Ties That Bind

by Neeny Boucher

  Ignoring Riley’s displeasure, Mason focused his attentions on Meg. “I have tried to save him you know, Meg, but he’s wired funny. He’s an unacknowledged masochist, with Mistress Darthy cracking the whip”

  Meg grunted an, ‘ugh’, turning away, but her reaction didn’t deter Mason in the slightest. He was used to such responses, especially from women, and he reveled in them. “I do have some theories on Riley’s fascination with Darth though,” Mason leered. “They range from her being an alien from outer space to having super powers in her-”

  “Shut up, Mason,” Riley snarled over the top of him. “I’m trying to listen to the band, but while I’ve got you here, did you send dick pictures to her?”

  “What?” Meg gasped. “Just when I think nothing is beneath you, you prove me wrong.”

  Mason’s smile turned malevolent and he laughed. “You could be beneath me, Meg, or on top, or anywhere else you like. If nothing else, I am adventurous.”

  Ignoring the gagging noises Meg made, Mason leered at Riley. “Yes, I did send her dick pictures… amongst other things. I was hoping she’d forward them to you, but Darth has never been much fun.” Impersonating the Joker, Mason mimicked. “She’s all ‘why so serious’.”

  Riley’s hands clenched into fists and he grit his teeth. “You will leave her alone or you and me? We’re going to have words. I warned you, Mason, and I meant it. You give her anymore shit and it’s going to get ugly.”

  Looking Riley up and down, Mason sneered. “Keep calm, Riley. It was a joke. You know the first thing that happens to you when you get with Darth is lose your sense of humor and the second, you lose your balls.”

  Meg turned to Mason, folding her arms, and looking him up and down. “Do you have a little man crush on Riley, Mason?” She smiled sweetly. “Is this unrequited man-love?”

  Rather than being offended, Mason laughed and pointed at Christina on stage. “Aagh, Meg,” Mason grinned. “Riley’s already in man-love. Darth is man enough for all of us. Why, she collects men’s balls as sport and wears them as earrings.”

  Riley’s head snapped up. If Mason wasn’t careful, he was going to wear Riley’s frustrations all over his face. “Drop this,” Riley warned, “or you can go to hell. You understand? We’ll be done.”

  Mason shrugged his shoulders and smiled. “We’re all going to hell, Riley. I’m just opting for the express lane. You’re taking the torturous route with Darth.”

  Riley was about to say more, but Mason walked away, heading to the bar. He was tempted to follow and have it out with Mason, but Meg tapped his arm, pointing to the stage. “This is the last song tonight, folks,” Johnny grinned. “And don’t forget, we have a fireworks display at midnight. Thank you for being here with us. It means a lot.”

  Johnny turned, beckoning to Christina. When she got close, Johnny put an arm around her. “We want you to raise a glass for us, and on that note, I’ve asked my sister, Dina, to sing lead.”

  Christina rolled her eyes at Johnny and he nudged her with his shoulder. The familiar gesture took Riley right back to the days they’d played in a garage band. Whenever Christina got nervous, Johnny always rested his shoulder against her to show he was with her come what may.

  Pushing his way to the front, Riley wanted Christina to see him. She gave him her favorite vixen smile and he grinned in response. He blew her a kiss and she pretended to catch it, making him laugh. A few people turned to look at him and for the first time tonight, he didn’t feel hostility. In fact, their interest told him what he already felt: he was the luckiest man in the world.

  “This is Pink’s “Raise A Glass”, Johnny grinned, handing the mic to Christina. “We thought it was appropriate.” The crowd roared, as Johnny led on guitar and Christina opened her mouth. Riley breathed in, closing his eyes as Christina’s voice soared and she released the angels.

  **********

  Jed

  “It’s a good thing Darth can sing because she hasn’t got much else going for her,” Mason sneered. “Oh, and the big tits. Riley’s always had a penchant for those.”

  Turning toward him, Jed deliberately looked down in order to accentuate the height difference. Normally, Mason irritated him, but when he insulted someone he cared about? Jed wanted to backhand him.

  “She’s got more going for her than you have, you little leprechaun,” Jed countered. “Why don’t you feck off and pull wings off flies or stick dildos up your arse? I heard you like that.”

