Mari's Notes: Sammy & Ilna - thanks for rocking my world with fun every day!
Sammy you know I adore a co-write! Thanks again for another hysterical one.
REALMcRollers and Readers - Thanks as always for the love and support and fabulous feedback!
Sammy's notes: Mari & Ilna: What can I say? I'm enjoying this adventure every bit as much as I was on day one. Maybe more.
Thanks for an awesome co-write, Mari! They're always a blast.
REAL Worlders-thanks for all the enthusiastic support. You guys are the best.
Rock Your World (Part 1) by Mari and Sammy
Catherine and Carrie stood in the doorway of the beach house clad in jean shorts and tee-shirts sporting colorful Converse sneakers purchased just for the occasion. With only minimal makeup and matching broad smiles they could both easily pass for younger than their actual age.
"I haven't done this much wardrobe coordination with another person since … " Carrie wracked her brain for the answer, "Sadie Hawkins dance. Senior year of high school. My friends and I were trying to make a statement about our school's restrictive dress code."
"Very subversive as a teenager, were you, Stagler?" Steve teased.
Carrie smirked. "You have no idea."
"You must have made your peace with dress codes." Catherine slipped her license and some cash into her pocket. "Six months later you were at the academy."
"Completely different thing," Carrie smiled as she mirrored Catherine's actions. "How do we look?" she asked as she turned to face her husband.
John leaned in and kissed her cheek. "You'll be the prettiest ones there."
"You look … " Steve shook his head with amusement, "like you are ready to have your worlds rocked."
Catherine snorted. When Steve had teased her earlier about her black velvet choker she laughed and told him he was lucky she didn't break out the chunky highlights and brown lipstick.
She and Carrie had been looking forward to this night from the minute they heard their favorite boy band would be visiting the island and they intended to enjoy every minute of it.
Steve held a smiling Angie in his arms. She had no idea what was going on, but she could definitely pick up on her mother and aunt's excitement. "Bahhhh ahhhh mama," she squealed as she clutched her favorite stuffed bunny tightly.
"Kiss Mommy and wave," Steve said. "She'll be back later."
Angie gave a flappy wave, then looked between her mother and godmother and giggled.
"They're going to see a bunch of middle aged guys sing 20-year-old bad music," he teased and kissed the baby's cheek until she laughed.
"And dance." John teased. "Don't forget the bad synchronized dancing."
"Ha ha." Carrie straightened her back. "Mock all you want. You are not going to spoil our fun."
"We wouldn't dream of it," Steve smiled then bounced Angie gently. "Say have fun, Mama and Aunt Carrie."
"Ahhhh uuu Mama eeeee," she squealed as she flapped her arms.
Catherine kissed them both. "Bye, bye sweetie. You have lots of fun with Daddy and Uncle John." She bent to kiss Cammie and ruffle her fur. "Stick up for us, pretty girl if these guys mock us after we leave, okay?"
Cammie huffed a soft 'woof' in response and Angie kicked her legs. "Caaaa eeee!"
"That's my big girl." she gave her daughter one more kiss then linked arms with Carrie and headed out the door.
Both men laughed as their wives began to sing.
'Girl, I can make you forget all those other guys, the ones who hurt you and made you cry.'
As they reached the Corvette Steve closed the door and seconds later Angie's stuffed bunny hit the floor.
"Uh-oh," she said as she peered down at it.
John leaned over immediately and retrieved it. "I'll get that for you, sweetie."
He no sooner handed it back to her than it hit the ground again. "Uh-oh."
"I should have warned you," Steve laughed. "She has a new game."
After stopping to grab a quick bite to eat, Catherine and Carrie arrived just as the venue opened, made their way to their seats, and placed large iced teas in commemorative cups into the beverage holders of seats A14 and 15.
Front and center.
Carrie smiled with satisfaction.
As the roadies double checked to make sure everything was ready for the evening's performance the seats around them began to fill up and the air became electric. They squealed with excitement as they greeted the women they'd met in line, Stacey, Keana and Anna.
"This is my sister Tiffany," Stacey said. "I've been making her listen to Rock Your World CDs for weeks to get ready for tonight."
"I was in my hair band rock phase when they were big back in the day," Tiffany explained.
"Not me," Anna's friend Wendy sighed wistfully. "I loved them. Actually," she chuckled, "love might not cover it. I was obsessed. I was furious at my parents because they wouldn't let my friends and I take a train alone into the city from Long Island to see them." She shook her head at the memory of all the doors that were slammed over the matter and snorted. "We were 12."
