Page 21 of The Librarian and the Rock Star

“No worries, just go be super charming. And mention the Montreal show.” She took off again, nearly jogging down the corridor.

Jack was grinning. “She’s amazing.”

“Yeah, she seems like she’s really on top of things.”

I looked up at him, then something in me seemed to snap. With barely a thought of where we were, I leaned up to kiss him. He seemed slightly surprised for half a second, then wrapped his arms around me tightly, the plastic bag smacking me softly in the rear. My hands were already around his neck, my tongue danced with his.

I couldn’t help but think that a Kirlian camera would be picking up actual sparks flying between our bodies. Yet with all of this passion and electricity, it felt right. Jack Vegas groping my ass and devouring my lips in the back hallway of a concert hall felt like an inevitability.

As he pulled away, he softly whispered, “I’m sorry, but I can’t be late.”

“I know,” I said. “Sorry. Apparently I’m a bad influence.”

“A wild woman,” he grinned, then slung an arm around my waist and walked me down a couple of corridors until I was truly lost.

I snuck a look up at his striking face, and couldn’t help but smile. We were completely comfortable together, despite being relative strangers. It was so new. Unusual. Unnaturally perfectly natural.

I realized that I was staring off into space and biting my lip. Was this the life shake up that I had been needing? Is throwing me into the arms of a guy who is unlike anyone I’ve ever met what the universe thinks I need right now?

I stifled a laugh as we approached an open door. There were two female voices inside, giggling excitedly.

“Of course he’ll be late,” one of the high little voices laughed. “It’s called rock star time, and they can do anything they like.”

Jack gave me a little squeeze then released me as we strolled in. “Hi ladies – one minute late doesn’t count, right?”

Two petite girls in their late teens with dyed black hair, one short and one long, jumped up to shake his hand.

“Hi, I’m Zoe.”

“And I’m Jackie,” said the girl with longer hair.

“Lovely to meet you both,” Jack said. “This is Keira.”

“Hi,” they both said at the same time, staring at me in a strange, guarded way.

“Don’t mind me,” I said, “I’ll just sit out of the way.”

Jack gave me a quick look, then pulled two chairs together for us to sit practically side-by-side. The girls sat down, and Zoe hit record on her phone, setting it on the table between us.

“We’re sitting here with Jack Vegas of Vegas Mud Disco. Jack, thanks so much for taking the time to chat to PennyRockMachine.com”

“Thank you for having me, and thanks for coming to our show.”

“We wouldn’t miss it,” chimed in Jackie. She was dressed more stylishly then Zoe, and looked like she had a bit of a punk vibe. I seriously envied her boots.

The rest of the interview went well, with the girls asking short questions, and Jack giving extended answers, about the music, the shows, and working on songs for the next album. I saw that his fingers were twitching slightly, but he was well spoken and calmer than I had expected. By the time Zoe ended the recording, I had actually learned quite a bit about where the band was right now.

It seemed to be an odd transitional time. They weren’t quite big enough for stadium shows, and their draw was uneven in some cities. People kept treating them as either a much bigger or much smaller than they actually were. Apparently, bands do not fit into the “medium-large” category very well.

Through the things that Jack said, and the things he did not say, it seemed like the record company didn’t quite know what to do with them, and promotion had been uneven. Much like my life, the band was in transition and needed a kick of energy to propel them into the next era.

As they said their goodbyes, I picked up the bag that Jack had dropped on the floor, presenting it to the girls. “Here’s a gift from Vegas Mud Disco.”

“Oh, yeah,” Jack said. “Thanks, Keira.” He gave me a broad smile that instantly registered in the eyes of Jackie and Zoe. They glanced at each other and subtly nodded.

Taking the bag, they took one glance inside and were instantly excited. “Thank you so much! We can use these as prizes on the website.”

“Or,” I said in a conspiratorial whisper, “You can keep them for yourselves as payment for working so hard on your website.”

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