by J. S. Lynn
SING,
KISS,
PUNCH. 4
J.S. Lynn
Copyright 2015 by J.S. Lynn - All rights reserved.
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Chapter 1
“I don’t know if I can do this.”
“You can, just don’t think about it.”
“What if I screw this all up?”
“You won’t. Just go out there and do your thing.”
Ana wasn’t so sure. The lights were brighter than she could have imagined and there were so many people. This was supposed to be her big break, the moment she had been waited for, what they had all been waiting for, but it was more than she could have anticipated. Her palms were sweaty and all she could focus on was not tripping on stage or opening her mouth and nothing coming out.
The band was Fatel LaFemmes, an all-girl band opening for the band Junked. They were not quite in the same genre, but their manager had gotten them the opening gig for the next six shows they were making up from a few cancelled shows. So, it was there chance, but what if she messed it all up? She smiled back at Angel, hoping that she wouldn’t look like she was going to vomit. She waited for their crew, Kara and Melody behind her.
She heard their name and was pushed gently from behind. Ana tried to smile and started to walk out on stage. She took her place behind the microphone and she closed her eyes to the blinding light. The only benefit to the scorching lights above was that she couldn’t really see the crowd. It helped her to forget that she was in front of tens of thousands of people and when their song started to play, everything buzzed to the background.
Ana opened her mouth and the words came out. She had sung the songs so many times that they were a part of her as much as breathing. One song led to another and before there was really anytime to be afraid, it was over and the lights darkened as they left the stage. Ana was the first one on and the last one off. The crowd’s cheers were like the best drug she could imagine and her smile was constant as they went back stage. It was what they were there to do and by the sound of things, that had nailed it.
Her smile died when she caught sight of the main attraction. It was strange but the members seemed to keep revolving in and out and she noticed a new guy with sticks in his hand. She wondered what happened to the old drummer and instead of going back with the girls to celebrate, she watched the band perform.
It wasn’t just that it was the first major show they had opened for, but Ana had always loved Junked. She loved the sound and the lyrics, as well as a few of the members. She had always been fond of Jerry and it made her wonder who the new guy was. She couldn’t help watching his hands, steadily moving, spinning, and flipping the wooden sticks. A lot was said about a man with what he could do with his hands.
The new guy was a typical punk rocker, longer hair, mainly black, and maybe a touch of black eyeliner. His face was down most of the time, watching his hands work and head nodding to the music. She willed his face upwards, just wanting to see what he looked like. His eyes finally rose and she noticed the piercing green eyes from across the stage. There was a tattoo that came up from underneath his shirt and stopped at his neckline. Ana turned away from the intensity of his gaze and walked away, slightly blushing. It seemed there was another member to add to the many she thought was hot in the band. A man that could make music was always the one for her.
“Where the hell have you been, Ana?”
“Just checking out Junked. Did you see that new drummer? He is gorgeous.”
Melody shook her head. “On the prowl already? You just broke up with Kevin.”
“Well, at least I waited. Seriously I call dibs, he’s adorable and I want him for my wall.”
Kara sniggered. “One day someone will put your ass on your own wall.”
The wall was a virtual wall that Ana had started. She would agree it was semi-tasteless, but it was where she could put her “trophies”. She had been married for five years and it ended badly, so her single friends pushed her back out into the world. After years of bad sex, she had a larger appetite than most, so she started taking pictures of the guys as they slept afterwards. Ana wasn’t even sure why she started doing it, the original plan now gone, however almost three years later, she has gained quite a collection. Of all of the men though, no one had put her to sleep first.
“That will be the day. So where are we going out? There has to be a bar around here somewhere.”
“Yeah, I saw a dance club down the road.”
“Angel, I swear I sometimes don’t even know why you are in the band.”
Ana nodded. The last thing she wanted to do was go to some pop club and get half-molested by man-boys.
“What? Where else is there to go meet some guys?”
“Anywhere but there sweetie. Those are not men anyways. I would rather find a biker bar to check out the locals.” Kara piped in.
“Isn’t there anything between motorcycle gangs and man-scaping? I should have stayed with Kevin a few more weeks I suppose.”
