Authors: Natalie Barnes
Within thirty minutes, Frankie has touched up my makeup. I still have my smoky eyes, but just cleaned up some. He opted for nude lipstick now instead of the bold red I was wearing earlier onstage. I changed into this all black strapless corset. I love how the corset pushes my chest up, making my C cups look almost like they’re Ds. I definitely have that hourglass look going on from wearing the corset so tightly, but I don’t know how women back in the day could wear these all the time. It looks amazing but feels very uncomfortable. I still throw me into the mix, and I changed into my light colored blue jeans that hug my waist perfectly. My jeans have some rips throughout my knee areas and the backs of my thighs, but I love the edge look they throw off; and they’re very comfortable, too. I don’t really care what I wear on my feet, so I’ll just keep my black peep toe pumps that I wore onstage earlier. My feet are getting a little sore, but I figure if I’m drinking and sitting then it wouldn’t be so bad. Right?
I’m glad that I have my own dressing room. I’m getting ready for the after-party away from everyone else. I sure as hell don’t want Tristan to see me pissed off about that little stunt he pulled at the beginning of his show. Now, he will come off and see that I’m not there. Maybe he will think that I didn’t even witness the little shit stunt he pulled.
Matt knocks once on the door and peeks his head in, “The car is here to take us. You ready to go, girl?”
“Yeah,” I say back to him; then, I turn over to Frankie and thank him on another wonderful job he’s done. “Thanks, Frankie! Although I don’t really know how you plan on this look getting back at Tristan. But I do feel really good and can’t wait to go out and attend my very first after-party.” I start grinning ear to ear, checking myself out more. I’m very excited to meet up with my boys and get to a much needed partying.
Frankie leans on my chair; his large delicate hands hold onto each of the arm rests. He’s staring at me through the mirror, where our eyes meet up. “Isn’t it obvious?” He asks me.
What?
What’s obvious? I don’t get what Frankie is asking me. He must notice what I’m thinking now because the look on my face is a little confused. “He wants you, but he cannot have you.” Frankie pushes himself off the chair and looks over to Matt. “She’s all set. I will see you guys there later.” Frankie walks out with the only sound being the clicking of his boots on the tile floor. What the fuck did he just say to me? His tone was almost cryptic.
Tristan wants me?
Yeah, okay. I really don’t think that’s it. He had this bug up his ass when I first met him. I think it’s something deeper than that. But I have to figure out what it is and solve it because we are going to be around each other for seven more weeks.
We arrive at some club that’s downtown for the after-party. We are only staying in Vegas for one night, so I guess I won’t be trying my luck at any tables tonight. Or maybe just make an appearance then sneak out?
No, I can’t do that.
But it does sound tempting though, especially having to be around moody Tristan all night.
This is actually my first time being around him and his band that’s in a semi-casual setting. Usually, we are in the studio or at meetings, preparing for the tour.
The guys and I start walking up to the front of the club. They’re bouncers at the front entrance and a crowd of people roped off, waiting to get in. I feel safe right now because I have all my boys around me. The bouncers nod and quickly open the doors for us when we flash them our cards that Lux gave us at the beginning of the night. Once inside, I notice Lux is waiting for us. “Hey!” He waves to us. I check him out, not in the sexual way. It’s just that, Lux always wears such nice suits. “The party is up there.” He points to this third-level balcony. This club is incredible! It has an open dance floor with blue lights underneath, illuminating this glow all over the club. The booths are all white, and on each side of the dance floor are these two bars made of what looks like blue glass. You can see each floor since each floor’s balcony wraps around the entire perimeter of the club. I look up to check out the second-floor balcony. People are leaning against the glass railings; and the third floor, I noticed, has more of those blue lights from the dance floor shining over head.
We follow Lux to this private elevator. There’s this sharply dressed man holding the door open for us. The elevator is all white, inside and out, with even more blue lights inside of it, casting a dim shadow on the inside. We arrive on the third level, and I notice that it’s still pretty loud up here from the open-floor plan the club has going on. But it is just a bit quieter than the bottom level.
