Inked Chaos (5 page)

I’ve been walking around
the neighbourhood for a while, getting my bearings whilst enjoying the
sunshine.  I’ve already made a note of the nearest supermarket, so I can buy
some provisions on the way home.  There’s an abundance of cafés and places to
eat to choose from, and I’ve even come across a quaint little book shop I’m
planning to lose myself in, when I have more time.  It seems they are all in
close vicinity, and handily within walking distance of my apartment.

I glance at my watch, and realise that
while I’ve been indulging myself on my fact finding mission of getting to know
the area, time has slipped by and it’s lunch time.  No wonder my stomach has
been protesting for the last half hour.  I decide the next café I come across,
I’m going to park my backside and enjoy the sunshine while I eat lunch.  Then
I’ll head back to the apartment to change, as Jen is coming over and collecting
me later, and I’m having dinner at their place.

I come across a café
that has several tables outside.  Just perfect.  I can sit here resting my
weary feet and people watch, while I make notes in my ever handy trusted
notepad, which I always carry with me.  You just never know when something is
going to come to mind; and many a time I’ve forgotten something, through the
lack of a pen and paper to hand.

The service is quick,
and I order myself a coffee and a club sandwich, which will keep hunger at bay until
dinner.

I’m halfway through my lunch, happily
scribbling away, jotting down ideas, when I hear a motorbike coming down the
street.  Now I’ve never denied I’m into bikes.  I just can’t help it; just the
sound of the pipes draws my attention every time.  I observe as it nears the
café, indicates to turn in and parks just outside.  It’s a Harley, and it’s so
damn beautiful.  Its chrome sparkling in the sunlight, the paintwork
immaculate.  I watch as the rider removes his helmet, rests it on the bike and
turns towards the entrance of the café.  It’s at this point my breath catches,
as I recognise none other than AJ.  Even with his shades on, I can plainly
recognise him.  Bloody hell! Jen said he was in New York.  What is he doing
here? Surely being so well known, he can’t just drive and stroll around like he
is? Doesn’t he get recognised by his fans? Not to mention the paparazzi
following him around.

Luckily, I still have my sunglasses on, so
I dip my head down to look at my notepad, and carry on scribbling, hoping that
he doesn’t notice me.  Although he probably wouldn’t recognise me anyway, it
still makes me feel uncomfortable.

Behind my glasses, I surreptitiously watch
as he enters the café leaving his helmet on his bike.

It doesn’t take long before he comes out, a
paper bag in hand, which he tucks into his jacket.  He puts his helmet back on,
throws his leg over the bike and starts the engine, before looking behind him
for a break in the traffic preparing to drive off.  I forget to keep my head
down, and watch as he does a U-turn, and roars off up the road.

Well, he obviously didn’t notice me
,
I
think to myself.  Or he did, and chose to ignore me.  Either way, it suits me
just fine.

*****

A few hours later, Jen and I are sitting in
her garden up in “the hills” as she calls them.  No wonder she loves it here.  The
house is amazing; it has several reception rooms, and a kitchen to die for;
which is so big I swear my whole apartment would fit into it.  There are four
bedrooms all en-suite.  Then there’s the pool, and Razor has a gym in a
separate building. 

I’m amazed that Razor would buy a home like
this.  I would have thought an apartment was more his scene, but apparently all
the band have places in the hills, and like theirs, they all have private
access roads and high gates.  Jen explains and assures me they are a must if
they want privacy.  They keep out the groupies, the paparazzi and anyone else
who takes it upon themselves to try and acquire a photo, or a glimpse of the
guys.

Razor arrives looking like the typical rock
star that he is.  Wearing jeans, with a sleeveless T-shirt that puts all his
tattoos on display.  His trademark shaved head covered with a bandana, his
kick-ass goatee beard and wearing customary shades.

I watch as he walks over to Jen, proceeds
to give her a quick peck on the lips and whispers “Hi babe,” before walking
over to me, arms outstretched for a hug.

“Jorgi, welcome girl.” he smiles, wrapping
his arms around me. “Sorry I wasn’t here when you arrived, but the recording
session ran over.”

