For the second time tonight, I feel like I could cry. Maybe I’m PMS’ing or something. I don’t bother getting out of bed to put pajamas on, I just roll onto my side and hope that sleep pulls me under soon.
**
The next day, is just like any other. The only difference is that I took off a week from work. Everyone, needless to say, was shocked I took time off. They almost fell over when I said it was to go to New York.
The rest of the week flew by. I’m not sure if it’s because I’m excited to see Poppy or to get a break from Hank. Since Sunday night, things have just been tense with us. He’s acting exactly the same and it pisses me off because he just doesn’t see what I was trying to do. I’m not trying to change him, I just tried to bring a little bit of, I don’t know, fun to our relationship. I think this trip to New York couldn’t have come at a better time.
I finish packing my stuff and bring it out to the living room. My flight is at noon and I need to get to the airport soon. I told Hank I would take a cab to the airport. Honestly, I just didn’t want him to give me any reason to stay home. I’m feeling a little excited and I want to keep that feeling. I call for the cab and double check that I have everything while I wait.
Before I know it the cab is here and I am on my way. It is going to be a long day and longer night, according to Poppy. I keep thinking about that as I go through airport security, on the long flight and when we finally land in New York. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous, because now that we are exiting the plane, my legs feel like jelly.
Standing next to the baggage claim, I find my boring black bags amidst the more unique luggage of all the experienced travelers and glance around the crowded airport to find Poppy.
“Brooklyn!” I hear Poppy yell and snap my eyes up. She runs at me and all of my nerves disappear when I see her smiling face. When she reaches me, she pulls me in for the tightest hug I’ve had in years. I squeeze her back just as hard, before we pull apart. “Holy shit, you look beautiful, tired as shit, but beautiful.”
I laugh and look down at my jeans and tank top. One second after seeing her, she tells me what I’ve been yearning to hear from Hank for months. “You are the one who looks beautiful.”
“Of course I do,” she says, laughing. “Come on, let’s get something to eat and we’ll bring it back to my place. We’ve got a busy night and I can tell you need to sleep for a while.”
We pick up a pizza on the way to her place, because she told me I need to try New York pizza. According to Poppy, there is no better pizza in the world, with the gooey cheese and tons of grease. We sit in the back of the cab while Poppy talks a mile a minute. I try to listen, but the view out the window has my complete attention. The city is alive, with the amount of people rushing about. The buildings are so tall they block out the sun’s rays making it appear darker in some places than it really is. The different buildings, some old, some new, some brick, some seem to have all windows, is just stunning. I turn my attention back to Poppy and smile. “It is so beautiful here. Crazy busy, but it’s really amazing. I can’t wait to explore.”
“We have a whole week, don’t worry we will see it all,” she says as we turn into a parking garage. The cab stops and she opens the door. “This is it. Come on.”
We carry everything to the elevator and she hits it for the tenth floor. Damn, I can’t wait to see what her view looks like. It must be amazing at night when all the lights of the city are shining. The elevator stops and I follow her to the apartment. My jaw nearly drops along her marble floors. The place is ginormous, bigger than any home I’ve ever been in. Even though it is huge, it doesn’t have that vibe. Poppy leads a different life, and her home reflects that. An acoustic guitar hangs in a glass case on the wall over her purple couch. Eclectic and all Poppy, I laugh at the picture of the
Beatles walking down Abbey road hanging in the dining room.
She leads me down a small hallway adorned with various pictures of what appear to be different rock bands. One thing that is prevalent in each photo is Poppy’s smiling face in the middle of the rock stars. Wow, to lead that kind of life I could never even imagine.
When I step inside the bedroom Poppy has ended the tour on, I take a deep breath. A
huge floor to ceiling window covers the back wall and I smile when I see the bed. A sleek, black bed with a white down comforter and about a million pillows stare back at me and I have to contain myself not to run and jump on it.
“Poppy, this whole place is just stunning. I mean, I’ll admit I am jealous,” I say wrapping my arm around her.
