"I can't believe we're actually doing this," Leslie said to Sam as they both stood outside of Roxie's. "It's crazy."
"I know," Sam replied. "And I want you to know that I don't normally act like I did yesterday. Normally I'm better-behaved. And if we're gonna be working together, you better be too."
"Well, what entitles you to be so bossy?" Leslie wanted to know.
"I have a good reputation as a singer and I don't want it ruined by being associated with someone who's so immature," Sam informed her.
Leslie narrowed her eyes. "I don't like being insulted," she told him. "Especially by people who have never formally introduced themselves to me."
"I'm Sam," Sam told her without offering her his hand. "And what's your name, as long as we're sharing?"
"Leslie," Leslie told him.
"All right, Leslie," Sam told her. "Let's get something straight: I'm just doing this as a favor to my sister, okay? I don't really need another singer with me and especially after this mess with Addison, I have learned how much I like working alone. So…we'll do whatever gigs Roxie wants us to do, then go our separate ways. All right?"
"Fine!" Leslie spat. "Works for me!"
They crowded one another into the bar and as Roxie watched them approach her, she sucked in her breath and sad, "You two really don't get along, do you?"
"Well, I mean look at her," Sam huffed. "Look at how she's dressed. All nice and perfect and ritzy. Damn it, she's like Lucy!"
"Who's Lucy?" Leslie asked. "Is she someone who's nicer than you? Maybe I ought to meet her sometime."
"Lucy is our sister," Roxie explained. "For the most part, she's uptight and pretentious. You might like her."
"And she's dating my father," Sam huffed.
"Oh, they broke up," Roxie informed him. "You knew that. You complained to me about how his new girlfriend was someone he'd just picked up off the street and is a big pain in the butt, remember? She's interested in some guy she's teaching art to now, but she won't tell me how far along the relationship is. Every time I ask, she just hisses at me and tells me to mind my own business."
"That's a relief that she's moved on," Sam said and sat down on a bar stool. "I might start visiting Dad on a regular basis now that things will be less awkward." He paused. "Although Dad with any woman is kind of awkward. Well, except for Mom, that is."
"Can I ask you something?" Leslie wanted to know.
"No," Sam said, his voice flat.
"Did you say that your dad is dating your sister?" Leslie got out. "How screwed up is that? What sort of messed up family are you part of?"
"It's perfectly fine for his dad to date his sister because they only have a mother in common, not a father," Roxie explained. "They're half-siblings."
"Ah," Leslie nodded. "That doesn't make it entirely not weird, but it's a little better, I guess."
Sam rolled his eyes and turned back to Roxie. "Listening to my associate yammer on for no reason just reminded me why we came in here in the first place: did you say that you have some sort of contract drawn up for the gigs you want the two of us to do here? Let's sign that thing and then I won't have to be around her anymore except for when we're singing."
"You know, you're no prize either," Leslie scoffed and stole the pen from him just as he was preparing to sign his name, signing hers on the contract first and then striding to the door, pausing before leaving to say, "May the hours that we have until our performances stretch on interminably because never seeing you again would be too soon for me." She then stuck her tongue out at him and left the bar.
"She should really write poetry," Roxie remarked. "That sounded like poetry, don't you think?"
"I don't know," Sam shrugged. "You know I don't read crap like that."
"True," Roxie nodded. "How could I forget?" She paused. "You wanna know more family news?"
"Sure," Sam nodded. "Anything interesting?"
"Well, our brother Drew got married," Roxie supplied. "Ran off to Vegas in the middle of a school day with his girlfriend who just happens to be a witch. Uncle Elijah didn't find out about it until after it was over and done with and when he was told, he passed out."
Sam laughed when he heard this. "Granted I don't spend a lot of time with my half-siblings cause we both know that based on who my father is, I'm not really welcome among them, but…I think Drew's my new hero. Mom took it well?"
"Of course!" Roxie nodded. "She cheered him on and made him a cake because part of the reason for the elopement was because he wanted to help his now-wife out of an arranged marriage. And you know how Mom feels about arranged marriages."
"Oh, yes," Sam nodded. "I know that all too well."
Roxie poured a glass of bourbon for him and then said, "Thanks for singing with Leslie even though you don't like her that much."
"Oh, it's my pleasure," Sam told her. "It's not like it's gonna be forever, right?" He sat and drank his drink and put it down just as Roxie's husband Vince came down to the main floor from the rooms above where he'd been checking the plumbing, put his arms around Roxie, kissed her hair, and gave Sam a smile. "That was some performance you gave yesterday," he remarked. "Was it planned?"
