“Hi, ladies,” Silas greeted them as he jostled through. He turned around to us. “This is Daniel’s girlfriend, Stacy, and Linda, our PR consultant.” Then he introduced us as “Abby, Luke’s cousin, and Kate.”
“Hi,” we all said in unison.
“They were great, weren’t they?” I craned my neck to see over the crowd of about fifteen people packed into the small room. I could swear it wasn't much bigger than my bedroom. “Where are the guys?”
“They’re just packing up their equipment,” Stacy answered. “I haven’t been able to make it to many of their gigs, but this one was brilliant.”
“We only saw them for the first time last week,” Kate admitted, “at Springers, so we’re pretty new to this too.”
We stood against the wall in polite silence until a cool breeze enveloped us as the outside door opened.
“Kate!” Nathan called out, rushing over. “How are you?” To my amusement, he kissed Kate on the lips. “Hi Linda... Abby... Stacy...” He nodded to us in turn. “Come in, sit down-– if you can find somewhere.”
We walked into the dressing room, which was only slightly bigger than the last one. As luck would have it, the only table suddenly became free as the five men occupying it got up to leave.
“Great show tonight,” one of them said to Nathan, giving him the customary arm slap.
“Thanks,” Nathan happily replied. “Just industry blokes,” he explained to those of us not in the know, although I was left still none the wiser. Then he sat down, pointing us towards the remaining empty seats, and dragged Kate onto his lap. I was surprised to see them acting so... together.
“Hi, all." Luke appeared and shuffled in next to me on the long bench. “Dan’s just in the shower," he informed Stacey who nodded and looked back down at the table, out of boredom or shyness, I wasn’t sure.
Where's Scott? I wondered. Through the crowd of staff and a couple of stage crew, I saw him backed against the wall by a woman with long, russet coloured hair who wore a short black dress. I jealously regarded her tall stature, slim hips, and tiny waist, feeling instantly more insecure about my short height, which made my proportions appear even more generous. Just my luck if she was attractive, too. She had her back to me, but she was whispering something in his ear and had her hand on his bicep, the very one I’d squeezed in ecstasy a few days earlier. He smiled at whatever she said to him, and for a split second, I thought ‘what if he doesn’t come home with me tonight?’, feeling a pang somewhere in the general area of my chest and stomach. I pushed the thought away, reminding myself that we had only had a one-night-stand-okay, make that a two-night-stand, and he was free to do whatever he wanted, and so was I. I spitefully checked out the limited selection of men in the room, deciding I would be better off having a look once we got back out into the nightclub.
“I think Scott needs rescuing,” Luke noticed, standing up. “Hey Scotty.”
Scott and the woman stopped talking and looked over at us before he excused himself and strode over to our table. The woman gave us a glare, elongating her feline eyes, which only hardened her otherwise very pretty face and stalked out of the room.
Luke sighed with relief next to me. “Who the fuck let her in?” he mumbled before getting up to take his turn in the shower. Scott took his place as Daniel appeared, looking spiffy in a clean change of clothes. He gave Stacy a kiss, and as there are no more seats, she stood up so she could sit on his lap.
“How are you?” Scott asked me. His hair was still lank but no longer sticking to his temples.
“Fine thanks. You guys sounded fantastic tonight,” I gushed with only a little more control than the last time.
“Thank you. It felt really good up there tonight. Everyone seemed to be getting into it. How was it from where you were?”
“The atmosphere was awesome,” I confirmed, watching as the excitement practically bubbled out of him even as he tried to stay composed. His mouth was cocked in a half-smile, and the ball on his piercing was wobbling.
“Excellent,” he nodded enthusiastically. “That’s what I like to hear.”
The conversation around the table remained focused on the night’s performance. I found I really liked Stacy, who was rather quiet but sweet, and Linda, who was very much ‘one of the boys.’ She would definitely be the one to approach should I ever have any questions on what they—specifically Scott—were like. Not that I would, of course.
