Jack
HOLY SHIT, IT felt good to play again. After my wife’s death, I’d spent the better part of the past decade at the bottom of a bottle, and almost died twice myself. My life now consisted of travel, photography, and little else. This kept me sober and sane, but completely disconnected from those I loved. For the longest time, it was simply too painful to be around anyone or anything that reminded me of Pam; this included my band and my drums. Being back behind my drum kit, playing with my best friends, was an amazing feeling. I hadn’t truly realized how much I’d missed this and was surprised with how quickly we were gelling as a band.
“Let’s play it again,” I said to my fellow bandmates.
Rex chuckled. “You certainly seem to be back in fighting form.”
“Getting there,” I replied. “It was a lot easier when we were kids, that’s for damn sure.”
“It was a lot easier with cocaine too,” Robbie joked.
“Everything was certainly faster.” We all laughed before launching into the song one more time.
I attacked the kit with everything I had. Playing the drums is a constant dance between tension and release, and there is an art behind hitting hard but not destroying your body in the process. Even though I was in shape and very physically active, I was still trying to find that line. After a few weeks of practice, I felt far more prepared for the tour than I thought I’d be, and we’d managed to write and record some great new tunes. As the song came to an end, we looked at each other knowingly. Seasoned musicians know when they’ve nailed a take.
“Shit, my brothers! Now that was great!” Robbie said. “Let’s go listen to that one.”
I took off my headphones, grabbed a towel and headed for the control room. Rex entered first, followed by Robbie and me. As I entered I spotted Lucy, Rex’s daughter and our new manager. Months ago, Rex mentioned he’d been interviewing a new manager, but you could have knocked me over with a feather when I found out it was little Lucy. She was like a niece to me and Pam, and I adored her. She had always been a sweet but feisty kid, and had blossomed into an independent kick-ass woman. In the short weeks that I’d been able to see her work, I was convinced she was more than capable to handle the job. Her husband had yet to make an appearance at Fastback, however, and every time I mentioned him to Lucy, or asked any questions, she’d simply smile and say, “I can’t wait for you to meet him.”
Before I could greet Lucy, she introduced me to the other woman in the room. I hadn’t noticed her at first, but stopped breathing the moment I saw her.
“Hadley, have you met Jack and Robbie?” Lucy asked the gorgeous brunette.
Robbie shook her hand first while my brain raced for something charming to say.
“Hi, Hadley. It’s nice to meet you,” was all I could manage, but it made little difference either way. She barely looked at me.
“Nice to meet you, too,” she replied in a quiet, southern accented voice. Then she cracked only the smallest of smiles and broke eye contact with me as quickly as possible.
“Hadley is Roses for Anna’s manager,” Lucy continued. “She’s also a good friend, so you boys better be on your best behavior around her.” She raised an eyebrow and wagged a finger at us.
“When have we ever been anything less than absolute gentlemen?” Robbie asked playfully.
“You forget I’m your manager now and therefore have access to your permanent record, old man,” Lucy replied. “Hadley and I have some transportation matters to iron out today for the tour, but I wanted her to meet you all first.”
I heard every word Lucy was saying, but realized I had been staring at Hadley the entire time. She was unbelievably beautiful, with shoulder length dark brown hair and an amazing body. Curvy and soft in all the right places. Her ice blue eyes were framed by thick black glasses, completing her sexy librarian look. She appeared to be somewhat detached, but not cold. I tried again to engage her.
“How long have you been with Roses for Anna?”
“A few years,” she answered, quickly adding, “But, I’ve only been their manager for a few months.”
“Sounds like there were some issues with the previous manager,” I said. A large sum of money had gone missing and a federal investigation lead to the arrest of Roses for Anna’s former manager.
She smiled again briefly and once again turned away, focusing her attention back to Lucy. “We should probably get started.”
“Oh, okay, sure. We can go over everything in the lounge. Let me just grab my laptop.” Lucy turned her attention back to the band for a moment. “You guys sound amazing, by the way. The new songs are incredible.”
“Thanks Lucy,” I said before making eye contact with Hadley again. “It was really nice meeting you. I guess we’ll being seeing you around.”
She nodded and slipped through the door to the lounge. I looked at Lucy and shrugged. I assumed that Hadley had guys in the business hitting on her all the time and probably figured I was going to pounce on her like the others.