"I grew up in middle of nowhere, Oklahoma," Keana's co-worker said. "I thought the TV was the closest I'd ever get to them." She reached out and touched the edge of the raised stage. "Now look at me!"
"I printed a set list," Anna held out a copy of the music the band would play that evening. "Here, I have plenty."
"Thanks." Carrie grinned as she and Catherine scanned the songs. "I was hoping they wouldn't play a lot of new stuff," she said while pointing to a few titles in the last third she'd never heard of. "Looks like just a few."
"Let's face it, no one here's looking for new stuff," Keana chimed in with a chuckle. "We wanna relive our younger days."
"As much as our sore feet and bad knees will let us." Tiffany raised her voice slightly as canned warm-up music began to pulse out of the large speakers several feet away. "Hell, if we managed to storm the stage at this point they could probably out run us." She gestured at the best friends who were sporting matching grins. "Well, probably not you two, but the rest of the forty-something crowd."
Catherine laughed. "I'm not so sure, Alton's the youngest and he's forty-eight."
"Oh, and he was my favorite," Stacey said dreamily. "Remember that blond perm? He looked like a poodle fell asleep on his head and I thought it was all that." She shook her head.
"Hi, Catherine!" her parents' neighbor Krysten greeted as she and her best friend filled in the seats to Carrie's right.
"Hi." Catherine smiled.
"My kids think this is the funniest thing on the planet." Krysten shook hands with Carrie and waved down the row at the others. "But it fits and when will I ever get another chance to wear it?" She indicated her Rock Your World T-shirt from 1995. "World tour. I saw them in Orlando."
"I remember taping a special MTV did about that tour," Keana said. "I watched it so many times the tape wore out. I found the footage about a month go on YouTube and I'm embarrassed how many times I've watched it since."
"That was the tour where they broke out the matching denim suits, wasn't it?" Anna asked.
"In all their glory," Krysten snorted.
The woman began to reminisce about who'd seen the band in concert and where and by the time the surrounding seats were all full, Catherine and Carrie were laughing about how they realized plebe summer they'd both been fans in high school and decided they had to chip in for the greatest hits CD as soon as it came out.
Carrie tossed an arm across Catherine's shoulders. "I already knew I had the best roomie ever but once I knew she shared my Rock Your World love I knew we'd be besties for life."
Most of the crowd was on their feet as the band took the stage to the familiar strains of one of their biggest hits. As Catherine cheered loudly, arms in the air, she caught sight of a familiar photographer out of the corner of her eye.
"Oh no," she groaned good-naturedly as she pointed out the man with a head tilt. "It's Ron Timmons from the Star-Advertiser."
Carrie snorted as the man continued to snap away. "Might as well just accept it. You're gonna be in the paper tomorrow. There's no way they'll be able to resist running a picture of the governor's chief of staff living it up at the Rock Your World concert."
"Don't suppose I could convince you to delete those pictures, Ron," Catherine asked with a hopeful smile as the photographer moved down the aisle alternating shots of the band with shots of the crowd.
"Not a chance," he grinned. "If it's any consolation the head of the Chamber of Commerce is two rows back in red spandex pants and an off the shoulder blouse. I was also told to look out for the mayor's wife. So, it's not just you."
Catherine nodded. "But Steve will never let me live this down."
As Ron continued to move he called over his shoulder, "Tell the commander I'll save him some extra copies."
"Is it my imagination or do they not dip quite a low as they used to?" Stacey smiled as the lights came up slightly indicating it was time for intermission.
"It's not your imagination," Catherine replied.
"As I recall they also used to be able to do two hours without a break in the middle to catch their breaths," Krysten pointed out.
"I'm kinda glad they can't do that anymore," Anna said as she reached for her purse, "Because I need a pee break and I didn't want to miss anything. Anyone else have to go?"
As several of the women headed for the restroom a man wearing a lanyard around his neck indicating he was with the band approached Catherine and Carrie. He appeared to be twenty something. Rail thin. Shoulder length black hair. Tattoos covering both arms. He wasn't exactly what anyone would expect when they pictured the crew head for a middle-aged boy band.
"Ladies."
As he spoke the smarm rolled off him in waves.
Nothing in his demeanor set off either Catherine or Carrie's radar. He was basically harmless. Just very impressed with his own perceived power.