Luke returned, fresh from his shower, and Nathan took his turn. The room started to empty as people left to socialise in the club. Occasionally, a member of their staff or crew would come over to chat. I met a thousand people that night—all names and faces eluding me a few seconds after being introduced.
Nathan returned, and Scott made a move to get up.
“Would you like a hand?” I asked, my voice low and tongue firmly wedged in my cheek.
“Give me five minutes," he whispered in my ear. "Ask where the toilets are or something.” My initial shock at his response was stifled by the shiver of excitement racing down my spine as I watched him pick up his bag and leave the room.
After a few minutes, I innocently asked everyone around me to no one in particular, “Excuse me; could you please tell me where the toilets are?”
Luke pointed me in the right direction, not bothering to hide the smirk growing on his face, which I chose to ignore.
I could hear the water running from the hall so it wasn’t as if anyone was likely to enter the unlocked room. I went inside, bolting the door behind me, feeling apprehensive yet excited at the same time. This was another new one for me.
“That better be you, Abby,” Scott joked.
I sat down next to his bag on the tiny seat in the change room and admired his muscular frame through the semi-transparent curtain.
“Do you work out?” I asked, not quite certain what else to say or do; I wasn’t too sure how this was going to work.
“Occasionally. We’ve got some weights at home, but I think I get enough exercise just lugging all our equipment around.” He poked his head out. “I don’t suppose you want to come in?”
I scrunched up my nose and shook my head, thinking about my non-waterproof make-up and clear lack of a towel.
“Nah, you’re right; we didn’t really plan this well, did we?” He turned off the taps, reached for his towel, and pulled the curtain aside, revealing an obvious bulge as he wrapped the towel around his waist. “You wouldn’t believe what I was thinking about us doing in there,” he said, his lips turned up on one side.
"I think I've got the idea," I winked, my astonishment at myself mirrored by the look on his face, coupled with pleasure as I knelt down in front of him and pulled the towel away.
A few minutes later, I joined everyone back in the dressing room, trying not to look guilty or, worse, smug at what we had just done. I had only given Scott a preview, but I was confident he would want to see the full show later tonight. When he returned, everyone got up, and we made our way into the club. It had become even more crowded as the night had progressed, which made it difficult to move around.
Scott took me by the hand, leading me through the mob and over to the bar. “What can I get you? Riesling?” He let his hands rest on my shoulders, his fingers playing with my hair and flicking it gently on the skin of my neck as he eased me in front of him.
"Yes, please," I glanced around and caught sight of Scott’s backstage companion at the other end of the bar, her gaze wandering around the room in apparent disinterest toward the man whispering in her ear. When her pretty eyes honed in on Scott, they narrowed as they fixed on me. It was a look I might have to get used to.
“Abby, come and dance.” Linda grabbed my hand out of Scott’s grasp. “Sorry, Scott. I’m sure Abby’s got better things to do than dodge your expanding heads tonight.” She nodded pointedly at a group of giggling girls that had gathered around the band. We left the men at the bar to converse further amongst themselves, lap up the compliments on their performanc
e, and have photos taken with their fans while Kate, Stacy, Linda, and I took to the dance floor.
I had seen myself over the last few years as being a bit too old for the nightclub scene, but looking around and seeing the diverse range of people, I realised I still fit in easily. There were the young, only just of age, girls giggling in their impenetrable groups on the dance floor while the boys leaned back against the bar, trying to look as if they’d been going there for years. The other end of the spectrum were the men and women from nightclubs of years gone by, still here out of habit, not wanting to let go of their youth. Then there were those who started coming here when they were eighteen and would phase it out long before it became a tiresome pattern. I saw myself as part of this group; the ones who could still be here and not feel uncomfortable, even though it felt like years since I had set foot in a place like this. Josh wasn’t really one for going out, and I had usually stayed in with him. After over an hour of non-stop dancing, we all agreed it was time to head back to the bar for a breather.
