Chapter 23
IRRESISTIBLE
"B, we need to fucking talk," Addison said as she stormed into the kitchen early the next morning fully dressed, heading straight towards the liquor cabinet.
"I was thinking the same thing," Bucky responded as he set his phone down and gave her a serious look.
She rolled her eyes and uncapped the bottle of tequila. "What are you going to bitch me out for this morning?" she mumbled as she brought the bottle to her lips and started to chug.
"Jesus, take it easy on that stuff. You're going to pass out drunk before ten at that rate."
She wiped her mouth on the sleeve of her sweater. "I'm counting on it..."
Bucky stood up and walked over to her, taking the bottle away with one hand and grabbing her arm with the other.
"Ouch… Let go..." she protested as he pushed her sleeve up.
He looked down at her scabbed over wrist and closed his eyes as he bit the inside of his cheek. He very slowly counted backward from ten before he opened his eyes again. "I know the last few days have been hard… but I thought you were finished with this shit?"
"How did you..."
"It wasn't hard to figure out. The pool of dried blood in the bathroom combined with your broken razor in the trash..." he let out a sigh. "Adds..."
"Bucky… I can't stay on this tour."
His eyes snapped up to meet hers. "What?"
"I'm done. I can't do this anymore," she said in a whisper, trying to keep the tears at bay.
"Please don't do this to me… Not now."
She gave him a questioning look.
"I was planning on telling everyone once it was final, but I just negotiated an extension to the tour."
"You did what?"
"No more college towns after January. I'm talking major markets, bigger venues..."
"Fuck me sideways on a Sunday..."
"Ew… No thanks."
She rolled her eyes and took the tequila back from him, taking another swig.
"I need you, sis… please. This is huge. I can't do this without you, but more importantly… I don't want to do this without you."
She was silent for a moment before she nodded. "Fine."
He let out a sigh of relief and hugged her. "Thank you."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah..."
He pulled back and looked at her with a serious expression again. "As far as..." he glanced down at her wrist. "Don't pull that shit again. If you're hurting that much and need an escape, come get me. You know I'm here for you. You don't have to deal with everything alone. I thought we had an agreement after the accident."
She nodded her head and hugged him again. "I'm sorry, B..."
"It's okay," he whispered as he kissed the top of her head. "I love you, Addie-loo. You're not alone anymore."
She breathed in a sniffle and wiped at her eyes. "Okay, enough of the mushy sibling shit. I can only take so much."
He let out a soft laugh and nodded. "You gonna be okay?"
She shrugged her shoulders and plastered a fake smile across her face. "I always am."
Bucky rolled his eyes. "All right, I'm going to grab breakfast with E down the street. Can you behave?"
"I always do."
"Riiiiight…." He kissed her cheek and turned around, heading towards the exit.
Addison took another large swig of tequila and held the bottle out to see how much was left. "Quarter of a bottle..." she whispered to herself as she shrugged. "Bottoms up..." she tipped the bottle back once more and chugged.
.
Everyone was still asleep as she made her way clumsily down the hall towards the front of the bus. She fell onto the bench seat with a giggle and picked up her cherry red Les Paul that was still sitting there from the day before. She plugged it into the portable amp and turned it up as far as it would go. She laid down and started to strum out an angry chord progression.
"I'm no Barbie doll
I'm not your baby girl
So I've done ugly things and I have made mistakes
I am rotten to my core if they're to be believed
So what if I'm no baby bird hanging upon your every word
Nothing ever smells of roses that rises out of mud..."
"What the..." Bonzo said groggily as he walked in with Zed following right behind.
"Why do you love me
Why do you love me
Why do you love me it's driving me crazy
Why do you love me
Why do you love me
Why do you love me it's driving me crazy..."
Zed scrubbed at his face with his hands and let out a loud sigh. "You wanna maybe turn the amp down, Princess?"
She stood up on the bench seat and continued to play as she stared daggers into him.
"You're not some baby boy
Why you acting so surprised
You're sick of all the rules
Well, I'm sick of all your lies..."