I smile at him and return his hug, telling
him that it’s fine.  Jen and I have had a relaxing chat while waiting for him.

“So what do you think of
LA so far?” he enquires.

“Well, I’ve only seen the local area so far,
except for the sushi restaurant last night, but so far I love it.  I had a
stroll around the shops today and got the lay of the land, so at least I won’t
get lost.”

“Yeah, AJ mentioned he
thought he saw you outside a café.” he replies.

Out of the corner of my
eye, I notice Jens head swivel around towards me so fast, it’s a wonder it
never broke her neck.

“Boo? You never said anything?” she says
questioningly, her eyes narrowed at me.

“What?” I glare at her. “A, I wasn’t sure
it was him,” I fibbed, “and B, I wasn’t going to say anything in case he didn’t
recognise me and I looked a plonker.” I reasoned.

“Oh, he recognised you.” Razor smirks. “I’ll
just go and grab a shower, then we can eat.” And proceeds to walk into the
house without waiting for a reply.  Which is good, because Jen is peering at me
with an expression of disbelief on her face.

“What?” I repeat, hunching my shoulders and
gesturing with my palms upwards.

“Oh come on.” she laughs. “I wasn’t sure it
was him.” she mimics in a squeaky voice. “Who are you trying to kid?”

“Oh Jen!  I wouldn’t say anything would I? 
I really didn’t think he’d noticed me.  He never acknowledged me, and I’m not
going to humiliate myself by putting myself out there, and risk him just
staring blankly, not knowing who I was.  Besides, you said he was in New York,
you flaming liar.”

“No.” Jen defends herself. “I said he wouldn’t
be around for the party.  He flies out first thing tomorrow apparently.”

“It doesn’t matter anyway, for crying out
loud.  If we run into each other we do.  Although, I’ve got to knuckle down to
my writing, so chances are it won’t happen anyway.  Now I’m starving, when can
we eat?”

As if on cue we hear Razors voice, I
presume talking on the phone.  So Jen and I walk into the kitchen, and I give
her a hand to dish up dinner.  

*****

While we eat dinner, Razor keeps us
entertained with tales of the bands early days.  He tells us about the one time
he and AJ, after a heavy drinking session, got locked out of a hotel room only
wearing their boxers.  They had to hide in a store cupboard, until they saw a staff
member who was able to let them back into their room.

“Luckily, that one never ended up on
YouTube.” he laughs. “Unlike some previous exploits.”

He’s a really funny guy, and I can
understand why Jen is so taken with him.  To look at him, you would think he
was some hard ass kind of guy.  It just goes to show, how appearances can be
deceptive.

For the first time in weeks, I’m having a
good time.  I’m with friends and I feel relaxed.  I just know I’m going to
enjoy my time in LA.

I haven’t yet mentioned the apartment to
Razor, and I feel guilty about him paying for the rental.  I know that kind of
place can’t be cheap, and even though Jen is adamant about not giving them their
money back, I feel obliged to mention it to him.  I don’t want to insult him by
offering to pay for his gift, and I’m nervous as hell, but even so, I decide to
gather my courage and get it over with.

“Razor about the
apartment…” I start.

“Boo.” Jen warns at the same time as Razor
leans forward, and cuts me off.

“Jorgi girl, don’t sweat it.  You’ve had a
bad few months, what with your mother passing.  It’s a gift from both of us.  Jen
has already told me you offered her the money.  Don’t you insult me now by
doing the same.  Okay?”

Well, that didn’t work.  I have no choice
but to accept their gift graciously.

“Thanks.” I smile at them
both.

“Told you.” Jen says with
a smirk, and I burst out laughing.

We spend the rest of the evening happily
chatting away, swapping tales of our youth, and before I know it, it’s late and
Tiny appears as if by magic to drive me home.  We say our farewells, and I ride
back to the apartment, thinking about how during the evening, I had observed
Razor and Jen when they weren’t aware, and witnessed the way they gazed at each
other.  The secret smiles that passed between them, the touch of each other’s hand.
 Yep! They have both got it bad.

Arriving at the
apartment, Tiny accompanies me to the door.

“Thank you Ross.” I say
as I unlock the door.  