“Don’t be jealous. I work my ass off for this and I’m hardly ever here.” She starts walking out of the guest room and turns her head to look at me. “Let’s go eat girl.”
She was right, this pizza is the best I’ve ever eaten I’ve had two pieces, even though I was full. We’ve just been talking about the city and enjoying light conversation. “I just got here and I already don’t want to leave,” I say looking around.
“Come on Brooklyn, tell me what’s going on. This isn’t you.”
“I don’t know what it is. It’s nothing and it’s everything,” I say in all honesty.
“Let’s go relax on the bed and you can talk until you pass out.”
We climb onto her bed and it is so damn comfortable, I know I’ll be asleep soon. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I think I just need a break from Hank for this week.”
“What did he do? Do I need to send my guys out to Cali to kick his ass?” she asks, completely serious.
“No.” I roll onto my side, facing away from her copper eyes. I’d rather not see the expression on her face when I confess why I’m sad. I tell her everything about last Sunday and when I finish, I feel a tear roll down my cheek.
“Sweetie, get some sleep,” that’s all she says in a serious tone and climbs off the bed. I’m shocked she doesn’t have something nasty to say or that she isn’t screaming about kicking his ass. She just listened. My eyes are so heavy I can’t keep them open. As soon as I close them, I feel my body being taken under.
**
“Brooklyn, come on sleepy head,” Poppy whispers above me.
I slowly open my eyes and I notice it’s dark out. “Holy shit, what time is it?”
“It’s almost nine o’clock,” she says, dropping clothes, shoes, and makeup onto the bed.
I sit up and look at her with wide eyes. “Nine o’clock. I ruined the whole night, I’m so sorry.”
She laughs and pulls the covers off me. “You are too much. Our night hasn’t even started yet. Now go take a shower and I’m going to help you get ready. I grabbed a bra and panties for you out of your bag and believe me girl, before you leave you’ll be getting new ones.”
In the bathroom, I sigh as I smooth my long brown hair with my fingers. I get undressed and step under the warm water. The water pounds into the achy muscles in my shoulders, relaxing me. As I’m surrounded in the heavenly scent of coconut, the shower curtain whips open. “What the hell?” I scream and try to cover myself.
Poppy starts laughing and says, “Relax girl, we both have the same parts. Make sure you shave, because I’ve picked out a great skirt for, holy shit what the fuck is that?”
I look down and utter embarrassment courses through me. “Get out, Poppy.”
“Brooklyn, you need to get rid of that forest,” she says, starting to really laugh now.
My face burns with embarrassment and all I want is for her to get the hell out. Close the damn shower curtain at least. “Shut up, I trim.” How fucking humiliating.
Laughing hysterically, she says, “Girl, you need to mow that damn thing.” She closes the curtain and I cover my face. This was a bad idea. Of course the curtain pushes open again. “Here, use this and shave that shit down and hurry because we have a lot of work to do before we leave.”
I rush out the shower and wrap my body and hair in a towel, before going back to the bedroom to look for Poppy. She’s in front of the m
irror fixing her hair and a bit of jealousy hits me. She looks so beautiful, so sexy. Her long blonde hair has a riot of curls, her makeup is heavy, yet sexy. The outfit she has on is what really pulls it all together. She has on a tight, black strapless top and her breasts are nearly falling out, but it looks hot. Black leather capri pants and bright red heels finish off her look. “Wow, you look amazing.”
She spins around and strides over with a huge smile. “Thank you. Here are your, so called bra and panties, slide them on.” I do as she asks, under the towel, of course. “I love that I just saw you naked in the shower, but you’re still hiding your body. I don’t know why because other than that bush you had hiding your vag, you are fucking sexy as hell. It’s time to show that off. Here, put this on.”
Her compliments give me a little boost of confidence as I step into a very tight black leather skirt and a gold shirt that falls off one shoulder and shows way too much of my stomach. “No way, this doesn’t cover me at all.”