"I'll take that as a no..." he said, sitting down in one of the captain's chairs and motioning for her to continue.
"Now I've held back a wealth of shit I think I'm gonna choke
I'm standing in the shadows with the words stuck in my throat
Does it really come as a surprise when I tell you I don't feel good
That nothing ever came from nothing man
Oh, man ain't that the truth..."
Bonzo turned to Zed. "What the hell happened?"
Zed shook his head and threw his hands up.
"Why do you love me
Why do you love me
Why do you love me it's driving me crazy
Why do you love me
Why do you love me
Why do you love me it's driving me crazy..."
"What is with the wake-up call Dollface?" Tracey called out over the music as he walked into the room yawning.
"I get back up and I do it again
I get back up and I do it again
I get back up and I do it again
I get back up and I do it, I do it again..."
"Jesus, Casey. If you wanted to work on a new song, couldn't you at least wait until everyone was fucking awake?" Lacey snapped as she walked into the room.
Addison stopped the riff abruptly and sat down. She started to pluck strings individually as she looked at her.
"I think you're sleeping with a friend of mine
I have no proof but I think that I'm right..."
She strummed out another angry chord and glared back at Zed.
"And you've still got the most beautiful face
It just makes me sad most of the time..."
She stood back up and started to strum again.
"Okay… I've heard enough..." Bonzo said as he walked over and unplugged her guitar. He flung her over his shoulder and carried her kicking and yelling off the bus. He walked her over to the brick wall behind the bus, blocking them from sight. He put her down on her feet. "What the hell is going on?"
"Why don't you ask Zed?" Addison sneered as she straightened her sweater.
"Oh, trust me… I'm going to. But he's not the one that just woke up almost the entire bus. I thought you were trying to be discreet?"
"I AM!"
"You basically just told Lacey that you and Z are together!" he whisper yelled between clenched teeth.
"Well, we're not! But, from what I understand, they are!"
"Wait… What?"
She nodded her head and smiled. "They fucking deserve each other." She pushed past him and walked back towards the bus, leaving him there in shock.
As she stumbled back towards the front door, Tracey walked out. "Woah…." he said as he caught her mid stumble. "What the hell is going on with you this morning?"
She hiccuped and shook her head. "Nothing at all! Everything is fine! I'm fine!"
"You are a whole hell of a long way from fine..." He pulled out his phone and searched the local map. "Come on… We're getting you some coffee and enough food to absorb however much you had to drink to get to this state."
"Feeling better?" Tracey asked tentatively as he watched Addison pop the last bite of her pancakes into her mouth.
She shrugged.
"So… spill the deets honey-bunny."
"On?"
"On what the hell drove you to get sloshed before noon?"
She took a deep breath and wiped her mouth on her napkin. "My ex."
Tracey's brows shot up. He signaled for the waitress. "I know the beginning of a juicy story when I hear it… We're going to need more coffee."
Addison smiled. "I'm trusting you with this Tracey. Just like I trusted you with my real name… This does not leave this table."
He pretended to lock his lips and throw away the imaginary key.
"So… I wasn't sick the other day."
"You weren't?"
She shook her head. "No… It was the anniversary of my father's death."
"Oh. MY. GOD! Addison!" He stood up and ran over to the other side of the table and threw his arms around her. "Why didn't you tell me! I would have been there for you! You shouldn't have been alone!"
"I wasn't alone..."
He pulled back and looked at her. "Is this where the ex comes in? Did you set up a secret rendezvous?"
She shook her head. "No, he just found me at the hotel I ran off to, and..."
"How?"
"Black magic?" she offered sarcastically. "But seriously… It's because he can be amazing and wonderful and know exactly what I need when I don't even know myself..." she whined as she dropped her head onto the table.
"So he just showed up in Cleveland?"
"Yup. He showed up at the Ritz and loved me up and took care of me until I needed to come back."
"Wow… Circumstances sucked, but damn… I wanna be loved up in a Ritz Carlton!"
