The members of
Def Leppard stood side by side on the red carpet as a mass of cameras clicked
about them. They were standing outside the large theatre in
In their long,
sucessful history, the band had not only proved themselves worthy of being a
musical icon with multi-million sellers such as ‘Pyromania’, ‘Hysteria’ and
‘Adrenalize’, but the bands personal history intrigued fans young and old who saw
them as true survivors. They were one of
probably only a handful of the so-called ‘hair metal’ bands of the 80’s to have
segued into the 90’s and beyond gracefully and successfully. And, because of that, they were being honored
tonight.
Many of todays
hottest acts were there to pay tribute to Def Leppard and perform cover
versions of the songs that made them famous.
Kid Rock was going to perform ‘Lets Get Rocked’, Creed was going to
perform ‘Animal’, Fuel was going to perform ‘Foolin’, No Doubt was going to
perform ‘Love Bites’, Sheryl Crow was going perform ‘Hysteria’, and, believe it or not, N’Sync had a rockin’,
melodic version of ‘Pour Some Sugar On Me’ ready to go.
However, there
was one new group backstage, who’s co-founders grew up
practically worshipping Def Leppard on MTV, that was very nervous. Sisters Nina and Angie Black, along with
their brother Randy formed a band several years ago with two other brothers,
Seth and Eric Blue. Coming up with a
band name was a no brainer. It wasn’t
long before ‘Black ‘n Blue’ was born.
Seth and Eric
played bass and rhythm guitar respectively, while Randy Black provided the
drums. However, it was the Black sisters who were the true stars of the
band. Nina had a set of pipes that would
put Ann Wilson to shame and, surprisingly, Angie played a wicked lead
guitar. Since Def Leppard had a big
influence on them growing up, Nina would pretend she was Joe Elliott, belting
out songs all over the house, desperately trying to hit all the high notes on
all the Def Leppard songs.
But Angie
wanted to go a different route. In the
man’s world of rock and roll, she wanted to create an image for herself as a
woman who could master screaming riffs and catchy hooks the way a man could,
all the while maintaining a dark, sultry, feminine side about her.
She had one
person to thank for her choice of instrument, the one man who was her icon. And he would be here tonight, in the front
row with the rest of his bandmates being honored tonight.
Phil Collen.
“Aye….earth to
Angie,” Nina called out to her older sister.
“Are you with us, babe?”
Angie adjusted
her black halter top, which criss-crossed in the back, showing off a
tantalizing display of tawny skin and a lean, curvy figure. Checking her sleek, mahogany locks in the
mirror one last time, she pushed a sterling silver armlet up her softly
sculpted arm and turned to her younger sister.
“Yeah, I’m
here. God, do you hear the crowd out
there? They’ve got to be in here by
now. Damn, Nina….I’m
so friggin’ nervous. I know we’ve
performed in front of crowds this size before, but this is different. We grew up watching these guys on MTV. They were our
icons. I know we were only 10 and 11 at
the time, but ‘Pyromania’ had such a huge impact on our lives. Its why we are what
we are right now.”
“I know what
you mean, Ange, but you better get a grip.”
“Get a
grip? Are you kidding?” Angie looked at her sister with
incredulousness. “Nina….how am I gonna
concentrate doing that opening guitar riff, that all but gives the song away,
not to mention ending the song with that
solo, knowing that the originator of both will be sitting right there in
the front row, watching…critiquing…or….cringing? God, please don’t let me screw this up
tonight!”
“Ange, you’re
gonna be fine,” Nina reassured her.
“You’re a kick-ass guitarist for a woman, and you’re respected for it – especially by the guys! You totally take them by surprise. They see this gorgeous woman slink out on
stage with a guitar in her hands, which is enough to make people groan,
wondering if you’re just eye candy or if you can really play. Then, when you do, you cause eyes to pop and
mouths to drop.”
A slow smile
spread across Angie’s face which got Nina’s attention. “What?”
“Oh, nothing,”
Angie said with a blush.
“Hey, you’ve
never held a secret back from me in your life.
Fess up, girlie!”
“Well….I was
just thinking…..God, I’d give anything to make Phil
Collen’s eyes pop or his mouth drop. And….um…not just with my guitar skills.”
“Angela
Black!” Nina said with mock chastisement.
“You naughty little girl. Then again, I’m not surprised. You’ve had a thing for Phil ever since he
shook that tight little ass of his in those white jeans in the ‘Rock of Ages’
video.”
“Yeah, and I
was only eleven back then. I can’t
believe I was having thoughts like that about a man who was what…fifteen years
older than me.”
