Days pass by very fast. Maybe, months pass by very fast. This summer was a total blur. Everything was in fast forward. Running from one city to another. Interview after interview, gig after gig. Just a few days for holiday. And then everything started all over again.
Many things happened in only three months. Big success with the tour as every time we went to another city, the crowd got bigger and bigger. Jared dyed his hair. Again. And he also cut the mohawk. Shannon hang out with a girl for a while. But, not to my surprise, they broke up a month after. Tomo seemed just perfect. And in love with Vicki. I just wonder how they're still so much in love with each other after all these years being together. The rest of the crew? They did perfect to. According to Jared, they did perfect. But I could see how exhausted they were every day.
And then comes me. And Tim. I really can't remember how it happened but we got drunk once and kissed. And then we decided to go on a date. And a second. And a third.
He said that we could try and start a relationship. After these words, we ended up on a bed. I could call it mostly as fuck-buddies, not a couple. But we tried. We still do. And from the fifth date it seemed to work.
And now here I am, in my seventh date with Tim, in a coffee house, the rainy, almost late October weather keeping us company. I sip from my mug of coffee and look outside. It really rains a lot here in Lincoln .
"Emma? Are you here?"
He says next to my ear and I turn to look at him.
"I'm sorry, what did you say?"
"I said if you have to do something when we arrive in America."
"Ehm... Dunno."
"Ok, but you know, Jared's thinking about this new video shoot and I asked because the last time you helped him."
Then reality hits me. Yes, the Mars boys are going to shoot a video for "Hurricane", and really, Jared asked me for help. And I accepted. Even if could have the days of the shooting for my fun, I prefer to work.
"Ehm... Yeah, I will help."
He smiles a little and I smile back to him. I look out the window next to me and see that the rain stopped.
"I think we should go now, before the rain starts all over again."
"I guess you're right."
We gather our things, Tim pays the coffee and we leave for the hotel we're staying for the night.
~~~
When we reach the hotel, I spot Shannon sitting in one of the benches at the opossite side of the road. I can smell the tension forming in his body. I turn to look at Tim who looks at me confused.
"I'm gonna be with him, ok?"
"Ok. I'll head upstairs if you need anything later."
I give him a peck on the cheek and head for Shannon, running down the road. When I reach him I see the cigarette in his hand and a pack of them lying beside him. I take the packet in my hand and drop down beside him. I open it and not to my surprise, it's empty.
"Don't tell me it was full."
"I won't. You just did."
My eyes grow wide in his words. He smokes that much when he's nervous. Which means that something's going on.
"Ok, spill it already."
"I will fucking kill him!"
He nearly screams and some kids passing by turn to look at him terrified. I smile a little to them and nod, the kids walking away. I turn to look again at Shannon, the frown on my face deepening.
"Ok, what happened? Who will you kill?"
"Jared! Who else?"
"Ehm ok, he's a person everybody would kill, but why?"
"He wants me to smootch with a girl. Again."
"So what?"
"The last time it happened not only I fucked her, but she fucked me too. Not physically. She fucked my life!"
"Hey hey! Easy. What do you mean?"
I look at him confused as I'm waiting for his answer. He drops the cigarette on the ground and turns to look at me.
"Well, long story short, I ended up in an orgy."
"A WHAT?"
He covers my mouth with his hand and looks in my eyes, his eyes piercing.
"Let's go to my room and I'll tell you everything. But don't you dare tell anybody."
I nod my head and he drops his hand from my mouth, taking my hand and dragging me across the street towards the hotel and then his room.
~~~
After letting Shannon explain everything to me, the only thing I can do is to stare with my mouth hanging open.
"So, to make a recap. You're scared of kissing that girl in the video because the last time you did it you had a relationship with your partner which ended up with you falling in love and her involved in very kinky situations which ended up with you in an orgy with four girls and three guys. Well, it's realy complicated."
"Can you stop joking for once? I'm serious!"
"Who says I'm joking Shan? I'm also serious."
He leaves a frustrated sight and drops on his back on the bed, his hands on his face. I could say that it was the first time seeing Shannon that confused and... scared. He always was the cheery one.
"You know what? Fuck it, I'm not gonna participate. And I don't care about Jared's reaction, I'll do only the fight scenes."
"Well, if you don't care... I was planning on telling you something, but nah, you said 'fuck it'."
"No, speak your mind, I'll listen."
I drop back and steady myself in one elbow, looking down at Shannon. I lock eyes with him and pierce them, just for the effect.
"It happened once, this doesn't mean you'll always end up like that. For the hell of it, forget about that bitch and move on! It's just like three kisses or what? Concentrate in what you have to do."
"Easy for you to say..."
"Look, you're one of those who say to not stay at the past. That's what you do! Change it! You can't say things that you can't do yourself. That's all."
I stand up from the bed and walk to the door to leave. When I open it, I turn to look back at Shannon who's still lying on the bed.
"It's not gonna be the same everytime... Call me if you want anything."
Without waiting for his answer, I close the door and head for my room. As I walk in the corridor, a rushing Emma bumps in me and when I turn to look at her, her face is red like a tomato.
"Thank god you're here, I need your help."
"Yeah, what is it?"
