My brain is the only logical one at this party. It controls my mouth.
“You can go now. I’m really tired.” I lie through my teeth.
“Kicking me out?”
With a nod, I close my eyes and pretend that exhaustion hits from the cold medicine. “You are a good nurse. Thank you.”
I carefully measure my breathing, as I drift into a fake sleep. I wait as Jack places everything I need within arm’s reach.
“Sleep tight, pretty girl.” The feel of warm lips on my forehead nearly blows my cover, but I continue my even breathing and continue with my charades.
Jack leaves me bundled and cozy on the couch before he quietly exits my apartment. It isn’t long before actual sleep does take over.
The bright sunlight wakes me the next morning. Amazingly, I feel better having gotten a restful night of sleep filled with dreams of Jack. We were married and he was taking care of our sick daughter. It was so real and so beautiful, and I’m so screwed.
Stretching lazily, my phone buzzes with a new text that puts a grin on my face.
hey pretty girl…hope u feel better…call me when u r up.
So screwed!
When I finally got back in the studio, I had to pretend I wasn’t at all affected. Let me tell you it’s not easy being around someone you love and pretend you don’t. Every word, action and facial expression has to be carefully controlled. It’s fucking hard as hell and it’s exhausting.
I also had to endure endless ribbing from the guys.
“He likes you better. I could lose an arm in a shark attack, and I’d still have to play drums.”
“Welcome back, Leila. While you were gone we changed our name to Leila’s Lair.”
“So glad you’re back. We really need to pee and he won’t let us.”
“He was mean to us.”
“He threw out my Fruit Loops.”
I’m surrounded by comedians.
Back at The Zone, I now have to endure the reality of being replaced. Lori assures me that Cliffhangers is close to finding a replacement, which means that I will no longer have to work two jobs at once. “You’re run down. That’s why you got sick. We should have you replaced in no time.”
“I got a cold. Happens every day to millions of people. Stop being so dramatic.”
“Pifft.”
“Very attractive Lor.”
“Pifft. So Trey wants me to come to Jack’s party.” She wiggles her eyebrows and smirks.
“Really? How often do you and Trey talk?”
“Every day. Well we either text or call every day.”
“Since when? And why the hell haven’t you told me?”
“You’ve been busy. Plus I didn’t know what was going to happen so I kept it to myself. But Leila he is so hot and so sweet, and I really like him. I can’t keep it in any more. I know he’s leaving soon, but I don’t care. I’ll enjoy the ride until then.” She pauses then adds. “Literally.”
“Ugh, T.M.I.”
“I told Alisa and she wanted to kill me. You know how she feels about me keeping secrets.” Based on the goofy grin, she can’t be all that upset about Alisa.
“I’m really happy for you. Of course you can come to Jack’s party with me. I already asked Evan. I worry how both of you will get the night off though.”
She stands and starts clapping. “Yay…don’t worry, I’ll handle Sal and the band. We are going to Riverside to get new outfits. No arguments.” She points a finger at me.
Crap…going to Riverside and shopping with Lori is asking for trouble. Our tastes couldn’t be more different.
“Yay.” I respond sarcastically.
Evan, Lori and I decided to share a cab to Jack’s party, which is in a swanky bar in midtown called Granite. We didn’t want to worry about having a few drinks, and we all plan on enjoying ourselves tonight. I hardly ever get drunk, but I definitely need to get hammered. I should have taken a shot at home to loosen me up a bit.
Lori chose what she called the perfect party dress for me tonight. It’s a backless, mini black dress. A long silver necklace, silver peep toe pumps, and my panties complete the ensemble. Because the back of my dress is missing, I couldn’t wear a bra. This isn’t a problem since I am not very well endowed, but I feel naked…and sexy. If going braless was the worst Lori could have dished out, I’ll take it. I bought the dress without argument.
Lori has on a very short emerald green, jersey knit dress that skims her curves leaving nothing to the imagination and no doubt that she isn’t wearing panties. She paired it with hot pink patent pumps. Only Lori could pull off this outfit. Her hair is long and lose and her make-up is vamped up. She really looks hot.
