nosy because he wasn’t with her at Sammy’s either when Jinx had her cliff-diving fall from grace.

  “What’s it to you?”

  “I don’t really care.” Just checking to see if he still wants her. “So Jinx dumped you?”

  He sighs. “It was just before our sixteenth birthdays. I couldn’t make it to that big party. Jinx went. After that, she was different. I heard she pulled a train.”

  If she had slept with a lot of guys, I would’ve heard about it from Bailey, and the guys at school would’ve spread it around. Then what happened to Jinx? According to Rena, she was serious about Zach.

  “Well, I’m sure Jinx will do better,” Zach says.

  “Everyone has jitters their first night,” I say, defending her. “She’ll be fine.”

  “I’m sure she will be. She has an amazing voice.” Zach shuffles out of the bathroom, letting the door swing shut behind him.

  I find Jinx and pull her into the band’s room. “Remember the two songs we practiced yesterday?”

  Jinx hangs her head. “I suck.”

  “You’ve done solos in choir before. This is no different.”

  “Why are you being nice to me?”

  “You have a kickass voice.”

  “I do?” When she looks at me with those green eyes, I want to sink into them, but I stop myself. I don’t need to go there.

  “Hell, yeah,” I say, “so start showing it.” Having a girl in our band will attract more guys to the bar.

  I make her go over the two songs, one by Pink, the other Paramore. They sound good, but she isn’t on stage yet. “You don’t have to play while you sing. Don’t look at the crowd. Focus on me and the other guys.”

  The bruise above her eye has almost faded. I’m not sure why I care, but I want to know who hit her and why.

  “Clive’s really pissed.”

  “He’ll get over it. Danny was just as nervous during his first gig.”

  “He was?” Her hands are shaking. “Zach’s out there.”

  “Don’t worry about him.” I can tell she is.

  We leave the room together but go our separate ways. I wind through the crowd of bar patrons to talk to the three girls. That’ll take my mind off Jinx. Bailey thinks I’m coming her way until I stop at the other girls’ table. The two girls I’ve had before wrap their arms around my waist. Bailey glares at me, slams her beer down, and walks out. After a few minutes, her friends follow.

  Good, no more entanglements. The sick feeling in my gut lets me know it’s not that simple. I hate hurting her, but I know Bailey can do better.

  “This is our friend, Mitzi,” one of my fans says, pointing at the blonde with feathers in her hair.

  “I have a secret to tell you,” she says, tugging on my shoulder.

  I lean down to her. “What’s that, little girl?”

  Her tongue slides around my ear. “You’re really cute.”

  “I know. See you after the show?”

  “You bet.”

  When we get back on stage, I give Jinx a water. She takes a deep breath before taking a sip. Her next song only requires her on the keyboard.

  Danny comes up and pats her back. “You’re doing fine. Take your time. We’ll get through this.”

  “Thanks,” Jinx says.

  Susan gives Jinx a wary look from her table. Jinx’s friends raise their drinks to Jinx.

  “Yeah, Jinx,” Iz screams.

  Two girls hit on Clive before he takes the stage. He talks to them for another minute before returning to us. Clive goes to his bass and picks it up. He plucks at it and gives it a tune. The two girls, both brunettes, yell at him. My groupies dance close to their table so they can keep an eye on their drinks and purses.

  Zach’s focus fixes on Jinx, which makes her fidget. She fingers her keyboard, avoiding him. We do a couple cover songs before I nod to Jinx. Her playing wasn’t spot on, but it wasn’t bad either. She bites her lip and closes her eyes.

  Danny sets the beat while I come in with the guitar. Jinx belts out That’s What You Get. She keeps her eyes closed and pretty soon, she’s in the groove. A bit of confidence returns to her voice. She flounders through a few more songs before I let her take the lead on the Pink song. By the end of the night, she’s not so shaky. Much to my displeasure, Zach stays until then, whereas Jinx’s friends left around one.

  Susan waits for Danny Boy while he packs up his drums. Many clubs have their own setup including percussion, but Danny insists on playing his own. I pack my guitars, and within no time, Clive is down talking to one of the brunettes.

  Mitzi slides over to me. This girl has legs that can wrap around my neck all night long. Zach’s friends are long gone. He waits for Jinx. This pisses me off because the band normally regroups before we split off in different directions, and honestly, I don’t want her hooking up with him.

  I amble to the band room down the hall. The guys and Jinx filter in along with their accompaniments. Though I gave Clive and Jinx a ride, I expect them to take the train back.

  Zach speaks softly to Jinx. Her expression is a mix of emotions. “You have to practice. You were pitchy on your solos.”

