Everything She Needs (The Everything Trilogy) (29 page)

Everything was happening so fast. Jack and Elle were due in at 4:30pm from London, and I was making my debut as a band member of XrAid at 9pm at Blazers, one of the hottest clubs in Miami.

I drove the short distance to Miami International Airport to meet my friends. I left home when they texted me to say their plane was on the ground
, but they were still inside.

I knew with customs I had plenty of time to get there. As soon as Jack saw me he bent his legs, crouching a little
, and ran towards me. He picked me up and spun me around, and Elle jumped on Jack’s back and hugged me from behind him. It felt amazing to have them with me.

We talked nonstop on the way to the apartment. Jack was desperate to get to the beach. I think that was more to do with ogling the women than wanting to swim; but he was from the UK, so maybe he just wanted some sun. Elle fell asleep five minutes from the apartment.

Jack turned and looked at her gaping mouth. “Do you see that? So not pretty, I’ve been looking at that for most of the flight, she’s such a weak assed traveler.” I chuckled at him and he grinned wickedly at me.  Jack knew it was a big night for me, and he was as nervous for me as I was. It didn’t stop him from flirting with me though.

“So, can I be a groupie when you’re done later?” I stared him down then pretended to check him out
.

“Not sure Jack, if you come back stage later I’ll ask, but I’m not sure you’re batting for the same team as any of the guys.” He grinned widely and laughed heartily
.

“When was the last time you got laid? That was a tight
-assed, frustrated answer if ever I heard one.”

Holly and Brett, like most people, were confused by my relationship with Jack.  Especially when they heard that Elle was
staying in Saffy’s room, and Jack was sleeping with me.

Elle explained that she needed a lot of space when she slept and usually woke me up all night as she tossed and turned, unless of course, she was really drunk.

Jack, on the other hand, slept better in a strange bed if I was with him. We blamed our parents for putting us to sleep in the same bed since the age of four. As we got older, any time we stayed over at each other’s houses, we snuck into the other’s bed for comfort.

Brett commented, “Shit, I always thought my parents were the best, guess I never had the level of parenting you did Jack. Now I know I was definitely deprived.”

Elle snickered. “Nah, sleeping with Lily had a traumatic effect on Jack during his teenage years. It turned him into a man-whore. Although I believe he’s had counseling, and his urges are more under control now.” She grinned.

Holly came into the room
. “Y’all are craaaaaazy! I’m listening to this, and I wished I had friends like you when I was a child. All my girlfriends were boring pageant dolls and playboy playdates smelled like girls.”

Jack slung his arm over Holly’s shoulder
. “Awe poor baby, I’ll play with you, tell me what you want,” he teased with a sleazy tone to his voice.

Brett stiffened
, and Holly screamed with laughter when she noticed his reaction. “I guess Brett’s staying while y’all are here.”

Brett grinned
. “Now you’re talking,” and high fived Jack.

Holly and Brett took Jack and Elle for something to eat, whilst I got ready for my debut. They were coming to the gig, so I wouldn’t see them until after the deed was done.

As I got ready, my mind went back to Alfie. I couldn’t help but think of him. The way he carried himself off on stage and how he looked will be burned into my mind’s eye forever.

Seeing him on stage at the O2, his performance had been effortless. I could never hope to be at his level. I sat on the edge of the bed, desperately trying to fight back tears.

I couldn’t afford to cry. I flicked through some of our old texts and smiled. Then sighed and swiped it closed before stuffing it in my bag and turning my attention to dressing for the gig. Megan had come up trumps again for me.

She put together a hot pants outfit, which consisted of black leather hot pants and
a super tight, figure hugging, red stretch t-shirt, with a black top that looked like strings or laces, but they didn’t detract from the red t-shirt. She gave me heels too, black patent with red soles and lots of funky chains and a wrist band. I definitely looked like a rock chic.

My cell phone buzzed, and I rummaged in my bag again, thinking of Alfie. I swiped the cell window, wouldn’t it be just like it for him to contact me today. It was Mandy.

Mandy: Break a leg honey.  You are going to be sick. I am jealous, and remember I’ll be right there in the crowd cheering for you. See you on the other side.

I got to the club at 6:30pm and had dinner with the band, although I hardly counted the four nachos, three pieces of lettuce, and tomato that I had to force down as dinner.

I thought my bladder was going to give out on me when Louie came in at the ten minute call to wish me luck. I flew back to the toilet for one
last try as adrenaline coursed through my body.

At five minutes we were standing at the side of the stage. My heartbeat was swishing in my ears
, and the blood that was pumping was visible, pulsing in the vein on the side of my neck. We made our way to the side of the stage.

Cody wrapped his arm around my neck and pulled me to him. “You’re
gonna do great, babe, just do it like we’ve been doin’ in rehearsals, and it’s no sweat.”

As soon as he pulled his arm back, we were up. Cody bounced onto the
stage, grabbed the mic and started shouting at the club goers. They were shouting back, their arms in the air, singing along and dancing to the beat we were putting out there.

Lennon nodded and smiled
; I took my cue and began singing, focused on Cody’s face initially then as I got braver I turned to the crowd.

The rush I felt was incredible, it was on a par with sex, hot sweaty sex, no orgasm but close. I began to get a feel for the music and soon forgot about the hundreds of people watching us.

When the music took over, it was about making it the best I could and getting lost in it. Cody was a natural, Lennon too, they worked the crowd, and these guys were obviously popular, as some girls were calling out to them, their arms swiping at the stage.

Cody flirted with them, bending close when he sang, wiping his face on a towel that he threw to one girl. She wiped her face with it
; I mean…eww!

