Page 15 of The Fire Walker
Rolling my eyes, I waved her off, then downed my cup of lukewarm coffee and made a face. Caffeine wascaffeine.
“Okay,” Georgie yelled, clapping her hands to get everyone’s attention. “Places!”
The photographer went nuts after that, flashing bulbs and elbowing Georgie out of the way when she got too close. All in all, it was about fifteen minutes, and we were done. We had all had enough of Georgie, but Georgie didn’t seem to notice. I’d known the woman all of a day, and already, I knew I’d be glad to see the back ofher.
They’d dressed us in Calvin Klein-Hugo-GAP-whatever, and the first chance I got, I slipped away to change back into my own stuff. I didn’t care for labels and fashion that much. Of course, I knew image had a lot to do with a band, but shit, our image was nonchalance. Pulling on my own black jeans and boots, I yanked off the shirt and T-shirt the stylist had given me and reached for my own. That was when the dooropened.
Turning around, I expected to see Chris or Frank, but my mind instantly cursed on my behalf.Shit, fuck,ass.
“I’d hoped I would get a chance to talk to you alone before the concert tonight,” Georgie said, slinking over tome.
I had no shirt on, and suddenly, I felt my skin prickle. Not in a good way, either. As I went to pull on my T-shirt, she slid her fingers around my wrists, stoppingme.
“Georgie…”
“How about it?” she asked, her hands moving across my skin to my waist. “We’ve gottime.”
Yeah, maybe I should’ve been more assertive the night before instead of getting Jessie to save me. If I’d been less of a pussy, then maybe I wouldn’t be in this situation rightnow.
Grabbing her wrists, I pried her hands from around my waist. “Not gonnahappen.”
“Are you sure?” she purred, and I had to stop myself from visibly cringing. Women like her, who thought they could win over every guy with sex, turned meoff.
“Positive.” I let her go, pulled my T-shirt on, and grabbed my jacket from the back of thechair.
“It’s Jessie, isn’t it?” she scoffed. “You want to fuck her, don’tyou?”
The way she said her name fueled my annoyance into an inferno. She’d said it like she was some kind of pathetic ant she wanted to squash under her boot. She didn’t seem to think much of her intern, who seemed to put up with a lot of shit if her behavior right now was anything to goby.
“Never touch me again,” I hissed and walked out, slamming the door behind me. I was seriously riled up. That woman waspsycho.
Even if Jessie weren’t in the picture, I would never go there. I’d never done meaningless in my life, and I wasn’t about to start because of a little bit of fame. Replace Georgie with Jessie, and you had my fantasies becoming a reality. Her hands could wander wherever the hell theywanted.
We had to be at sound check in an hour, and all I wanted to do was get there so I could see her. I didn’t know what the hell I was going to do since it was probably the last chance I’d get, but I had to dosomething.
That night,our gig was slated in at Troubadour, which was meant to be some iconic rock venue that had seen everyone from Prince to Guns ’n’ Roses and unknowns in between, but all I had been thinking about all day was you know who. After the shenanigans at the photo shoot, all I could think about was trying to get her talking to me again. For Jessie to be able to put up with Georgie the bitch and have the demeanor she’d had thus far, she must be somethingelse.
Last night at the club, the few words we’d exchanged had been more meaningful than anything Georgie had spouted. Then she’d just walked away mid-conversation. That was weird, wasn’t it?Yeah, it was weird. I didn’t even say anything stalker-ish. Notreally.
Troubadour had a great vibe, and it was exactly my kind of venue. The crowd could squash right up against the side of the stage, and it was small. I mean, a fair amount of people could cram inside, and no doubt, the place would be an oven in five seconds flat, but it was perfect. I should have been excited. Iwasexcited. I was amped so much Zoe kept giving me looks as we helped bring our gear inside. I knew I wasn’t myself, but what could I do about it? Knowing there was an imminent encounter with Jessie, screwed with my head. Maybe once I got on stage, things would evenout.
Hauling gear occupied my hands, and it was probably the only thing keeping me together. I bet if Georgie found us helping the crew, she’d blow an artery, but it was how we did things. We started out with nothing and would probably never forget it. Making it big, for me, wasn’t ever about the money, though it was nice. Making it was about playing for as many people as I could, and I knew the guys were the same. Getting a deal didn’t mean we had to turn into self-important assholes. That and I didn’t like anyone touching myguitar.
Standing on stage as the techs set up our gear, I wrapped an arm around Zoe’s waist and said, “No more singin’ in the shower, ZoZo.”
“I think we’re well past that,” she said with achuckle.
“Miles pastit.”
“Feelingbetter?”
I gave her a squeeze. “Now I’m standing here,yeah.”
She bumped against me with a grin and put a hand over my heart. “Love you, DeeDee.”
“At least somebody does.” I winked, earning myself a slap on thearm.
A high-pitched wolf whistle split the close air of the venue, making us look up. “Hands off mygirlfriend!”