"It was perfect..." she sighed sadly.
"I can only imagine the sheer physical perfection of a man that can land you..." he said wistfully.
Addison gave him a small smile. "Trust me… he's gorgeous… he knows it too. Ugh, and don't even get me started on the sex. Seriously, he's the only man I have ever known that can keep up with me and then some."
"So if he's so wonderful and amazing, why is he an ex?"
"Because he knocked me up, cheated on me, and used me for my family's influence."
"Okay, we're going to need more than coffee for this story… This calls for retail therapy."
"So, he never knew about the baby?" Tracey asked as he tried on a pair of Moschino pumps.
Addison shook her head. "No. By the time I got out of that godforsaken hell hole his number was no longer in service. And then a few weeks later I received the letter. When I finally saw him again..." she sighed, "It had been so long and I just didn't trust him enough to tell him."
"Makes sense to me. Lying, cheating, jerk… What do you think
of these? He asked holding his foot out.
"I have those in red, they'll cut the back of your heel to shreds within thirty minutes."
Tracey cringed and slipped the shoes off of his feet before he scooched closer to her and pulled her into a hug. "Oh, Addie-Caddie… I'm so sorry."
"I'm fine, Tracey."
He looked up at her and arched his brow.
"Fine. I'm not fine. But I will be… I just need to put him back out of my mind. I survived for years without him. I'll make it through this."
"Well, I don't know if it helps, but there is a serious hottie that has been checking you out for like the last ten minutes," Tracey said in a hushed whisper.
Addison rolled her eyes and looked around. "Where?"
"Sandy blonde over there pretending to rifle through the Michael Kors puffer coats, flanked by the obvious Frat bros."
She turned around and looked, instantly making eye-contact with the man Tracey had been talking about. "He looks familiar..." She smiled and waved him over.
"I'm sorry… I know I was staring," he apologized as he walked up to them. "It's just...and I know this is going to sound completely out of left field, but… would you have previously been a blonde who happened to be in Los Angeles back in August?"
Addison let out a soft laugh. "Yes, I live in LA… how did you..."
"Meg?"
Addison's eyes went wide as sudden recognition crossed her mind. "Tim? No…that's not it... Tom?"
He shook his head and smiled politely. "No, but close."
"I'm sorry, I'm terrible with names..."
"That might be because you spent all night calling me God," he offered with a laugh.
"And why would that have been?" Tracey asked with a flirty smile.
"God… Oh, God… Right there, God, Yes..." he said as he locked eyes with Addison. "It was a hell of an ego boost."
Addison let out a giggle. "That does sound like me…"
"Tripp..." he offered holding out his hand.
"That's right! I remember you." She looked over to Tracey. "My last night in LA before I joined the tour…" She turned back to Tripp. "What are you doing in…. Where are we again?" she asked looking back over to Tracey.
"Michigan."
Tripp smiled. "I'm a student at UM."
"That explains why you've switched out the leather for the mid-west all American look."
"When in Rome," he said with a teasing smile. "And what do you mean tour?"
"You didn't know?" Tracey said with a large smile. "This hot thing plays bass and we're currently touring the country!"
"You are?"
Addison nodded.
"You should come to see us tonight!" Tracey offered eagerly.
"I'd love to… but tonight's a big mixer at our fraternity house… you could stop by, after the show," he said, his voice taking on a suggestive tone.
"We'll see..." Addison smiled.
"Tripp! Let's go, man!" One of his friends called over.
He rolled his eyes. "Looks like we're leaving." He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a pen. "You left so quickly last time, I never got a chance to do this." He took her hand and pushed up her jacket sleeve, writing his number under the skeleton tattoo on her forearm. "Use that..." he clicked his pen closed and winked at her. "It was good seeing you again, Meg," he said softly before heading off to meet back up with his friends.
"So…" Tracey said with a giggle as he turned to look at her. "Meg?"
Addison let out a laugh. "It's my middle name."
Before Tracey could even finish opening the door of the bus, Bucky was already yelling at them.