  “Hey, don’t knock it until you try it,” Mason snorted. “I can find someone to be gentle with you, especially, if you’re a virgin. Just let me know and then you can graduate to fisting.”

  Leaning against the bar, Jed tried to keep the disgust off his face. After the rumors he’d heard about Mason, he wouldn’t put anything past him. “Go away,” Jed menaced. “The only fisting I’m interested in is mine connecting with your face.”

  Mason saluted Jed with his drink before sauntering off. Encounters with Mason made him feel unclean and in the League of Evil, Jed couldn’t decide who was worse: Gabby or Mason. Right now, his money was on Mason, but the both of them were evil, just in different ways.

  Jed listened to Christina sing and his eyes found Riley. He chuckled at the expression on Riley’s face: it was part tortured, part awestruck. He didn’t think he’d seen a couple more suited or two people that could get in each other’s way.

  He turned to stare at his own woman, grinning. Bonnie was a tigress in the sack and nearly shagged him to death, but she was one stroppy lass. He was pretty sure he was in love with her, but if he made any sudden moves in the declaration of love department, he knew Bonnie would head for the hills.

  Jed didn’t know what they put in the water in Shanwick, but the women were something else. He thought Bonnie was the hottest, Mandy the prettiest, but Christina was a mystery. She was all straight-laced and proper, until music was involved. Then, she was sinful. A man could get badly burned by a girl like that, but he’d still want to try.

  He was still standing at the bar when a group of three women and three men walked in, standing next to him. Two of the women were obviously twins and Jaysus, Mary and Joseph they had big knockers. Giving them the once over out of the corner of his eye, he thought their boobs were as big as Hot Red’s.

  Jed knew it was wrong, but he hoped the twins would get on the dance floor and shake them about. There might be an earthquake, but he’d still watch as the place fell down around him. The other woman was a ginger-haired, scrawny stick with a squinty-eyed look, and a laugh like a donkey.

  The three men were pretty non-descript. One was lanky, one was beefy, and the other one was a shaggy haired ginger that didn’t look like he was all there. Jed thought nothing of it until he heard one of the men laugh.

  “Fuck, look at that pig and he broke up with you - for that? The guy really must be insane or blind.” The comments were met with shrieks of laughter and bitter comments from the women.

  Jed’s gaze landed on the object of their derision. Christina. He didn’t know what people had against her, but she could certainly rouse passions, and he was firmly Team Christina.

  He turned to stare at the guy who made the comment, looking him up and down meaningfully. It was the lankier of the two men with pit-marks on his chin and cold blue eyes. Lanky met Jed’s eyes and held his stare, smiling coldly.

  Giving the guy the once over, Jed chuckled because he knew what the real problem was. Pointing at Christina, Jed scoffed, “Well, it’s a good thing for you then isn’t it? You not being interested in her and all, because someone like you wouldn’t stand a chance with a girl like that in this or any other lifetime.”

  Lanky’s face changed and his eyes went like ice. Returning Lanky’s look with a menacing one of this own, Jed smirked. It would take more than mean stares to intimidate him.

  “You got a problem?” Lanky asked, moving forward. The guy actually tugged on his pant leg as some kind of tough guy gesture, making Jed snort.


  “Charitable of you to suggest I only have one problem,” Jed deadpanned. “Actually, I have many.”

  “Carl,” one of the big tittied blondes giggled. “Come away and leave it!” Tits One gave Jed the once over, letting her eyes linger on him to show her interest, but she could dream on. He stared back impassively at her because he was taken, but the name sparked his curiosity.

  “Carl is it?” Jed smiled. “And which one of you is Shane Palmer?” Beefy betrayed himself by looking up and Jed thought ‘gotcha’.

  So these were the pricks they’d been looking for last night? Tonight just got better. Leaning in conspiratorially toward the two men, Jed said quietly, “I hear you lads had some trouble last night. I’ve got some information. I’m pretty sure I know who did it.”

  Carl Beaumont stared at him with cold dead eyes, but there was a flicker of interest. “Really? You don’t know us. We don’t know you. So, what’s in it for you?”