This couldn’t be further from the truth. I hadn’t had any kind of meaningful relationship with a woman since Pam, and hadn’t even dated over the past two years. Meaningless hookups and nights spent in drunken oblivion were well behind me and I wasn’t about to do anything to jeopardize my sobriety or sanity.
Still, there was something about this woman that drew me to her. She clearly showed no interest in me, but it made little difference. Her lack of eye contact didn’t negate the fact that I was obviously going to be very distracted with Hadley hanging around the studio.
* * *
Hadley
Well, holy crap on a stick! I licked my lips. That man was dangerous. God bless America! He stared into my soul like he could read my mind.
A gentle hand tapped my knee. “Hadley?”
“Hmm?” I glanced at Lucy who sat across from me.
“You okay?”
“Oh, yes.” I smiled. “Sorry. We were talking about bus companies.”
Lucy raised an eyebrow, but just as she opened her mouth to speak, Bam walked in carrying several coffees. She set her laptop aside and rose to her feet. “Perfect timing.”
Bam leaned down to kiss her quickly. “You miss me?”
She took the coffee with her name on it and took a swig. “Hmm-mmm, yep, it was you I missed,” she crooned and stroked the paper cup.
Bam chuckled and handed me a Frap. “Thanks, Bam. You read my mind.”
“One of my super powers.” He grinned. “Plus, I know what you’re like before coffee.”
“I’d object to you speaking to me like you know me, but I love you for getting me coffee, so you’re forgiven… for now.”
“You ready to meet Jack today?” Lucy asked.
“Absolutely not,” Bam said.
I could relate to his nervousness, even if he wasn’t nervous for the same reasons I had been. I saw motion in the window and Jack smiled at me as he sat back behind his drums. I smiled back, pushing my glasses back up my nose and focusing back on Bam. “Looks like they’re getting back to it.”
“See Luce, it looks like they’re busy. I can meet him tomorrow,” Bam said.
“Why don’t you hang with us?” I suggested. “You can weigh in on a few things.”
“I should really get going, but maybe I’ll stop by later,” he said.
“Okay sure,” I said only half paying attention to Bam’s words. I could not stop looking at the man behind the glass.
“Earth to Hadley,” Bam said.
“Sorry.” I shook my head and faced him. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me today… I’m so distracted.”
“I wonder why,” Lucy retorted, giving me a cheeky grin.
I could feel the heat flood my face, so I dropped my head, letting my hair fall around it as I pretended to check my notes. Clearing my throat, I said, “So, I think we should go with―”
“Hey, Dad,” Lucy said, interrupting me. “Sorry, Hadley. Give us a second, okay?”
“No problem.” I looked up and smiled at Rex who’d just walked in from the sound booth. Jack was right behind him and I squirmed in my seat.
Damn it, I needed a little relief.
I had a feeling I was going to be imagining a certain long-haired man while I was utilizing my B.O.B. later.
Jack smiled, his eyes lingering on me for a few precious seconds. I felt like I might internally combust if I didn’t look away, so I pretended to read over my notes.
Bam said nothing, but winked at me, using this distraction as an opportunity to slip out of the room unnoticed. It was funny to see him so nervous to meet his hero. Apparently being nervous around Jack Henry is a thing around here.
It was times like this that I fantasized about being a different person. The kind of person, for example, that would have a meaningless sexual fling with a rock star. I wasn’t Lucy and he wasn’t Bam, so I wasn’t about to entertain some sort of romantic fantasy, but I wondered what it would be like to simply have a tryst with Jack Henry. Sure, he was older, probably had a harem of women, and we were in business together… but who cares? I could be one of those women that could ignore all that for what I was sure would be mind blowing sex—right?
Fat chance. I was a good girl and I knew it. Besides, I’d heard what happened to the band manager before Lucy and squashed that thought. According to Lucy, she’d gotten the job because the previous woman had cornered Rex and tried to remove his clothing. She was promptly fired and Lucy took over.
I had no intention of losing my job. I had plans. Ones that didn’t include dallying with a member of RatHound. Regardless of how sexy the man was, damn it.
“Hey.”
I jumped.
“Sorry,” Jack said. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
Ohmigod, his voice. It did things to me. Naughty things.
I rose to my feet and set my notepad on the chair. I needed to be taller… I felt too vulnerable sitting. “No, you didn’t. I was in the zone, I guess.”
