Rock Stars Don't Like Ugly Bras (9 page)

As they got out of  the limo, Jake threaded his fingers with Amber’s and led her past the long queue of people at the entrance to Elite, the most exclusive club in town.

They walked up the steps to the VIP doorway, causing a few of the ‘normal’ clubbers in the queue to moan, while the rest of them quickly pulled out their phones to snap photos of Dirty Riches Lead Guitarist with,  they assumed, his latest one nighter. 

“Brett, my man,” Jake cried, slapping the black suited, wall like back of the monster of a man stood before him.  “How you doin’?”

Brett turned around slowly, with a look in his eyes that would have made most people wither and die on the spot. But when he saw it was Jake, his face broke into a wide grin. “Jake, hey,” he said. “I heard you was back in the U.K., but figured it was duff info’ seeing as you aint been to see us.”  His gaze then slipped to Amber.  “Good evening, Miss.”

“Hi,” Amber replied, smiling and briefly holding up her hand.

“Brett, this,” Jake said, turning to Amber, “is my beautiful girlfriend, Freckles.”

Brett frowned.  “Two things, Jake: Freckles?  And girlfriend?”

Jake nodded and pulled Amber to his side.  “Yeah, I know, I’m a changed man.”

Amber couldn’t help but notice the smirk on Brett’s face as he nodded.

“Never thought I’d see the day.”

“Well, you have, Brett.”  Jake said, his smile dropping as he noticed the disbelief in Brett’s face.  “Anyway, I need to get my gorgeous girlfriend inside.  See you later.”

As Brett bid him goodnight, Jake pulled Amber into the club’s dimly lit foyer. The place had only been open a few months and still smelled fresh and new.  The black and white chequered tile floor was pristine, while the white walls dazzled brightly, even in the half light.  At a black marble desk sat a beautiful blonde woman, her hair pulled into a tight bun on top of her head.  She was wearing a black figure hugging dress and her nails and lips were the colour of fresh blood.  As Jake approached, she spoke into the headset that was hooked around her ear.

“Good evening, Mr Hughes,” she said in a beautifully cultured accent.  “How lovely that you and your guest could join us tonight.”

“Thank you, Lana,” Jake replied, grateful that he was good at remembering names.  He’d only been here a couple of times when their tour had allowed, but he knew that his manners and good memory would get him better service tonight.

Amber, however, stiffened slightly at his side, immediately paranoid, and wondering whether there was some history between Jake and the girl.

“If you’d like to sign in, Andre will be with you in a couple of minutes.”  The blonde smiled warmly at Amber, putting her at ease.

Jake signed the register.  “I’ll open a tab,” he said, looking up at Lana. “You already have my credit card details, don’t you?” Lana nodded and smiled. At that moment, a tall, black haired man appeared through the etched glass double doors behind Lana’s desk.  He was swarthy with dark eyes and, some would say, handsome, but when Amber looked from him to Jake, she didn’t think that there was any contest.  Jake Hughes wasn’t going to lose the title of sexiest man alive that she’d appointed him anytime soon.

“Mr Hughes,” the man said holding his hand out to Jake.  “I’m Andre, your host for the evening.  Please, if you’d like to follow me I’ll show you and your guest to your table.”

Jake and Amber, hands clasped together again, followed Andre as he made his way through the club.  Amber looked around and marvelled at the finery and tasteful décor.  The bar, at the far end of the room, had a shiny black marble top, and had a deep brown leather facade.  A series of black leather high-backed stools stood in front of it, and behind it were row upon row of glass shelves filled with expensive spirits and glasses of all shapes and sizes.  Dotted around the perimeter of the dance floor were round tables with black and deep brown, leather bucket chairs.  The surroundings, along with the celebrities and elegant clientele sitting around drinking, had elegance and money oozing from every pore. Andre led them to a spiral staircase to the right of the bar, which then took them up to the second floor where there was a series of alcoves that overlooked the floor below.  Halfway along the landing, Andre turned and gestured into one of the alcoves.

“This is your space for the evening,” he announced.  “We call them snugs.”

Inside the snug was a black leather sofa and a low table.  Two high stools, like those at the bar, were stood at a railing from where they commanded a view of the main room downstairs. A silver wine bucket, a bottle of champagne already chilling in it, rested in a stand next to the sofa.

Andre moved past them and pointed at a series of switches on the wall.

“These are your controls,” he said. “The first is for you to call me, whenever you need anything; drinks, snacks etc., and the second is your sound control.  You can control the volume of the music from the DJ downstairs.”

Andre smiled at Amber, who tried to hide her amazement at the treatment she and Jake were receiving.  She had never been anywhere so swish before, and Daniel had thought that
he
moved in moneyed circles – he had no idea.