“You want a drink?” Cory leans in and asks me. “Yeah, um. I guess I’ll have a gin and tonic.” Cory’s smile grows on his face. “Good girl. It’s about time you let your hair down. I’ll be back.” I started laughing at him because he finished the last part with this terminator style accent. I can tell that they are all excited seeing me out because I haven’t really partied with them in over a month. I’ve just been so damn busy in LA, and I just wanted to focus on my vocals being the best that they can be.
Roger pulls my hand. “Hey, over there is a sectional booth. Let’s grab it.” He then let’s go of my hand and starts heading that way. I follow him up to the booth, where he and Jared start scooting in. I take a quick glance to check everyone out. Lux is leaning over the railing, talking to a couple of people. I wonder where Tristan and his band are at. Maybe if I’m lucky, he won’t show up; and I can enjoy my night out without having glares and cocky comments thrown my way. That would be nice.
I climb into the booth, sitting on the edge when Cory walks up with our drinks. He places mine down in front of me and asks me to scoot. “Where’s my drink, fucker?” Roger looks down at my drink and Cory’s. “You’re a big boy, Roger. Go over there and get your own damn drink, you lazy ass.” Cory laughs. Jared is sitting there quietly, checking everything out.
“Hey, Matt!” Roger yells over to the bar, where Matt’s standing. He’s already talking to some blonde in a really short, tight red dress. Matt looks up for a moment then goes back into conversation with the blonde. “Motherfucker is ignoring me. Well, hell.” Roger starts pushing his way out of the booth. The booth is shaking a little from Roger’s weight pushing down on the table. “Don’t break the fucking booth, dude.” Cory says, looking up at Roger with a shit grin on his face. “Fuck off!” Roger starts walking away. “Hey, man!” Jared yells to Roger. Roger turns and looks back at us. “Let me fucking guess. You want a fucking drink, too?” Jared smiles and nods. “Yes, please.”
“Motherfucker,” Roger says to himself, shaking his head as he walks up to the bar.
I pick up my drink from the table and bring the glass up to my lips. The cool, pine-tasting liquid runs smoothly down my throat. It’s so refreshing and feels so good on my dry throat from all the singing and screaming I did earlier.
Yep, I’m with my boys and having a couple of drinks. This will be a good night.
“So what did you guys think of the show tonight?” I ask Cory and Jared. Jared rubs his hands together then places them back on the table.
“It was fucking awesome!” Cory takes a drink from his beer and sets it down while agreeing with Jared.
He turns his body slightly toward me and asks, “What was that shit with Tristan about earlier tonight?” Cory has this amused look on his face.
What the fuck do I say to this?
“I have no fucking clue.” Shaking my head at the thought, I take another drink. I go back to Cory and finish. “At first, I thought it was the previous band. You know? They fucked up somehow. But now I think he’s just fucking jealous.”
“Who’s fucking jealous?” Oh no! Fucking Tristan is standing over us with Caleb.
Cory takes another casual drink of his beer, playing the cool card; and Jared’s face looks like he just shit his pants. Roger ends up walking back up to the table with his and Jared’s drink. “Here’s your drink, you little shit.” He slides Jared his beer and takes a seat on the other edge of the booth. Roger takes a quick drink and nods his head, greeting Tristan and Caleb. “So what did I miss?” Roger pulls a cigarette from his chest pocket and lights up. “Nothing we just got here,” Caleb says to Roger. Oh, no. I hope Tristan doesn’t know that I was just talking about him. I’ve always seemed to have this kind of problem, you know? Opening my mouth before looking around me. I’m literally just staring at my drink in front of me when Caleb starts talking to me.
“Hey, Sophia, you smashed it tonight!” Caleb is grinning ear to ear at me, but all I notice is Tristan’s heated gaze. I hurry up to look back at Caleb.
“Thanks. Um, you guys wanna sit?”