"You know, about the 'Hurricane' video. The people needed for the roles are coming in a few and they have to sign these."
She hands me a bunch of folders.
"Each folder has a name in front. When they come, call each ones name give it to them to sign. You'll meet them at the restaurant of the hotel, ok?"
"Fine. Guess I need to go."
"Ah! And tell to the girl with the darkest hair that Jared wants to meet her when she signs. Just give her his room number."
"Hey! How will I recognize her?"
"She has the darkest hair of all of them, you'll find her."
And then Emma enters another room. 'Ok' I whisper to myself and head downstairs to the restaurant.
~~~
I lean back in my chair and stretch, playing with the pen I have in my hand. Every name in the list Emma had in the main folder was deleted now. But only one name was still there. 'Natalie Loren'. She probably forgot about the appointment.
I lean in front and put my hands on my face. A deep cough catches my attention and turn towards where the sound came.
"Can I sit?"
"Sure."
Tim drops next to me and looks at the mess in front of me on the table.
"Why are you still here?"
"This girl..." I point my finger to the unmarked name on the list "...hasn't come yet. I wait just in case she remembers to come. Shit!"
I sight and lean back in the chair again. Tim's hand conects with mine as he starts stroking it.
"She'll come. It's late, but she'll come."
"I hope so..."
Tim moves closer to me and kisses my lightly on the cheek. A small smile forms my lips as I sight once again. I feel him nudging my side lightly and point with his head towards the entrance of the restaurant. There's a woman, kinda tall and thin, dark hair falling over her shoulders, dressed in total black. She scans the room and when her eyes lands on us, she paces towards the table. As she gets closer, her short dress is revealed under her also short coat. She stops in front of us and I look up at her, a smile on her lips as she extends a hand.
"Hi. I'm Natalie. And I'm pretty sorry for keeping you here, I know I'm late."
"Well, extremely late."
I mutter to myself and she looks at me confused.
"I'm sorry?"
"Nothing. I'm Emma. Emma Parker. And this is Tim Kelleher, the on-tour bassist for the band."
Tim waves at her and she smiles back to him.
"I was waiting for you."
"Again, I'm so so sorry, I had something else to finish first and it took me longer than I expected."
"It's fine. We just need you to sign this papers. It's for your safety on set, you know, if anything happens..."
"Yeah, I got it."
I hand her the pen and the folder with her name on it. She sits across me and starts reading the papers quickly. Tim from th other hand, just sits there, looking at Natalie like she's some short of an exciting thing. I feel his breath in my ear as he leans closer to whisper something to me.
"She's a hot piece."
"Tim!"
I punch him playfully on the side with my elbow and look around the nearly empty restaurant.
"Don't worry babe, I find you more attractive then her."
"You should."
I say jokingly and chuckle a little. His hand creeps over the small of my back and he grips lightly my side, making me jump in surprise.
"Tim, this is not an appropriate place."
"I know, I just want to light the fire for later."
I chuckle again and smile shyly at him.
"Patience Tim, patience."
"I'm done."
Natalie's voice brings me back to earth and I look at her as she closes the folder. She stands up to leave and we shake hands again. As she's about to turn and leave, I remember what Emma told me about the girl with the darkest hair.
"Oh hey, Natalie, wait!"
I walk towards where she's standing and give her a paper with Jared's room number written on it.
"Jared, who I think you already know, waits for you in his room, he needs to talk to you. Just go to the number here, it's in the fourth floor."
"Oh ok, thank you!"
She smile at me for a second and then leaves. I go back to the table to grab my stuff spread all over the table. Tim helps me do it faster and then we're heading out of the restaurant.
"What did you want to tell her?"
"Just to give her Jared's hotel room number, he wants to see her."
"Well, probably naked."
I frown and turn to look at him when we stop in front of the elevators.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that she's... Ok, beautiful. Probably Jared's taste."
I laugh a little with his comment.
"But Jared likes blondes as I know."
"He does, but she's fuckable enough for him."
"TIM!" I yell at him as we step into the elevator.
"Even this, they're gonna work together for a while."
"It doesn't mean that he can't have her on his bed."
"Aw god, what an interesting conversation we started."
I say sarcastically as Tim chuckles. I huff and wait for the elevator to stop in our floor. When we arrive, we step out and before I can walk, Tim grabs my hand and spins me so I look at him.
"Your's or mine?"
"Your's. Mine is a mess."
"Who said mine is better?"
"Oh, come on, I'll come to your's. The regular hour?"
"Yeah. And hey, take pajamas with you, I don't want you to get sick."
"You know, I'm always dressed when I come to you. That my clothes are soon useless is just another story."
We both laugh a little and then I turn to leave, telling him that I'll see him later. I have a short stop at Emma's room first to leave her her files. Just when I get out of her room and head to mine, I find Jared standing behind his door and scanning the corridor. I pass quickly, turning my head to look at his door for a brief second when I see a whip clutched in his hand. He quickly closes the door again when I already passed.
'She's fuckable enough for him' Tim's words echoing in my mind and suddenly a weird feeling creeps over me. Was I jealous because Jared had a girl in his room? And he was holding a whip? Probably to use it on her? I push the thought to the back of my mind as I enter my room, ready to take a sower and then go to spend another night in Tim's room.