We were alone and I was immediately struck dumb with the closeness of the man, plus… more pinging. So much pinging.
Lucy had left me a few minutes ago, heading in to join Bam.
“I was just finishing up. Are you guys still rehearsing?”
Jack shook his head. “Everyone’s listening to the playback.”
“Shouldn’t you be in there?”
“I’m good right here, Hadley.”
I bit my lip. I tried to slide my hand into my pocket but overshot the mark, and I couldn’t figure out who the hell sewed the damn thing shut. If I tried to move my hands to my back pockets, I was painfully aware that my double-D’s would be thrust out and make me look like a B-52 bomber coming in for a landing.
I didn’t want to cross my arms because that shows you’re closed… which, to him, I wasn’t.
Shit! I didn’t know what to do with my hands.
“You want to come listen with us?” Jack offered.
“Um, sure. Yes, that would be great.”
* * *
Jack
Hadley and I stood shoulder-to-shoulder against the back wall of the studio. The new song we were working on pumped through the monitors, and my bandmates were all smiles. Even though Rex had a successful solo career, and Robbie had stayed very active as a session and touring bassist for several bands over the years, there was simply no denying the magic that happened when the three of us played together. There’s no hiding in a trio. Each player has to be one hundred percent committed at all times. It’s an exciting and dangerous way to make music that requires a level of intimacy and telepathy between players.
I leaned over to Hadley, still facing the monitors. “What do you think?”
She smiled. “It really sounds great. You guys sound like… like… you.”
“Well I guess that’s better than sounding like Bieber,” I said dryly.
She turned to me quickly her hand shooting up to her mouth. “Oh, no, I just meant that you guys sound just as good as you did back―”
“Back when we were young? Back when we toured via brontosaurus?”
“No, I just meant—”
I smiled wide to let her off the hook and she playfully smacked my arm. “You’re mean,” she said.
My entire body stiffened in reaction to her touch. Hadley was beautiful, so I wasn’t surprised at my physical attraction to her, but I felt there was something more to her and I wanted to know what it was.
“Didn’t your mother ever tell you to stay away from musicians?”
“Yes, that’s why I like them so much,” she said.
“Oh, you like musicians, do you?”
“Well, yes, I mean, that’s why I work for them… um, with them.”
“I get it.” I smiled. I could swear she was blushing, and for the first time I absolutely wanted her. “Seriously, though. Why do you want to spend your life hanging around musicians? You look smarter than that.”
“Thanks, I guess.” She giggled. “I never really thought about it, I’ve just always loved music and wanted to be a part of it somehow.”
“Why not pick up an instrument or sing, or start a band?”
“I did,” she said smiling. “I mean I do.”
“What, have a band?”
“I did, before I got into the management side. I was the singer in a group, but I started out as a drummer.
At that moment, I was dead sure of one thing; there was no way in hell I was going to be able to stay away from this woman.
“A chick drummer?” I asked smiling ear to ear.
“Excuse me? I am not a chick!” I couldn’t tell if Hadley was mocking offence or not, but was ready to defend my case.
“I didn’t say you were a chick. I would never do so, to you or any other woman,” I said flatly.
“But you—”
I interrupted her protest. “I said you were a ‘chick drummer.’”
Hadley turned to face me and blinked slowly from behind her thick black frames. I began to get hard, and straightened my posture to help conceal the bulge in my pants. She was unbelievably sexy. It was hard to believe this was the same woman that wouldn’t make eye contact with me two weeks ago. I was beginning to see there were many layers to Hadley Simon.
“How is calling me a chick drummer any different than calling me a chick?”
“It just is,” I said, refusing to be the first to break eye contact.
“It just is? That’s not an answer. You can’t just add “drummer” to the end of something and claim that in negates the previous word.”
“I agree. That would be absurd.”
She tightened her face into what I assumed was meant to be a scowl but came across as the sexiest pout I’d ever seen.
“Explain,” she said.
“Look, it’s very simple. A chick is an outdated diet-misogynistic term used by roadies in the 70s who smelled like van carpet and bong water.”
Hadley’s face cracked a very small smile.
“Chick drummers, on the other hand are powerful, beautiful, thunder goddesses that possess the ability to shake the very foundations of earth.”
“Is that all?” she asked, choking back laughter.
“Actually, no, they’re also the sexiest of all creation.”
I smiled slowly and she swallowed… fuckin’ sexy as hell.