I started to scoot into the booth by Jared more. I really don’t want to be around Tristan, but my hospitable personality takes over.
“Cool. Rest of these guys met the band.” Caleb points to Cory, Roger, and Jared. “But you haven’t. I’m gonna go grab a drink and bring them over. You need anything, guy?” He looks over to Tristan. Tristan is just standing there with no emotion showing on his face. I can’t tell now if he’s still pissed or what. Tristan looks around the bar for a minute then answers, “Nah.” Shaking his head, he says, “I’ll be up at the bar.” I see his eyes wondering over that way, where there’s two blondes staring back at him, waving.
Fuck me.
I feel like rolling my eyes but stop myself. Better get used to it. After all, he is a rock star, and I’m sure he gets tons of ass every night.
Fucking sick.
Tristan starts walking over to the bar, and Caleb looks back at us and asks, “Everyone good here?” Caleb and Tristan are total night and day. I look over to my boys, who are all wearing shit grins and joking around with each other. I now realize that we just made it through our very first concert, and it’s time to celebrate. “Actually, Caleb, would you mind getting a round of tequila shots and maybe another gin and tonic for me?” I ask him sweetly, batting my eyelashes. I will make tonight a good one and not let Mr. Fuck ruin it.
“All right, Sophia! Let’s get ’er done.” Roger pounds on the table and Jared and Cory burst out laughing. Caleb shakes his head yes and says, “You got it,” before making his way up to the bar. Cory leans in on the table signaling us to get closer to hear him. “Who’s babysitting tonight?” He gestures his thumb toward me.
Oh, boy.
They always get like this when we go out, and it’s annoying.
“What the hell, Cory!” I nudge him a little with my shoulder. “I’m a big girl. I can take plenty of care of myself.” I cross my arms and give him a scowl. “I guess I’ll fucking do it. Jared’s a little bitch so… He can’t do it.” Roger pushes on Jared’s shoulder while Jared is trying to take a drink of his beer. He ends up spilling a little on himself from the nudge that Roger just did. I’m pretending now not to listen to their “babysitting Sophia” conversation, and I take another drink.
Caleb and the rest of the guys, except Tristan, make their way over to our table. Cory scoots closer to me to let Caleb in; and Roger scoots toward Jared to let Dave, Ryan, and Gunner in.
This sectional booth is pretty huge. Not like the kind you see at some typical dining establishment. But even this is full capacity, with Caleb’s leg hanging over the side; and I’m practically on Jared’s lap. I look around at all the guys. I know, from being a fan, who the Undead Society guys are but never really was formally introduced. Let’s see. I know Dave is rhythm guitar. He has very long, light brown hair and is also covered in tattoos. Ryan is bass—kind of like my Jared—with the almost black hair styled a bit and is very thin; but he has more of a rugged look going on him than my baby faced Jared. And Gunner is their drummer. He reminds me of a Californian surfer with his dirty blonde, medium length hair. He also has tattoos, and has really nice fucking teeth, like they use his mouth as a model in some toothpaste commercial.
Caleb starts introducing them to me, and I already finished my first gin and tonic, getting ready for the shots we have sitting in front of us. I’m loosened up and not feeling so shy anymore. I lean over the table to grab my glass that has the lime wedge resting on top of it. “Ready, fellas?” I lift my glass. “To a successful first show and many more.” We all clink our shot glasses together and take our shots.
Yuck! I hate tequila!
And the lime really does no justice, but I instantly start to feel the warm tingle that the alcohol is starting to do. This is great. We’re all laughing and talking. “So, Sophia, where are you guys from again?” Ryan asks while looking at all of us. Well, most of us since Matt’s not here; he’s trying to get some ass that’s sitting up at the bar, wearing the tight dress.
“Ann Arbor!” I yell through the noise of the music. Is it me? Or is the club playing it louder?
“Cool. So Michigan I take it?” He asks.