"No," Sam shook his head. "I never even saw that girl before yesterday. I don't know what her problem was."
"And yet, they've agreed to do some performances for us here because they know they brought the house down," Roxie added. Then she looked at Sam fondly. "You know, you really are a good brother."
"Yeah, you just keep remembering that," Sam replied. "Cause I might need a favor someday, and when I do, I intend to collect."
"Well, that sounds ominous," Roxie told him. "Not that I have a problem with shady stuff."
"Oh, relax," Sam smiled and headed over to the pool table. "I was just teasing."
"Yeah," Roxie nodded. "I knew that. You didn't have to tell me. You just gonna stay here all day?"
"Maybe," Sam replied. "That's not a problem is it?"
"No," Roxie shook her head. "It's fine with me. Knock yourself out."
"Hey, Vicky," Kai told her and took her in his arms before he even closed their front door. "Miss me?"
"Well, of course," Victoria paused as he kissed her. "But what are you doing here? Does…does James know?"
Kai heard this and chuckled. "I've been sneaking out from under his nose for a while now. Why everyone is always so afraid of him, I have no idea."
"Just be careful," Victoria chided. "You made a deal for us to have a kid and you won't be able to get me pregnant if you're in jail or dead."
"I could still do it if I was in jail," Kai protested. "Ever hear of a conjugal visit?"
"Well, whatever," Victoria shrugged. "Are we gonna do this or what?"
Kai just chuckled. "So romantic, Vicky. You're lucky I'm not the sort of man who has to be wooed because you're doing a terrible job."
Victoria zapped herself into a red negligee and began nibbling on his ear. "Better?" She whispered.
"Yes," Kai nodded. "You're getting there."
She kissed him deeply, biting his bottom lip as she pulled away and then gently licked the blood up with her tongue before grabbing his hand and leading him to their bedroom, sliding off her panties and kicking them aside before ripping off his shirt, pulling both his boxers and his pants down to his ankles and then rubbed up against him for a bit before she felt him slip inside her. He pulled her close until there was no space between them and then pushed into her over and over.
"Now who's not wasting time on foreplay?" Victoria smiled.
"Well, like you say, I can't be gone long," Kai reminded her. "I have to get back to my keepers before they barge in here and find me in a very embarrassing position."
"Oh, what are you talking about?" Victoria chuckled and ran her fingers through his hair. "You would love to see the look on James' face if he caught us like this. It would make your day. Admit it."
"Yeah, okay," Kai admitted, his eyes twinkling. "That would be hilarious." He pushed into her a few more times, then gently detached himself and pulled his pants up. "Next time I get out, we'll do this on a bed," He promised, grabbing her and kissing her one more time. "I swear."
"Oh, I know," Victoria agreed. "I'm holding you to it. And if you don't get out, I'm gonna either kidnap you, or come to James' house and we can do it in his bed like we did In John's at John and Freya's ball." She gave him a wink.
"I love you so much right now," Kai told her. "Well, I love you all the time, but especially right now."
"You better," Victoria smiled as he gave her one last kiss, promised to call her that night, and then went on his way.
"So I hear you and Dad broke up," Sam said when Lucy let him into her apartment.
"Yeah, we did," Lucy nodded. "And I've been waiting for you to show up and be over the moon about it ever since."
"Hey, don't be that way," Sam told her, feeling offended, his blue eyes darkening a little. "I might feel weird about you guys being a couple because you're my sister and my father, but I want you to be happy. And Addie and I went our separate ways too, so I feel your pain."
"How did that happen?" Lucy asked. "Did your wandering eye finally become too much for her?"
"No!" Sam shook his head. "With touring and all, we realized that there wasn't as much time for us to be a couple as we felt there should be. We tried to squeeze in more time to be a couple, but it just led to more stress so we ended things."
"Ah," Lucy nodded. "Okay, I'm sorry."
"It's all right," Sam assured her. "Roxie and Mom blamed my wandering eye at first too." He paused and looked around. "So you're still doing your art thing. Good for you. It's great you're not letting your talent go to waste."
"Thanks, but…" Lucy smiled as she looked around the kitchen. "These pictures aren't mine. They were painted by one of my art students. William McCullough. As you can see, he's got skills."
