“Yeah, right.” Alik flexed his aching arms, the adrenaline still pumping through his oiled body.
Alik stared at her, remembering what she felt like. What it was like to touch her. And what that touch could do. She stared back at him, blissfully unaware of the thoughts going on in his head. Thoughts that were driving him to distraction. And before he could say something he regretted, he stormed off.
Chapter Eight
Edie and Olivia were sitting outside Sarastro, taking advantage of the late afternoon sunshine and unusually balmy temperature. A bottle of Sancerre sat in the cooler in the centre of the table, although it wouldn't be long before they would need a refill. Edie was explaining that Pretty Rich Things were planning to do an episode featuring just her and the opening of The Magpie. The Magpie was Edie's brainchild, a tiny space nestled just moments from the heart of North Ridge's shopping district, rubbing shoulders with the larger department stores and designer brands, as well as the Chi Chi one-off stores. It was a shabby chic, vintage-style store with lots of sleek, expensive items that would appeal to a certain type of shopper, as well as being aspirational. The additional exposure from the show, she hoped, would ensure that it hit its target market. And being able to use the Spencer-Newman name was also a bonus. The family had made its money through buying and selling wine at the right time, and their cellar was legendary.
“I thought it might be good if we can get them out and about with me while I'm sourcing products in the lead up to the opening as well. What do you think?”
Olivia nodded and Edie allowed herself a small smile. It had actually been the idea of the show's story editor to tag along while Edie was basically shopping. But Olivia didn't need to know that right now. Edie was already looking forward to the extra publicity that should be generated. She took a mouthful of wine, keeping an eye out for the waiter so they could get another bottle, and picked at the bowl of olives on the table.
“When do they want to do that?” Olivia opened up her diary. “I've managed to persuade Belle Cassidy at Aspire magazine to do a feature on The Magpie's opening and she wants to meet you first to work out some initial copy with her. Your schedule is pretty hectic over the next few weeks. We can move a few things because I know how important PRT is to you.” She scribbled something on her notepad, before crossing out something else.
A teenage couple walked by; the boy was wearing a Blood Stone Riot t-shirt. Edie turned the stem of her wine glass around in her fingers.
“Olivia, this might be nothing and I know she's your best friend, but has Caro said anything to you about Alik?”
“What do you mean?” Olivia frowned.
“I thought they seemed touchy feely with each other after the show at The Vegas and he was whispering in her ear. I know he’s been hanging out at the club with her as well.”
“And based on that, you think that he's sleeping with her? Edie, she's hardly been back in the country five minutes, so I think it's highly unlikely that she would have managed to hook up with your boyfriend, had some secret fling and then broadcast the details to me. Nic would have said something to me if he thought anything was going on.” Olivia shook her head and changed the subject, talking about some of the online bloggers she thought they ought to work with and needed Edie's approval on.
Edie's eyes narrowed. “I mean, I know she was at The Vegas with that Jonny Tyler, but he's hardly boyfriend material, is he? I'm sure I've seen him with a different girl every time I've bumped into him.”
Olivia reached for her wineglass. “If you're that worried about it, why don't you talk to her at Billy's party this evening?”
Chapter Nine
The party at Billy Walker's proved to be something of a revelation - not least because of the impressive house that he lived in. The house was a rambling barn conversion in Stratfield, a quiet and exclusive country village on the outskirts of North Ridge. Rumour had it that his parents had bought it for him to keep him and the rest of the band away from the neighbours. A strategy that seemed to work, as the band spent a lot of their time there, rehearsing before gigs and generally hanging out. It was evident that the Walker family had money, although it appeared to be something that Billy didn't openly flaunt.
Caro had received a text invite from Alik, which she was surprised about given how the video shoot had ended. He hadn't been to the club since, and she found herself missing his presence. He had asked her to come along and meet some of the other North Ridge bands as potentials to play at The Indigo Lounge in the future.
All extremely polite and professional.
