“Yeah, cheers. Jonny-boy.”
***
Jonny turned around to the bar and was instantly stunned.
Eliza.
Across the far end of the bar, standing out from the rest of the throng, dressed in white in stark contrast to all the black and denim surrounding her. Golden hair falling naturally around her shoulders and framing her pale perfectly shaped face.
“Do you want serving or what?” shouted the frustrated bar tender. Jonny deaf to his first two requests.
“What?” Jonny leant across to him.
“Do…you…want…a…drink? he spelled out sarcastically.
It was busy tonight and he obviously hadn’t got time for any of the punters to deliberate over their choice of drink. Heaven help anyone who asked for a fancy cocktail tonight.
“Erh, yeah…yeah erh…lager… no Guinness. A pint of Guinness please.” Jonny couldn’t help stammering he was trying to work out why she was here. “And whatever she’s having.” Pointing at Eliza across the bar.
“Well that’s an easy one.”
“Why, what do you mean?”
“She only drinks… well if you can call it drinking… ice.”
“Ice?”
“Yeah ice. Just a glass of ice. Don’t ask me why and never been asked for that before. But yeah, ice.” He put the Guinness on the bar and held out his hand. “That’s £1.20 for the Guinness and the ice is on the house.”
Jonny handed over the cash and watched with his heart in his mouth as the glass of ice was delivered to Eliza, along with a message telling her who it was from.
She looked across at him, meeting his gaze for only the second time in his life. Then, without losing eye contact, slipped her finger and thumb into the glass, picked out one of the ice cubes and seductively put it in between her lips. Her tongue eased out of her mouth and slowly curled around the cube before coyly dropping her eyes and releasing him from the full on oral display.
Persistent prods between the shoulder blades brought Jonny back to reality. The noise of the club re-surfacing; then the whining of Helen’s protests in his ear.
“What are you doing?” Her head cocked on one side as if she was trying to weigh him up. “Did you get me another drink?”
“No. Didn’t know you wanted one. What do you want?” He tried to focus on Helen, knowing he would miss her reply otherwise.
“B-52.”
Jonny turned back to the bar man who, without looking up from stacking glasses, asked quietly “Did you enjoy that?”
“Fuck yeah. Did you see it too?” He hadn’t quite believed what he had seen and to have it confirmed by the bar man was a relief.
The bar man winked at him and wiped his hands on his apron. “B-52?”
“Yeah. Better make it two.”
Jonny handed one of the orange, white and brown shots to Helen who immediately threw it down her throat. Jonny felt himself wince. Hoping it didn’t show on his face. What a contrast to the ice cube.
“I’m going to the ladies.” Helen announced, reaching up to Jonny to give him a quick kiss. “Gonna try and clean this crap off my dress. It stinks! Won’t be long.”
“OK.”
Jonny watched Helen squeeze in between a crowd of women dancing around their handbags. She was spun around by one of the dancers and popped out of the circle facing the wrong way. Righting herself, she carried on to the ladies’ toilets.
When he was sure Helen was out of sight Jonny looked around for Eliza. He had to speak to her. Now. He couldn’t just send across a glass of ice, drool over her licking a cube and then carry on with his evening regardless. But she had done it again to him. How was he going to follow up on that? What could he say?
She wasn’t there. Oh well, that’s that then.
Taking a gulp of the B-52 he nearly spluttered it all over Eliza’s white t-shirt when he turned around and found her stood right before him.
Quickly wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, the squeakiness of his voice took him by surprise when he greeted her with, “Hey-up?”
“Hey-up yourself,” she replied playfully with a lilting accent that Jonny couldn’t quite place.
Hey-up? Who the hell says “hey-up” to a drop dead gorgeous angel like Eliza? Jonny inwardly chastised himself for sounding like the knob-head who had just thrown his drink over Helen.
“I’ve not seen you here before,” he heard himself say. Oh that was original - not! He cursed again.
“Who are you in with? Crash?”