"Yeah, he really does," Sam agreed. "What's he like? One of those tortured artist types?"
"No, not really," Lucy replied. "Not anymore, anyway. He has this thing where he shoots fire everywhere when he gets agitated, but we've been working with his grandfather Alistair to help him control that problem. And the painting gives him an emotional outlet that helps too."
They then heard the doorbell ring and a voice call out, "Lucy? Are you home?"
"Yes, William!" Lucy called back. "We're in the kitchen."
"'We're'?" The dark-eyed young man repeated as he appeared right next to Sam and the whole room became warm. "Excuse me. Who are you?" He looked at Lucy. "I thought you said that you were dumping Damon."
"I did," Lucy nodded. "This is my brother Sam. Damon's his father. He's visiting for a while."
"Oh," William nodded, took a few deep breaths, and the room began to cool. "All right then." He patted Sam on the shoulder. "Sorry about that. Nice to meet you."
"Charmed, I'm sure," Sam replied, wondering how he should feel about this young man who so clearly had something against his father. "I was just telling Lucy that I really enjoy all your work."
"You do?" William smiled. "Well thanks! You paint?"
"No, I do music," Sam replied and stuck out his hand. "Sam Salvatore. Maybe you've heard of my band, maybe you haven't." He paused and looked at his sister. "You have one of the band's CDs, don't you?"
"Yeah," Lucy nodded. "He's heard it."
William's eyes widened. "You mean he's the singer of the songs you play when we paint? He's so good!"
"Thanks," Sam smiled. "Always nice to meet a fan. I have a gig at Roxie's tonight with a girl I despise as a co-star. You two wanna come? I can use all the moral support I can get." He paused. "Or do you hate Roxie's just like your uncle does?"
"No, I don't hate it," Lucy shook her head and mussed her short blonde hair to get it out of her eyes. "I think it's fun sometimes."
"So you'll be there?" Sam smiled. "Please?"
"Oh, all right," Lucy smiled back. "See you there. I actually have to drop off one of my paintings that Roxie wanted to put behind the bar anyway. It's perfect timing."
"Yeah," Sam agreed. "I guess it is."
"Well, look at that," Roxie cried loudly as William and Lucy entered the bar. "My sister has come to my bar and she's wearing leather. I never thought I'd see the day."
There were several whistles that followed Lucy as she approached her sister and asked William who was walking behind her, to please place the painting on the bar. "Thanks for that," she said to Roxie after. "You know how much I enjoy attention when I enter a room. All I wanted was to have a drink and enjoy the show. Gin and tonic, please."
"And a glass of whiskey for me, please," William added.
"Oh, come on," Roxie told her sister as she made up their drinks. "Every once in a while, it's good for you." She looked between William and Lucy. "Unless you two are a thing and you're already getting attention from him."
They looked at one another and shook their heads. They'd bounced back and forth on this question several times, and although he'd probably seen her naked enough times for painting purposes that most people would consider them a couple, she still wasn't sure. "We're working on that, but nothing's definite," she confessed, flushing a little.
She was saved from having to explain more by Sam and Leslie coming onto the stage to begin their set.
Despite Sam and Leslie's animosity off stage, their singing was just as good as it had been the night before. Their vocals blended nicely on "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" and a couple other duets, Leslie brought the house down with "I Hate Myself for Loving You," and Sam brought everyone to their feet as he ended the show with a soulful "Goodbye, Yellow Brick Road." Everyone was cheering as they headed off the stage and Leslie muttered, "Damn, they still like us."
"I know," Sam nodded. "I can't believe they didn't pick up on how flat you were on some of those songs. Especially that first duet. Kiki Dee would be ashamed."
"Yeah, well your voice cracked during "Goodbye, Yellow Brick Road,"Leslie told him. "I could hit those notes better. I'm taking it next time."
"Says you," Sam told her. "I'm not letting a newbie take my finale!"
"How about we both do a version and see which one the audience likes best, and then whoever gets more applause gets to sing it?" Leslie put forth.
"Oh, no," Sam shook his head. "It's my finale. End of story. Go get your own songs and stop thinking that you can steal mine. I sing it perfectly and you can't do better."
"We'll just see about that tomorrow, won't we?" Leslie smiled and then turned to head for her car. "Goodnight, Sam."
"Goodnight," Sam mumbled, not even looking at her as she left the bar and grinning as he heard the slam of the door to indicate that she'd left the building. Now he could enjoy his drink in peace. It was about time.