As we pushed our way back to where the boys were standing at the bar, my leg caught against something, making me trip forward and into Stacy. “What the fuck?” she squealed.
“Sorry, Stacy.” I looked behind us and saw the familiar long red hair moving swiftly away. Its owner glanced at me before disappearing into the crowd.
The four band members were having happy snaps taken with a group of tipsy girls, barely out of high school, when we reached the bar. Stacy bought us all a drink, and we stood back to survey the room. “Are you okay? What just happened?” she asked me.
“I’m not sure,” I answered. “I think it was that girl that Scott was talking to in the dressing room. The one he had to be rescued from.”
“Oh, that’s Tanya. She works for one of the radio stations. Right Linda?” She received a nod from the other woman. ”I think she’s got a bit of a thing for Scott.” Kate and I exchanged looks. Stacy noticed and quickly brought her hand to her mouth. “Oh my God. I’m sorry. I didn’t realise. I should have put two and two together.”
“No, it’s fine.” I squeezed her arm. “It’s nothing serious.” Before I could explain further, Daniel showed up and whisked Stacy away. She waved back as they walked, hand in hand, out of the club.
“I wouldn’t worry too much about Tanya, Abby.” Linda assured me. “I can tell Scott likes you. He looks at you a certain way.” He does? I couldn’t readily admit that we had only had sex a couple of times, and if he happened to look at me a certain way, it was completely irrelevant.
I waved her statement away, smiling, and then turned to Kate. “So what’s the deal with Nathan?”
“Yeah, what’s going on there, hey?” Linda teased with me. I was glad to have successfully changed the subject.
Kate’s face grew crimson. “We’ve just been... spending some time together, that’s all.”
“Really?” I was astonished. “So that’s why I haven’t seen you all week?”
“Yeah, but he still forgot to tell me we were on the door list.” I couldn’t believe she was still pissed off about that.
“Is there anything Kate should know?” I asked Linda.
She motioned to us to move a little farther out of earshot of Luke, Scott, and Nathan, somewhat needlessly with the loud music. “Nathan is lovely,” she began. “I’ve only been working with them for six months, but I don’t think he’s had a girlfriend in that time, so sorry, no gossip there. But he’s a lot of fun.” She then looked at me. “Scott pretty much keeps things to himself, but he’s always been really nice. He had a girlfriend a few months ago, but he seems to have perked up a lot since they broke up. He’s really into the music. It’s his life, and let's face it, he’s very good at it.”
I looked over to where Scott stood immersed in conversation with Silas and caught his eye. I smiled quickly then turned back to Linda, not wanting my face to give away that we had been talking about him.
“What about Luke?” I asked, glancing at my cousin as he made small talk with two attractive blondes—both wearing shimmery dresses, one black, one white, with V's cut down to their navels. He appeared to have them wrapped around his little finger. I explained to Linda that I hadn’t really known him since childhood.
“Music-wise he’s excellent; chick-wise, Luke’s a shocker,” she declared, laughing. “He’s such a flirt, and I swear he’s with a different girl every weekend.” We all snickered, no surprise especially after his actions following the Springers gig. “Another dance?” Linda put down her glass and headed over to the crowd of sweaty, gyrating bodies again.
“I’m just going to the toilet,” I told Kate as she went to follow Linda. “I’ll find you.” I finished my drink and headed towards the ladies room. As I was reapplying my lip gloss before going back out to dance, Tanya emerged from the far cubicle.
She smiled sweetly at me as she washed her hands and spoke before I could escape. “Sorry I accidentally tripped you up on the dance floor. It’s these bloody heels. I only got them yesterday.”
“That’s okay.” Relieved, I smile back and admired the high stilettos. “They’re nice.” Perhaps she was quite pleasant after all.
She lowered her voice. “Listen, I saw you and Scott together. I just think I should let you know if you’re one of the ones sleeping with him, he usually comes home with me. I guess you can say he and I have an arrangement.”