Jonny noticed how her top lip protruded slightly. Lingering seductively after she said something.
“Erm.”
He considered lying, but couldn’t do that to Helen. As much as he wanted to, she didn’t deserve it. Also there would be a right scene if Helen came back whilst he was still talking to Eliza. Oh yeah, he could imagine it. “Eliza this is Helen, she’s just a friend.” Helen would go absolutely ape shit. There would definitely be handbags at dawn.
“A girlfriend,” Jonny eventually replied. Emphasising the “A" and then adding to complete the illusion of not being on a date with his one and only girlfriend, “and the rest of the band are coming in later.”
“Oh cool. I’m here with Karma Life and we’re heading on to a house party after here. If you fancy it, you can all come along too.”
That lip again. He so much wanted to taste it. Kiss it. Pull it in to him with his teeth.
“Sure, why not.” Trying to make his reply not sound too eager.
"Great. I'll get back to the boys then."
Reaching past him to place her glass on the bar, he felt her soft breasts brushing against his arm. He had no choice but to look down, taking in her nipples poking through the flimsy fabric of her white t-shirt.
Irresistible was the word that popped into his mind.
Ir-re-sist-i-ble.
To everyone at the Palace that night the incident of Eliza brushing passed Jonny was a non-event. Everyone that is except Helen, who chose that very moment to emerge from the ladies’ toilets and look straight across to Jonny from the other side of the dance floor.
She saw it in slow motion.
Her Jonny chatting to a ginger haired woman.
Ginger haired woman leaning across her Jonny to the bar.
Her Jonny looking down at ginger haired woman’s breasts.
Her Jonny putting his hand on ginger haired woman’s tit.
Her Jonny.
Some bitch’s tit!
She flew across the dance floor in a complete rage. By the time she got to Jonny the ginger bitch had gone.
“What was that?” She tensed up the muscles around her eyes. Squinting with all her might to heighten the effect of the inquisition.
“What was what?”
She thought Jonny was trying too hard to make his reply as innocent as possible and taking a diversionary sip of his drink was just him trying to cover his tactics.
“Who was that?” she growled at him.
“Who?”
He was winding her up and she was so pumped she was going to explode. She wasn't skimming around it anymore.
“Did you just touch that woman’s tits?” she spat out at him.
“No of course not! For fucks sake Helen! That was Eliza from Karma Life. You know - one of the support bands from the Crazy Horse tour. She was just inviting us to a house party after here.”
“Us?”
“Yeah - us.”
“So she invited both of us?”
“Yes. Us.”
Jonny’s mind went into overdrive. He didn’t touch her tits did he? He wanted to. So badly, but didn’t. He wouldn’t do that. He didn’t do that. It’s just Helen being a jealous crazy bitch again.
Fortunately, the rest of Crash turned up just as he was thinking about the best way of getting Helen out of the Palace before she flipped her lid. He knew she wasn’t going to let it go, but with his mates there he reckoned she might leave it for another time. He decided not to tell them about the
house party invite, figuring it would be best to forget about it.
For the rest of the evening he watched Helen throw back shots and dance provocatively with any guy willing. Especially Simon, who seemed more than happy to piss Jonny off. Jonny didn’t bite though which seemed to annoy Helen even more. She kept throwing him daggers.
Knowing full well what she was doing. It brought clarity to what he had to do. That was it, he had made up his mind. Helen was too jealous and controlling for him. Before Crash went off on the next tour he would finish with her. He knew she would be hurt, but this just couldn't go on.
By the end of the evening they were all drunk.
Jonny left his car and got the night bus back to Fulham with the rest of them. Helen was ignoring him and sat next to Simon, resting her head on his shoulder and nodding off in a drunken stupor.
They all got off at the same bus stop, on the high street. The rain had stopped, but it was still a cool damp night, the moisture in the air threatening to turn into fog. It hovered around the street lights, reducing their illumination to a faint orange glow.