“And you’re still
having those thoughts two decades later!. Hmmm, a fifteen year difference doesn’t seem
to big when you’re thirty and he’s forty five..”
Angie looked
at her sister with shock. “Nina! What are you saying? My God, there is no way….no way in hell
that…that me and….Phil…..that…”
“And
why not?” Nina
countered. “You’re a rock guitarist,
he’s a rock guitarist. You’re here, he’s
here. You’re presently unattached and,
from what I’ve gleaned over the internet, so is he. Already, it’s a match made in heaven.”
“You were
always the bold one,” Angie told her sister.
“No wonder you wanted to take after Joe Elliott.”
“I just hope I
can do his vocals justice tonight. Hell,
I’d rather do him!”
Angie’s mouth
dropped and she shushed her sister. “Nina, not so loud!
Seth’ll hear you.”
“Yeah,
so what?” Nina
sassed. “We’re not together anymore,
remember? Stupid moron should’ve thought
twice before he decided to make out with one of the roadie’s girlfriends. He cost us a good roadie and our
relatioship! Besides, I heard him make a
comment or two on Alicia Keyes and….who’s that newbie jazzie singer….oh yeah,
Nora Jones, so I think he’s well over me and moving on.”
“This
love/hate relationship you two have is weird,” Angie commented. “I’d rather settle for a love/love, but being
in this business sucks when it comes to having relationships.”
“That’s why its best to have them with other musicians,” Nina
rationalized. “At least you know you’ve
got something in common and understand each other. Which is why I think Mr.
Collen would be perfect for you!”
Angie rolled
her eyes at her sister.
“Alright, I’ll
say no more,” Nina replied, catching Angie’s look. “Damn, I can’t wait for us
to do our cover of that song. Its absolutely perfect for us and our style. I have a feeling we’re gonna rock the house
down tonight when we do that song, especially when you end it with the solo.”
“Yeah, we’re gonna rock the house down
alright,” Angie
thought to herself.
“What I’d really love to do is
rock it down with Phil Collen!”
Chapter
2
Def Leppard
sat in the front row as a montage of clips from their past were shown on the
large screen above as a narrarator ran off a history of the band interlaced
with quips from the bandmembers themselves.
As they sat
there, looking up at the screen, watching their entire history unfold before
their eyes, the guys were lost in memories of their own.
“Crikey….I
can’t believe we were ever that
young!” Phil groaned as he nudged Rick Allen.
“Speak for yourself, old man,” Rick replied. “I
still look like the cherubic fifteen year old I was when I joined the band.”
“Yeah, you
wish Allen,” Joe retorted. “And I’m
Shakira’s sugar daddy!”
“You wish, mate,” Sav teased Joe.
Joe thought
for a moment. “Yeah…I do wish!
I think I’m developing a taste for young,
Phil quietly
giggled and looked in Joe’s direction.
“Mate, you’ve got a taste for anything that has a pair of tits
and a nice, tight…….”
“Shhh, quiet,
you perverts” Viv said to all of them.
“Here’s the tribute to Steve.”
All five
bandmembers sat somberly as images of their original, beloved guitarist flashed
onscreen. Phil especially sat there, his
elbow on the armrest of the chair, his finger gently grazing his lips in memory
of his best mate, his bandmate, his….twin!
From
backstage, Angie peered out into the front row to sneak a peek at Phil. Black and Blue was scheduled to go on right
after Steve’s tribute and she was beginning to get the shakes.
As soon as she
heard the audience clapping, she grabbed her
As soon as the
montage finished, the house lights brightened a bit as the curtain slowly began
to rise. Then, a voice over the speaker
announced….”Ladies and gentlemen…..Black
‘n Blue…”
Before they
began to play, Nina walked up center stage with a mic in her hand and addressed
the audience.
“Before we
begin, I just want to say what an honor and a privilige it is to be here
tonight honoring a band who’s influence is the reason
we’re here today. I hope I can do Joe’s
vocals justice on this song. As for my
sister..well….there’s no doubt as to who her influence
was.”
Nina turned to
Angie who was trying to hide her blush as she glanced
the front row, looking directly at Phil who stared up at her with a surprising
look on his face. She quickly gathered
her bearings and said a quick prayer as she awaited Nina’s cue.
“Take it away,
sis…” Nina said
The lights
dimmed a bit and Angie closed her eyes, threw her head back a bit and played
the opening guitar riff to ‘Women’. Then
Nina automatically chimed in “Aaaaah, Aaaah,
Aaaaahhhhhhhhh”
Nina’s voice
was smooth and clear, with a raw, primal edge to it that made Joe perk up in
his seat.