“The champagne is with our compliments, Mr Hughes.”

“Cheers,” Jake said. “Much appreciated.”

Andre moved back out onto the landing.  “I’ll be back with your drinks.  Your usual beer Mr Hughes, and for you madam?”

“Oh, I’ll have the same please,” Amber said.

Jake squeezed her hand and grinned.  “You sure you don’t want anything else?” he asked, surprised that she hadn’t asked for an expensive wine or spirit; unlike a lot of the women that he had spent time with in the past.

Amber shook her head.  “No, beer is great.  In fact,” she almost whispered.  “I don’t really like champagne, so that the bottle is a little wasted on me.”

Jake smiled, kissed Amber and held her to his chest.  “You can take the champagne, Andre,” he said.  “We won’t be needing it.”

Andre nodded and smiled, stepped back into the private room and picked up the ice bucket and bottle.

“I’ll be right back with your drinks,” he said, and left them alone.

As soon as she was sure he’d gone, Amber stepped out of Jake’s arms and grinned.  “This place is
amazing
, Jake.”

“I know,” Jake replied.  “I’ve been here before with Tom a couple of times.”

“Can we go down and dance?”  Amber asked, leaning over the railing and looking at the heaving dance floor below.

“You kidding me?” Jake cried, wrapping his arms around Amber’s waist.  “You and I are going to light up that dance floor, Freckles.  In fact, I’m ready to boogie now.”

Amber laughed.  “Who the hell says, ‘boogie’?”

“What’s wrong with boogie?”  Jake pouted.  “It’s a perfectly good word, particularly for my dancing.”

Amber shook her head and groaned.  “Really?  Is it that bad?”

“Oh yeah, baby, it’s that bad.”  Jake winked and, taking Amber’s hand, he dragged her back down the stairs.

Amber and Jake danced and danced until Amber felt as though her feet were on fire.  Jake was right though, he did boogie, sending Amber into fits of laughter at first.  She did however, eventually get used to his disco moves – which happened to be the same for every song the DJ played, no matter what beat or rhythm.

“Oh my God,” Amber groaned.  “My feet are killing me.”  She rested a hand on Jake’s shoulder and lifted a foot out of her shoe.  Her mountainously high nude coloured shoes were definitely not made for dancing for hours on end.

Jake dropped a kiss on Amber’s neck and inhaled the summer scent that he loved so much about her.  She looked gorgeous tonight, in a tight, sleeveless, red dress that hugged her curvy body and showed off her long, toned legs.  With her golden blonde hair flowing down her back, he thought that she was by far the most beautiful woman in the club.

“Do you want to go back up to the snug?” Jake asked, nodding up at the balcony. “Can we? Just for a little while? That last dance just about finished me off.” 

Jake smiled tenderly.  “Come on, sweetheart, I’ll give you a foot rub.”

“Ah, would you?” Amber almost groaned with the thought of the pleasure that it would bring.

“Yeah, of course I will.  I can practice on you for Valerie,” he replied with a grimace.

“Okay,” Amber giggled.  “I’ll just nip to the ladies.”

Jake agreed to wait at the bar for Amber while she tottered off on red hot soles.  Amber was just about to push open the door to the ladies, when a hand grabbed her arm.  She turned around, a huge smile on her face, expecting to see Jake.  The smile immediately faded as Amber eyed the man in front of her.  Her hands began to shake and her breathing quickened, it was so fast that she thought that she must be having a heart attack.

“Daniel,” she whispered.

“Hey Ambs, how are you doing?”

Amber gasped and swivelled around on the spot, pulling away to distance herself from him.  As her body turned, one of her feet tangled with the other causing her to stumble.  Amber staggered forward, her arms flailing, grabbing at fresh air.  Her momentum pushed her forward, while gravity pulled her down to the floor with a yelp.  Amber’s chin hit the floor and jarred her head causing her to bite her tongue.

“Oow,” Amber groaned and held her hand to her mouth.  As she pulled it away, bright red blood was smeared across her palm.

Suddenly the music sound muffled, as though she was listening to it under water, Amber’s eyes rolled up into her head and then she passed out as blackness engulfed her.

Jake had been waiting for Amber for almost fifteen minutes and was getting a little anxious.  This was a really exclusive club, and not the sort of place where you had to stand in line to pee.  He decided to go and find her, worried that some sleaze was hitting on her and stopping her from getting back to him.

As he opened the door to the hallway where the toilets were, he saw a small crowd of people.  Jake instantly knew that it was Freckles.

“Excuse me,” he shouted pushing through the crowd who didn’t seem to want to move.  “Move out of my way.”  Jake bellowed as he manhandled a big, bearded guy to one side. 