Unsure of the true motives behind the invite, Caro had asked Jonny to come along as the perfect foil. The pair of them had arrived fashionably late, moving through the rooms on the spacious ground floor; kitchen, living room, dining room, TV room, and music room, until they came to the well-equipped games room where most of the party seemed to be congregated. Jonny stopped along the way, introducing Caro to various people until their names started swimming into each other and she couldn't remember who she'd met and who she hadn't, or what they did and which band they were in.
A full-sized pool table dominated the centre of the room, and in opposite corners were flat screen TVs, one attached to a PlayStation and the other to an Xbox. Another TV streamed Kerrang, where music videos played as background noise, when someone hadn't picked up a guitar and started playing, themselves.
A quick glance around the assembled people there told her that it was very much a North Ridge music scene event. From the people Jonny had introduced her to, there were members of Dagger Drawn, Go!, Forrest Fraser, and ThrashGun, and of course Blood Stone Riot. These bands usually played on the same bills together or supported each other on out of town gigs, making it a proper scene. There was plenty of support for those that went on to make it big, and currently it was Blood Stone Riot that occupied that slot.
Alik was holding court by the bar that ran along the whole of one wall with pretty much any drink one could imagine. He broke away from his audience to greet Caro and Jonny.
“Hey guys, thanks for coming along tonight. Just the usual jam session for the North Ridge musos.” He grinned. Caro could tell he’d already had several drinks. “You want a beer?” He wore dark grey jeans, teamed with a lighter grey tight t-shirt that clung to his chest, outlining his nipple ring.
“Sure,” said Jonny. “Caro?”
“Bloody Mary, please.”
“Good choice, beer can be so gassy, can't it?” Edie Spencer-Newman's tones cut into the conversation. “Jonny, Caro, how lovely to see you.” She leaned forward and air kissed Caro on both cheeks. “Alik, why don't you get the drinks?”
Edie's socialite air felt somewhat disjointed in the current environment, clashing with the hard-working, if slightly dirty vibe of the rest of the party. Olivia had briefed Caro on what to expect when spending any length of time with Edie, so she felt prepared.
Edie took Caro's elbow and steered her to a couch on one side of the room, slightly away from the rest of the party, where the two of them sat down. “Thanks for coming this evening, I know that Alik thought it was important to clear the air between the two of you. I gather there was some kind of misunderstanding at the video shoot the other day.”
Caro didn't know how to respond. She wondered how much Alik had actually told her, and whether he had fessed up about their encounter in Mallorca. “It was nothing important. I'm sure working together like that will get us both the publicity we need.”
Edie beamed. “I know, Olivia is such a good PR rep, isn't she? And such a good friend. We've become so close since we've been working together.”
Caro frowned. She hadn't realised that the two of them had become best buddies, but what did she expect when she had been away for so long? She didn't have a monopoly on Olivia's friendship.
Edie continued to regale her with the amazing things that Olivia had done; setting up various bits of press and engaging with the right outlets to get the best publicity possible fo
r The Magpie. Caro listened politely. She knew Olivia was good at her job, and it sounded as if she was just doing it. Edie changed the subject and started talking about Alik and the band.
“There are the girls, of course,” Edie said. “Silly little groupies who think that with their interest in rock music they can steal my boyfriend because they know more about Metallica or Iron Maiden or whatever than I do. But they don't know how solid Alik and I are. And it would be silly to try and break us up, because I could quite easily ruin them if I wanted to.”
It sounded like a warning.
Alik brought over the drinks. “There you go, ladies,” he said, handing them their drinks before returning to the bar where Jonny was.
Draining her Bloody Mary, Caro politely excused herself to get another. She was going to need it.
* * *
Edie watched Caro walk over to the bar. Her friend Araminta, Minty for short, came and plonked herself on the stool Caro had just vacated. Minty was lovely, but a little bit dim sometimes and didn't always get what was going on.
“Who's that?” Minty asked, sipping on some violent orange concoction, festooned with fruit and umbrellas, that Billy had made for her.
