by Laura Benson
From the minute the house lights went down and the crowd went crazy, Joey’s show was a masterpiece. Everyone was in tune, Joey was on point, and he was engaging. He’d given a shout-out to the contest winners. Thanked everyone for coming. Jammed like his life depended on it. Watching him was amazing. I’d seen him perform years ago, but nothing to this extent. I found myself transported during his show. The special effects really added to the show and didn’t make it seem overdone like it could have. I wasn’t sure if Joey was still under the influence or he’d given himself a pep up before he went on stage. I really had nothing truly bad to say about it.
Oh, I was still pissed about the drugs and the lack of emotion he’d shown while watching a young girl whore herself out. Thankfully, the guys who were in the room with Joey were nowhere to be seen since.
My only problem now was Matthew. He stood in the opposite wing, barely watching Joey, but glaring at me like I’d pissed him off. Eva was still hanging off his arm, and I really didn’t care if he was ticked at me or not. He’d been playing me hot and cold, and I was done with it. Let him take Eva and fuck her up against a wall. There was no way I would be the jealous one. What we’d had a few nights ago was a one-off, and thank goodness it never progressed any farther.
With my attention back to Joey, I watched as he switched to a plugged-in acoustic guitar.
“This song, without a doubt, was my biggest hit when I first hit the airwaves. But what no one knows is that I wrote it for my high school girlfriend.” I twitched my lips as Joey quickly glanced toward me. “I loved her. Unfortunately, life gets in the way and things happen for a reason. So, what I want to say to her right now if she’s listening: “Charlie, I adore you.” The shock on my face was palpable. With a nod to his drummer, Joey launched into ‘Adore.’
I didn’t want to cry, but the tears started falling as he sang the song in a clear, beautiful voice. I could tell that people were looking at me funny as the song continued, but I wouldn’t allow him to get to me after all these years. If he’d adored me as much as he said, why’d he cheat? Why’d he go down that path that so many rock stars headed? I surreptitiously tried to wipe the tears, but they were coming too fast and furious.
I’d looked up over to the other wing to make sure Matthew wasn’t enjoying my sad display, but oddly enough, he wasn’t even there. Eva was gone, too, so I could only imagine what those two were up to.
When the song ended I felt completely spent. It was a beautiful song, and he did it such justice, but right now my emotions were on high alert, and I wasn’t about to let Joey know how much the song affected me. I turned around to head back to the green room where I’d wait for show to finish. I could watch it on the CCTV that was connected. The place was wired so you could hear the show no matter where you were in the building.
Unfortunately, my solitude wasn’t to last. Ten minutes after I arrived, Matthew came bounding in looking flustered and red-faced. I’d sat down on the couch.
I took a deep breath, leaned my elbows on my knees and asked, “What’s up with you?”
He shot me a pointed look. “Why are you here?”
Okay, not what I was expecting. “Well originally, I wanted to be alone,” I said sharply. Matthew stalked over to me; he pulled a chair close to me so our knees were barely touching.
“Did it bother you he dedicated that song to you?” he asked, not looking at me.
I shrugged my shoulders. “Not really,” I lied. “Why are you here?”
Matthew sat back and ran his hand through his hair mussing it up so it looked more like sex head. I hated that he could do that and look sexy without looking messy. Me? My hair would look like a rat’s nest.
“Are you looking forward to the after party?” he asked suddenly.
I opened my mouth to say something but thought better of it. I needed to answer this question carefully because no, I wasn’t looking forward to it. I could imagine all the women that would be all over Joey and the one that would be all over Matthew.
“I guess. Hadn’t really given it much thought.” What I wanted to say was I was looking forward to this night being over. Getting away from Joey and Matthew would do a world of good for my health and psyche.
“It was good to see Stefanie. Long time…” he trailed off.
I raised my eyebrows in question.
“It was. Haven’t seen her since graduation. She’s getting married.”
Matthew nodded his head. “And you, have you thought of marriage before?”