I lean toward him on the table. “Yes, sir. All of us are from Michigan. Where you guys from?” I smile at them, glancing at each one of their faces.
Ryan grabs his drink and says, “Pretty much all of us are from California, except Tristan. He’s from Wyoming.” Wyoming? Well that kind of makes sense. I mean, he’s the size of a tree and has that backwoodsman look going on. Yes, I can definitely see Tristan being from Wyoming. After Ryan takes another drink he nods at Roger. “So how did you guys get together?”
“College. Well, I didn’t go, but my roommate went. One night there was this party, and this little thing went on this makeshift stage and started wailing. It blew my fucking mind how good she was. So I approached her afterwards and asked if she wanted to start a band.” Roger’s face lights up from him reminiscing about our past. He went on saying, “I already knew Cory, and so we kind of just looked around on campus ’til we found these two fucks.” Roger nods towards Jared and the direction Matt was standing in. Roger begins laughing; and Jared started smiling, shaking his head at Roger.
“Cool.” Caleb says.
So we all started talking about our early band stories. Finally, a waitress in a white cocktail dress comes over to take our order. It’s about time! I really should slow down a bit, but I’m having so much fun with the guys. Also, I’m still on this adrenaline high from the show earlier. Nope. I’m not slowing down. Well, not yet anyways. I look up at our very pretty redheaded waitress and decide to take it upon myself to order another round for everyone.
“Can we get another round? Oh, and a round of tequila shots too please. And keep them coming!” I smile over at Jared; he has this half smile on his face now. “Sure thing, darling. What’s in your drink sweetheart?” The waitress leans in toward me, with her ass in Caleb’s face and her breasts in Cory’s face. They love it. Perverts. She has this accent to her. I’m guessing Texan? “I’ll just take a Coors light from now on. Thanks.” She gives a quick yes shake with her head then she’s off. “Fuck yeah, girl!” Roger pounds on the table causing it to shake a little. “Let’s party!”
Ten or twenty minutes pass, and we’re all still laughing and joking around. My cheekbones hurt from all the smiling I’ve been doing. Ryan, Dave, and Gunner are pretty cool too. Matt comes over with a chair and pulls up next to our table since there is no room left in the booth. “How’s it going?” He looks around at all of us. “Where the fuck were you?” Cory asks. But he should already know the answer to that. I have a feeling I didn’t want to hear this part of the conversation, so I start checking out the club from up here. Scanning the room we’re in, I didn’t realize it; but my eyes ended up scanning their way over to Tristan. He has one blonde on his lap, and the other one has her arms draped over his shoulder. Just then, he looks up at me and our eyes lock. All of a sudden, I feel my face starting to feel warmer; and the dark look in his eyes did something to ignite my core. I quickly turned back to the guys.
Shit!
He caught me staring at him.
Damn it!
I feel so embarrassed. He probably thinks I want to jump him, too. Well, maybe I kind of do; but I will be regretting that thought tomorrow.
Thankfully, the waitress appears with another round. I hurry up, grab the shot from her tray, and slam it not waiting for the rest of the guys to join. “Damn!” Gunner whistles through his teeth at me. “You sure can hold your own, hey?” I shrug my shoulders at him, pretending to seem innocent. “Don’t let them pretty blue eyes fool ya.” Roger says to him. “Even though she didn’t go out back in LA, she can hold her own.”
“No way.” Caleb looks over to me like he has a hard time believing what Roger just told him. Yeah, I guess it is kind of hard to picture. After all, I’m not that bold-looking; but like I said before, don’t judge a book by its cover.
“Oh hey, Tristan!” Roger gives Tristan a wave. What! All of the guys greet him, but I’m not going to. I’m not even going to look up at him. Instead, I take a drink of my beer. Jared glances around.
“Hey, man! Wanna pull up a chair?” Just then, Caleb starts scooting out.
“No bother. I need to stretch my legs anyways.” Cory looks down at me then looks at Caleb leaving the booth.
Cory says, “Actually, I have to hit up the bathroom.” Cory winks at me.
