How to Catch Butterflies (14 page)

When she eventually returned, he was still there. She ran right past him. She knew he was saying something to her. She signaled that she couldn’t hear as she past him.

Saying to him again, “FUCK OFF GEORGE” as she went inside the apartment building.

‘I’ve spent too much time on that wanker’
she thought, She was hungry; knowing she had nothing in it was time to shop for groceries, grabbing her keys. As she got out the lift she could see George waiting for her again.

‘Jesus doesn’t he ever give up?
And then she thought back to how he had spent the months wooing her. Monaco and the last few months, she felt such a fool to have given him her heart so freely. She had foolishly thought he was worthy of it. How wrong she was, she felt her lip tremble.

Jesus girl pull yourself together and put your ‘Bitch on’
she scolded herself. And with that she held her head high indignantly as she walked past George. He went to speak again she held her head high again looking right through him.

“Fuck off George” and off she went and the same when she came back “Fuck off George.”

She did not care nor know when George left. She was going to go out tonight. She was off to a well-known music venue tonight. One of her Company’s signings were doing a promotion thing. Going out on her own wasn’t a biggie for her.

She often went to gigs on her own or she brought a friend or two. There were always people she knew there from work. So she’d be in for a great night, especially if it was the usual suspects who were always at these gatherings.

She loved the perks of her job. It was a fantastic industry to be in. She knew all the top clubs; her name on the guest list at all of them. She knew the top DJ’s personally (and not in a sexual way either), what was happening and where. Free concert tickets the works, she hadn’t been out recently due to him.

NOT any more Mister
she thought
I am not putting my life on hold for a guy
. She made a few phone calls and had a plan of action.

“Roll on tonight’ she sung
clapping her hands in the air as personnel high five.

Lucy stood there naked, bar the towel on her head in front of her triple mirrored wardrobe music blaring, as the bass pounded the mezzanine floor. She slid back each door viewing the racks in front of her
;
she loved her clothes, her hips wiggling along to ‘Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’s – Thrift shop’.

She had designer duds from their prospective stores, from charity shops. ‘
Why not when you can get it for half the price or less which is better
’, running her fingers thought the neatly hung garments stopping at the jeans section.

“Hmmm,” she thought out loud and stopping at her ‘ye old Faithfull’s’, “Yep those” as they were un-hung and placed on the bed in one swift move. She was back and looking through her T shirts. That was a task in itself, as she collected retro band shirts. Finally she selected her black Floyd prism ‘T’ and her leather biker jacket to complete the ensemble that lay waiting for her on her bed.

She dried her hair leaving it loose, tonight she was rock chicking it. A small touch of mascara, a bit of lippy and she was ready and out the door to the black cab she had booked earlier.

It was a great gig. The band was rocking the roof. Lucy danced her feet off all night with Sarah and Deb’s, two fellow ‘nutters’ from work, that were totally in love with this particular band. All three of the girls had seen the stud in the corner.

It was Sarah that seen ‘the stud’ first. Sarah was actually pointing finger at him as she gushed about
what she would do with that if she had him and a lot of licking was involved, along with a pair of handcuffs
.

He had caught all three girls having a good look. He raised his bottle of beer as a ‘hello’. Lucy turned her head slightly embarrassed she’d been caught eyeing up the hottie. Not Deb’s though, who waved like a mad loony at him.

Once the gig had finished, all three girls and a few other colleagues made their way backstage to the after show party, their passes hanging around their necks.

It was pretty busy at the party, usual faces a few new ones and him the ‘Adonis’ as he was aptly named by Deb’s. She could feel his eyes on her wherever she went.

Christopher Harper had been watching Lucy all night. From the moment he’d seen her, dancing and singing along to the band that had been playing. She had been surrounded all night.

She had endless guys hitting on her all night, which she completely ignored much to his amusement.

When he’d seen that she was alone, he made his move.

“Can I buy you a drink?” He joked handing her a glass of champagne, flashing a brilliant smile and perfect teeth.

She was leaning against a wall where Sarah and Deb’s had left her. The band, who were just gigging, entered the after party much to their squeals of delight. She never did the groupie thing and those two should have been well used to it with all the do’s they’d all gone to. She was clearly unimpressed with them.

Meeting his gaze she looked him up and down. ‘
God, he is good-looking
’ she thought.

