Authors: Cheryl Richards
“Sam,”
I said, “please take it.”
“Keep
it. What the hell am I going to do with it? Anyway, it’s part of your life. It
belongs on your charm bracelet.”
“Thanks,
Sam. I’m sorry it didn’t work out for us. We had a lot of fun together.”
“You
love me, Sunny.”
“I
never said I didn’t. I just love Lloyd more.”
“I
don’t believe you’re in love with him. Infatuated maybe. You can’t compare a
month to practically three years. When the blush wears off, you’ll be calling
me.”
“If
it makes you feel better to think that, go ahead.”
Suddenly
he asked, “Am I boring in bed?”
I
crossed my arms and looked at him incredulously. “Don’t be ridiculous, Sam.”
He
grinned. “Yeah, that was a stupid question.” His smiled faded. “You know, I
created the no-sex rule so Lloyd would get bored waiting around and dump you.
Looks like I screwed the pooch on that one.”
“You’ll
get over it. Just like when you dumped me when I was twenty-one.” I stood up
and threw out the trash. I took my glass from the table, rinsed it, and placed
it upside down in the sink.
“Wait
a minute. Did you break the no-sex rule?” he asked suspiciously.
I
came back to the table, picked up my handbag, and kissed him on the forehead.
“No, Sam. I don’t break my promises. Take care of yourself.” I grabbed my ski
coat and walked to the door.
“Sunny?”
I
looked over my shoulder.
“It
isn’t love. You’ll find out and be back. I always get you back.”
“Not
this time, sweetheart. Bye-bye.” I opened the door and left.
Chapter
57
Friday,
March 2nd
Tonight’s
the night. I still wasn’t completely sure this wasn’t some fantasy I had
concocted in my mind. Stress can make you do those things, and breaking up with
Sam wasn’t exactly a calming experience.
To think Lloyd was really going to sing for me in front of an
audience. My thrill meter was pegged on extreme.
After
I left Sam last night, I went shopping and picked up some stuff for this
evening. Tonight I planned to do things you only read about in women’s
magazines under titles like ‘craziest date’ or ‘sexiest evening.’ The type of
things you say to yourself, “That’s total bullshit. Nobody does things like
that.”
I
packed my overnight bag with these items, along with the slut clothes Lloyd
purchased for me. He was making it a memorable evening for me, so I thought I’d
return the favor. I did promise him a night to remember and I always keep my
word.
With
curlers in my hair, and my face makeup perfected, I removed the tags from my
new outfit, sold to me by none other than Brandi. It was a short, fitted lace
dress in red with a low cut back and low-scooped neckline. The sleeves were
three quarters long. The dress was clingy but in a classy way. I planned to wear
my stiletto heels with it. I had no plans to dance in them. Their sole purpose
was to make my legs to look unbelievably sexy when I sat with them crossed at
the band’s table. I would sit facing the stage for maximum effect.
The
phone rang and Brandi picked it up. “Sunny,” she yelled from the kitchen, “it’s
Lloyd.”
I
ran out of my bedroom and took the phone receiver from her. “Hi Lloyd. Just
getting ready.”
“Hey, I should have said something earlier. I’ll need you to
meet me at the bar. I have to get there early to set up, so I’m going with
Fred.”
“That’s
not a problem. I’ll just follow Alan and Autumn in my car. Then I can give you
a lift home. You play at nine?”
“Yeah.
It gets pretty crowded there, so leave early if you want a table. And avoid
anywhere near the speakers unless you want to go deaf.”
“I’ll
keep that in mind. Do me a favor?”
“You’re
calling in a lot of favors lately. When do I get repayment?”
“Tonight.
So I’m requesting that you don’t drink.”
“Are
you serious? We always throw a few back to loosen the tension before a
performance.”
“Well,
just one drink then, okay? I want you sober.”
“You’re
a very strange girl. But, I’ll humor you.”
“Thanks.
We’ll probably get there at least an hour before you go on, so I’ll wish you
luck when we get there.”
“I’ll
be looking for you, hon. Bye.”
“Bye-bye,
Lloyd.” I hung up. “You’re coming, right?” I said to Brandi.
“Uh
huh. Not with Jake though. His wife’s got him tonight, but I have another hot
guy picking me up at eight-thirty. Save us seats.”
