Boy in a Band (A Morgan Mallory story) (28 page)

Chapter
32

“Kingdom Come is playing at the Apollo Saturday night. I really want you to come see us play. Can you fit that into your Gayle-schedule?” he asked as we sat in Gayle’s driveway.

“I’m sure I can
. I really wish she could come; we’d plan to do so much together this summer. I feel bad she’s so stuck right now.”

Mathew reached down and wiped the dust off his 8-Track player with his finger.

              “I can pick you up, but you would have to go early and wait around. Or you could catch a ride with, who?” he asked, thinking.

             
“Maybe Keri’s going,” I suggested. “I’ll check with her.”

             
“Let me know,” he said, leaning in to kiss me.

The Apollo was a private club with a mixed crowd. If you were twenty-one, they put a wristband on you so you could buy a drink. Keri hadn’t planned to go, but decided it sounded like fun.

             
“You coming back tonight?” Gayle asked.

             
“I’m not sure. Keri said I could catch a ride back with her if I need one. How do I look?”

I gave a quick
spin in my tight jeans and a clingy low-cut pink top that emphasized my cleavage. I’d straightened my hair, and it hung loose and thick. I had applied my eyeliner and mascara with a heavy hand, making my eyes stand out.

             
“Did you look in the mirror? You know you look good,” she said sadly.

             
“Oh, Gayle, I feel bad,” I said, remembering it was going to be a long time before she felt good about herself again.

The Apollo was crowded. Keri and I were on the band list, so we got in free. The bouncer put wristbands on us without asking for our IDs and we headed backstage where Mathew had told me to meet him.

             
“Backstage?” I asked the bouncer.

             
“There,” he said, pointing to a door across the facility.

             
Keri and I walked through the crowd, excited to see so many people here to watch them. The large room had high ceilings and no windows and smelled sort of stale, a hint of liquor, smoke, and body odor all combined. Music played from speakers mounted to the wall as the crowd waited for the band.

             
“Hey, girls,” Sean said as we came through the back stage door.

“Hi
, Sean,” I said, hugging him before introducing Keri.

The back room
was smaller with couches and chairs, and a bar running along one wall. I saw Mathew at the far end of the bar. He was dressed in bell-bottom jeans and a white button-down shirt with ruffles down the center, unbuttoned halfway down his chest. He caught me checking him out and smiled. The feeling that shot through me was intense; just looking at him could get me excited.

“He taken?”
Keri asked, referring to Sean. “He’s cute.”

             
“Taken,” I said, moving toward Mathew.

             
He didn’t break eye contact and I could feel my pulse race.

“Looking good
,” I said as I reached him.

             
“So are you.”

             
I smiled as he undressed me with his eyes. The room was full of band members, girlfriends, and groupies, all partying; it was loud. I felt awkward, not sure how to act with him around this group.

             
“How long till you start?” I asked.

             
“Maybe twenty minutes, I’m not sure what time it is. Chris will let us know. You and Keri want something? Beer?”

“I’ll do a beer
,” Keri said.

             
“That’s fine,” I answered.

             
Mathew went and pulled two cold ones out of a sink behind the bar filled with ice and beer.

             
“Who’s Chris?” Keri asked.

             
“Their manager.”

             
“They have a manager?” she asked surprised.

             
“They're serious. They want to go big,” I said.

“Over here
, girls,” Mathew said as he took my elbow and led us to a grouping of upholstered chairs. He dropped down in one and pulled me onto his lap. Keri sat in the one next to us as he handed us each a beer. It was sort of hard to talk, people were chitchatting, laughing, partying, all heightened by the anticipation of the band playing. The noise level was high. I relaxed into Mathew and sipped my beer, observing the group.

             
“Hey, kid,” he said, patting my thigh. “Showtime.”

Apparently
I had missed the signal. I got up, letting him stand. He stretched and then put his arm around my neck, ducking in for a rather passionate kiss.

             
“See you back here at break,” he said, moving toward the door.

             
Keri shook her head with a grin.

             
“What?” I asked innocently.

             
“After his kiss, you got a look like you could drop him and do it here.”

             
“So? What’s wrong with that?”

             
She laughed.

“
He looks hot tonight, lucky you,” Keri said.

“He looks hot all the time
,” I sighed, feeling very lucky.

             
We worked our way close to the front of the stage as the band started. Mathew was in front with the lights focused on him. They were pink, white, and blue and they made his white shirt really stand out. One couldn’t miss the blonde hair either; he definitely had the rock star look. He plugged the cord into his electric guitar and then turned back the band. When the other members nodded at him he turned back to the crowd and stepped up to the microphone.

“
Welcome everyone, we’re Kingdom Come.”

The crowd cheered and whistled.

“One, two, three,” he said, starting the band with “Grand Illusion”
by Styx. The energy in the room was amazing; I’d never seen him play at such a large venue. The first set they played were artists we all knew and listened to: Eagles, AC/DC, Cheap Trick, Queen. Keri and I sang and swayed to the music with the crowd. It was evident Mathew was comfortable on stage and quite the showman. His talent never ceased to amaze me. Every break, Keri and I went backstage to join the band. As the evening went on, so did the partying.