She argued I didn’t have enough eye make-up on. I allowed her to dress me but there was no way I was allowing her to paint my face.
Evan is wearing a pair of black jeans and a grey button down shirt he left un-tucked. His shaggy hair is messy, he smells good and he also looks hot.
“Thanks for coming tonight.”
“My pleasure. I’m actually looking forward to it.”
Lori jumps in her seat and grabs my leg. “Lei, I forgot to tell you. I Googled this place and do you know it has a really cool roof top bar and that they hire different bands weekly to perform and there are music producers that attend frequently?”
“I had no clue. That’s awesome.”
“Yep. I can see Cliffhangers tearing this place up.” She looks past me to Evan and winks. “That’s how we convinced the guys we needed to be here tonight.”
“I was wondering how you accomplished that.”
Evan looks over at me. “Yep…research, and getting plastered. That’s our goal tonight.”
“Me too…on the getting plastered part.”
Lori looks at me like I’ve grown a third eye. “You?”
“Yes, me.”
Evan squeezes my hand. “You deserve it. We’ll make sure you get good and sauced. What shot do you want to do for your birthday?”
Panic-stricken, I pull my hand from his grip. “Evan please don’t tell anyone it’s my birthday. I don’t want them to know.”
He gives me a look and consigns, “Yeah, ok.”
Lori snorts and then covers it up with a cough. This is not good.
“What are you two up to?” I ask in all seriousness, turning my head left then right to try and figure out what they are scheming. “Please? Don’t embarrass me?”
“What? All I asked was what shot you were going to do? You’re paranoid.”
“I don’t trust you two. I should have come alone.” I mumble mostly to myself. They each look out their respective windows pretending to ignore me.
Our cab pulls up to an industrial looking building sporting a small awning with the bar’s name scribbled on it. Based on the amount of people waiting on a line that wraps around the block, this must be the place to be.
I hate the club scene. Standing in line forever in hopes that you can get in, paying twenty bucks for a watered down drink, sweating your ass off all night while constantly being hit on by sleazy guys…ugh.
Three intimidating big ass men are at the entrance looking bored out of their minds. The one holding a clipboard assesses us as we approach. Once we give our names, without a word he moves the rope aside to let us in. He leans close to Lori and whispers something in her ear, causing a smile to split her face in two. I can only imagine what he said to her. As we walk into the club, the well-organized line becomes an angry mob (minus the pitch forks). Every person is yelling or cursing at us.
“This is so fun.” Lori says as she antagonizes the crowd by smiling wide and waving.
“Ok…let’s go troublemaker. I can’t fight in these shoes.”
“Party-pooper.” She responds, only half-joking. “Wait, I have an idea.” She takes a step backwards until she is visible in the doorway and yells out, “Cliffhangers.com!”
“Nice…” Evan says appreciatively.
Lori taps her temple smiling. “Alw
ays thinking.”
I have to admit, it was a brilliant move.
The elevator opens to a really cool rooftop bar scene.
“Holy shit.” Evan mutters to no one in particular.
It is gorgeous, absolutely stunning.
There are clear glass awnings above allowing you to see the night sky. The side facing the elevators is a wall of glass that treats guests to a spectacular view of the Empire State Building and everything south of it. A stage adorned with instruments spreads against the wall to the left and a long glass modern bar faces the stage to the right. Scattered, tiny tables surround a large square dance floor in the center of the room and heaters run around the perimeter.
Waitresses sporting black short shorts matching vests are carrying trays of Jell-O shots, beer, and fancy girly drinks. In the corner is an unbelievable birthday cake with the band’s logo next to an impressive buffet with all sorts of hors d’oeuvres. Devil’s Lair music is being piped into the sound system. Listening to the song, I recognize my own voice. The tracks must be from rehearsals. It’s so surreal.
Lizzy thought of everything.
“Is that you?” Evan asks incredulously.
“Yeah. Can you believe it?”
“You sound awesome.”
“This deserves a toast.” Lori signals one of the Jell-O shot girls over. She grabs two off her tray and Evan grabs two more.