"Did you both forget how to answer a fucking phone?!"
Addison rolled her eyes and dropped her shopping bags down on the bench seat. "Keep your wig on, B. We're back before soundcheck."
He let out a frustrated growl through clenched teeth. "There isn't going to be a soundcheck today. If you weren't so busy getting wasted, waking everyone up, and going on a shopping spree at fucking Nordstrom you would have fucking known that!"
"Shopping was my idea," Tracey offered.
"And it was Nordstrom Rack… let's not get too excited," Addison added.
Bucky just shook his head. "Stacey is still sick. She's been throwing up all day..." he let out a loud sigh. "I need a fucking cigarette..." he mumbled to himself as he walked towards the door. "I expect a new song out of you two."
"Poor Stacey..." Tracey whispered with a sad pout as the door slammed shut. He looked over to Addison and smiled wide, grabbing her arm and pushing up the sleeve of her sweater.
"What are you doing?"
"Taking that blonde Adonis up on his offer…" he said with a smile. "The best way to get over your little problem is to get under a new one… We're crashing that frat party tonight!"
.
Tracey whistled as Addison stepped out of the bathroom dressed in a black leather dress and stilettos. "You look so insanely hot!" he laughed. "But you can't wear that, hun."
"Why the hell not? And why are YOU wearing a polo shirt and a baseball cap?"
"Have you ever been to a frat party, darling?"
She eyed him suspiciously. "No..."
He sighed dramatically and pulled her over to her bunk. He quickly got to work rummaging through her clothes.
"Woah… You look..."
Addison looked up to see Zed standing in the entrance of the hall with his mouth hanging open.
"Do you own anything that isn't leather or vintage rock?" Tracey called out.
"Check the smaller bag," Addison said, still not breaking eye contact with Zed.
"YES!" Tracey shouted victoriously. He jumped out of her bunk and handed her a pair of distressed jeans and a sheer white blouse. "Wear this with that faux fur coat we bought today, your kingsnake Gucci scarf and matching flats… you'll still be the best dressed one there, but you won't stand out... nearly as… much..." he said as he followed her gaze over to the other end of the hall. "Oh, hey Z. I didn't know you guys were back." He turned back to Addison and hugged her excitedly. "This is going to be so much fun!"
"Where are you going?" Zed asked as he pushed himself off the door frame.
"Craziest thing ever! When we were shopping, this completely gorgeous guy kept eyeing up this one," Tracey said with a large smile. "Turns out, they had hooked up back in LA! What are the chances!"
Zed's eyes grew wide as Tracey continued to talk.
"Anywho, he goes to school here and invited us to a party tonight at his fraternity! God, I haven't been to a frat party in YEARS!" he clapped his hands together in eager anticipation and planted a kiss on Addison's cheek. "Go get changed, Princess!" he said as he practically bounced past Zed to the front of the bus.
They still hadn't broken eye contact as Zed started to slowly walk towards her.
"Frat party?"
Addison shrugged. "Yeah… figured we could raise a little hell," she whispered almost breathlessly as he stepped into her personal space.
"With an old flame?"
She smiled up at him through her lashes. "Jealous?"
"Yes."
"Good."
"At least you're changing your clothes..." he whispered as his hand ghosted up her side.
She fought to keep her eyes open. "Why's that?"
"Because in that outfit… hell wouldn't be the only thing you'd be raising tonight."
"Princess! Car is here!" Tracey yelled from the front of the bus.
She arched her brow and smiled as she deliberately ran her tongue over her bottom lip. "That's the plan… looks like I'm wearing this dress after all," she said as she pushed him away and grabbed her coat, walking towards the front of the bus.
Zed followed after her, grabbing Bonzo by the arm as he passed him on his way out the door.
"Where are we..."
"Just go with it..." Zed whispered as they continued to follow Addison across the parking lot.
"The guys are coming too?!" Tracey called out excitedly. "Do none of you know how to dress for this?!"
"What?" Addison spun around to see Zed and Bonzo walking towards them. She rolled her eyes. "What are you doing?"