“That's Caro Flynn,” replied Edie, her eyes fixated on Caro at the bar with Jonny. She would be keeping a close eye on her.
* * *
Alik leaned down over the pool table to pot a ball, a cigarette dangling from his lips. He saw Caro and Jonny at the bar, wrapped in a heated embrace. Billy was watching him from the other side of the pool table, a grin forming on his face.
“Mate, you want to go and get some practice in?” he asked as Alik sank the black, winning yet another game.
“May as well.” Alik dropped the cue on the table. “Seeing as I've whipped your sorry ass again.”
They moved away from the rest of the party and into Billy's study. They would often disappear off together to play guitar when they got bored during parties, trading riffs from their own songs and other tunes they used to play in their first covers band. On more than one occasion, a new song had emanated from these sessions. Alik was playing with the chords from the Mallorcan-inspired song. Billy was listening in, putting down a bass line that complemented the softer sound of the number.
Lost in the music, they didn't hear the study door open or see a tall, skinny bald man dressed in an impeccably-cut charcoal suit enter. “Evening gents, I was told you might be in here.”
“Alright, Leo,” said Billy, putting his bass back on its stand. “I've been waiting for you to get here, what have you got?”
Leo Kendrick was Billy's dealer. He was a familiar face on the North Ridge music scene and had a fierce reputation, particularly if you couldn't pay your debts.
“I'm not sure I should be selling to you at the moment, Billy, you're running up a bit of a bill,” Leo said, examining his knuckles.
Alik pretended to be immersed in what he was doing. He didn't mind the occasional indulgence, but hearing that Billy was using more regularly was a concern. The bassist had a hedonistic streak that could easily get out of hand. Alik had found himself cleaning up after Billy on more than one occasion.
“Come on, Leo, you know I'm good for it.”
Leo glanced around the room. As well as a Rickenbacker and an Epiphone bass, there were also a couple of Fender guitars and a slightly damaged Tanglewood acoustic. The dealer nodded. “Yes, I understand you are on the up at the moment, so I could probably make an exception. But remember, I always make sure my debts are settled. One way or another.”
He reached into the inside pocket of his jacket and pulled out a small package, passing it to Billy. “Will this suffice? I know what you rock stars can be like...” He gave a smile.
Billy returned the smile. “I think that might just work.”
As the dealer left the room, Billy set about chopping the cocaine into big, fat lines, offering a rolled up twenty pound note to Alik to join him.
Alik shook his head. “Keeping a clear head, mate. Not touched anything stronger than alcohol since before Mallorca.” He watched as Billy snorted the remains of the line, vaguely aware of someone else coming into the study.
Billy sniffed loudly and focused on the newcomer. “Hey, babe, you want some?” he asked, as Caro's face came into view.
“Probably not her scene,” came Edie's voice from behind Caro. “But if you're offering...”
Chapter Ten
Remembering Edie's earlier warning, Caro backed out of the study feeling the need to sober up. Mainlining vodka during the course of the evening hadn't been the best of plans. She discovered a stash of San Pellegrino in the back of the massive American-style fridge and was just extracting a bottle when she heard something smash on the tiled floor behind her.
“Shit!” a female voice said, tinged with a hint of an Aussie accent. “I shouldn't have had that last shot.”
“Are you okay?” asked Caro, turning round to see a tall auburn-haired woman bent over shards of broken glass.
She helped the woman up and took over sweeping up the glass.
“Thanks,” the woman said. “I'm such an idiot, Nate says I should come with a warning. I'm Poppy by the way, Nate's fiancée.”
Caro vaguely remembered Edie mentioning something about another woman who was part of the band's entourage, but Edie had seemed to dismiss her as not being important. “I'm Caro, I'm here with...”
Poppy cut her off. “Oh, I know who you are. Alik doesn't talk about much else these days, unless Edie's around of course.”
Caro dropped the unbroken glass onto the tiles.
“Okay, so maybe I'm not the only one who needs a caution attached to them.” Poppy bent down and shoved the remaining pieces into a tea towel before putting them in the bin. She opened the fridge again and pulled out two beers, passing one to Caro before hoisting herself onto the worktop. She patted the space next to her. “Come join me.”