Amber was on the floor, with a dark haired man holding her hand and rubbing her wrist while someone in a bartender’s uniform stood to one side on a ‘walkie talkie’.

“Freckles,” Jake cried throwing himself onto the floor next to Amber’s prone body.  He pulled her hand away from the man holding it and starting to kiss her palm.  “Freckles, sweetheart, are you okay?  What the fuck happened to her?” he cried looking first at the man and then people standing around.  “Tell me!”

“She fell and banged her chin. I think she passed out when she saw the blood.”  The dark haired man spoke but looked at Jake with disdain.  “Is she with you?” he asked.

Jake ignored him and put his arm under Amber’s shoulders and lifted her up, hugging her to his chest.  “Has anyone called an ambulance?” he cried as he stared down at Amber with fear in his eyes.

“He’s talking to someone on that radio,” the man inclined his head towards the bartender.

“Hey sweetheart,” Jake whispered softly.  “You gonna wake up for me?”  He gently kissed her and smoothed her hair away from her face.

Amber stirred and slowly opened her eyes.  “Jake,” she groaned.

“Oh, thank fuck for that,” Jake gasped as he kissed her again.

“I’ve got a first aider on the way down,” the bartender said kneeling down next to Jake.

“She needs an ambulance, not a fucking first aider,” he roared before turning back to Amber.  “Do you have any pain?”

Amber winced as she reached up to put her hand on his shoulder. 

“My chin is sore, and I bit my tongue.”  She flicked out her tongue for Jake to inspect.  “Is it bad?”

Jake looked closely and shook his head.  “It’s still bleeding a little, but I don’t think it’s too bad.  I still want you to go to hospital to get you checked out though.”

“No way, Jake.  I’m fine. Please, I don’t want to go to hospital.”  She looked up at the bartender and shook her head. 

“Are you sure?” he asked.  “I can call an ambulance if you’d prefer.”

“Honestly,” Amber replied.  “I don’t need one.”

“Okay, but I’ll go and get you a bottle of water.”  The bartender stood up and moved away from Amber and Jake.

“You’ve been out cold,” Jake protested his eyes following the bartender.

“It was just the sight of the blood, Jake,” Amber groaned.  “I’m fine, I promise.”

Her eyes then darted to the dark haired man who’d held her hand.  Jake’s brow furrowed as he saw recognition on her face. 

“Freckles?”  Jake looked at the man.  “Does she know you?” he asked.

“Yes, she does,” the man replied

“And you are?” Jake demanded, his dark eyes narrowed and pinned themselves to the man’s face.

“Jake, baby, it’s fine,” Amber said.

“Who are you?” Jake asked again ignoring Amber.

“I’m Daniel Armstrong,” Daniel said sniffily, “and who are you.”

Recognising the name, Jake’s grip on Amber tightened. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” he roared, making a move towards Daniel.

“Jake,” Amber cried. “Don’t.”  She threw herself at Jake and held onto him with all her strength, in the hope of stopping him launching himself at Daniel. The force made Jake fall to the floor on his backside and, despite having Amber sprawled on top of him, the rage he felt instinctively made him try to scramble to his feet.

“You fucking wanker,” he yelled, his face black with anger.   “Do you have any idea what you put her through?”

“Please, Jake, don’t do this here,” Amber begged, kneeling in front of him.  “I don’t need this.”

“What the hell is your problem?” Daniel asked pulling his shoulders back.

“You really need to ask, dickwad?” Jake shifted to Amber’s side, and gripped her hand.

“Whatever happened between me and Amber is nothing to do with you,” Daniel replied.  “I’m sure Ambs can fight her own battles.” 

Jake’s eyes narrowed and his breathing quickened.  “Her name is Amber,” he snapped.  “Now back the fuck away from her.”

As the two men stared each other down, a couple of black suited men pushed through the handful of people that had stayed to watch the show.

“What’s going on?” One of the men asked as he stared down between Jake and Daniel.

“This prick is pestering my girlfriend,” Jake answered without taking his eyes away from Daniel.  “He had his hands all over her.”

“Is this true, Miss?” the bouncer asked.  “Because if it is, he will be removed from the club.”  The man mountain smiled kindly at Amber.

“No it’s fine.  He was just trying to help, but can you just move all these people away, please?”  Amber’s cheeks were tinged with crimson as she gazed up at everyone staring at them. 

The bouncer nodded and started ushering people out of the corridor and back into the main part of the club.  While he did, the other bouncer who had been silent so far, leaned down and spoke into Jake’s ear.

“Mr Hughes, can I suggest you and the lady move back upstairs.”

Jake glared at him.  “What about him?  Aren’t you going to do anything about the fact that he’s pestering her?”

Daniel stood up with a sigh and shook his head.  “Your boyfriend is a complete idiot, Ambs,” he said.

