Page 73 of All Right No
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18thNovember, Rockfield Studios, Wales.
“Tell me again why we spent the day playing golf?” Dani asked as she and Ginny got out of the taxi at Rockfield Studios. Black Halo were into their second week there, and as the guys were busy all day in the studios, Dani, and Ginny had taken to exploring the Wye valley area.
“Because, m’dear, we’ve already been to the local towns, walked the forests and seen the butterfly farm—”
“—I liked the butterflies.”
“—and you refused to consider canoeing, caving or cider tasting.”
“No one here needs any encouragement to drink. If we’d gone there, Xane would have given me a shopping list.”
“I didn’t think cider was his tipple.”
“Anything’s his tipple if it’s on hand at the end of the day.” They entered the central living space of their accommodation to find that morning’s dishes still on the table, and various notebooks and computer tablets scattered among them. “Do you think they’re all still in the studio?” Dani tipped her wrist to look at her watch, newly acquired four days ago during their outing to Monmouth.
Ginny set her mouth in an irritable moue. She sincerely hoped not, as today was Ash’s turn in the hot seat—well, the guitar booth. They were supposed to be recording the lead guitar tracks for a couple of the new songs. Luthor had been beating his drums all the previous day, and had been knackered by the end of it. Ash didn’t have nearly the same degree of stamina. The doctors might have given him the all clear for the tour, but that didn’t mean he was fixed, any more than his release from hospital had. He was still fighting with fatigue, and sometimes he’d suffer from strange sensations in his arm, or fight back tears over the cramps in his fingers. The G-plan had only been able to accomplish so much, likewise the impact of his healthier state of mind, but neither could entirely fix him. In the end, time was the only thing that could entirely set him to rights, and time always seemed to be in ruddy short supply.
“I’m going to check the bedroom, and put something slouchy on.” Dani gave her a wave.
Ginny turned to the sink and the kettle. She now knew better than to attempt to set foot inside the live room while recording was taking place if she a) valued her hearing, and b) didn’t want some tech guru tearing a strip off her. Also, if they were still in the studio working, the last thing she wanted to do was cause the sort of disruption that meant Ash had to start all over again.
Dani returned before the kettle had boiled, having changed into skull and crossbone leggings and a Black Halo T-shirt. She thumped a mug down on the counter alongside Ginny’s.
“No sign of them?” Ginny asked in reference to her friend’s lovers.
Dani drummed her fingers against the countertop. “They’re in bed. Apparently, they’re heading back to work in a minute or two, but I think the fact that the emphasis has been on Ash and Spook today has given them an excuse to slack off.”
“Are you saying they’ve been there all day?”
Her friend claimed her drink and wandered over to the sofa, where she tucked her feet up beneath her.
“They’re in bed and you came back out here to drink tea?” Oh, how times had changed. Not so long ago that sort of discovery would have resulted in a total emotional breakdown.
Dani tutted. “Honestly, Ginny, they’re just sleeping.”
“Yeah, and I suppose afterwards, they’ll just be showering, and just brushing their teeth.”
“Exactly, they don’t spend the whole time on other stuff.”
Fucking was what Dani meant, and Ginny would lay money on a fair amount of that having taken place over the time they’d been out golfing.
Ginny settled beside her friend and gave Dani’s thigh a friendly pat. “You know I think it’s epic that you’ve come to terms with the fact your boyfriend also loves someone else.”
“Boyfriends,” Dani corrected her, only for a stomach deep moan to rise from her throat. “And I’m not sure I’ve come to terms with anything. It’s great when we’re together, but when we’re not… It’s difficult, Gin. I don’t think my heart’s as enormous as either Xane’s or Luthor’s. They don’t seem to have any problem finding enough love to go around. I sometimes feel like I’m so stretched out something’s going to snap.”
“Are you sure the stretched feeling isn’t from being overfilled?”
Dani’s mouth dropped open.
Ginny clapped her hands over her own mouth. “Shit. Sorry. That was a really bad joke. I didn’t mean to imply anything.”
“Yes, you did, and no, it’s not that. That bit’s fine. I just don’t know if I’ve enough love in me to keep two men happy.”
“You seem to be doing an ace job so far. I haven’t heard either of them complaining.” Considering the traumatic start to their three-way relationship, it seemed remarkably stable, looking in from the outside. She guessed, the real test for them would come once they were all back on the road and under the scrutiny of the world press. Even supposing their polyamorous arrangement was accepted and not simply outright condemned as satanistic, they’d still end up subject to a heap of rubbernecking.
“They do a lot of stuff just the two of them.”