“Wow!” he
exclaimed to Sav.
“You can say
that again,” Sav agreed. “Damn, she’s
brilliant!”
“Yeah… and so is her
voice,” Joe said with a twinkle in his eye.
The guys sat
there mesmerized by the almost perfect duplication of the sound. The haunting guitar, the
throbbing bass, the pounding drum and the screaming vocals. It was after the intro, where it was just
Seth on bass and Randy on drums providing the hammering percussion as Nina
belted out the first verse.
In the beginning…..God made the land,
Then He made the water…..and
creatures….then He made man.,
He was born with a passion…..love and
hate….
A restless spirit…..with a need for a
mate,
But there was something that was
missin’……something lost….
So He gave him what he asked
for……here’s what it cost,
It was one part love,
One part wild,
One part lady,
One part child…….I give
you….
(Women) (Women) Lots of pretty women
(Man) (Man) They can’t live without
them.
(Women) (Women) Lots of pretty women
(Man) (Man) They can’t live without
them
As they
continued to play, Def Leppard went from being mesmerized to stunned. This new band was fabulous! It was apparent that they had practiced it so
that its sound was perfectly duplicated.
As Joe continued to grin up at Nina as she matched his vocals note for
note, Phil sat there staring up at the sultry, dark haired beauty who played the guitar with a combination of infectious fire
and raw sensuality. He was practically
squirming in his seat watching her.
Every time she closed her eyes and threw her head back as she got into a
particular part, Phil felt something very familiar stir down below.
“Dammit, she’s friggin’ magnificent,” he thought to himself, unable to pry
his eyes away. “And not only that…she can play!”
Phil chuckled
to himself at his slightly sexist remark.
He tried to concentrate on the job that the entire band was doing with
the song, but he couldn’t look away from Angie if his life depended on it. Her incredible body, clad in black from head
to toe made her all the more alluring.
“Crikey, she looks young,” he said to
himself, before smiling wide. “Like
that should matter?”
Age gap aside,
Phil still maintained the health and body of a twenty five year old. He then perked up as he preparef for Angie’s
first guitar solo as Nina sang out…
“Skin on skin…..let the love
begin….WOMEN!!!!!!”
Angie threw
her head back as her fingers magically worked her white
“Close your
mouth mate before the camera catches you like that!”
Phil turned to
Rick with a hint of a blush. “What? I’m just impressed, that’s all.”
“With the
guitar work, or who’s playing it?” Viv amusedly asked.
Phil crinkled
his face, ignoring them and went back to watching Angie as she finished the
first solo. It was then just Nina, with
her arm slung around Seth as he pounded the bass as she sang.
It was one part love….one part wild
One part lover….and one part child
A whole lot of fire….a little bit of
ice
A whole lot of something…..you can’t
sacrifice..
I give you……
Hair….eyes…skin on skin
(Legs) Legs….(Thighs)
Thighs
What’s that spell?
The house
lights dimmed lower as the band duplicated the reverb that Def Leppard used
during that part in concert. A single
strobe light flashed around the stage for a moment or two before Nina’s pitch
perfect voice screamed it out again.
“What’s that spelllllllllll???”
The band
continued on in the song until it was time for Angie’s ending guitar solo. When it came time, she threw caution to the
wind and put her whole heart and soul into it.
She remembered from the many Def Leppard concerts that she attended how
Phil would put his whole body into his solo’s. Her mind was so lost in the memory of those
concerts and the sound coming off her fingers that she absentmindedly fell to
her knees and began to lean back slightly as she finished off the solo.
Phil saw this
and almost thought he’d lose it right there in his seat.
“Wow…she’s……..wow!!”
Viv exclaimed.
“Damn!” Rick
chimed in.
“I could bust
a nut just watching her,” Joe said. “And that sister of hers too!”
“Yeah, well I
think Phil may have first dibs on the ‘guitar’ sister,” Sav replied.
Joe and Sav
leaned forward to look down the row to gage Phil’s response. The look on his face told them all that they
needed to know.
“Think Phil’s
gonna make a point to meet up with his female counterpart?” Sav asked Joe.
“Um…judging by
the look on his face, it looks like he has more in mind that just a meeting,” Joe leered back, as he looked
back at Nina. “Come to think of it, I
may just make a point of meeting up with my female counterpart!”
“Isn’t she
dating her bass player?” Sav asked.
“I’ve got more
to offer than a bass player!”
“That’s your
opinion,” Sav sassed back.