  Clive must’ve heard because he pokes Jinx in the back. “Your solos were spot on, bird. You get the rest working like those two songs, blokes wi
ll be piling in to see you. By the way, great rags. The chaps loved them.”

  Danny Boy slips by Jinx. “You did good. Your voice is hot.”

  It’s okay if we give each other a hard time, but we don’t let outsiders rag on any of us.

  I wave my arms. “Other than Susan, everyone else, please wait outside.”

  “Why does she get to stay,” my groupie Mitzi coos, slipping an arm around my waist.

  When she sucks on my neck, Jinx snorts with disgust. I pull the girl away before she leaves a hickey. I don’t let girls mar me. It reminds me of a dog marking its territory. I don’t belong to any girl, except Currie.

  I tap the groupie on her butt and send her out. “Go on, Honey.”

  She blows me a kiss. “Okay.”

  I hand out two Ben Franklins to each of them. The door gave us another three hundred. My money plus some of theirs goes to paying the utilities on the warehouse. The place was a gift from Jonathan, which I tried to turn down, but Danny and Clive had already accepted before I could say no.

  “If you want your full pay tomorrow, Jinx, you have to know every song.” I hand her four solos and one duet. “These are requests from the bride-to-be and her dad, the one paying for the whole shebang. Get them memorized.”

  Her face pales and droops down like a dog that’s been kicked. “I’ve never heard of half of them.”

  “I have demo CDs in the car you can borrow.”

  “Looking forward to seeing Katie Winthrop, the bride.” Clive whistles. “A real fit bird.”

  “She’s off limits,” I say. We’ve had this problem before.

  Clive pockets the cash. He pinches Jinx on the ass before she knows what he’s doing. She swipes at him but misses.

  “Have to be quicker than that. Later, mates. Pretty ladies.” Clive scoops up the brunette on his way out.

  Zach is not hanging out by the door to wait for Jinx. Disappointment creases her forehead. My groupie comes in and wraps both arms around me. She kisses me hard. My eyes trail after Jinx. She doesn’t once look back at me. I have to settle with a quickie here, so I can drive home alone.

  Jinx leaves the door open on her way out. My hand is half way up the girl’s shirt, when a scream comes from outside.

  “Buzz off,” Jinx yells.

  Shoot. If I leave Mitzi now, I won’t be able to return. I can feel it in my bones and elsewhere. God, I need this more than what awaits me out in the hall.

  “Excuse me,” I say to Mitzi who has her hands down my pants, searching for the big guy. I slip away from her, grab my guitars, and walk out.

  She gives me a puzzled look.

  A regular at the club has cornered Jinx. He’s six feet and beefy with chains hanging off his chaps, biker style, and sporting a ZZ Top beard. “Come on, Sweetie. Come to Papa.”

  She slaps him hard. Bad idea, Jinx. Very bad.

  His face goes red. He grabs her arm and shakes her like a dog killing a snake. She struggles against his steel-like grip. He takes a beer and drenches her. From the amber color, I’m guessing whiskey goes down her dress next. I don’t want to laugh, but I do. Jinx is fuming so much that I honestly believe smoke billows out of those beautiful pipes of hers.

  “Hey, Leroy,” I call. “I think she’s learned her lesson.”

  She’s shaking like a yield sign in a hurricane. Leroy’s harmless, but she doesn’t know that. I’m glad she hasn’t pepper sprayed him.

  “Lennon, my man.” After he releases her, he gives me a hearty backslap and a handshake. “Need to tame this filly.”

  I sling my arm around her. She’s petrified. I pull her in tight in an attempt to calm her and because I like the way she feels against me. “Jinx is with me.”

  “You got a lot of honey dripping from your pot.”

  “Yeah, it comes with the territory. We had a fight. I was going to do that other wench to show her what’s up, but I should go home with the old lady. You know how they can be. Can’t live with them, sure can’t shoot them.”

  “Wouldn’t want to impose on a bro.” He pinches Jinx’s ass before he heads out. “Nice and firm. Liked that one song you did, girl.”

  I grab Jinx’s hand before she takes another swing.

  Jinx stinks like a distillery. “Now, what am I supposed to do? I can’t go home like this. Step-monster will…” Tears bubble up in her eyes.

  “It’s okay.” I snake an arm around her, though she’s sopping wet. She’s trembling hard. “Can’t you go to Rena’s?”

  “No. They’re going out of town tomorrow morning.”

  “We’ll wash your rags at my house and get you home.” I can’t believe I just said that. No girl has ever come to my house.

  She shakes and drops her head. “Are you sure? My stepfather…”

  I can tell this is seriously going to cut into me getting any. Clive has already left with a girl. Somehow, this isn’t right, though it’s my fault.