On hearing his words Jake’s nostrils flared and he scrambled to get to his feet.

“Jake please leave it,” Amber cried.

“No I won’t fucking leave it, Freckles.” 

Jake was on his haunches ready to pounce and as his fists clenched, Amber started to sob.  It was bad enough seeing Daniel, but to have Jake embarrass her like this just added to her misery.  Her grip on Jake’s shoulders relaxed as she shifted herself back, and leaned against the wall.  Her eyes flicking between Jake and Daniel who were staring at each other like a bull and a matador about to do battle in the midst of a gathering crowd, keen for blood.

“You’ve upset her now, you prick,” Daniel shouted, pointing at Amber.

Jake’s head whipped around towards Amber and he saw her pushed against the wall.  She was hugging her knees tears of mortification slid down her cheeks. 

“Fuck, Freckles.  I’m so sorry,” he said crawling over to Amber’s side.

Amber held her hand out and pushed him away.  “No Jake, don’t.  I can’t even look at you right now.”

Jake’s mouth dropped open.  “What the hell did I do?”

“Well, if you don’t know, then we have a problem,” Amber sobbed. 

“He’s the one you should be mad at,” Jake said, glaring at Daniel.  “Not me.”

The bouncer who had spoken to Jake touched him on the shoulder.

“What?” Jake snapped without taking his eyes off Amber.

“The first aider is here, do you want her to look at your girlfriend?”

Amber shook her head.  “Thank you, but I’m fine.  But, maybe she should just check my boyfriend out for a missing brain instead.” 

A grin touched the bouncer’s lips as he nodded and moved away to his colleague, who was now talking to Daniel.  Jake sighed and looked over at the three men with a scowl.

“I’m sorry, I just saw red,” he finally said to Amber.

Amber dropped her head and pinched the bridge of her nose.  “Okay,” she sighed.  “But there was no need to react that way.”

“I just hate that he hurt you.”

“That’s still no reason to almost attack him, Jake.  He’s not worth it believe me.”

Jake’s shoulders stiffened.  As far as he was concerned there was every need and Daniel Armstrong was definitely worthy of a punch to the nose.  The dick was responsible for hurting Amber, and worse still abandoning her and his child.  He was obviously a sleaze.  Jake only had to look at his tight black trousers and black shirt, with just one too many buttons undone displaying a gold chain at his neck, to know he was a sleaze.  He’d also bet that he smelled of Old Spice or Brute, or some other 1970’s aftershave,
and
probably waxed his chest too. 

Jake stood up and held his hand out to Amber.  “I’m sorry that I embarrassed you,” he said, truly meaning it. 

Amber reached up for Jake’s hand, and in one movement he pulled her to her feet and held her to his chest.  He wrapped his arms around Amber’s waist and leaned his forehead against hers.

“As well as hating that he hurt you, I also didn’t like him touching you, Freckles,” he whispered.

Amber gave a watery smile and lifted her hands to Jake’s shoulders.  “Can we go now?” she asked.  She suddenly needed to be away from Daniel, worried that if they didn’t leave Jake’s temper would escalate.

Jake kissed Amber gently and, taking her hand, started to lead her back into the main part of the club. 

“Wait, Ambs,” Daniel called. ”We need to talk.”  He pushed past the two bouncers who had been acting as a barrier between him and Jake.

Jake turned on his heel and moved menacingly towards Daniel.  “She has nothing to say to you, dickhead.”

Daniel drew himself up to his full height and fisted his hands at this side.  “If she doesn’t want you arrested for threatening behaviour she does.”

“Just try it you prick.”  Jake turned to pull Amber away, but from the corner of his eye he saw Daniel’s arm move towards Amber.  “Don’t even think about touching her,” he growled, turning back to face Daniel.

Daniel sneered at him and then let his eyes drift to his fingers that were resting on Amber’s shoulder.  “I meant what I said.”  He turned to Amber and smiled.  “Please Amber, just five minutes, or I
will
report him; I have plenty of witnesses.”

Jake snarled and took a step forward.  “No Jake,” Amber said softly, shaking her shoulder away from Daniel’s touch. “Let me talk to him.”

“Freckles!”  Jake’s tone was one of warning.

“Five minutes, that’s all.”  Amber reached up and kissed Jake softly on the lips.  “Go and wait upstairs for me.”

Jake stared at Amber and Daniel, fighting everything he had not to just deck Daniel and be done with it.  The way he looked at Amber was unnerving – as though she belonged to him.

Finally, Jake let go of Amber’s hand.  “Five minutes and no longer,” he warned.

Amber nodded, and as Jake slipped back into the club she turned to Daniel.  “Okay, say what you’ve got to say and make it quick.”