“I’ll
do my best. I figure we’ll get a table next to the band’s table. With Autumn,
Alan, Chuck, Donna, and you two, maybe Gus, we’ll need at least seven seats,
not including mine. I better finish getting ready. Autumn will be here soon.”
I
went back into my bedroom and pulled out my curlers. In the bathroom, I styled
my hair and sprayed it softly. Better to have my curls fall, then to have a
shellacked head. I looked at myself in the mirror. Not exactly the sexy, casual
hairstyle I was going for, the one that every teenage girl managed to
accomplish with little or no effort. I sighed and went to get dressed.
When
I was adding my jewelry, I heard Alan’s voice in the living room. I finished
up, grabbed my overnight bag, and hustled out. I did not intend to be late
tonight.
We
arrived at eight in separate vehicles, paid the cover charge, and managed to
secure a table next to the band’s table. Nik saved a seat for me on the end,
facing the stage as I requested. That way I could talk to her and Autumn,
though we would be sitting at separate tables.
The
guys were setting up their equipment. I excused myself and walked over to the
stage. Lloyd wore the outfit I selected for him on our shopping spree. He
looked great in it. As he was tuning his guitar, I yelled out, “Pills!” He
looked up from his task and I waved.
He
put down his guitar, and walked over to where I was standing. When he got to
the end of the stage, he crouched down and smiled. “Hi.” He placed a soft kiss
on my accepting lips. “You look incredibly sexy tonight in that dress. I’ll be
afraid to open my mouth to sing. Drool might come out.”
“You
look pretty irresistible yourself. Put your left hand out.”
He
looked at me oddly but did as I requested. I secured a braided leather band
around his wrist. When I finished, he twisted it back and forth.
“What’s
this?”
“I
thought it had that rock star quality. Also, it’s to remind you that you belong
to me when all those women start screaming for you.”
He
chuckled. “It’s not like I’m Mick Jagger, hon. I don’t have groupies lining up
to sleep with me.”
“That’s
what you think. Give me another kiss.”
He
smiled and kissed me. “Thanks for this,” he said shaking his wrist. “I’ll be
down to say hi when we’re finished.” He stood and walked back to his guitar.
I walked
back and sat down next to Nik. Alan was ordering a pitcher of beer and a wine
for Autumn.
“Pills
looks great tonight,” she said to me. “I can’t wait to hear him sing again.
It’s been a while. Rob is really excited about jamming with him onstage. He
said no one else hammers the strings as well as Pills.”
As
we waited, the rest of my guests showed up and occupied the empty seats. I
chatted to Donna for a bit, while Chuck gave me the evil eye. I ignored him.
Finally,
Lloyd and the rest of the band members returned to the table. When everyone was
seated, Lloyd made the introductions with a possessive hand resting on my
shoulder. “Okay for those who don’t already know, I’m Lloyd Harper and this,”
he kissed the top of my head, “is my girlfriend, Sunny Kramer.”
Autumn
smiled and I heard Chuck make a disgusted sounding grunt. Donna hit him in the
ribs with her elbow.
“To
my right is Nikki Tomczak and her fiancé Rob Grier, Tina and her husband Fred
Johnson, Eric Zanuck, Autumn, Sunny’s sister, with her boyfriend, Alan Leif,
Brandi—sorry don’t know your last name.”
“Brandi
Baker and this is Doug Mueller,” she stated proudly. He gave a lopsided grin.
“Donna
Dombrowski and?” he looked to me for assistance.
“Chuck
Nelson,” I added.
“Thanks.
Whew! Now where’s that beer.”
Nik
handed him a bottle. He took it and clicked it against the glass of soda I was
holding, before taking a gulp. “First one, Sunny,” he said softly.
I
did a quick sweep of the band members. Rob looked nothing like I imagined.
Apparently Nik was attracted to the ‘bad boy’ look: sullen face, shaggy,
shoulder length, dirty blonde hair, mustache and soul patch, late twenties,
lean, average looking, with the exception of mesmerizing turquoise eyes with
long, to die for, black eyelashes. A Harley-Davidson logo tattoo covered his
left bicep. He wore black leather pants and a matching vest, no shirt. Both he
and Nik smoked self-rolled cigarettes.