  Jed shrugged. “Nothing. I’m just a civic-minded guy. You can’t have people going around blowing up stuff and setting things on fire.”

  Shane Palmer gave a grim smile. “Well, buddy, if you know anything, tell us. We could make it worth your while,” he winked. “We’re connected. If you know what I mean.”

  Carl Beaumont nodded. “If you could help us out, that would be cool. You do something for us and we do something for you.” Beaumont took a sip of his beer and scowled. “When we find out who did this, we’re going to fuck them up. No one messes with us.” His boasts were met with howls of laughter and some tough talk, telling Jed all he needed to know. They were idiots with no internal radar of danger.

  Feigning nervousness and looking around, Jed said quietly, “Look, I can’t tell you here, okay? Too many eyes, if you know what I mean. If they find out it was me that told, well, let’s just say it would cost me. How about we go somewhere private?”

  He let the two men discuss where to go, waiting for an opening. Jed agreed with all of their suggestions and then directed them where he wanted them to actually go. “There’s a little garden bar at the back of this place. It’s nice and quiet like. How about I meet you there in fifteen minutes? You go first and I’ll follow?”

  Jed waited by the bar as the motley crew made their way to the garden bar, before beckoning Manu over. “Did you see those guys I was talking to?” When Manu nodded, Jed said quietly, “I’ve sent them to the garden bar. Can you make sure they don’t come back in here? Riley wants a word.”

  Manu raised an eyebrow, but nodded, slowly following the group out through the double doors toward the back of the place. He spotted Riley standing with Meg and approached, tapping him on the shoulder. “I found Beaumont and Palmer,” Jed spoke, directly in Riley’s ear. “I’ve sent them to the garden bar. There’s one other guy with them and some women. How about we go and have that conversation?”

  Riley’s green eyes turned cold and the smile he gave was chilling. The two men left without a word. Jed knew that look. He’d seen it a few times before and while he was grateful for many things in his life, right now, he was glad he wasn’t Beaumont or Palmer.

  **********

  Christina

  “Mmmmm,” Bonnie sighed, sniffing the air. “I can smell it. Come on.”

  “No,” Mandy shook her head. “Not after last time and tonight’s been… awkward enough. Hasn’t it, Dina? I just want to get away. Dave is pissing me off about giving my old clothes to the biker chicks and saying horrible things.”

  Awkward? That was a polite way of putting it. This night had been disturbing and uncomfortable. Relationships were finely balanced things and tonight had upset the equilibrium. Everything was precarious and she could feel it teetering, as if she was playing dare devil on a seesaw, waiting to see who would jump first.

  “Are you okay, Dina?” Mandy whispered, her beautiful eyes full of concern. “You were great out there, by the way. I love listening to you sing.”

  Christina automatically began to nod her head and then stopped. She was tired of pretending that everything was all right and holding it in. “No,” she whispered. “I’m not okay. I’m as far from okay as I can be, but I don’t want to talk about it here.”

  Currently, they were standing in a room with the band and their hangers-on. The band was like some crazed menagerie of hyper-people coming down from the adrenalin rush of performing and the noise in the room jangled her nerves. It didn’t help that some of Riley’s ‘hoochies’ were there, drifting past in a mixture of perfume and predatory hunger.

  To Christina’s discomfort, one of the women sat too close to Johnny, touching his arm, and sticking her face near his. She felt her temper rise and was about to intervene, but LiLi beat her to it. Exhibiting grace and class, LiLi moved the other woman on with proficient expertise, taking her place beside Johnny, and glaring at all would-be contenders for her man.

  An oblivious Johnny was talking animatedly to Dave, but wrapped his arm over LiLi’s leg, holding her knee, and pulling her close. The intimate gesture made Christina smile and then her face fell. This was all part of the territory and life-style, wasn’t it?

  Riley might not be in the band, but he was part of it, and it was gladiatorial with women competing with other women for a chance with a man. Christina didn’t know if she could handle this type of environment and why should she have to? She didn’t have the temperament or inclination.

  “Let’s go,” Bonnie tapped Christina on the arm. “There’s a bathroom down the hallway and you seriously need a touch up. You’ve kind of got a little girl from The Ring thing going on with your Panda eyes and hair.”