It was apparent there would be groupies to deal with afterwards.  There were phone numbers attached to all sorts of things landing on stage. I even saw a number on the cardboard
of an unused tampon; novel I must admit.

I didn’t interact with the crowd at all, except when I was introduced near the end. The club goers cheered for me, and when Cody asked if they should let me stay, they cheered louder. It was reassuring that I hadn’t made an ass of myself. I was pumped
, though. I had never felt anything like it.

If I thought I had been making music with Will, I was completely wrong. Music
was about moving people, and like my tattoo said, “Music is the sound of feelings.” I hoped we made them hear how I was feeling tonight.

We came off stage after our one hour set and Cody, Lennon
, and Digs all gathered around me in a group hug. “Damn you’re sick,” Digs told me. I looked at the others, and they were grinning.

“You did it, we’re proud of you.” Lennon was grinning widely.

I felt more than a little chuffed with myself that meek little Lily pulled that off. I was sweaty, my makeup was plastered to my face along with half my hair, but I was so exhilarated.

We made our way back to the dressing room, and Shawn got busy getting beers for everyone. “Lily?” He wiggled a green bottle at me
, and I screwed up my nose.

“Is there anything else, apart from beer…a
Coke?” He started laughing.

“This cute little chic just rocked the house
, and she wants to celebrate with a Coke. No fucking way, dudette.”

He raked around in the cooler
. “There’s champagne and some of these things…fuck knows what they are, but they look girlie…you want one of those?” he asked, holding up a pre-mixed margarita bottle and waving it at me.

I smiled approvingly at him.
“Yeah, much better.” He tossed it over to me.

I caught
it, but almost dropped it as it slipped in my hand. It was wet with condensation. He threw the bottle opener as soon as I’d secured the drink and winked. I took the cap off my bottle as he walked away and started stripping.

All of a sudden, I had a whole new thing to deal with
; these guys weren’t shy, and they were sweaty.

Shawn disappeared into the bathroom
, and I breathed a sigh of relief only to nearly choke as I took a chug of my drink, throwing my head back but when my eyes came forward again, they settled level with Shawn’s naked front as he came out scratching his balls and looking for his body wash in his toilet bag.

I was frozen to the spot
, and my eyes were staring at his groin. I couldn’t help it. It was like watching something you didn’t want to see, but if I looked away, I thought it might get awkward, and I’d get ribbed by the guys.

So I took another swig of my drink, pulled the bottle away from my mouth and pointed it at his groin. Shawn smirked
, and it was as if the air had been sucked out of the room. No one breathed, as they waited for my reaction.

“Pretty junk you got there
,” I said nonchalantly and turned to take some chips from the bowl on the side. I sounded pretty cool, the way I handled it, but looks were deceiving; I was wigging out inside.

Lennon bust out laughing, “Pretty? First time I ever heard someone check someone else’s junk out like it was a designer purse.”

Cody’s beer came down his nose at Lennon’s comment, and Digs snickered but said nothing. “Who said anything about designer?” I retorted smirking.

Shawn grinned and shook his head
. “Way to go, Lily, but I bet you’re wet now, though,” he muttered before disappearing into the bathroom again. I kept a smile plastered to my face until the guys went back to what they were doing.

I showered and changed after the rest of the band had gone to the dance floor. I pulled on a mid-thigh length, jade green dress. It was perfect for dancing in. It was one of my
favorites and always kept me cool when I wore it to go clubbing.

I went out the front
, and Jack came running at me, dipped and grabbed me just above my knees, lifting me high. “You sexy little rock chick, where have you been hiding all that talent, the hard on I had watching you was painful.”

Cody moved in to protect me. “Cody, Jack, Jack, Cody.”
I introduced Jack to my bandmate.

Jack nodded at Cody and turned to me. “Dance now! I need to feel your ass rubbing against me.”

I swatted him hard. “Leave me alone, you pervert. I told you, no wiggling your dick at me. It’s old, I’ve already had that trauma tonight.”

The guys all laughed
, and Shawn bowed. Jack bunched his brows. “All I’ll say, Jack, is if penises were a designer, Target comes to mind.” I winked and Shawn grinned again.

“Nothing wrong with something that’s mass produced
,” he said.

Damn, the
guy could give Jack a run for his money with the quips, I’d give him that. We ended up having an amazing night and Cody, Lennon, and Elle hit it off. Shawn and Jack were kindred spirits and seemed to form an instant ‘bromance’.

Digs asked me to dance
, and I felt a little freaky about that, but we did, and he was actually a great dancer. He let me in on a little secret. His mother sent him to dance lessons as a child to curb his aggressive nature. I was truly amazed he was this guy underneath his scary appearance.

Holly, Brett, Mandy
, and Neil had been sitting with some co-workers of Brett’s but joined us when they left. Mandy and Holly were so supportive of what I’d done, I felt blessed in that moment to be able to share my moment with my friends like this.

I was especially pleased that Jack and Elle were here to share it. Suddenly I thought of Alfie. He had given me the confidence to do this, but didn’t get to see me at my best. As if Jack knew what I was thinking he leaned across the table and gripped my hand.

He gave me a soft smile, his eyes full of the love he had for me. He nodded his head towards the dance floor. The music was slower so I knew he could just hold me, and it wouldn’t seem weird. I rose, walking to him slowly and his arm came over my shoulder, pulling me in.

“He’d be proud of you honey. We all are
,” he murmured in my ear. He pulled me to his chest, and I concentrated on listening to his beating heart so that I didn’t cry. It was funny how Jack always knew what I was thinking.

He kissed my head and held me tight
. I realized it had been about six weeks since anyone had done that. The last person was Holly, in the days after Alfie and I split.