Page 25 of Replay
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“Where the fuck is Liam?Has anyone seen him?”Xane stalked back and forth across the front of the stage on theQueen Victoria’sentertainment lounge.He was pissy as hell with jet-lag having flown back from a six day trip to Fiji.The layered, ripped T-shirt and spray-on, skinny fit, black-as-sin jeans perfectly signalling his mood for anyone who couldn’t read body language.Tight lips, rigid spine, perky shoulders—anyone with half a brain knew to keep clear.Spook was sure as hell keeping his distance.
“He was looking a bit green when we boarded,” Ash replied.“He’s maybe in his cabin.”Black Halo’s lead guitarist was looking equally zombiefied.Honeymoon hangover, he’d attributed his lethargy to, when Rock Giant had asked a few minutes ago.A remark about staying power had then seen him flipping the big guy off.
Ah, if only the fans got to see them like this, they’d realise what a bunch of jerks they all were.
Or maybe not.They’d probably think it was cute.
“I just want to get this fucking soundcheck done so that I can get some shut-eye before the show, yeah,” Xane muttered to the room at large.“Dani, go bang on his cabin door, will you?Tell him to get his arse in gear.I know this is a cruise, but we’re here to work, not sip cocktails.”
Liam had likely never sipped a cocktail in his life.He was a real ale man.
Poor Dani was yawning into her sleeves, but she nevertheless tipped forward onto her feet as commanded, leaving her bar stool swaying.“I’ll try.Not that Liam ever listens to a word I say.”
“I’ll go,” Rock Giant offered, looking up from where he was on his knees unclipping the case of his bass guitar.He was currently the only one of them looking half way decent and almost pleased to be here.A quick flip and he was on his feet, only for Xane to bark an overly aggressive, “No,” at him.“We need you here.”
For a second, Spook thought Rock Giant was going to argue, but then Xane shucked off his top layer of clothing, leaving him naked from the waist up.If there was one guaranteed signal that their lead singer was on a super short fuse, it was his stripping on stage.They’d all of them been together long enough to know that.Even Luthor, who hadn’t reached the year marker yet.Liam needed to put in an appearance pronto, or he was going to get himself ripped a new arsehole when he did arrive.
“It’s all right, I’m already on my way.”Dani reached out a hand to sooth her irritable lover, but in his agitation Xane didn’t seem to notice.Luthor kissed her good luck instead.“I’ll take Mrs Gore with me.That should ensure he moves it.”
Mrs.Gore.Spook shook his head.That was going to take a bit of getting used to.
“Gin, come on.”Dani tugged on the back of her friend’s shirt, encouraging her to untwine herself from around Ash’s body.“We’ve a mission, and Ash needs all his limbs and whatnots for them to get set-up.”
“One more.”Ash pulled his new missus back for another lip-lock before reluctantly releasing her.“Don’t be long.”
“We’ll be right back with your wayward rookie.”Ginny grinned and squeezed his arse before leading Dani off towards the top deck.
A Black Halo cruise had seemed like a cool if slightly wacky idea when their manager had suggested it six months back.Now it was all down to logistics.The stage had to be set, the sound system adjusted for being aboard a floating hulk of metal, and all while several hundred raving Black Halo fans prowled the decks desperate for a glimpse of their favourite musicians, or to have a beer with them, or shag them.
He wasn’t naïve enough to think more than a few of the crowd were here with that express goal in mind.Including a certain lady he’d invited along.That had seemed like a good idea too, a week and a half ago, but then distance did seem to play havoc with his decision-making skills.Sleep had consisted only of deep and pleasant dreams, once Alle wasn’t occupying his bed.Or maybe that was the herbal remedies he’d been taking.“You know this was a crazy idea,” he muttered to Ash, who was already somehow ahead of him in hooking up his guitar.
“No loopier than a dozen other things we’ve done,” Xane butted in.“The real cray-cray will be tomorrow when we hit that festival in Gothenburg.The nine hundred-odd lunatics on this ship will be nothing to the sixty thousand—or whatever it is—absolute psychopaths there.”
“I thought crazy Swedes were your favourite,” Ash remarked, throwing Luthor a side-long glance.“You certainly scream his name plenty.”
“Let’s not get into who makes the most noise while humping,” Spook said.“It’s enough that the rest of us have to hear it, without the pair of you turning it into a competition.And by the way, I don’t think laying into Liam when he shows is a good idea.I’ve doubts about his ability to put himself out there as it is.It’s one heck of a sea of people you’re asking him to stand in front of.”
Neither Xane or Ash appeared to have heard him.
“One of these nights it’s gonna be us listening to you praise the gods, Spooky man,” Ash said, a grin contorting his handsome face.“Don’t think we haven’t noticed you getting hands on with a certain somebody who’s on board.Ooooh!Watch out world, someone’s unbuckled their chastity belt.”
“Oh piss off.”He did not need ribbing over this.
“We get to see the additions to the scrapbook, right?”Ash’s eyes were glittering, probably because he could get away with being salacious since his better half wasn’t in the room.
Somehow Spook managed to keep his face straight, and merely quirk an eyebrow.No one was laying eyes on whatever new additions he may or may not have in his journals, because what was going on between him and Alle Hutton was none of anyone else’s goddamned business.In any case, he’d only seen her for one night since they left Cannes.Admittedly, it had included a fair amount of frantic groaning.
He got tickles in his stomach when he thought about seeing her.And, an odd fizzy feeling hummed through his veins, not dissimilar to the nervous excitement he got before going on stage.It’d been a long time since he’d allowed himself to get emotionally attached.A long time since he’d opened himself up enough to get excited about another person being in his life.He didn’t want to muck this up.Didn’t want it to amount to nothing.God, how that scared the fuck out of him.
How long would it be until she appeared?
She’d be with Ronnie, he supposed.Rock Giant had insisted; he needed a friend along too, since the rest of them had all invited one.He and Captain Bubblebutt seemed to have forged a soul deep bond.All that needed to happen to cement it for eternity was for Ronnie to declare a passion for mushrooms.Then proper blood oaths could be sworn.
“You know, I don’t reckon they’re actually doing it,” Rock Giant remarked.He strummed a few strings, wrinkled his nose, and adjusted the tuning.“I think he’s too scared that she’ll be unimpressed to bang her.I mean, I know you swear you’re not a virgin, but you’ve gotta feel like one.You’ve probably got as much stamina as a—”
“I’m sure his stamina is just fine, Paul,” Xane said, resting a hand on the bass players back.“Let’s lay off on the teasing, eh?”
