Beats of Life (Perception Book 5) (3 page)

Slater

“What’s taking them so fucking long?” I question annoyed to Marcus. We are both sitting in the stretch hummer limousine outside of the stadium waiting for the rest of our band members to show up so we can head to the after party.

Every concert series in each town kicks off the same way. We have an elaborate all expenses paid party at one of the hottest night clubs in town, VIP section, unlimited women and unlimited booze. Normally, I’m interested in the unlimited women, but tonight my main focus with be the booze. I need to get the images of her out of my fucking head. You would think after two years my brain would have realized that she is the enemy, but nope, just one look at her pretty little face and tight ass body and my dick starts overruling all rational thinking and don’t even get me started on my head.

“Do they know we are waiting for them?” I question. Marcus looks over at me and shrugs his shoulders slightly. “Fuck it, I’m going to get them” I advise, climbing out of the limousine. Just as I make it to side door, Jenni climbs inside.

“Sorry” she apologizes when she notices my stern and angry glare firmly planted on her. “We girls can’t just throw on some jeans and turn up, this takes time” she continues, running her hand down the length of her body.

My eyes roam over her and I still don’t understand why it took her nearly an hour to get ready. She is wearing a dress, simple, you throw it over the top of your head. A pair of shoes, what, two minutes to put on? Even her face isn’t heavily coated in make-up. It’s only when I notice the pink hue on her neck does it suddenly dawn on me why it has taken them so long to turn up. Once Nick enters the limo, I turn my angry glare to him. He doesn’t even seem phased by it, he just gives me a smirk and a wink, confirming what I had already suspected.

“Can you save your fucking for when we aren’t waiting” I suggest firmly. Marcus chokes on his drink and starts coughing since his whiskey is now in his lungs instead of his stomach. Nick smiles a beaming smile, while Jenni’s cheeks turn the color of a beetroot.

Once Emily and Noah enter the limo, I signal to the driver that he can commence our short five-mile trip to the nightclub. It took the entire drive to the nightclub for Jenni’s cheeks to eventually return to their normal coloring. The instant we step out of the limo onto the footpath, we are blinded by the paparazzi lights. They are so bright I can’t see a fucking thing. Other than walking forward and hoping I’m heading in the right direction I’m pretty much walking blind. They always request for me to lower my arms so they can get a picture without my hands covering my face. But unless I don’t want to see anything for the next week, I have to shield my eyes.

Once we are ushered inside the nightclub by the studio assigned bodyguards we then become swamped by fans and groupies. Do you know how to tell the difference between a fan and a groupie? Fans ask before touching, groupies just touch, grab, poke and man handle you as much as they want. Fans normally buy a ticket to attend our shows, groupies expect them for free. Well not really for free, they are willing to do sexual favors for them, either way no money is exchanged for their ticket. It’s the fans that make a band successful and the groupies that can bring it crashing back down. Does that mean I don’t take advantage of the groupies? Hell no, they are part of the entertainment industry. I take all the perks I can get, groupies included.

When our fame started rocketing we use to always hang out in the regular area of any nightclub we visited as Noah didn’t want us to portray a sense of arrogance or entitlement. But it soon become apparent that we didn’t even have the ability to move in the regular areas as we were swamped by over eager fans. So now we have no choice but to sit in the VIP section. It’s not all bad though, generally all of our booze is supplied for free and the VIP section always has the best views of the entire club.

Tonight’s VIP section at ‘Cue Ball’ is on the second floor. When you stand near the black iron balcony you can see the entire dance floor down below. This place is absolutely packed to the brim with partygoers. The waiters and waitresses are dressed in matching outfits, tight black shorts, white blouses tucked in tight and black top hats. Thankfully, the boy’s shorts are a little longer than the girls. The pretty brunette waitress smiles brightly while bending over to offer me the whiskey I had ordered off a silver waiters tray. Her ample cleavage on display in a white lace bra since the front of her blouse dips down low when she bends over. When she notices my gaze on her impressive rack, she gives me a little wink before sauntering back to the VIP bar.

I stand from the red leather booth and move over towards the balcony to watch the swarm of bodies dancing in sync to the music. It doesn’t take long to spot Nick in the middle of the crowd. That guy is like a Peter Allen prodigy, always fucking dancing. I don’t mind getting on the dance floor myself, but I don’t dance like Nick does. A couple of years ago he would have had many different dance partners attached to him, now he only has one. I still keep my eye on him though. One step out of line and that warning I gave him two years ago in the hotel room will be issued full force. I tried to warn Jenni to stay away from him and some days I still wish she had listened to me. I know she loves Nick, but he brings a whole heap of trouble and baggage along with him. That shit that happened with Megan could have brought even the strongest couple down.

When I first met Jenni three years ago, all I could see was my little sister Serena. They both had the same big light blue eyes, strawberry blonde hair and tiny little facial features. Nick’s interest in Jenni was as obvious as the sun shining in the fucking sky, it practically beamed out of him. There was no way in hell I would have ever allowed my sister to date a guy like him, so I tried to keep Jenni as far away from him as possible. I had thought she was listening to everyone’s warnings to stay away from him, until she ended up pregnant with his baby. I had become suspicious a few months before that, but by that stage I had met Kylie and my primary focus was on her.

Kylie and I met in pretty unusual circumstances. At the time I had thought it was all that right time and right place bullshit. Where now I wish I had never pulled into that old country bar on the side of the highway……..

On that day, every single year, I just ride. Some days I can ride for ten hours straight before I turn around and go home, were others, it may only be an hour or two. That day it was a little over four hours before I decided to pull over. I don’t pay attention to street signs, town markings or anything specific. I am riding to escape my memories, to clear my mind of all thoughts. Once I feel like I have achieved that, the GPS on my phone shows me the way home. 