"How ya doin?" Carrie nodded and turned to continue their conversation.
A few seconds later the man tapped her arm. "Reaper Jones." He offered a nod. "I've been asked to give you these." He produced two backstage passes with a flourish. "You can come … meet the band." His wink and smirk showed just how often his offers were met with excited agreement.
He'd been on the road with Explosive Code the previous year and girls had literally climbed a barbed wire fence for access to the band.
He'd done great consoling the 'leftovers'.
Catherine and Carrie exchanged a look and laughed.
Mistaking their laughter for disbelief, he repeated the offer. "Come to that door." He pointed to an area just downstage and to the right. "After the show." He couldn't conceal that his interest wasn't only for the band. He eyed both women and nodded. "You'll be there, right?"
"See ya backstage." Carrie snatched the passes with a smirk and handed one to her best friend. "Thanks, ah, Reaper." She raised a brow. "Reaper? Seriously?"
The waif thin guy swathed entirely in black clearly didn't get the hint of sarcasm and pointed to his nametag. "Yeah, see."
When he sauntered off Carrie snorted, "Bet ya a dinner it's really Walter or something."
Catherine shook her head. "I'm not takin' that bet."
Carrie glanced at the laminated pass, emblazoned with a picture of the band in their much younger days. "What do you think? Should we go? If anything looks shady we can always leave."
"True." Catherine nodded. "And between the two of us there's not a lot we can't handle. I mean, it's not as if these guys are hard-core rockers in their prime."
As the women exchanged a smile and tucked the passes in their bags, two men who Catherine had noticed speaking to Reaper a few minutes before walked over. They were the antithesis of the dark and brooding Reaper. They had short cropped hair, large muscles and wore matching black polo shirts and khaki pants. Though they weren't carrying weapons, or wearing any sort of badges, Catherine and Carrie immediately sussed them out as security.
"You're not planning to block the view, right?" Carrie asked as they postured between the front row and stage.
The taller of the two sauntered over first, his friend seconds behind. "I think the view from the stage looking out is much better," he said with a practiced smile. "Reaper hooked you girls up with passes?"
Carrie nodded. "Looks that way."
"The whole backstage scene is a blast." The second man puffed out his chest. "I've been on tour with these guys for a couple of months now and I found out people who sit front row are usually open to having fun with the band." He squared his shoulders and tried to look casual. "And anyone associated with the band."
It took all their military discipline for the girls not to laugh directly in the man's face.
"Nah, we're just competitive," Carrie told him.
Catherine grinned. "Really competitive. Front row or nothing." She was taller than the first man by an inch and a half. "We just wanna say hi to the guys." She glanced at his nametag. "Uh, Sixx?"
"Yeah," he nodded. "That's me. I play a pretty mean bass. People say I remind them of Nikki Sixx."
Catherine looked at his short brown hair and clean-cut appearance. "Really?"
"Don't let me work get up fool you. I really let my hair down on my off time." He'd noticed the beautiful brunette when Reaper was talking to her a few minutes before. Lots of times he could wrangle a number from a fan and he was sure as hell going to try, especially since his buddy fancied her friend. "This is my friend Pitbull. We're working security tonight." He practically puffed his chest out. "Not crowd control or anything like that. We're bodyguards for the band. Serious work keeping those guys safe."
"I'll bet," Catherine smiled as she could feel Carrie's eye roll.
"We both know Brazilian Jiu Jitsu," Pitbull said proudly.
"That's really nice, oh look, here we go!" Carrie pointed as the din around them rose to a roar as the band took the stage under lights that flashed just as the rest of their friends returned from the bathroom. "Time for the second act."
"We'll see you guys later, right?" Sixx asked.
"We're gonna go backstage to meet the band, yes," Carrie said. "Then home to our husbands." She added pointedly.
The two men elbowed each other triumphantly as they walked away. "Unless you get a better offer."
After finishing the second half of their show the band played three encores and left the crowd feeling happy, excited, and even if the guys had a few more lines on their faces and a few extra pounds around their middles, like they'd gotten their money's worth.
After saying goodbye to their friends and promising to stay in touch and share all the pictures from the evening, Catherine and Carrie headed backstage to fulfill their plebe summer dream and meet the band.
"Ready for this?" Carrie giggled as the security guard checked their passes then waved them in.
"Absolutely," Catherine smiled. "Let's do it."
END PART ONE
Stay tuned Monday as Catherine and Carrie meet the band.
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