Just then,
Angie finished her solo and, on the last note, stretched her arm out towards
the band in the front row, her eyes directly on Phil.
Her heart
caught in her throat at what she saw.
Phil Collen’s
eyes were popped and his mouth was dropped.
Chapter 3
Immediately
following the ceremony, MTV sponsored a party at a swank
The invited
guests were already in attendance when a long white stretch limo carrying Def
Leppard pulled up in front of the hotel.
One by one they got out, feeling a rush from
the ceremony that preceded them and the night that lay ahead.
As they walked
in amongst the clicking of cameras, Joe gathered the rest of his mates in a
small circle and whispered.
“Well, I don’t
know about the rest of you, but I’m pumped and I plan on enjoying myself to the
fullest tonight.”
“Oh, lookout!,” Rick mused.
“Newly single Joe Elliott is on the charm warpath!”
Joe grinned as
his green eyes sparkled. “Anyone else wanna join me – well, besides Collen?”
“Don’t even look
at me,” Sav warned. “I’ve got a fiance
and two little boys back in
“Oh, will you
get off the ‘pussy whipped wagon’ for a change,” Joe sneered.
“Joe, there’s
a million camera’s clicking away here tonight.
All it takes is one innocent looking picture to be taken the wrong way,”
Sav justified
“Aw, the hell
with you then,” Joe said, waving his hand.
“I’m gonna have me a kick-ass time tonight. How many 40-something men have the
opportunity to have 20-something lovlies fawn all over them?”
“Um….how
about the last tour?”
Viv asked.
“Well, like
Joe, I can enjoy myself guilt-free tonight,” Phil happily announced.
“Yeah, and I
know exactly what your first order of business is gonna be,” Viv mused.
Phil looked
like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar. “Whatever could you mean?”
“Ha, I knew
you already had an agenda,” Rick added.
“You were
pretty quiet on the ride over,” Viv cut in.
“Just what are your thoughts on that lovely guitar player?”
“The thoughts
I have aren’t clean enough to repeat,” Phil joked. “But, on a serious note, what can I say that
isn’t already obvious? She’s bloody
fantastic!”
“And,
according to her sister’s intro, she’s idolized you for quite some time,” Sav
added.
Joe tapped his
finger against his chin. “Let see….when
you came on the scene it was 1983. She
can’t be more than what….28, 29. That
means she’s been getting her knickers in a twist over you since she was, what….eleven?
You dog, you!”
“So……I
inspired her to take up the guitar? Whats the big deal?
And, as far as her age, you know I like ‘em young! And….it seems her sister there wanted to take
after you, Joe.:”
“Who can blame
her?”
“I could be
ribbing you about her,” Phil countered.
“I’d love to
give you the opportunity to, mate,” Joe said.
“I plan on making a point to get to know Nina Black and…….crikey, that
Shakira is fucking hot!”
Phil looked in
the direction of Joe’s gaze at the sexy
“Um, Joe….not
only is she hot, but she’s also, what……..sixteen?”
“No, she’s
older than that. Um…speaking of
indulging the younger ladies, I see a certain dark haired guitarist over by the
bar and……..bloody hell! What is
she wearing?”
“More like
what isn’t she wearing,” Viv snickered.
Phil looked in
Joe’s direction and his mouth hit the floor.
There was Angie Black wearing a black leather skirt that was so short it
was almost illegal, knee length black leather boots, a sheer, long sleeved,
leopard print peasant blouse that was cut very high in the front to expose a
very taut mid-section. A thin, gold
belly chain was seductively slung around her abdomen, looping through a gold
hoop navel ring. Her dark, glossy,
golden streaked locks were caught up in a messy upsweep and her forest green
eyes were done up with soft, smokey tones.
She was so
outrageously beautiful, it was beyond description.
Joe couldn’t
keep his mouth closed, which Phil automatically noticed and got his attention
by clearing his throat.
“Huh?” Joe
said in a daze.
“Go work your
green eyed stare on some twenty year old virgin,” Phil warned him.
“Wow, its hard
to imagine that….that…..goddess plays a wicked guitar as good as you,” Rick
said.
Just then,
Angie looked over in the direction of Joe and Phil and froze when her eyes
locked on Phil. A nervous smile over
came her as her heart began to pound.
“Oh my God….he’s here! Calm down, Ange….calm down!”
Joe saw that
Angie’s eyes were locked directly on Phil.
He then clapped Phil on the shoulder.
“Well, I know
when I’m not wanted,” Joe said dejectedly.
