Page 34 of The Fire Walker
As she walked away across the bar, I took my phone out of my pocket and brought up the contacts. Zoe was right in so many ways. Wallowing would only break me further, except it was hard to get out of the hole that I’d already dug myself into. The whole thing had that kind of effect on me, the one where it had smacked me around and left me dazed. Jessie wasn’t coming back. Why the fuck wouldshe?
Step one in getting over Jessie Ware was deleting all traces of her out of my life. I stared at her number in my phone and with a sigh, presseddelete.
The next day,the only piece of information Zoe would give me was ‘bring your guitar.’ Whatever thatmeant.
I only had the beat-up acoustic we messed around with while on tour. All our other gear had been sent back to Australia a couple of days ago. So I stood in the hotel foyer with it slung over my back, waiting for her and Will to show, like the rough as guts bloke I was. If the concierge hadn’t seen us loitering around for the past three months, he would probably toss meout.
“Hey.” I turned at the sound of Zoe’s voice and smiled as she approached withWill.
“Hey, mate,” he said. “Ready togo?”
“Raring. Where wegoing?”
“Guerrilla busking,” Zoe said with an evilsmirk.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked, cocking my head to the side. Sounded like some kind of terroristplot.
“Busking without permission,” Will said, wiggling his eyebrows. “The riskier, thebetter.”
Zoe elbowed him with a laugh. “We’re going to play some of our new stuff, and Will’s gonna film it. Simone reckons it’s a great idea. We’ll stick it on our YouTubechannel.”
“Don’t you need some kind of permit to buskhere?”
She shrugged, giving me a wicked smile. “Dunno. Let’s find out the hardway.”
“Are you trying to get me arrested? How’s thatproductive?”
“The only cops we’re gonna have to tangle with are the wannabeones.”
That could only mean we were going to a shopping center or someplace like it. Maybe the boardwalk. “Security guards like to crack skulls,Zo.”
“And if they try anything, I hope you remember how torun.”
“Why are you doingthis?”
“Because even though life has kicked you in the gut, you need to be reminded of all the good things that are still in it. Like music, friends, the thrill of spontaneity…me.”
“Hey,” Will said, pinching her on theass.
Letting out a squeal, she turned around, almost knocking me out with her guitar that she had slung over her back and laid a kiss on her boyfriend. I suddenly felt like a third wheel and a pretty pathetic one atthat.
“Let’s go before I decide to run the other direction,” I said sharply, beginning to walk toward the revolving doors. Zoe ran up behind me and threaded an arm through mine, our guitars smashing together. “You’re paying bail if I get locked up,” I said, wincing as an off-tune note thrummed out into the marblefoyer.
“You’reon.”
It wasn’t long until we were walking down Rodeo Drive with all its designer stores, wannabe celebrities, and heaving hordes of tourists. Almost every store had a security guard positioned at the door. You know, those big beefy guys with sunnies and crew cuts who looked like they were Secret Service wannabes. Cracking skulls. Yeah, not such afan.
We positioned ourselves out the front of a designer boutique with bags, purses, and shoes of all kinds in the window. All sparkly and expensive looking. There was a lot of foot traffic, most of it going in and out the store. I reckon we would be annoying more than anything, not exactly LAPD fodder, more like mall cop candy. Will backed up across the footpath with his video camera and gave us the thumbsup.
“?Red Heart’?” Zoe asked with awink.
“Let’s doit.”
The moment Zoe and I began playing, it all came flooding back. The passion, the uninhibited feeling of being lost in this thing we’d created. In my wallowing, I’d let my grip slip on the one thing that kept me afloat all these years. Music was my soul. Fuck that othershit.
We’d almost gotten to the end by the time the security guard wised up and saw us standing out the front of their perfect window display. A crowd of people had gathered and were blocking the entrances, making it hard for people to get in andout.
“Hey!” he yelled at us, and instantly, our audience started to disperse. Five-thousand-dollar handbags must be serious business in theseparts.