"Going to a party!" Zed answered as he opened the back door of the car and got in.
.
"Meg! You made it!" Tripp shouted excitedly as he ran over to meet her as she exited the car. He lifted her up and spun her around, making her giggle. "And I see you brought some friends?"
She nodded. "You remember Tracey, I'm sure."
"Hey man, nice to see you again," Tripp said, reaching out to shake Tracey's hand while still holding Addison close.
"And these two would be Zed and Bonzo, they play in the other band we're touring with. We didn't invite them, they just chose to tag along."
Tripp shrugged and shook their hands. "All are welcome. Kegs are in the back and the band is already playing."
"Thanks," Zed said politely as Tracey waved at them and ran towards the house to escape the biting cold. "So… Tripp, was it?"
"Yeah."
"How do you know Princess?" he asked nodding over to Addison.
Tripp's cheeks pinked a little as he stole a glance in her direction. "We met back in LA when I was home for the summer."
"Really?"
"Yeah, it was pretty crazy running into her today at the mall… But the second I saw her, I knew it was her, even with the new hair color," he smiled over to her. "You left quite the impression."
Addison smiled up at him through her lashes and ran her hand affectionately over his chest.
"You look so hot..."
She bit her lip and gave him the same look she knew drove Zed wild. "I'm always hot..." she said seductively as she took his hand and started to pull him towards the large house.
"Yes, you are..." Tripp said as he let her lead the way.
Zed clenched his fists.
"And why are we here?" Bonzo whispered, leaning over closer to him.
He growled deep in his chest and started towards the house.
Bonzo shook his head. "That's what I was worried about..."
"Drink?" Tripp offered loudly over the sound of the band playing a particularly bad
cover of a top 40 hit.
"What?"
"DO YOU WANT A DRINK?"
She nodded her head and followed him through the house and into the backyard. "Sorry, it gets loud," he said with a laugh.
She smiled back as he grabbed two red solo cups.
"Beer or punch?"
"Hmm… what's in the punch?"
Tripp chuckled. "Basically anything alcoholic plus some fruit punch."
"Vodka?"
"A few bottles, yeah."
She shook her head. "Yeah… better stay away from that one. I'll go with a beer I guess."
"You got it," he said as he looked over to a nervous-looking younger man. "PLEDGE!"
The young man took the cups from him and filled them both up. His hands shook as he handed them to him.
"Here you go," Tripp said as he handed her one of the cups.
"Thanks..." She said, motioning over to the young man.
"I'm the president of the fraternity. That kid wants to join. He's basically my bitch until I decide if he's in or not."
She nodded with wide eyes. "Sounds... interesting." She took a tentative sip of her beer and cringed, much to his amusement.
"Sorry, it's beast. It's the cheapest kegs we can get."
She waved him off and smiled. "It's fine."
"Yo! Tripp!" one of his fraternity brothers called out from the back door. "The singer from the band is throwing up all over the fucking place."
He turned to look at Addison, mouthing the word 'sorry' to her before turning back towards the door. "Get one of the pledges to clean it up!"
"Already doing that. But what the fuck are we going to do about music?"
"Bro, just get Justin to set up his deejay equip."
"He said it's going to take at least forty-five minutes to drag it all down and set it up."
Tripp let out a frustrated sigh. "Can't we just turn on a fucking radio until then?"
"Bro… TKE is having a mixer tonight, too. You want to lose half these people to those jerk-offs?"
Tripp turned to Addison. "I hate to even ask this, but… Do you or anyone you came with sing?"
She nodded her head. "Tracey sings some of our songs… Zed's the lead for Zombies."
"Do you think there's a chance either of them could step in? Just for a little while until my bro can get everything set up?"
Addison motioned towards the door. "You can ask them now."
"Ask us what?" Tracey said as he bounced over to her and draped his arm around her. "Found her!" he called back over towards Zed and Bonzo."
Tripp cleared his throat and tried to ignore the death glare that Zed was giving him. "As I'm sure everyone inside has noticed, the singer is um..."