             
“You want a line?” he asked.

             
“Cocaine?” Keri asked.

             
“Not if you see shit,” I said, remembering the acid.

             
“Keri, you’ve done it. Tell her what it’s like,” he said. “You don’t see shit.”

             
He made a funny face and I turned to Keri.

             
“It’s sort of like speed. It makes you happy and up,” she said.

I had done speed with her before.

              “You’ll like it,” she said smiling. “Really like it.”

Mathew took us into a secluded corner
, and we did a couple of lines. Some of the groupies were getting wild backstage: several girls dancing on the bar and being loud. It was fun but I could see how this could get out of control.

“I’ll be right back
,” I said, leaving them to use the restroom.

When I returned
, the blonde from Jack’s was sitting on his lap. Keri saw my expression and looked at Mathew, then back to me. I stood staring, not sure what to do. When he saw me, he pushed the girl up from his lap. He smiled at me in a reassuring way.

             
“Morgan, come here,” he said loudly, patting his leg.

             
The blonde gave me a disgusted look before she slunk away. I walked over to Mathew.

             
“She aggressive or what?” I asked, taking her place on his lap.

“Can be
,” he said.

             
“That girl is obviously after you. Do you two have something going that I’m interrupting, because I can go,” I said trying to sound casual, like it was no big deal.

             
“She’s a groupie, Morgan. There are a lot of them that hang around the band. You can see it,” he said, sweeping his hand across the room. “It doesn’t mean there’s something going with them. They flirt, we flirt.”

             
“And sometimes you guys sleep with them?” I dug.

             
“Sometimes.”

             
The honesty was brutal. I hadn’t given the groupie thing much thought, having never dealt with it before to this extent. This, I realized, was what Gayle had warned me about.

             
“Her?” I asked, knowing I didn’t want to know, but not able to help myself.

             
He looked at me and was silent for a minute.

             
“She wants more, Morgan, I don’t,” he said finally.

My heart took the hit
; I could feel it constrict. I shouldn’t be hurt, but I was. I swallowed trying to force my feeling down, I couldn’t be possessive, I didn’t even live here anymore.
No expectations, remember.

             
“You’re on,” Chris shouted.

             
He was a small wiry guy with thin long blonde hair.

“We’ll talk about this later
,” he said, leaving me.

             
He’d slept with her, and she was still after him. I couldn’t think about it, couldn’t think of them together.

             
“You all right?” Keri asked behind me.

             
“You see that? I knew there were groupies, but I didn’t realize there were so many of them, so many after them. Some of these girls, are so forward,” I shook my head.

             
“Come on, they’re playing,” she said, opening the door.

I followed her out to the dance floor
, but instead of watching Mathew, I couldn’t help but focus on the crowd of girls practically throwing themselves at the band. I realized he could have his pick. I saw the blonde at the front of the stage below Mathew, reaching for him.

The song
ended, and she yelled something to him and he bent down. It looked like she was trying to give him something. When he was close enough, she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. He pulled her arms from around his neck and stood up. If it had ended there, I would have been okay, but it didn’t. The groupies cheered and screamed. During the next song, he pulled her, as well as a couple other girls, on stage and let them dance.

“Why her?”
I leaned into Keri, so she could hear me.

I watched the stage, my eyes glu
ed to Mathew, the blonde danced suggestively at him. He knew that I knew,
why her?
He played and sang moving with the music his hair flying, now and then raising his leg in an exaggerated movement. When the song ended the girl again threw her arms around his neck and kissed him.

“This is bullshit
. Let’s go,” I said, feeling the pressure in my chest.

“Go?” Keri asked.

“Yes, leave. I don’t have to watch this,” I said. “He knows I’m here, why’s he letting her on stage out of all the girls yelling for him?”

“Morgan, it’s typic
al, the girls I mean, they want him.”

I stared at him, my eyes burning into him
. He finally scanned the crowd and found me. My heart was pounding, my breathing shallow.
This must go on all the time
screamed in my head. He held my gaze, no smile, no grin, no reassurance. I felt like he was testing me. I looked away as tears started to well up in my eyes.

“Get me out of here,” I
hissed.

Maybe he was still having a relationship with her and didn’t want to tell me
. I wanted to run away from him, from my feelings. I glanced back up at him and flipped him the bird. His head jerked back in question and I waved bye-bye as he led the band into the Rolling Stones’ “Some Girls”
.

“
Some girls give me money, some girls buy me clothes,  some girlsgive me jewelry, that I never thought I'd own.
”

He
stared at me as he sang and shook his head
no
as I turned to leave. The song could not have been more appropriate. I was just some girl, right along with the rest. I plowed through the crowd, Keri behind me, feeling an urgent need for fresh air. When I burst out the front door into the night I felt a tear slide down my cheek, which I wiped away quickly.