“Twirl,” she said spinning her finger motioning to him, taking his perfect physic in with her eyes, to her surprise as he moved around.

“
Hmmm
” she thought looking again at his face and body
.
“You know it’s free
,
” she said looking at him.

“You looked thirsty after all that dancing,” he said modestly still flashing his million dollar smile trying to hand her the champagne filled glass.

He was incredibly easy on the eye; dressed in a nice suit, his hair short, tight at the sides nicely styled, his face was strong. ‘V
ery handsome,’
she thought.

“Nice…”
S
hit
she hadn’t meant to say that out loud
but she still held his gaze.

He laughed and gestured with his head so to join her in the empty space right beside her, “Actually I’m just off,” she said and walked off putting her glass on a table.

Chris’s eyes followed memorized till she had walked out the door.

He stood momentarily dazed by what had just happened.
She just knocked him back without a second thought the ‘MINX’,
he thought before setting the two glasses on the same table she had.

He quickly followed her out. As he hurried out of the exit, he caught sight of her black taxi cab driving away; he was too late... he had missed her.

She was sitting smiling to herself about the great night she had, when the taxi pulled up outside her building. It was only when she had got out of the cab when she spotted George; he had been waiting still since she had left earlier.
What a bunny boiling prick
.

“FUCK OFF GEORGE,” she stated as she passed him again.

Same on Sunday, Monday, in fact on Monday he had stepped up his game. He must have had shares in a flower shop. Flowers, calls, her P.A. took messages. He couldn’t get through on her mobile she had blocked him.

Her poor P.A. was a lovely polite girl, who was finding it very hard to just take his endless messages. Rebecca had told her to tell him to stop harassing her but she couldn’t do it. Poor thing by the end of the week her bin was full of the unwanted messages but she got harder as the weeks went on and had stopped writing them by the second.

She worked through the days, her P.A grabbed her lunches, she worked late all month to make up for the ‘leaving on time’ she had done in the last few months since Monaco. Her time had been filled with a George fest.

She was still thinking of the wasted seven months she spent with George. She was angry and hurt; she had really liked him. Why didn’t he tell her?

When she was leaving there ‘George’ was there AGAIN waiting. He did all month come rain or shine,

Every time she pasted him heading for the station she would only say;

“FUCK OFF GEORGE” never giving him a chance to speak never wavering.

It was like that all month for George, but he was there every day or night without fail. He just wanted the chance to explain.

*

Two weeks after first meeting Chris Harper, she was there again at the same venue with Deb’s and Sarah and a few other comrades. Chris had made sure he was there in the off chance she might be there.

He looked for her all night at the busy venue. Then he saw her, she was looking just as gorgeous; if not more. She was being chatted up yet again, looking rather bored mouthing silently
‘Help me’
to one of her friends who was at the other end of the table.

He watched finding it funny until he saw the guy getting a bit touchy feely. He saw she was looking slightly uncomfortable.

Seizing an opportunity, he walked up to Lucy, spinning her round into his strong arms.

“There you are darling,” he said kissing her tenderly on the lips much to her surprise.

Totally ignoring the flabbergasted Mr. Wandering Hands, who just stood there with his jaw hanging as Christopher’s firmly kissed Lucy.

“Oh do excuse me Christopher Harper how rude of me” he said turning to him.

He extended his hand out to the bewildered chap, who eventually shook his hand and apologized for hitting on his girl before walking off into the crowd.

*

“Thought I’d try a different approach this time,” he said flashing his smile at her giving her a cheeky wink. Lucy laughed.

“Much better this time” Lucy went to walk off.

“Surely not again.” He said gently catching her wrist,

”Have a glass of champagne with me at least. Just think of it as your good deed of the day,” he said joking beckoning her to him with his hand.

“It’s a free bar.” Lucy laughed and walked to the bar with him.

“Let me guess,” he said. “You’re more of a spirit girl. Jack Daniel’s, I reckon’ and called for the bar tender who promptly arrived ready to take they’re order.

“Actually I’m more of a ‘Club Havana girl’,” she replied in her smooth tones making eye contact with the bartender, slightly flirting with him. Of course she was a jack’s girl but she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of being right.

Chris having seen the bartender being mesmerized by her glance quickly snapped him out of her bewitching gaze and asked for; “Two Club Havana’s.” The bartender nodded.