"Puking his guts out?" Bonzo offered.
"Yeah…"
"So is the drummer," Zed added as he finished off his cup of punch. "Fucking amateurs..."
"Would any of you four be able to fill in?"
"You've got to be kidding?" Zed rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest.
"Aww, I'm sorry, I'd love to," Tracey said. "But our drummers aren't here."
"I could drum," Addison offered.
"Excuse me?!" Tracey said as he turned towards her. "You play drums, too?!"
She nodded her head. "I mean, I'm not as good as Eliza, but I can hold my own."
"How dare you be so talented! Is there anything you can't do?"
"Fine," Zed said. "If Princess is breaking out the drum skills, I'll sing… but I want Bonz on bass."
"No fair!" Tracey called out. "I wanna play too!"
"Take it up with their other guitarist," Zed said with a shrug.
"Seriously? You guys are really going to play?"
Addison looked around at all of them. "Seems like it..."
"This is..." Tripp smiled ear to ear before picking Addison up and planting a kiss on her lips. "Thank you!"
"Can we just do this already?" Zed called out angrily before walking back into the house.
"Okay, we open with the new one we were working on this afternoon, and then we..."
"Who the hell put you in charge?" Addison snapped at him.
"You want me to help out your boyfriend then I'm picking the fucking songs."
"He's not my boyfriend! And why are you even here? Shouldn't you be hooking up with your girlfriend?"
"Children… can't we all GET THE FUCK ALONG?" Bonzo said through clenched teeth. "I swear you two..." he mumbled under his breath. "Am I the only one even attempting to keep your secret at this point?!"
Tracey walked back up to them on the make-shift stage with a few water bottles. "So what's the playlist?" he asked excitedly.
Addison rolled her eyes. "If you want to open with the new song you wrote today, then we're following up with the one we wrote today too."
"Fine," Zed sneered. "Stitches after."
"Fine. Then Nicotine," Addison countered back through clenched teeth.
Tracey looked between the two of them and gave Addison a questioning look. "You okay, dollface?"
"Never. Fucking. Better."
Tripp chose that exact moment to walk over to them. "Are you guys all set?"
"YES." They both snapped at the same time.
"Ooookay…." Tripp said as he took a careful step away. "Um… just out of curiosity… what type of music do you all play?"
They all slowly looked over to him like it was the dumbest question they had ever heard.
"Really?" Zed asked motioning down to his attire of leather on leather and then to the rest of them.
Tripp swallowed loudly and took another step back. "I'll just let you guys play… thank you again..." he quickly walked off.
Zed tuned the borrowed guitar and fired off a quick scale as Addison sat down behind the drum kit. She twirled a drumstick around her fingers and tested out the bass pedal.
"Think you can cut it back there, Princess?" he asked.
She smiled sweetly and flipped him off. "I'm pretty sure I can handle anything you managed to write."
"We'll see about that..."
Without giving a warning he tore into the intro of the song he, Bonzo, and Eliza had written earlier that afternoon.
Addison rolled her eyes and quickly picked up on the fast tempo he was setting, followed almost immediately by Bonzo and Tracey.
"I won't stand in your way
Let your hatred grow
And she'll scream
And she'll shout
And she'll pray
And she had a name
Yeah she had a name
And I won't hold you back
Let your anger rise
And we'll fly
And we'll fall
And we'll burn
No one will recall
No one will recall..."
Addison threw in a flourish, catching him off guard for a second. He shook his head and refocused.
"This is the last time I'll abandon you
And this is the last time I'll forget you
I wish I could..."
He turned and locked eyes with her as he played.
"Look to the stars
Let hope burn in your eyes
And we'll love
And we'll hope
And we'll die
All to no avail
All to no avail
This is the last time I'll abandon you
And this is the last time I'll forget you
I wish I could..."
He threw her a wink as he played the outro.
Addison rolled her eyes and waited for him to finish before she cracked out a four-count to start their next song.
Tracey stepped up to the microphone.