The gesture reminded Caro of her friendship with Mariella; easy and uncomplicated. It transpired that the Australian girl was lonely. She and Nate were due to get married in a matter of weeks and her best friend from back home had just emailed to say she wasn't going to be able to make it.
“I mean, she didn't even call,” Poppy said. “And every time I've tried to get hold of her, it's her answering service. I know she's not dead, I checked; she's still on Facebook and everything. I've got heaps to do for the wedding and I've barely started.”
“You want some help?” The words came out of Caro's mouth before she'd even had time to think.
“You'd help? But you don't know me!” Poppy's green eyes grew wide. She jumped off the worktop and threw her arms around Caro. “That’s amazing!”
“She is a pretty amazing person.” Olivia entered the kitchen, a glass of wine in her hand. She jumped up and sat next to Caro.
Caro kissed her cheek. “Takes one to know one, hon,” she said. “Have you met Poppy before? She’s Nate’s fiancée.”
Olivia shook her head. “Not yet, but I can’t say that Nate hasn’t mentioned you a hundred times. When’s the wedding?”
The three women started talking about Poppy’s nuptials, The Indigo Lounge opening and Olivia’s latest trials and tribulations with Edie before the conversation turned to men.
Poppy poured Olivia another glass of wine and found more beer in the fridge, passing one to Caro. “I know Alik was looking forward to you being here,” she said.
“Really?” asked Caro. She cast a glance around the kitchen. She’d been careful not to mention Alik while talking to Poppy, not yet knowing where her loyalties lay. For all she knew, Poppy and Edie were best friends, and Edie was to be the maid of honour at the wedding.
“Yes, really,” said Poppy.
Olivia gave Caro a meaningful look. One that said 'are you sure that you only slept with him the once in Mallorca?' “But Caro’s been seeing Jonny Tyler since she came back, haven’t you?”
Caro nodded. As she did so, she thought she spotted Jonn
y in the hallway looking more than friendly with one of the women she had recently interviewed for a job in The Indigo Lounge. Just as she was about to go and confront him, Nate appeared followed by Alik. Caro did her best to act casual.
“What have you been up to?” asked Nate.
“Oh, you know, just talking about boys and make-up,” said Caro, laughing.
“I can’t believe I haven’t met Caro before,” said Poppy. “She’s amazing. And she’s offered to help with the wedding.”
“Thank God for that!” said Nate. “I mean that, Caro. She needs a lot of help. We need to head off now though, babe.”
Poppy kissed Caro on both cheeks and gave Olivia a quick hug before she and Nate left. Caro swirled the remains of her beer around, conscious that Olivia was sitting next to her and Alik was ferreting about in the fridge.
Olivia slid off the counter. “I need to find out where Nic’s got to.” She leaned in close to Caro’s ear. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” she said. And then she was gone.
Alik shut the fridge door with a bang and turned to Caro. Their eyes met.
“I was just going to find Jonny,” she said. She placed her bottle on the side and headed towards the door.
“Wait,” Alik said. “I want to talk to you.”
Slowly, Caro faced him. He extended a hand and pulled her to him, leaning back against the kitchen counter.
“What about? What I saw earlier?”
“No, what happened between us.” He stroked her knuckles and caressed her palm.
She pulled away. “Alik, don't. It was nothing, we're both with other people.”
He laughed. “You think I don't know Jonny's reputation? I hardly think the two of you will be settling down any time soon. Do you know what he’s doing now?”
Caro realised that Jonny had probably been doing more than just chatting to the woman she thought she had seen him with a couple of minutes ago. “I don’t,” she said. “But you're still with Edie and she pretty much said she would ruin me if I went anywhere near you. I'm not about to be painted as the scarlet woman on the strength of a quick shag. We had a one-night stand, Alik. I don't even know you.”
Cocktails, Rock Tales & Betrayals Page 5