“You need to see the complete package, just trust me,” she says, pulling out makeup and a blow dryer.
With me on a small stool, she painfully begins her transformation of me. She swears I’ll love it. Yet, every time she pulls the brush through my long hair I want to scream. She curls, sprays, and curls some more before stepping back to assess her work. After she deems my hair perfect she grabs the makeup and I feel as if I’m at a beauty pageant.
“Holy shit, you look gorgeous. Go look at yourself and then we need to get the hell out of here,” she says putting everything away.
I walk over to her full length mirror and stop short when I see my reflection. I know it’s me, but it doesn’t look like me at all. I look sexy, flirty and hot. My hair is similar to Poppy’s and my makeup is heavy making my green eyes pop. The skirt and shirt, she was right, complete the look she created.
“Poppy, you made me beautiful,” I say, turning back to her.
“I didn’t make you beautiful, you are beautiful. I simply accentuated that beauty.”
“I just feel like I’m pretending to be someone I’m not,” I say and sit down on the bed.
She walks over and sits next to me, wrapping her arm around me. “You want to know what I think?” I raise my eyebrows and she laughs. “I’ll tell you anyway. I think it’s time for you to experience things. You’ve been hiding in your routine and letting Hank dictate how things will be. Honey, no man should ever make you feel anything less than perfect and he doesn’t do that for you. The only tears a man should cause, are tears of joy. I think you’re a beautiful woman, with sexual needs that aren’t being met. I think there’s a party girl inside that is begging to come out. I’m here to help with all of that.”
I can feel myself getting emotional and I blink back the tears to not mess up my makeup. “Thanks Poppy. I’m not sure it’s all true, but I appreciate it either way.”
She stands up and hands me a pair of gold heels. “Oh believe me, it’s all true. Now come on, the band is waiting for us to go on stage.”
We grab a cab and with my stomach in my throat, we head to the club. According to Poppy, this club ‘Train’ is where the band got its start. She said they party here all the time and the band will sometimes surprise the patrons with a few songs. Tonight she says they are doing just that and then we have a private party upstairs. It all sounds so scary and a little exciting at the same time. This is the life Poppy lives and it is pretty cool to see it for myself.
When we pull up to Train, Poppy grabs my hand and nods to the bouncer as she rushes by. We bump into sweaty people everywhere as she leads me to a dimly-lit table in the back. “Brooklyn, we need to find the band, I need to introduce them.
I look around at the insane amount of people and shake my head. “You go. I’ll stay right here, but please come right back.” I’ll just slow her down if I tag along, it’s easier for her if she goes alone.
Rushing off with her phone to her ear, she disappears in the crowd. I suddenly feel extremely alone and vulnerable. I look around and notice how huge this place is. The floors are all destressed wood and the walls are all brick. The lighting is mixed throughout, some parts are brighter than others. There is a huge bar behind me and a stage in front of me. There are booths and free standing tables. To my right, there is a large cast iron staircase that leads upstairs. If I wasn’t such a nervous person, I’d move from this spot, but my feet are rooted in place waiting for Poppy to come back.
“Hello Train!” I hear as the music cuts off. I look up to the stage and there is Poppy. It brings a smile to my face seeing my friend up there, so full of confidence. “Most of you know who I am, so you probably know what I’m going to say. However, for those of you who don’t, I’m Poppy Lomax the manager of Renegade.” The screams are deafening and as I look around I realize that Poppy has the attention of everyone in this club. “My beautiful friend is visiting and my boys wanted to welcome her. Let’s hear it for Renegade.” As Poppy begins to move to the side, the band comes rushing on stage. Her boyfriend, Nate, grabs her and kisses her right on stage, in front of everyone. There are screams and whistling and it is surreal to watch. Seeing Nate kiss her like that, not caring who sees or what they think, makes me wish I had someone like that. Someone who would kiss me in front of the world.