Son of a bitch!
I was just getting ready to make up some excuse to leave too when suddenly Tristan’s massive body sits down beside me, trapping me in.
Fuck me.
He’s so close, even closer than when we were in the SUV together last week. I breathe in his scent; he smells so good it’s intoxicating me even more. I’m definitely drunk. This isn’t good to be this drunk around him. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see him staring down at me. He’s probably getting a good cleavage shot right now. I can feel my cheeks warming up again.
I glance down at the table, and I notice Tristan’s leg rub up against my leg. Right now, I must keep reminding myself that he’s a dick because the way our bodies just barely touch each other sends this jolt of electricity pulsating through my entire body. Tristan being this close to me makes me feel weak and craving his touch on every inch of my body. Okay, Tristan is an arrogant piece of shit. Why am I even letting this guy give me this kind of a reaction?
“So has your name changed at all?”
Ryan’s voice snaps me out of my trance. I don’t say anything, and I’m just sitting there quietly for a moment to come back to.
Ryan goes on asking, “I mean Ariel. Is that your last name?”
I shake my head a little, trying to find the words to speak. “No, it’s my middle name actually. My last name is Mancini.”
Ryan nods then takes a drink and then he says, “Cool.”
I’m starting to squirm a little. I’m going to finish this beer; then, I’m going to make up some excuse to leave. Yes, that sounds good. Tristan stretches out his arms, laying them flat on the table when he’s done and starts talking to his band on what he thinks could be used in the next show. Really? I mean, I’m all for being professional, but we just did our show. Time to unwind and fucking relax a little. I look over to Jared, rolling my eyes and sticking my lips out, mocking Tristan.
“Is something the matter?” Tristan’s deep voice causes me to jump. Jared starts laughing at me, and I just sit there for a moment. For some stupid reason, I thought that when I turn my back away from him, he wouldn’t be able to see me. “No. Nothings the matter.” I turn back toward him a little, clearing my throat. I give him my little sassy, teasing grin. The alcohol is definitely making me cockier now.
Tristan narrows his eyes at me, but he is starting to have this half smile form on his beautiful lips. While the other guys pick up on conversation again, Tristan leans into me and whispers in my ear. “Then why the fuck were you mocking me?” He slowly pulls back from me, placing his left arm behind me and resting it on the booth. Now I feel intimated, but I don’t want him to see that. Straightening myself up and squaring my shoulders, I look him dead in the eyes. “Well, maybe because you dedicated fucking harlot about me.” I quirk my eyebrow up at him and cross my arms, and doing so pushed my breasts up even more. I notice his eyes moving down to my chest, and he slowly licks his bottom lip before he pulls it into his mouth. His eyes slowly graze my chest for a moment longer before making their way back up to meet mine again.
Fuck me running.
Okay, I think I should go and use the bathroom now. This is just getting too intense for me to even handle now. Trying to speak, I manage to get out quietly. “I need to use the restroom. May you let me out please?” Tristan just stares blankly at me. I can’t tell what he’s thinking right now. “Go ahead. I’m not stopping you.” Um… I think this requires him to—I don’t know—move the fuck out of my way! “Well, actually, you are. You see, you need to move out of my fucking way.” Holy shit! I can’t believe I was so bold just now, but it felt good. Tristan’s eyes widened, and humor is now on his face. He starts shaking his head softly and says, “Climb over me if you have to go that bad.”
What!
I’m not climbing across his stuck-up ass. He just wants to put me in an embarrassing position by either crawling across him or asking the other guys to all get out. So I do the immature thing. Something I did all the time whenever I was out eating with my parents at restaurants when I was younger. I start scooting to my knees below the table. Tristan has this surprised look on his face, and Jared’s looking at me like “What the fuck are you doing?” Everyone else doesn’t seem to notice. They were all getting too smashed, and they’re partying hard now.