I had pulled into an old wooden bar on the outskirts of town to use the gas pump they had at the front since I was sitting on empty. When my eyes roamed around the space I got the feeling that I had transported back in time. I swear there were tumble weeds blowing across the road, an old timer sitting in a rocking chair at the front of the bar and the whole carpark was full of big old trucks like Noah’s but they were still rusted and lowered.

After I filled my tank, I walked up to the elderly gentleman sitting in the rocking chair. He continued rocking as his eyes roamed over my denim jeans, tight white singlet and black leather vest. My full sleeves of tattoos were proudly on display. He leaned in close to me and spat a large black tar filled chunk of tobacco onto the ground next to me, narrowly missing my black boot. When my gaze lifted from my boot to look back at him, my eyes narrowed and my nostrils flared. He was bloody lucky he missed my boot, old timer or not.

“You pay in the bar,” he advised, smiling a toothless grin. I gave him a quick nod of my head before stepping over the tobacco to make my way inside. The instant I opened the wooden door, the sound of a banjo shrieked through my ears. I’ll pretty much listen to any type of music, except country, that shit is as lame as it comes. The whole inside of the bar matches the outside; wooden, rusted and old. The floors, walls and even the roof were done in large wood panels. I quickly made my way to the outdated bar, wanting to pay for my gas and get the hell out of there quick before my ears were subjected to anymore torture.

“How much was your total?” the elderly barmaid questioned. I shrugged my shoulders. I didn’t check that type of shit, I just filled up and paid.

“Don’t you have it computerised?” I responded, noticing that even the cash register looked like it belonged in the sixties.

My black boots stomped back outside to read the total off the pump and that is when I spotted her. She was walking towards the bar with a small handful of guys and girls, wearing a blue cotton dress that sat halfway up her thigh, a small cropped denim jacket and a smile that made you want to fall to your knees in front of her. When she noticed me staring at her, she stopped walking and her gaze slowly roamed over my body. Once her eyes eventually returned to my face, she smiled so large they would have been able to see it from space. Just as I was about to walk over and introduce myself, a guy walked up behind her and smacked her playfully on the bottom, before wrapping his arm around her shoulders, forcing her to commence walking again. Her eyes turned away for only a mere second to see who had approached her before she looked back at me. The instant she winked at me, I knew I wasn’t going anywhere.

Upon entering the bar, I noticed that her and her gathering of friends had moved towards a small stage and were in the process of setting up some music equipment. I quickly made my way to the bartender and paid for my gas and ordered a beer. I then moved down to the end of the bar to enjoy the visual of watching the pretty brunette set up the stage for a performance. It was lucky she was hot enough that I could forgive her for her poor choice in music. Once they had their equipment set up, the brunette moved off the stage and headed towards the bar. Not long after she had left, the sound of country music stared to filter through the air.

“Can I please grab a vodka cranberry?” she requested kindly, the twang in her voice easily audible in the empty bar. Once the bartender handed her the drink she requested, she slowly turned around to face the stage. I could tell the instant she spotted me at the side of the bar as she smiled against the rim of her glass. I watched her side profile for a few minutes before she eventually turned to face me.

“Didn’t your mother teach you it’s rude to stare?” she questioned, her hazel eyes narrowing slightly. She just needed to learn not to smile while she was trying to fake being angry. Seeing that as my cue to approach her, I quickly moved down the bar and sat in the empty barstool next to her.  Now that I was closer to her, I noticed the small light freckles that adorn her beautiful face. Her smell reminded me of wildflowers and hay, which was an odd combination. I don’t think I could have found anyone more opposite than me. She screamed country, where I screamed…… non country?

“Why aren’t you up there with your friends?” I questioned, signalling to the bartender that I needed another beer.

She seemed to consider my question before she eventually responded, “The idea of standing up in front of a crowd petrifies me.” I laughed loudly, considering the bar would have been lucky to have ten people inside of it. My loud laugh startled her that much that she spilt her drink down the front of her dress.

“Oh fuck, sorry,” I apologized, grabbing a wad of napkins to dab up the liquid. It was only when I felt my dick straining against my zipper did I realize that I was dabbing her moderate and perfectly adequate looking breasts. The brain in my dick was obviously a lot smarter than the one in my head. When my eyes darted up from her breasts to her face, she seemed a little surprised but she was still smiling. I handed her the wad of napkins and she finished cleaning the spill, while I tried my hardest to keep my eyes on her face.

“I guess I should introduce myself since you have already felt my boobs,” she said, before her face morphed into shock. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that,” she continued, clearly looking embarrassed.

“I’m Slater, nice to meet you,” I introduced. “and your boobs,” I continued, causing her to giggle softly.

“You coming down?” Marcus questions, slapping me on the back, interrupting me from my thoughts.

“I need a bit more liquid courage first,” I reply, swirling my whiskey in the glass, before downing the entire nip. The warm burning sensation on the way down gives instant comfort to the swirling my stomach is doing while memories of Kylie are filtering through my brain.

I turn my gaze back towards the dance floor where I notice Jenni sprinting towards the bathrooms with her hand covering her mouth. When my concerned gaze seeks Nick, I spot him standing in the middle of the dance floor with a dumbfounded look on his face. A blonde, attractive, young lady quickly approaches the instant Jenni moves away and attempts to dance with Nick. I’m pleased when he side steps her and heads in the direction Jenni just went running. I should probably start giving Nick a little more leeway, but I’ve been burnt in the past and am a little cautious in giving him the benefit of the doubt. Even when you love someone, it doesn’t stop them from cheating on you. I found that out the hard way.