“Wait, what?” Okay, we’d definitely hit the Twilight Zone. “What makes you think I’d even think of something like that? I’d need a boyfriend first and well; I don’t see one in my future right now. Work is taking up all of time right now to get involved with anyone, plus, if I did have a boyfriend, he’d be back in Phoenix and I’m in LA. So, yeah…” This time I trailed off. What a weird question and I all managed to do was ramble. “What about you and Eva? You two seem cozy.”
Matthew rubbed a hand across his face, bouncing his leg nervously. He took a deep breath. “Eva and I have a…an arrangement of sorts.”
I wasn’t sure what look was on my face, but the look on Matthew’s face must’ve reflected mine. “So she comes into town once in a while, you two bang, and then she moves on.” I sat back and folded my arms against my chest. Somehow knowing about Matthew’s sex life wasn’t on my priority list.
“Something like that,” he mumbled.
“Well you two have fun tonight,” I said, dismissing him. “I’d really like to be alone right now.” I tried my damnedest not to sound hurt or even jealous, but I’m sure Matthew caught the slight in my voice.
He stood up suddenly, looking around the room, probably to avoid looking directly at me. “I’ll see you at the after party, I, ah, should get back to Eva,” he turned around, and I watched as his broad shoulders carried him to the door. His tight ass looked quite nice in the jeans he wore. Before opening the door, he turned around to me. “You do look beautiful tonight, Charlie.”
Before I could respond, he walked out, causing me to seriously wonder what the hell kind of conversation did we just have?
The nightclub hosting the after party was filled to capacity with A-list celebrities, politicians, journalists, and a few supermodels. To say that I felt completely out of my element was stretching it. I was totally out of my element. Thankfully, Stefanie and Ben were around so I’d at least have someone to talk to. As much as everyone kind of knew each other, you could tell the cliques that formed immediately. A-listers didn’t associate with the B-listers, and everyone wanted to talk to the supermodels. I thought Eva was tall, but some of these women made her seem like a shrimp.
Music was thumping, the alcohol was flowing, and everyone was having a great time. Joey hadn’t arrived yet. I knew he’d want to shower and clean up with dry clothes before he headed over. Everyone was buzzing about the show, and so far, it was getting good reviews from the revelers. Because the nightclub was closed to the public, a lot of people had come around to stand outside and get autographs of their favorite stars. Walking the red carpet alone was a bizarre experience. Everyone was screaming and yelling for Joey, but when it was someone else, a huge ‘awww’ was expelled from the crowd. It was quite funny and caused me to giggle along the way. Yep, I was officially a no one, and I think I liked it that way.
I made my way over to the bar and stuck with what I’d had earlier – vodka cranberry – I was limiting my intake of alcohol tonight and wanted to make sure others were taken care of before my needs. Because honestly, I would’ve drowned my feelings in something stronger, but this would have to do. Taking a sip, I enjoyed the tangy tartness of the cranberry and the smooth burn of the vodka. It was doing a bang-up job of clearing my head.
More stars were arriving, and the place was even crazier than it was a half hour earlier. I looked around for Ben and Stef and finally found them in a corner at a high-top table.
“Thank goodness I found you!” I said
excitedly to Stefanie, giving her shoulder a squeeze. “There’s so much fakery going on here, I could smell the bullshit from everywhere!” I joked.
“Oh, Charlie, that’s terrible. But, yeah, this party is a bit extreme.”
I laughed and shrugged my shoulders. “Who knows? I’ve seen more famous people tonight than I’ll ever see in my lifetime. But enough about them! What did you think of the show?”
Stefanie took a sip of her beer before speaking. “It was good. He was engaging and funny. He sounds amazing. He looked fabulous out there.” Ben fake coughed into his drink. “Oh, Ben you have nothing to worry about. It was always Joey and Charlie.”
“Yeah, that was a long time ago now. There is no us anymore. I’m flying solo.” Just as I said that, the doors opened, and a few wolf whistles and catcalls announced that the star of the evening had arrived. I noticed flanked on his left was Matthew who surprisingly was not glued to Eva. Although, I noticed the girl from the green room earlier was tucked neatly into Joey’s right side. A quick glance at Matthew let me know that he wasn’t particularly happy about something, but I was going to let it go. It wasn’t my problem to get involved with, and I was going to enjoy my evening drama free.