I have all these knees in my back, and Tristan’s knee in my face. I hear Jared laughing from up the table. Tristan peeks his head under the table and gives me this cocky smile. “You should have told me, Sophia, that you wanted out. It would have been much easier for you than doing it that way.” Motherfucker! I did say I wanted out. He’s just putting on a show ’cause of Jared being right there. As I get on all fours, I punch Tristan’s shin. But all that did was hurt my hand. Ouch! “What the fuck!” Tristan starts bellowing with laughter, but I’m pissed. I crawl my way out of the table. The floor feels so gross on my palms. Hurrying up and trying hard not to rub into anybody, I make my way out of the table.
Once I’m out, I look up and see Matt staring at me while I’m on my hands and knees. I didn’t know what else to do but plaster a cheesy smile on my face. Matt’s eye widens too and looks shocked to see me like this. Oh, great. I know this doesn’t look entirely good. Matt bends his head down and whispers to me. “What the fuck are you doing underneath the table, Sophia?” I give Matt this look with my eyes that says
please don’t ask me questions
as I bite my bottom lip
.
He shakes his head and takes a drink from his beer. After he sets his bottle down real quick, he extends his hand out for me to grab. Taking hold of Matt’s hand, he steadies me to my feet.
Standing up, I start dusting myself off. “Yo! How the fuck did you get there, Sophie Mophie?” Roger stops mid-sentence with the other guys and stares at me. “You’re like fucking Houdini. I didn’t notice you even leaving the table. Shit, I didn’t realize I was that drunk yet!” Roger starts laughing; then, he waves for the waitress to come back over. Before walking away, I stop and turn to my right and very discreetly, I raise my middle finger at Tristan. He flashes this huge, all-teeth smile at me. I give him one more glare, and I start heading my way toward the restrooms. I’m just so annoyed right now; I’m seeing red. It’s definitely killing my buzz. To top it all off, he didn’t even explain to me why he pulled that little harlot stunt tonight.
After using the restroom, I scrub the hell out of my hands. After being on that gross floor, my hands feel sick. I dry them off and look at myself in the mirror. I’m a little flushed-looking now, but that could be because of the booze or Tristan working me up. I notice that my eyeliner ran a smidge, so I take my fingers and gently wipe away the black residue from under my eyes. Thankfully, everything else still looks good. Okay, when I get back out there, I won’t let that asshole ruin my night. This is my first night out in a while, and we just finished our first show. So I’m celebrating, damn it! I will have just a couple more beers then back to the hotel I go.
I start walking toward the door, and right before I push it open, I let out a breath that my lungs must have been holding in. Shit! I guess I’m pretty drunk already. As I walk back into the VIP room, I instantly notice Frankie standing up at the bar.
Thank God!
Squeezing my way through the now crowded area of people dancing, I can literally hear Roger’s laugh all the way over here. I look over at him and see him having a good time, and that puts a smile on my face. I’m so proud of all my boys tonight.
Coming up to the bar, I poke Frankie in his right side. “Where have you been?” I ask him. He looks over his shoulder at me, and his face immediately lights up, showing off his teeth and his full lips.
Frankie loves his lip injections.
“I had other… Arrangements to tend to.” Frankie has this mischievous grin on now.
“Ohh… Did you get some, Frank-ie?” I slurred a little bit, and that made me start laughing.
Frankie gives me this curious look and asks, “Girl, are you fucked up right now?”
“Nope! Not yet, but getting there.”
Frankie leans into me and says, “Well, let’s just see about that, shall we?” He turns to the bar and waves his hand at one of the female bartenders. She looks up at him through long dark bangs and wipes the counter down real quick before making her way over.
“I’m gonna need a shot of Grey Goose and… ” He looks back over to me. “What are you drinking, sweetheart?”
“Coors light, please,” I tell him. Frankie rolls his eyes and continues our orders with the bartender. “And one dirty Coors light. Wait a second… make those two shots of Grey Goose.” He glances down at me with his dirty little smirk like he has something planned up his sleeve. Oh, no. I don’t know about this.