“I’m sorry?” I put the gloss in my bag and looked up at her through the mirror.
“Come with me; this will only take a second.” We left the toilets, and she gestured for me to stand next to her against the wall where we could see most of the room. “See that group of girls over there next to the DJ booth?” She shouted into my ear above the music. “I see him talking to them a lot. See the one with the curly hair? He left with her a few weeks ago.” She pointed to a woman minding a table and laughing at her friends on the dance floor. “He’s taken her home a few times, too.” My stomach did a flip. “See the two girls near the bar who are checking out the barmen? He’s taken each of them home on separate occasions.”
“Why are you telling me this?” The annoyance in my voice sounded loud and clear.
She was about to point out yet another of Scott’s conquests when she looked at me pityingly. “You seem nice. I just thought I should let you know that you’re not the only one he’s with. You’re obviously flavour of the night tonight, but believe me, if you weren’t here, well, as I said, he’s usually with me. If I’m not here...“ She gestured around the room. “Well, it’s pretty obvious he’s got a smorgasbord.”
“Tanya, is it?” I tried to make my voice sound pleasant, but failed completely. Okay, I wasn’t trying at all. “Look, it isn’t really any of your business, but thanks for letting me know. Have a good night.” I walked away, deflated, to where Kate and Linda were dancing.
“What a crazy bitch,” Kate snarled when I told her what had just happened.
“I know, it’s pathetic,” I replied. “Let’s just forget it and have a good night.” Barely into the next song, I felt a nudge on the back of my leg. Oh, bloody hell, what now? I turned around to see Scott standing there, smiling.
“Are you ready to go?”
***
"Are you sleeping with anyone else?" My tone was light and chit chatty. I had just changed into my pajamas and was lying on my bed cuddled up to Scott, who had stripped down to his underwear.
"Do you want me to?" he joked.
"It's up to you."
He laughed. "In case you haven't noticed, I’ve hardly got time to see you, let alone anyone else." He raised his pierced brow. "Are you?"
It was my turn to snicker. "I haven't done this kind of thing before. I can only handle one at a time." I said my next words carefully and employed the chit chatty tone again. "I wasn't sure if you would end up here tonight, that's all.” I was doing my best to sound nonchalant but wasn’t convinced I was pulling it off.
"What? Why? Sorry if I wasn’t talking to
you much tonight. Work stuff. But you looked like you were having a good time."
"I thought you might have gotten a better offer."
"Huh? But I wasn't even talking to..." He stopped for a moment. "Oh, Tanya? Yeah, right. I don't think so."
“She’s very pretty,” I said, as though justifying why he should be with her. “And she’s got a gorgeous figure.”
“She’s alright.” He shrugged.
"I don’t think she likes me much. She tried to trip me over on the dance floor." I laughed to avoid sounding whiney, but it was the truth.
"Really? Sorry about that.” He paused, clearly thinking about what he was going to say next. “She and I slept together a couple of times, months ago. It was nothing. Drunk... you know. “
"It's okay. You don’t have to explain anything."
"No, she should have left you alone."
I ran my hand lightly down his chest. "I can understand her torment," I said dramatically, attempting light-heartedness although this conversation was a little disconcerting.
He entwined his fingers in mine. "Anyway, how can I even think about anyone else after what you did in the shower tonight? No one’s ever surprised me like that before. That was awesome!"
“Yeah? Do you want to know how it ends?” I heard him chuckle as I slipped down under the covers.
The sun was streaming through the window when I awoke a few hours later. Scott wasn’t lying next to me. There was twelve dollars on the pillow along with a note he'd written on my shopping list paper:
Sorry, I thought I’d better go and pick up the van. A mate took it home last night, but he’s going away for the weekend, and it’s got all our equipment in it.
I forgot to tell you the other day we were putting your names on the door last night so here’s your money back. It is NOT for services rendered (ha-ha).
Flirting With Magick Page 4