“Joey seems to like the attention he gets,” Ben said, pointing his beer in Joey’s direction. I watched as various people came up to him and either hugged, kissed, or fist bumped him. He was definitely in his element. It made me realize how very lucky I was that I managed to miss this part of his life while I was at school. As much as I loved Joey, I don’t think I could handle all the noise that followed him around. I liked the quiet life. Hollywood was definitely not for me. Boston and Phoenix were about as hoity-toity as I got.
“I see that look on your face, Charlie,” Stef remarked. “It’s a cross between annoyed and thankful.”
“Perceptive. Was just thinking this lifestyle is definitely not for me. I mean it’s fun and all, but I don’t think I could deal with this on a daily basis. I’d go crazy.”
Once Joey was settled, the music changed to something a bit darker, more hip-hop meets electronica. The thumping of the bass caused our drinks to rattle on the table. Stefanie and I laughing at the noise.
I noticed a few of the band members heading toward our table. I couldn’t remember their names, unfortunately, so I was flying blind. Luckily, it wasn’t to last long, because Joey was right behind carrying a tray of shots.
“Charlie!” He put the tray down and tipped me backwards, planting a wet, closed-mouth kiss on me.
“Gross,” I said, wiping his kiss off.
“Shots for everyone for an amazingly kick ass show!”
I took one tentatively and sniffed it. Joey laughed as he watched me. “Tequila, baby.”
I twisted my lips, looked around the table, and waited until everyone had their glass against their lips. “On the count of three…” and then we slammed them down. I think Joey was amused with watching me because the face I made caused him to go into hysterics.
“Asshole,” I muttered. Joey stayed for a few minutes, making small talk with Ben and Stef then made his rounds with his ever-present entourage of stunning young women and men who were all partaking of his extravagance. Shots were going around like crazy, and people were getting silly and sloppy.
Stef got up from her seat and pulled me with her. “Let’s dance!” she shouted over the din. I watched her as she blew air kisses to Ben, shoving me toward the dance floor. It’d been while since I just let loose, and with the alcohol coursing through my blood, I was feeling quite uninhibited. The dance floor was crowded, but it was good because everyone was laughing and dancing. It was a free for all, and I loved it. This is what made the job worth it. To be able to forget about issues and problems and just let loose. The music controlled my body, and it moved in rhythm to the thumping bass. Stef was laughing as she watched me. Everyone on the dance floor pulsed with want and need. Two guys I’d never seen before came up to the both of us and started dancing with us. We just moved in time with the music, I turned around so his arms wrapped around my hips as they swayed back and forth hypnotically. He was tall, so my ass nestled into his groin. His arms slowly caressed my hips and up to arms where they landed on my shoulders. Spinning me around, he wrapped one arm around my waist and swung me back and forth, his leg between my thighs. He could dance, I’d give him that, but it was the hungry, sex-filled look that made me pause and try to pull away. He wasn’t letting me go. Just as I started to walk off the dance floor, he grabbed my hand, pulling me tightly against his chest. Hands and lips were all over me. I tried to place my hands on his chest, but I was held too tightly by his arms.
With his hands going down to my ass, I closed my eyes and hoped that Stef would see what was going on. I really wanted to get away from this asshole before he thought I’d willingly go with him. With another sharp pull back, I bumped into a strong chest behind me who caught me before I made an ungainly fall to the crowded floor. Not wanting to feel like a ping-pong ball, I started to walk away, but was spun around and the momentum caused me to crash again into the sturdy chest.
I exhaled as all the breath came rushing from me. I looked up to see Matthew glaring at the guy I’d been dancing with.
“You okay?” he asked softly as he rocked me back and forth. I nodded as his hands roamed behind my head, to my neck, causing me to shiver with the light touch. Hands kept working down my shoulders, arms, and finally resting on my hips as he pulled me extremely close to him. Because of my height, I came up to his chin, and he was able to place it on top of my head quite easily. We moved together like that for a while, not saying a word. I was glad that he saved me from the asshole, and I felt safe being in his arms.