  The bathroom was a quieter place and Christina leaned back, resting against the basins, while her friends made sure they were alone. “Okay. So I guess this is the part where you talk, Dina,” Bonnie sighed, “and then we try to explain your feelings to you. You’re like Sheldon Cooper, but not as smart.”

  Mandy slapped Bonnie on the arm. “Stop it! That’s mean. Head up,” Mandy beamed. “Bonnie wasn’t joking about your hair and makeup.”

  As her two friends fixed her appearance, Christina spoke about what was in her heart. “I wonder,” she started. “If we’re just plastering over the cracks in our relationship. Every time I think we’re on the same page, something happens and I’m not so sure.”

  “Oh,” Mandy murmured. “You can’t let this get in the way and upset you, Dina. Women throw themselves at guys all the time, especially if they have money. The number of women I’ve had to push off Dave is insane.”

  Both Bonnie and Christina gave each other meaningful looks. Dave was not a handsome man, but clearly, celebrity was a powerful aphrodisiac. Mandy giggled. “There was this one time that a groupie jumped on Johnny. She stuck her face in his lap and he just looked confused. Horrified. LiLi was so angry, she dragged her away by the hair.”

  Christina couldn’t imagine the serene LiLi doing such a thing. The thought was both amusing and shocking. Respect.

  “Now, Johnny I can understand,” Bonnie grinned, making Mandy and Christina groan, “but Dave? No. He’s all yours sweets.”

  “I’m no Riley fan,” Bonnie sighed, “but in saying that, my morality is different to other people’s. If Riley was single, Dina, he was single. He’s not single now and that’s what counts, isn’t it?”

  “Maybe,” Christina muttered. At a rational level, she understood all of it, but something bugged her. “It’s just… we don’t talk about my past. It’s like it never happened, but it’s there. If I try to bring stuff up, he ignores it, or gets this look in his eye and I drop it. It’s like nothing is sacred to him, but everything about me is taboo.”

  “What do you mean?” Mandy asked, pursing her lips. “You don’t bring up other guys do you? Men don’t like that. They don’t like thinking about, you know,” she whispered, “the numbers.”

  “Pffft,” Bonnie snorted. “You’ve had one guy your whole life, Mandy. If Dave can’t count to one, he’s the stupidest man on the planet and somet
imes, I actually think he is.”

  “Shut up,” Mandy snapped. “I’m not talking about Dave and me. I’ve heard guys talk. They like to pretend we have no sexual history with others when we’re with them.”

  Bonnie burst out laughing. “Poor Jed! That’s ridiculous. Women have as much right to a sex life and enjoyment as men do. I mean, who do men think women have sex with? Oh, that’s right, guys like them.”

  Pulling her lipstick out of her bag, Bonnie waved it around like a weapon. “I agree with you, Dina. This is bullshit. If you’re expected to put up with his ‘history’, then the same standards should apply to you. Then again, Riley’s always been a bit caveman where you’re concerned and it’s time he grew up.”

  Bonnie wiped the lipstick across her lips and when she decided she looked perfect, blew herself a kiss in the mirror. Folding her arms, Bonnie grinned. “So, let’s talk about numbers, Dina? How many?”

  Christina scrunched her face up. This was part of the game she played with Bonnie. Bonnie would go into explicit details about sex, and Christina refused to divulge because it drove Bonnie crazy.

  “I don’t think it’s really about numbers,” Christina fudged, but her friends gave an, ‘are you kidding me’ look. “Okay, numbers would come into it, but I don’t think that’s what it’s really about. I don’t have an extensive dating history like Riley or you, Bonnie, but my relationships have been… meaningful. There was Riley and then Ted, and then Riley and then Ted. I’ve had one, one-nightstand and it was abysmal. Then there was the banker and he was abysmal, and then-”

  “There was Riley,” Bonnie finished for her. “That’s really kind of pathetic. You should have moved to Seattle with me and then we could have been whores together. You could have had so many numbers his brain would explode.”

  “Ewww!” Mandy screeched, but all three women giggled. It wouldn’t have happened. More like Christina standing there like an awkward third wheel as Bonnie hit all and sundry.