I briefly close my eyes and right as I open them I hear a voice that sends chills through me. A deep and sexy demanding voice, begging you to listen. “Hello Train. Are you ready to rock?” I’m fixated on this man, the lead singer. He has short dark hair, a shirt with what looks like it may say, sex, drugs and rock and roll, but that’s not what I focus on. I stare at the way it clings to his body and showcases all the muscles lying beneath. He has on jeans that seem to be worn in places and I wonder if they are old or if that is purposely done. I’ve never seen someone that looks like him before and I’m intrigued. The band starts to softly play a few notes and I’m still watching the lead singer as he holds tightly to the microphone. “Brooklyn, welcome to New York. This one’s for you.”
My heart begins to beat frantically in my chest, hearing my name fall from those lips is one of the most exciting moments of my life. It is definitely a moment I will revisit forever. The way I feel right now, the excitement, the arousal, just from hearing someone’s voice, is something I’ll never forget.
After singing a few of our most popular songs, the guys and I get off stage. It’s always great coming back here to Train. If it wasn’t for this place, who knows if we would ever have been discovered. I will always be grateful to this place and always consider it home.
Everyone rushes upstairs to meet Poppy’s friend, but I stop off at the bar first. I get to the front and order a Kick In The Balls. It’s just the shot I need to get this night going. As it’s placed in front of me, I feel someone brush up against my side and drop down some money. “It’s on me,” she coos, giving me her fuck me eyes.
I turn my body just enough so that she is now pressed up against me. Tossing back the shot I give her a grin. “Thanks doll. Anyway I can pay you back?”
She gives me a devilish grin and looks up as if she’s thinking. “Oh, I think I can think of a way.”
I grab her hand and lead her toward the back room. It’s nothing great, just a supply room really, but it’s got a couch and hell I don’t even need that. We walk inside and I lock the door behind us. “Classy,” she says, looking around.
“Take it or leave it sweetheart,” I whisper and move closer to her.
“Considering the prize, I think I’ll stay,” she says as she starts to pull her dress up.
“Leave it on. I have somewhere I need to be.” She drops it like it’s on fire and stands completely still while I unbuckle my jeans. “Take off your panties,” I demand as I free my cock from its confines of my boxers. When I reach her I pull her against me and grab onto her hair, yanking her head back. I kiss a path from her neck to her ear and whisper, “Do you want me to fuck your mouth or your pussy?”
She lets out a soft moa
n and reaches her hands down for my cock. “How about both?”
“I told you, I have somewhere I need to be,” I growl at her.
“Fine, Christ. Whatever happened to foreplay? Since I’ll get nothing out of it, pussy it is,” she says with disgust in her voice.
I let go of her hair and step back. I lick my lips and give her a slight nod. She bites her lip before giving me an approving smile. “Foreplay is for couple’s sweetheart. And attitudes before fucking are not for me.” I tuck myself away and head for the door. Fuck this, there are plenty of women here that would let me fuck them on the bar in front of everyone if I asked. I don’t need this shit from her just because she bought me a drink.
“Wait, Fitz. I’m sorry,” she begs as I reach the door.
I turn my head and wink at her. “You should be. You have no idea what you just missed out on.” I toss a twenty down on the couch and open the door. “Thanks for the drink.”
I head upstairs to join the party and when I reach the top I see a few different groupies milling around. I think I’m going to pass tonight. I’d rather just hang out and get trashed with my friends. I don’t want Poppy’s friend assuming the worst of me before she even knows me, walking in with a groupie on my arm. It’s bad enough I almost fucked one before coming up here.
I reach the door of our party and a security guard outside nods at me. I’m actually shocked at the amount of people in here. I thought it was just going to be us, but hell this is a pleasant surprise. I glance around to see where Nate and Poppy are, but I don’t see them. I don’t see Ethen or Ralph for that matter either. I make my way through the dimly-lit VIP area with music surrounding me. I glance around searching for any signs of my friends, but am left wondering where they could be. Did they leave? I stop and see a few managers from other bands we’ve met on the road and talk to them for a bit before I continue my search.
Renegade Page 3