We weren’t exactly dancing to the music as dancing to whatever music was in our hearts and heads, but I was comfortable like this. I tucked my head against his chest as he held on to me. As soon as I gave any thought to Eva, I quickly told myself to forget her and enjoy the hold Matthew had on me now. I could easily forget the world around me and live happily in these arms. Unfortunately, that nagging angel on my shoulder always let me know that Joey was around and my attraction to his best friend wasn’t the best thing for us. But right now, I didn’t care. Here I was, here he was, and as I slowly pulled my head up to look at Matthew I had the ungodly urge to kiss him.
Licking my lips, I opened them to say something, but thought better of it. Moving my hands to the back of his neck, I pulled his lips down to me. Doing something that was entirely out of the realm of decorum, I slowly traced my tongue along his bottom lip, causing a moan to hiss from his lips. Up on my tippy toes, I dove in and took what I wanted. Our mouths crashed together in erotic heat. My hands on his neck pushed him further into me as his hands roamed the entirety of my body. I could feel us moving away from the dance floor, but our lips were glued to each other as we both took and took and didn’t want to stop. If I wasn’t here in a night club, I’d be pulling off our clothes. I could feel every inch of my skin tingling with his touch, and his kisses were deeper and more meaningful.
I was ruffling up his hair, but I didn’t care. I wanted to crawl inside of him right there. I was feeling everything from the top of my head to the bottom of my toes. My sex was aching for him to touch and kiss and play. I could feel his want for me growing with each growl he made. I wanted to so badly jump up and claim him finally as mine. Even if he was an ass earlier. I couldn’t deny that I wanted sex, and I wanted it now.
“Fuck, Charlie,” he said over and over. I moved my right hand down to brush against his erection. “Do you know how badly I want you right now?”
I looked up at him with raised eyebrows. “I can feel it,” I said, squeezing his cock. His lips pounced on my neck, giving little nips and licks so I was lit up like a fucking firecracker.
Matthew looked at me with a mixture of awe and surprise. “Do you…do you,” I didn’t let him finish the words as my mouth covered his. Of course I wanted to. I wanted to fuck, make love, have sex
with him right there on the damn dance floor. But what I wanted more than anything was to keep feeling Matthew’s arms around me. Feeling safe and wanted.
“Christ, Charlie, what you do to me.” I smiled, thinking the same thing.
“You do the same to me,” I said looking directly into his eyes wanting him to know that I was ready to take that leap that I was so afraid of. I didn’t care about Eva or Joey right now. It was my carnal wants that I cared about. It was that I was falling in love with the man in front of me, and I wanted to make him absolutely mine. He kissed me again, his hands clearly on my ass squeezing and rubbing as I tried to release the pent-up frustration of my sexually aroused clit.
I was about to suggest leaving when out of the corner of my eye Joey and Eva were walking toward us.
“What the fuck is going on here, Matt?” Joey asked, taking in the two of us wrapped around each other. Eva just held a steely gaze at me and refused to even look at Matthew. Matthew opened his mouth and shut it again. I held tightly onto Matthew’s hand, squeezing it lightly.
“I asked you, asshole, what the fuck. Is. Going. On. Here.” Joey was seething. “You got your tongue down my girl’s throat and your hands on her ass?” Joey stepped up so that he was right in Matthew’s face.
“Stop it, Joey. I’m not your girl!” I yelled over the din of the club. “I haven’t been your girl for a long time now, and you have no hold over me. This is my job!”
Joey leaned back on his heels. “So hooking up with my manager and best friend, who if I recall correctly, you fucking hate, is now your job?” he yelled, spittle flying out of his mouth. I could tell by the way he was swaying that he was drunk.
I let go of Matthew’s hand and stood directly in front of Joey. “You have no say in who I hook up with, Joey. You lost that right when you cheated on me with all those goddamn bitches you were photographed with.”