Fred
looked hip in his black short-sleeved shirt with the yellow and red flames and
black jeans. He and Lloyd were the most conservative looking of the band
members. His shirt complimented his wife’s low cut red knit sweater and black
leather mini skirt. Like her husband, Tina was of average looks and weight. She
had enormous breasts, which were impossible not to notice before her face. Her
white-blonde hair looked natural and she wore it in choppy layers that framed
her heart-shaped face. I envied her perfectly applied eyeliner; a task I’ve
never been able to accomplish without the use of Q-Tips to clean up my mess.
Eric
looked like he was out-of-it. Dressed in tight black stretchy pants and an
outlandish purple and red striped tunic with gold trim, he definitely was the
most colorful of the group. Unfortunately, the bright colors made his pasty
complexion ghostlike. He stared off into space with a serious look on his face.
Ten
minutes later, the group was heading for the stage ready to perform. I was
thrilled. As Lloyd was heading up the steps I shouted, “Break a leg!” He
tripped and nearly did. I grimaced and he laughed.
Tina
moved closer, taking Lloyd’s seat so she could talk to us. I felt like Barbie’s
kid sister Skipper next to her, even in my push-up bra with the additional
padding.
Lloyd
walked up to the mike, his guitar hanging from a strap behind his back.
“Welcome! How we doing out there?”
Whoops
and hollers from the audience. A group of college-aged guys cheered loudly. We
joined them in cheers.
“Let’s
see if we can start things off by getting you on the dance floor.” He started
playing a riff from what sounded like “Play that Funky Music.” “On my right, we
have Eric Zanuck on the bass, Fred Johnson, drums.”
Eric
and Fred did a little jam together.
“On
my left, Rob Grier, rhythm.” Rob walked over and jammed with Lloyd.
“And
Lloyd Harper, on lead,” Rob said. “Deadly Dosage, ladies and gentlemen.”
They
began playing the song. It was fun watching conservative looking Fred move
around on his drum kit, grooving to the song, twirling his sticks. Rob sang
lead. His voice was quite a bit lower than Lloyd’s, who provided backup along
with Eric. Nik was dancing next to her seat with Tina.
The
next song, “Feels Like the First Time,” was a Foreigner favorite of mine. Lloyd
provided the lead vocals for it. By the time it ended, I’m sure everyone
noticed the star struck grin plastered on my face.
Someone
was tugging my sleeve. I turned around to face Autumn. “What’s up?”
“He’s
really good, Sunny. Too good for this place.”
“You’re
right.” I waved over at Donna and Brandi. Chuck gave me a dirty look. I knew he
thought I was a traitor. Sam was his best friend, so I can’t say I blamed him.
The
band covered songs by Thin Lizzy, The Steve Miller Band, and Boston to name a
few. The last song before they took their break was “Dream On,” sung by Lloyd.
When he sang the song, I got goose bumps it was so sexy.
The first set was over. Break time. Lloyd unplugged his
guitar and followed the guys off the stage. As he reached the last step, five
women in their early to late twenties pounced on him. Fred pushed his way
through and came over to the table.
“Just like old times,” he said with
a smile. “Like he never left. Hey, Tina, pass a beer down here.”
His wife filled a glass, passed it
to Nik who passed it to me. I handed it to Fred. “Thirsty?”
“You said it. So what do you think
of our star attraction?” He took a long gulp of beer, watching me.
My eyes veered over to where Lloyd
stood, being mauled by bimbos. I was pretty sure my face was becoming the same
shade of green as The Wicked Witch of the West. “I think he’s amazing. Everyone
in the band sounded great.”
Lloyd shot me an apologetic look as
he tried to pass by his groupies.
“Get used to it, Sunny,” Fred said
kindly and patted me on the shoulder. He went to chat up his wife.
“He’s popular with the ladies,”
Autumn said in sympathy. “Alan’s talking about joining a band now. He doesn’t
play an instrument, as you know. So I told him nobody wants a singing cop.”
“Let the guy dream. Lloyd sings
well, doesn’t he?”
“He does. Wish they’d sing some
more current stuff though. I want to hear some Maroon 5.”
“Not exactly classic rock, Autumn.”
“Yeah, well, I’m not an old fart
like you.” She took a sip of wine while I stuck out my tongue at her.