Helen misjudged the step off the bus, fell to the pavement and then stormed off carrying her shoes in her hand. Jonny kept her in his sights but let her walk ahead. He didn’t want a scene now. He was too tired. Tired of her.
Simon jogged to catch up with Helen. She paused momentarily to put her shoes back on. The pavement was wet and slimy and she had visions of stepping into some dog dirt and it squidging up in between her toes.
“A pretty girl like you shouldn’t be walking on her own at this time of night.” Offering out his arm so she could balance and climb up the five inches the shoes added to her height.
“Well walk with me then.” Continuing to hang off his arm to stable herself.
“Is it all over between you and Jonny then?”
“Why?” She stopped walking momentarily to turn and look at him.
“Just seems like he never mentions you anymore and tonight…. well, tonight I thought you looked sexy as hell and if you were my girl I wouldn’t have let you out of my sight. I think you deserve better that’s all.”
“Really? Maybe I’m with the wrong guy then?” she mocked.
They turned the corner onto Corrigan Road. Helen’s street was at the top and off to the left.
“I need a slash,” Jonny announced to Joe and Badger. “Just make sure someone gets Helen to her door. I’ll catch up with you.” He ran up the embankment and disappeared behind a tall hawthorn hedge.
Joe and Badger continued walking and they could still see Simon and Helen up ahead who were just about to turn into Helen’s street. By the time Joe and Badger had got to the top Simon and Helen were already at her house. Even from a distance it was evident they were in an embrace at her gate. Simon was kissing Helen and had his hand up the front of her dress. Badger and Joe stopped and then both looked down the road to where Jonny was emerging from behind the hedge, buttoning up his jeans. Badger pulled on Joe’s arm.
“Shit! This is gonna kick off big style. What shall we do?”
“Fuck all. Simon’s bang out of order. You don’t do that to a mate, no matter what. He’ll have to deal with the consequences. I’m not about to stop any of this shit.”
Jonny jogged up the street to catch up with Joe and Badger. Fortunately, Simon had stopped groping Helen and had walked back to join them too. Drama adverted. For now anyway.
“Did Helen get home ok?” asked Jonny.
“Yes I made sure of it.” Simon chirped, buttoning his denim jacket up. Joe and Badger exchanged looks.
“OK, good. Thanks mate.”
“Think nothing of it. Mate. My pleasure and I’m sure you would do the same for me.”
All four of them walked off down the street, not getting far before Simon suddenly announced. “I’m gonna take the shortcut across the cemetery.”
They didn’t persuade him not to, but weren’t about to follow either. A cemetery in the dark would have once been fun. Scaring each other by jumping out from behind head stones and leaping over graves. Not tonight though. He veered off at the next street, alone, down towards the cemetery gates and back towards Helen’s street.
Chapter Nine
The band were incredibly busy over the next few weeks and whilst Helen continued to show up at practices and most of their gigs, she was never alone with Jonny. If she caught him unawares he would let her sit on his knee and kiss him, but he didn’t readily return the affection. She ignored that and acted as if nothing had happened.
It felt different this time though. Her thoughts were confused and she daren’t risk giving him space to come back to her. She just had to hope he would soften in time.
It had happened before. They had argued over something trivial. So trivial she couldn’t even remember what it was. However, he said they were done. She had then gone on holiday with her parents and on her return one of her so called friends, took great delight in telling her about a rumour that was going around school. Jonny had apparently been fooling around with Christine down the cellar at the club.
Helen accused him; shouted at him; sulked at him; tried to get back at him with Simon. No response at all. Nothing. Nada. Rather than lose Jonny, she told him she had got it wrong and won him back with her ready affection and willingness. That was a year ago now and she felt sure she could do it again.
Simon however wasn’t helping matters. He was overtly flirting with her every chance he got, even offering to take her home from practices whenever Jonny had drunk too much to drive. Helen didn’t want to encourage Simon, especially after the way he was when he walked her home after Camden Palace the other night; but she did occasionally, just to try and provoke a response from Jonny. She knew she was playing with fire, but couldn’t help herself.