"Count me in unannounced, drag my nails on the tile
I just follow your scent
You can't just follow my smile
All of your flaws are aligned with this mood of mine
Cutting me to the bone
Nothing left to leave behind
You ought to keep me concealed just like I was a weapon
I didn't come for a fight but I will fight till the end
This might be your battle, might not turn out okay
You know you look so Seattle, but you feel so LA
Eh eh eh eh eh
Eh eh eh eh eh..."
Zed's head whipped over to Addison who was already smiling overly sweetly at him as she kept up the beat.
"Eh eh eh eh eh
Eh eh eh eh eh
And I love the way you hurt me
It's irresistible, oh oh oh oh oh oh
It's irresistible, oh oh oh oh oh oh yeah
I love the way
I love the way
I love the way you hurt me, baby..."
Addison mouthed the words, never breaking eye contact with Zed.
"I love the way
I love the way
I love the way you hurt me, baby,
You hurt me one time then I love it
You hurt me two times then fuck it
When you laid your eyes on me, you was excited
And I was the fuel to your flame, I ignited
Then you stole my heart, that's the heart of a lion
So fuck all this shit, let's just start up a riot
This world is so cold that's why I bought a fur coat…"
It was Zed's turn to roll his eyes.
"It's irresistible, oh oh oh oh oh oh
It's irresistible, oh oh oh oh oh oh yeah
I love the way
I love the way
I love the way you hurt me, baby,
I love the way
I love the way
I love the way you hurt me, baby..."
Zed arched his brow at her as the song came to an end. She licked her middle finger as she flipped him off before blowing him a kiss. He fought back a smile, opting to roll his eyes instead. He took a steadying breath and started the next song.
The loud drunk crowd around them cheered and screamed for more as their mini-set came to an end. Despite the back and forth battle she and Zed had been waging the entire time, Addison had to admit that the four of them played well with each other. They were completely in sync. Call and response rhythms and flourishes coming naturally between them all, despite never having practiced together.
"That was awesome!" Tripp said as he jumped up onto the makeshift stage, pulling her out of her internal thoughts. He went in for a hug.
Addison held her arms out in front of her, blocking him. "Woah… I definitely need a few minutes to cool down, I'm a sweaty mess," she fanned herself for emphasis as she gave him a soft smile. "I'm going to head outside for a cigarette, I'll be right back."
"I'll be right here. Hurry back to me." He threw her a wink and then went to help finish setting up the deejay equipment that had been brought into the room.
Addison made her way through the overly crowded room of college co-eds and out the front door. The moment the cold air hit her she inhaled sharply, allowing it to soak into her bones. She shivered and started down the steps.
She was a few feet away from the house when she heard him calling her name.
"Adds..."
She turned around to see him jogging over to her. "Zed, what are you..."
He didn't give
her a chance to finish her question as he pulled her into him and kissed her hard.
She pulled away and slapped him across the face. They both stood their silently starring at one another for less than a heartbeat before she grabbed onto his jacket and pulled him back into her. Her eyes fluttered closed as she gave herself over to the feel of his tongue moving against hers, his hands wound in her hair and around her waist. Her leg hitched up onto his hip.
The sound of a catcall from somewhere nearby broke the spell between them.
She pushed him away again. "Damnit, Z…" She was fighting hard to hold back the sudden urge to cry. She looked up to the sky and shook her head. Without saying another word, she turned and walked back towards the house.
She had only been back in the overcrowded house for a moment when she heard her name.
"Meg!" Tripp called out as he waved to her from across the room.
She forced a smile to her face and walked over to where he was standing.
"Here," he said loudly over the music as he handed her a cup. "I got you a fresh drink."
"Thank you." She took a sip and cringed.
"Why don't we go find someplace a little quieter?" he whispered in her ear.
"WHAT?"
"I said… WHY DON'T WE GO FIND SOMEPLACE A LITTLE MORE QUIET?" He took her hand and pulled her away from the raucous crowd and up the stairway.