“It’s a pleasure Miss
Morgan.” he replies.

“Oh please, it’s Jorgi.” I request.

Smiling and with a nod of his head he says
“Goodnight Jorgi.” I say goodnight and watch as he walks down the path, before
closing and locking the door.

Tomorrow I’m helping Jen get ready for the
party.  Although what that entails is anyone’s guess, as she has already told me
she has a caterer coming in.

I walk through to the bedroom, remove my
make-up and crawl into bed.  Today has been a good day.  Bring on tomorrow, is
the last conscious thought I have, as sleep claims me.

*****

The party’s in full swing, and I’m having
the time of my life.  There are so many people here, it’s a good job the
party’s being held in the garden and around the pool area.  It appears that in
LA, parties are held on a huge level, and I smile to myself as I wonder what
happened to Jens “quiet get together.”

Earlier, I’d made my way outside, to find
music playing, and such a copious amount of food available, I felt full just
looking at it; this being accompanied by every drink you can imagine, being available
to wash it down.

Of course, all the band are here with their
partners; April and Naomi who are with Jason and Travis, and Zack; who is
unattached at the moment, but watching him work the crowd, I have a feeling that
it won’t be long before that status is altered.  Of course, much to my relief
AJ isn’t here.

Jen is in her element, playing the perfect
hostess, mingling among the guests.  I’m pleased that she hasn’t felt the need
to stay by my side all evening.  I have to admit, that earlier on I did feel a
bit like a fish out of water, but the band and their girls, have made sure that
I have not been left alone for long.  I feel that I have been welcomed wholeheartedly
by them all into the fold as a friend.

At the moment, I’m standing telling the
girls about my day, which has been the best day in LA so far.  Apparently, Jens
idea of helping her get ready for the party didn’t include caterers.  No.  It
included a spa day of pampering for us both, an appointment at the hairdressers,
and a shopping session for an outfit.  So I’m standing here, having been
massaged, manicured, and styled.

My hair is falling in soft curling layers down
my back.  I don’t know how the stylist did it, but it looks awesome, and it
brings out the auburn colour so well.  I’m wearing a real kick ass outfit that
I fell in love with, and according to Jen I just had to buy.  Of course, I’m
wearing my trademark jeans, but these are tight black jeans, with a hint of
sparkle on them, topped off with a silver grey silk halter neck top, which is
quite low at the back.  I have to admit, I was a little apprehensive about the
halter neck at first, but it feels so soft against my skin and is so
comfortable; I just had to buy it.  Of course, I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t
wear lots of silver bangles, and dangly silver earrings, and finally some high
heeled silver sandals with crystals on them.

I have
to admit I feel good, and I’m happy to say I’m holding my own against the LA
set.  

Jen
appears at my side, grabs my hand and starts pulling me in the direction of the
area designated for dancing.

“Come on
girls, it’s time to boogie.” She yells and without a choice, we all follow her
to the dance floor.  

I love
to dance.  I can lose myself very easily in music; which means I’ll just do my own
thing, and forget all that’s going on around me.  Jen has often said, she might
as well be on the dance floor by herself once I’m in the groove.  She has never
admitted it, but the fact is, she is just the same.  This evening being no
different, as it doesn’t take long, and we are both in a world of our own,
doing our thing.

One track
leads to another, and feeling thirsty, I head off the dance floor towards the
bar, asking first for a glass of water, followed by a glass of wine; my drink
of choice this evening.

I turn
and face the party, scanning the crowd for Jen.  Yep, there she is.  Dancing
away, oblivious to all around her and dancing totally on her own.  Ha! So like
me, just who is she kidding? I laugh to myself.

I take a
sip of my drink and turn to see if I can spy April and Naomi.  Finally spotting
them over the other side of the garden within a crowd of people, I start to
move in their direction, only to pull up sharp when one of the men, who had his
back to me, looks to the side and I identify AJ.  Shit! What’s he doing here? He’s
supposed to be in New York.  I quickly veer to my left, and decide another
direction to walk is the best option.  Not sure where I’m heading, I resolve to
find somewhere quiet, finish my drink and consider my options.