“Whatever, if you need some just go get it. I saw his wall-entry.” Melody laughed and changed out of the all-black ensemble they had picked out for the short tour. “Where ever we go, as long as it has drinks and food, I don’t care.”
Angel checked some places on her phone and they agreed on a Mongolian bar that served both. Ana was still
in her outfit and she started to pull her shirt off when the music in the front stopped. She hurried up, but then couldn’t find her duffel bag that had her clothes in it. She was forced to look around the large dressing room that they shared with only a black bra and leather hot pants on. Ana ran out the back and to the band’s old van. Of course she had left it in there and she was going back in when she saw a few members of Junked. She was slightly embarrassed, but no one raised more than eyebrow about it.
Her heart stopped as the new drummer met her gaze for just a moment. He looked back down and walked past her. Looking down, she almost didn’t believe his reaction. She was looking hot, but he didn’t seem to notice, or couldn’t be bothered to.
Ana was not used to being snubbed and it set her off a little. The man was quickly becoming a challenge and she had to find out more about him. But before she could think about it more, the girls were reminding her that they had things to do. Drinking and man hunting apparently went above all else. As the oldest of the group, there were times that she wished she was back in her early twenties, instead of teetering a year or two from thirty. She remembered the time when she was still naïve and seeing the world with widened eyes. Now, she saw it for what it was.
She walked back to the dressing room, ignoring the lustful looks from several men she passed. That was what she was used to, not the cold disregard she had gotten from that man. Why did it bother her so much anyways?
“Come on Ana, let’s go.”
Chapter 2
The little bar was cute and the food was even better. The town was not so big, but not as small as the tiny town in Oregon where Ana and most of the other girls were from. She had met them when she went back to school to finish up her Bachelor’s degree. She had gotten married and figured that he would take care of her and her dreams changed to family. The family never came out of it, nor did the loving relationship, but she had gotten a kick to the butt to get on with her life.
Singing for the Fatels was just icing on a cake. That they were on tour and a small slice of her dream was coming true; she couldn’t have been happier. The girls had started practicing a couple years before, usually rotating from place to place, and never one place long enough to piss off the neighbors. Then they were spotted at a small bar on the outskirts of Portland and as they say it, the rest was history. Now, they were opening for headliners like Junked and it all seemed too perfect.
The girls were not done with their night on the town and though there was some protest, mainly from Ana, they ended up in the little dance club that Angel had talked about before. It was as bad as Ana had thought it would be, but she didn’t want to always be the first one to leave.
One guy in particular had apparently set his sights on the raven-haired beauty and seemed to lack the self-awareness to realize that she wasn’t interested. None of the men there were her type and most were just barely out of college. She searched out the rest of them and saw that Angel had found her some man candy for the night. Kara and Melody were talking to a few people and Ana decided to duck out.
Lighting a cigarette, she leaned against the brick wall and sighed to herself. It really was a different kind of life than she had expected. The blaring pop song in the background made her want to walk and she found herself being steered back towards the hotel that everyone was staying at.
It was loud in their wing of the place. The whole floor was full of drunken people in many different levels of undress. Ana wondered if the hotel had warned others from the area they rented out. Ana on the other hand, was getting used to the groupies that flocked almost constantly. Anywhere the band was, there were always a few slutty girls that would follow.
Ana walked around an especially arduous couple, but she didn’t recognize either of them. Where were all the male groupies at? She wondered silently to herself as a couple chicks walked past her, stumbling. Finally making it to her room, she moved in and locked the door behind her.
Her eyes went to the small balcony and she grabbed her case before she did. She had a few drinks, but what she really needed was a smoke. Leaning back in the outside chairs, she lit her joint and blew out as she looked over. Someone had come outside to escape the noise too. Ana’s attention was peaked as she watched the new drummer look out at the bright moon. His nose moved and then he looked her way. He waved and she waved back.
He made a gesture to come over and she nodded, waving him over. Her heart pounded a little as she went to unlock the door, leaving it slightly open before she went back out the sliding glass door. Taking another hit, she gestured towards the chair. “Thanks, I have been needing one all day.”
“There are several being passed around.”
“Yeah, but I don’t know what else is in it. Seems like they are sticking all kinds of crap in it.”