She thrusts one of the shots toward me “Down the hatch.”
Shaking my head, I tip back Lori’s shot. No sooner do I pull the glass away from my lips does Evan thrust his shot toward me as well. I roll my eyes and drink his too. I quickly recall my goal of getting hammered tonight and I take Evan’s other shot out of his hand and pound it back while he gawks at me.
“What? They are very yummy.” Strong too.
Lori finishes her shot and immediately takes off when she spots Trey, leaving Evan and me in shock.
“She just ditched us.”
Evan laughs. “Yep.”
There are quite a few people here. Beside the band, Jen is here with an attractive man at her side. Scary Sally is chatting with other girls who look like they could be triplets, and there are rocker dudes interspersed with runway models.
Scott spots us hovering at the entrance. Waving, he drags Patti over to where we are standing. “Hey guys.” Patti pulls me into a hug immediately. She’s a very touchy, feely person, but for some reason I don’t mind it coming from her.
“Scott, how is he getting here?”
“Hunter is bringing him over. We come here a lot. Jack thinks we are all meeting to have a few drinks before we head off to a different bar. He hasn’t a clue.” Just as he says that a gorgeous girl with long, golden brown hair spots us from across the room and heads on over. She is stunning, wearing a cream colored dress and red heels.
“Scott, is this your lovely new back-up singer?” She asks, smiling warmly at me.
Scott turns to look at the beauty and nods. “Lizzy, this is Leila and her friend Evan.
Guys this is Lizzy, Jack’s sister.”
Wow, she is an absolute knockout. I can see the resemblance, they have the same smile.
“Hi guys. It’s so nice to meet you.” She shakes my hand first and then goes for Evan’s.
I’ve seen Evan woo many girls during our friendship, but I never have seen him stunned into silence before. My friend is practically drooling. I recognize the look in Evan’s eyes. It’s the same one I have when looking at Jack.
“Lizzy, this place is gorgeous. You’ve done such a nice job.”
“Thank you. I hope he likes it or I’ll kill him.” She says throwing us the most dazzling smile. Jeez, the knockout genes in this family are just unfair. Evan’s eyes slightly un-focus as he watches Lizzy. I’m sure he is experiencing the male version of crotch clenching right now. Unfortunately it’s harder for a guy to hide his crotch excitement. I hope things don’t get embarrassing for him.
Evan turns toward me but still has his eyes glued to Lizzy. “What do you want to drink?”
“White wine, please.”
He offers his arm to Lizzy and says, “Can you walk me to the bar?”
Real smooth, Evan.
Lizzy smiles shyly and accepts Evan’s arm. Watching them walk away arm in arm, I’m left standing with Scott and Patti. Friend number two has now ditched me as well.
Trying to make small talk, Scott fills me in on some of the things to expect on tour when Dylan interrupts. Casually dressed in jeans and a knit long sleeve black shirt, he looks very handsome.
“Hey, guys. Hi, Leila. How are you feeling?”
“I’m all better. How are you?”
“Glad to hear that. I’m good. I hear you guys got a lot done. Based on what I’m listening to I’d have to agree.”
“Thanks. We did accomplish a lot. We’ll be ready to start recording soon.”
“That’s impressive. Believe it or not, Jack does have amazing work ethics.” The tone of his voice contradicts the compliment he just gave Jack. That doesn’t sit well with me.
“Jack is very professional when it comes to his music.” I respond very defensively.
Dylan nods and smiles. “He is, and he’s extremely talented. I’m going to grab a drink, can I get you one?”
Maybe I imagined the sour tone in his voice.
I feel bad I jumped down his throat because he really is a nice guy.
“My friend is getting me one, but I’ll come with you.” I don’t want to be left standing alone again. Scott and Patti moved on to another group of people and both my friends have forgotten that I’m here. He puts his hand on my lower back as he guides me to the bar. The contact surprises me. Subconsciously I look around to see if anyone is watching. Across the room Jennifer and a handsome man are both talking to a beautiful older woman, and of course she is watching me like a hawk…great.