"I can not thank you enough for playing tonight. You saved our party!" he said as he opened up a door at the end of the hall, motioning for her to walk in.
"It was nothing, really. I'm glad we were able to help." She looked around the room, walking over to a wall of pictures.
"And you..." he smiled wrapping his arm around her from behind, "You were amazing. Drums and bass... Do you play anything else?"
She nodded her head. "Yeah… quite a few other instruments actually." She motioned over to a guitar propped up in the corner. "Do you play?"
"Honestly?" he let out a soft laugh. "No. It's literally just to impress girls. They love the idea of a musician. Make sure you drink that while it's still cold. It tastes worse warm"
She laughed and nodded her head, taking another small sip. "Thanks… And yeah...the ladies do swoon for a good looking guy with a guitar."
"Do you?"
She nodded her head again and smirked. "Oh, yeah… I am definitely not immune to that one."
"I have to say, watching you play… I was a little worried you and the guy with the green hair had a thing."
"Which guy with the green hair?"
"The singer."
Addison pressed her lips in a thin line. "No, we're not together. He's sleeping with the singer in the band I'm in." She walked over and set her cup down on the nightstand and picked up the guitar, strumming out a D chord. "Yikes..." she said turning the tuning pegs. "You should at least learn how to tune this thing… Heaven forbid you have to pretend to play it."
"I'll keep that in mind."
She strummed out a few more chords and smiled. "There… much better."
"You look so hot holding that thing. Is guitar one of the several other instruments you play?"
She smiled and rolled her eyes. "Tripp, I'm always hot… and yes, the guitar is my favorite instrument to play."
"Can you play something for me?"
She sat down on the edge of his bed and started to strum again.
"Dirty tissues, trust issues
Glasses on the sink, they didn't fix you
Lonely pillows in a strangers bed
Little voices in my head
Secret keeping, stop the bleeding
Lost a little weight because I wasn't eating
All the songs that I can't listen to, to tell the truth
Loving you was young, and wild, and free
Loving you was cool, and hot, and sweet
Loving you was sunshine, safe and sound
A steady place to let down my defenses
But loving you had consequences
No, ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh
Said, ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh
Hey, no ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh
Loving you was dumb, dark, and cheap
Loving you will still take shots at me
Found loving you was sunshine, but then it poured
And I lost so much more than my senses
'Cause loving you had consequences..."
"Wow… that was beautiful," he whispered as he brushed a stray piece of hair off her face.
"Thank you..." she said softly as she set the guitar aside
"Why didn't you say you were a singer when I asked earlier?"
She smiled up at him and shrugged. "I don't sing on stage."
"Well, you should… I still can't believe I didn't know you were a musician."
She let out a soft laugh. "Well, it's not like we talked a whole lot the last time we met."
"This is true," he said with a smile. "We were both pretty drunk… Speaking of drinks, you should finish yours..."
She smiled back and took a sip, cringing again as she swallowed. "Seriously, how do you drink this stuff?"
He shrugged. "You get used to it."
Addison rolled her shoulder and flinched.
"You okay?"
She nodded her head. "Yeah, I just haven't played drums in years. I think I used muscles I forgot I had," she said with a giggle.
"Well, let's see what we can do about that… Why don't you finish off that drink and then lose the jacket."
She took a larger sip and set the cup on the nightstand again. Slowly she shrugged out of her coat.
Tripp re-positioned himself behind her and started to rub her shoulder.
"Oh, God that feels so good..." she moaned.
They both looked up as the door flew open.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I swear I didn't intend to leave this on a cliffy, but this chapter got away from me and was approaching well over 11,000 words. So… it got split. Next update coming soon!
Speaking of updates…. I will also be updating "All I Want For Christmas" on Monday, and I'm also hoping to have the WAY overdue next chapter of Watch Us Shine out next week as well.
MUSIC USED IN THIS CHAPTER:
-Why Do You Love Me, Garbage
-Stockholm Syndrome, Muse
-Irresistible, Fall Out Boy
-Consequences, Camilla Cabelo