Ana nodded, she too didn’t partake in the splifs and corndogs that were passed out at the parties. Too much angel dust one time had taught her the lesson to bring her own. She took it from him and leaned back, hitting it several times before she handed it back. “I’m Ana, by the way.”
The silence out there was peaceful, but with the blonde-haired man coming so close to her as he leaned in to pass, she felt like she had to say something. “I know. I’m Carl.”
“You don’t talk much do you?”
He shook his head. His emerald eyes making her heart beat a little faster. No words were needed with eyes like that. The type that looked to her soul and she wondered if he liked what he saw. “You sounded good out there.”
She blushed for some reason and looked down. “You guys always sound good, though I hate to see Jerry gone.”
“You know Jerry?”
“Not personally, just a fan for many years. A couple of friends and I drove down to California to see them several times.”
“So you were one of those groupies, huh?”
She crinkled her nose with the idea. “Nah. Married at the time, so none of that. Just loved the music was all. I see you don’t have your own groupies, you poor thing.”
“A few, but not really my style.”
Ana laughed, pushing her black hair out of her face. “That is every man’s style.”
“I see.”
“I’m just jealous there aren’t man groupies is all. I am sure I will find a few in the bigger cities.”
It was his turn to chuckle and the sound surprised her. “If you knew men, you would know we are all groupies.”
She took the half-burned joint and wished it would burn slower. “I can’t say that I don’t like the sound of that.”
“Oh, come on. I have been warned about you. Your wall of shame.”
Ana looked over. “Seriously?”
Carl nodded, his eyes studying her in the darkness. She had taken off her dress and was sitting in her slip, shoes off and her stockings still on. She tried to look innocent, but failed. “Well you know what they say about gossip, it is usually only partially true.”
“So, it isn’t true?”
“I didn’t say that. I said usually, though it was never called the wall of shame. I can’t believe you heard about that. How long have you been with them?”
“A week or two, but I’m Jerry’s cousin, so I have known them a while. I was just warned to stay away from the cougar from the man-hating openers.”
Ana laughed out loud, almost spilling her rum and Coke with her shaking body.
“Wow, I hear you. I’m twenty eight, not sure if I can be considered a cougar yet, but soon.”
“You don’t look that old.”
“Thanks and I don’t really like young guys either. I can’t help it who hits on me. Man-hating I can kind of see, some of the songs I wrote right after a divorce, so yeah. But what else is music for, if not to let it out?”
“Uh huh. I need to know about this wall.”
“It’s bad and I probably shouldn’t say anything.”
He sat up in the chair, handing her the burning roach. “Come on, let’s hear it.”
“Ok
ay, so I was getting divorced and my ex said that I was bad in bed and that was why he cheated. I don’t know if his lawyer was an idiot, but that was actually his argument in court.” She took a deep breath remembering the embarrassment at the trial. He did it to embarrass her and she couldn’t believe she was spilling her guts to this random guy with haunting green eyes.
“And?”
She sighed, continuing. “So he embarrassed the crap out of me and pretty much got everything. So, I started the wall. It was meant to be a fuck-you to him. You know, take pictures of the guys passed out with a smile on their face and I even sent him a copy of it six months after we were divorced.”
“And now?”
“Now, it’s just like a reminder. Like when you keep a shirt from an ex.”
“I see.”
“What? It’s bad, huh?”
“No, I just thought they were fucking with me.”
“Well, you have been warned and here you are, so what does that say about you?”
Chapter 3
Ana heard pounding on her door and she sighed. “Please tell me you locked it?”
He shook his head, saying that he hadn’t. “Well, it is too late now.”
The door burst open as if on cue and Kara and Melody ran in calling her name. “Out here, what’s up?”
“Oh my God, you have to help us with Angel. She is loaded and this guy is trying to take her in the back.”
“I don’t know what she took, but she isn’t responding.”
“Did you call the cops?” Ana was up and forgot that she wasn’t really dressed. It was always something with the girls and she hoped that Angel wasn’t off on drugs again. The other option was something had been slipped in her drink. She also forgot about the green-eyed man that she wanted on her wall. She had to take care of other things first.
When she got down to the third bar they had gone to, Ana must have figured they were going for bikers. The outside looked as rough as the inhabitants loitering in front of it. “Tell me not here.”