Evan brings me my wine with Lizzy at his side. “Thanks, Ev. This is Dylan, our tour manager. Dylan this is my best friend and former band mate Evan.”
“Nice to meet you” he says as he takes Dylan’s hand.
“Same here. Hi, Liz.”
“Hi, Dylan.”
“Evan, I’ sorry we stole Leila from you, but we’ll take good care of her.” Dylan says smiling at me.
“I’m going to hold you to that.”
“I promise. I’ll keep those guys in line also.”
“Thanks. I appreciate it. I worry about the four rock stars she’ll be living with.”
“That’s understandable, but they are really good guys. I can vouch for that. Right, Liz?”
“Yes, they are. There’s no need to worry about how they will treat Leila.”
Looking from Evan to Dylan to Lizzy, their conversation makes me feel invisible. “Um…I’m standing right here. I can hear you.”
Dylan laughs, “Excuse me I’m going to grab a drink.” He turns and leaves me with Evan and Lizzy.
“I see a food crisis needing attention. I’ll be right back.” Lizzy excuses herself.
“I’ll help.” Evan chooses to follow her with a grin. I sense a pattern on how the rest of this evening is going to pan out since I’m left standing alone once again.
I join Dylan at the bar and wait while he orders his drink. Jennifer follows right behind me with a handsome man in tow.
“Hey you two, did you come together?” she asks, her voice dripping sweetness.
“No we didn’t Jennifer. No need to call the paparazzi in.” It’s nice to see Dylan has no problem giving Jennifer a dose of her own medicine.
“Oh calm down Dylan. I’m just teasing.” Striking out with Dylan, she turns her focus to me. “You look very pretty tonight Leila. Glad you’re all better. This is Malcolm Reynolds, my boyfriend. Mal, this is our new back-up singer Leila Marino.”
I accept Malcolm’s hand and can’t help but feel he’s dissecting me from head to toe. “Hello, Leila. Jen has told me so much about you.”
Yeah, I’m sure she did.
/> Gripping my hand tightly, he instantly gives me the creeps. He is extremely handsome with his black curly hair and vivid blue eyes. His wide smile doesn’t reach his eyes and in their depths I feel as if he is hiding something. Jennifer leans over and whispers something into his ear. They excuse themselves to go talk to a rocker dude standing near the stage.
Dylan smiles and says, “Don’t they make a lovely couple?”
His comment surprises me, and I laugh out loud practically spitting out my wine. Dylan laughs as well and shakes his head. “Malcolm is also an agent. He represents Jared Press and Shelby Sanders.”
“You’re kidding. They are both two of the hottest pop singers around. He must be a really good agent.”
Dylan smirks, “He’s a snake…but he can be the snake charmer just as easily. He’d swim the Everglades for his clients and come out wearing a croc suit and alligator shoes. In all fairness though, he is good at what he does. His clients would follow him anywhere.”
“Why do agents have such a bad rep?”
“Because it’s true?” Smiling at my giggle he adds, “Seriously, Jen is a great agent. Those guys owe her for getting them where they are today. But you need really thick skin and really big balls to succeed in that business. Every agent I’ve ever met fits the bill.”
Dylan’s analogy and explanation paints a pretty clear picture. I hope Lori can fit the bill. I nod toward the group Mr. and Ms. Agent walked over to, and ask, “Who are they?”
Dylan follows my gaze. “MACE. Do you know them?”
I practically spill my wine. It’s dark in the bar, so I really didn’t get a good look at their faces. But now that he mentioned that, yes I know them!
“Oh my god, MACE is here?” I squeal like a groupie.
He laughs at my enthusiasm. “Yes, they all became good friends after their tour last year. Do you want to meet…”
“YES!” I cut him off mid-sentence. Dylan laughs again. “Come.”
I pull back. “Wait, can I bring my friends?”
“Sure, go get them.”
I quickly make my way to Evan, who is deep in conversation with Lizzy. “I’m sorry I need to interrupt. Do you want to meet MACE?” I ask sounding out of breath.
What to Read After FSOG: The Gemstone Collection (WTRAFSOG Book 7) Page 102