  “I’m sorry,” I say. “I should’ve made sure you had a ride back to the train station. I wasn’t thinking.” I’m used to the guys figuring out their way home.

  She’s still shaking and wipes the tears with the back of her arm.

  I pull her against me. I like the way her body feels pressed against mine. “It’s going to be okay.”

  “What about that girl you were with?” Jinx asks.

  “She’ll figure it out.”

  “Wow. That’s cold. Don’t you ever have sex with someone you care about? Don’t you want a relationship?”

  “Not really.”

  “I don’t get you. Being with someone you really care about is more important than just a roll around in the trunk of your car.”

  “Don’t knock sex until you try it. I like it, and I’m not giving it up.” Even for that tight little ass of yours. “Maybe if you got some you’d loosen up on stage.”

  Jinx glares at me.

  She is oddly silent as we walk to my SUV. My hands are full with two guitars, so she carries her keyboard.

  I shouldn’t talk about this to her. It’ll only upset her, but I venture further at my own peril. “There are two kinds of girls. Those wanting to make a name for themselves while the rest are holding out for the prince who’ll never come.”

  “Maybe some girls feel they have to kiss a lot of frogs to marry a prince, but I don’t.”

  I shrug. “Well, I guess I’m a frog in that long procession.”

  “It’s important to be in love and to want to please each other.” Jinx is one of those girls, waiting for her fairytale prince. Someone like Zach.

  I laugh. “In order to be good at anything, you have to practice. How is it my responsibility if a girl doesn’t get off after I’ve sweated over her for twenty minutes?”

  “You could get an STD.”

  “I wear plenty of protection, and it’s not like I sleep with total skanks.”

  Jinx gives me that stone cold look she’s famous for. “I beg to differ.”

  Once again, I’ve dug a deep enough hole to bury myself. I can’t help it if she brings out the best in me.

  As we drive back, I say, “When you’re dealing with overenthusiastic fans, be firm but say no, and be nice to them. It’s all about the fantasy.”

  She shudders. “It looked all too real from my vantage point.”

  “You can’t slap the paying clientele. It’s not good for business.” I can tell that Jinx is going to ruin all my fun.

  “What am I supposed to do? He could’ve raped me.”

  “He wouldn’t have. Now that guy Ran you were teasing the other night would have. He is a predator. I take it that was for Zach’s benefit.” I keep chasing my tail with this.

  “How could you tell he was a predator?”

  “It’s in their eyes, always hungry, never satisfied.”

  Another shiver runs through her. “Oh?”

  She seriously can’t tell, but if I pry any further I’m likely to lose the boys between my legs when she boots me.

  Jinx shuffles through
my CDs until she finds the ones marked demo. She focuses on the songs for the rest of the drive back to my house and ignores me. I don’t really like it. I’m used to a lot of attention.

  When we get there, Mom is humming in the kitchen, preparing munchies for a late night movie. So far, no strange guys.

  Her gaze sweeps over Jinx then me. “I didn’t know you were having a friend over. Double standard, huh? I’m Heather.” She juts out her hand for Jinx while narrowing her eyes at me.

  “It’s not what you think, Mother.”

  Jinx nervously shakes Mom’s hand. “I’m Jinx.”

  “Cool name.” Heather can be really charming. When she acted as a child, she got an Oscar nod. She never lets anyone forget that.

  “My mom’s a huge fan of yours,” Jinx says. “Drowning in the Rain is her all-time favorite film.”

  Mom’s face saddens as she reminisces. “It’s mine, too.”

  “Could I get your autograph?”

  With her Academy swagger and smile, Mom goes to the end table by the couch and pulls out a photograph. She keeps them just in case a fan should drop by. It’s nauseatingly annoying. “What’s your mom’s name?”

  “Lana. Thank you so much.” Jinx watches Mom sign her color glossy. “How come you don’t make movies anymore? You’re so talented.”

  Doubt crinkles Mom’s face. “You think so?”

  “Yeah, Mom. Enquiring minds want to know why you don’t get a job.” She did a couple movies when she was with Jonathan, but by the time she returned from a shoot, another girl was keeping her place warm on her side of the bed. She didn’t like that too well. The only other time she worked after that was when he left her the second time, which was five years ago. Now, she waits for his return. If she’s working, she may miss reuniting with Jonathan.

  “Here you go, Jinx.” Mom hands her the glossy. “I’ll be in the great room if you need me.”

  Like that will ever happen. I don’t recall her ever getting up to feed Currie at night. It’s hard to hear a baby when you’re comatose. I did catch Jonathan a few times. He always liked Currie better than me.

  I grab a tee and shorts from Mom’s room. When I come back, I hand them to Jinx. “There’s a bathroom down the hall.”