Crash were booked to tour across the UK to promote their newly released album. They were especially proud of the album cover and thought the photo of them all taken at the Marquee gig was very flattering.
It showed Simon hunched over his microphone, head hung and his fringe covering most of his face. He liked the mysterious look it evoked.
Badger was caught mid flow, shirtless and sweat spraying off his sticks into the hazy air. His tattoos on full display.
Joe was knelt on one knee, the other leg at a right angle supporting his vertically placed Gibson, which he was in the middle of playing as intensely as a teenager would air guitar in the privacy of his bedroom.
Jonny had his bass slung low. His hips pushed forwards and torso leaning backwards. A ripped black t-shirt giving a glimpse of toned abs. The stage lights glistening on his skin, moist from sweat. His face expressing the dedication he was putting into the moment. A moment any female fan would love to experience.
The label received dozens of calls and a stack of mail each day from female fans. Everyone wanting to get a piece of them. The band loved looking at the photos sent in with the letters and reading out parts that were particularly flattering or funny.
Jonny got the most attention and certainly his fans showed a whole new level of explicitness. Some of the photos they sent in where particularly pornographic, and the detail of what they would do to him if only he would let them. A few even gave their addresses and times they would be available for him to come take advantage of what they were offering. And then there were those who turned up in person. They were in a completely different league. No bedroom fantasy, they were there for the taking. Not that Jonny did.
Simon didn’t like the attention Jonny was getting. He was the lead singer. The adoration should have been his.
Crash had done everything asked of them and the record company promised if they managed some healthy album sales then they could be touring state side next spring. Joanne was confident their time was right and she made sure they made the most of their opportunity.
They were starting the UK tour at Nottingham’s Rock City later in the week. Jonny hadn’t changed his mind. He was going to be free in less than a week.
> He had gone over in his mind a few times how it was going to go down with Helen.
He would pick her up, take her to the pub, settle her down with a drink and tell her. No. That wasn’t going to work. Knowing her she would cause a scene, perhaps throw the drink over him. Maybe even glass him in the face. He was sure she was the morbid jealous type. He shuddered.
Plan B. He would pick her up and tell her in the car. Nope, that wasn’t a good idea either. She’d flip; might trash the car. His lovely Capri. She’d rip the seats; kick the lights in, dent the door or throw something through the windscreen. Hmmm. Or even worse she might not get out of the car. Yes, that’s exactly what she would do. He'd be trapped in there with her and her manipulating emotions. Refusing to get out until he changed his mind and agreed to stay with her. What was the song by Meatloaf? Paradise by the Dashboard Light? Yeah that’s Helen. He was definitely not going to tell her in the car.
A new idea flashed into his mind. He would go around when her parents were next at bridge club. She’d be at home, nothing of his to trash, nobody to cry in front of and he’d leave as soon as he knew she was going to be alright. He made a mental note to make sure she didn’t lock the door behind him! Hold him captive and subject him to hobbling like in the Stephen King novel he had once read.
Jonny flicked his cigarette end out of his bedroom window. The chill of the night air made him shiver. Well the cold air and the thought of being the subject of a horror story. He could just ring her and tell her over the phone. She couldn’t do him any harm that way. He shook his head and pulled the window closed. No that wasn’t right He’d have to tell her face to face. Like a man.
Bridge club - Thursday night. Bosh.
***
Jonny pulled up at the bottom of Helen’s street. Switching the engine and lights off he adjusted his mirror, wound down his window and lit a cigarette.
He was only waiting a couple of minutes when he saw Mr Martin in the rear view mirror. Nudging the nose of his beige Austin Allegro out from the lane in between the two blocks of houses. Mrs Martin had emerged from the house and was now waiting behind her gate in her pale green twin-set. Matching handbag held in both hands across her stomach; clutching it like it contained the most important thing in her life. Only opening the gate once he pulled alongside.
Falling for his ANGEL_A Rock Star Romance Page 5