He then looked around to see where the rest of his mates suddenly
disappeared to. He saw Viv talking to
Lenny Kravitz and Rick practically getting worshipped by Creed’s drummer. He then peered around and saw Sheryl Crow
fawning over a blushing Sav. Joe grinned
wickedly.
“Guess I’ll go
torment Savage after all. Later Phil.”
With that, Joe
took off as Phil took a deep breath and headed in the direction of Angie Black.
Chapter 4
Angie stood
frozen as she watched Phil Collen approach her.
In the entire time it took for him to make his way over, memories from
when she was 11 years old, playing air guitar, while watching Def Leppard
videos or listening to their cassettes, flashed through her mind. Playing guitar, being in a band and, most of
all, meeting Phil Collen was nothing but a far away fantasy back then. But now, her fantasy was becoming a
reality. Well, meeting Phil was not exactly the fantasy. More like……
“You must be
Angie Black,” Phil said, snapping her from yet another carnal thought this man
conjured up.
“Y…yes, I am,” she replied,
wincing at her stammering.
Phil noticed
the stutter. There was no doubt that
Angie was nervous, no…..starstruck over meeting him. However, Phil wouldn’t let arrogance ruin
this moment. If anything, she were even more exquisite up close, if it were at all
possible for her to be so.
“Well, luv,
I’ve got to honestly say that I have never heard such an eerily similar guitar
performance as I did tonight. I was
absolutely stunned. You did a bang up
job on ‘Women’ – all of you did.”
Angie thought
she’d slither to the floor from that compliment. Or….was it the cockney
“Phil, th…thank you so much,” she stammered again. “You have no idea how nervous I was about
doing that guitar solo justice. I really
wanted to make you proud.”
Phil couldn’t
help the ear to ear grin that spread across his face over this
talented, gorgeous lass wanting to impress him with her guitar
skills. She already impressed him with
those – now his naughty mind was wondering about other impressionable skills
she had!
“Well, you did
it more than justice luv. All the guys
commented on your playing. Hell, if I
find myself out of a job one day, they may just come knocking on your door!”
Angie blushed
profusely before realizing just how comfortable he was making her feel. Phil was always known to have an infectious
sense of humor and being very approachable, especially with fans. Right now, she suddenly felt like she knew
the man, not just the image on a tv screen or a voice
on an album.
She downed the
contents of her club soda and felt herself loosen up a bit. Phil saw the empty glass.
“What are you
drinkin’, luv?’
“Oh, just club
soda, please.”
Phil raised
one, blonde eyebrow. “Staying sober tonight?”
“Tonight
and every night. I don’t drink. Well, not since college, anyway. I stay more focused that way. Plus, the demands of being in a band forced
me to take better care of myself. I’m a
firm believer in ‘your body is a temple’.
Phil raked his
blue gaze up and down her unbelievably fit body. “That is one temple I’d love
to worship at,” he wickedly thought before shaking that thought away.
“Ah, a lady
after my own heart,” he grinned, handing her a club soda with one hand as he
squeezed a tiny wedge of lime into it with another. “Don’t drink myself. I quit many years ago.”
“I know,”
Angie blurted out before realizing she did.
“I mean, well, as I’m sure you know by now that I am a big fan of
yours. Nina and I followed Def Leppard
quite closely. I guess you can say that
we’ve read about all your…um…escapades.”
Phil blushed a
bit. “Yeah, well…..that was a loooooong
time ago. The eighties were a wild time,
for sure. Got it all out of my system
when I was younger and, well, now that I’m older, I’ve gotten wiser.”
Angie smirked
as she stared at the floor before stealing a glance upward. “Well, in your case, older doesn’t mean
old. You’re in fantastic shape. You could run rings around these boy bands
today.”
Angie clamped
her mouth shut at her bold statement, which caused Phil to flush a bit. “Well, thank you lass. I owe it all to a healthy lifestyle, and to
“I know, I
mean…….I’ve read about your health regime. It inspired me to take up the cause
myself. I never really realized how much
playing the guitar for pure pleasure and playing it as a job differs. Its very
strenuous. I figured, if it works for you, why not give it a try.”
“Ahhhh, so do
I sense a fellow vegen in my midst, here?”
“Well, no, I
haven’t taken it that far. I love
seafood too much and some chicken dishes as well. I don’t eat red meat or pork though. I’m into Tae-Bo, jogging and yoga which I do
faithfully. It gives me a lot of energy
and stamina”
“Well, I’m
sure it has a lot to do with your age too, luv,” Phil said. “You can’t be anymore than, what…..30?”
Angie’s eyes
widened. “You’re correct. I am 30, almost 31. And I’ve never felt better in my life. I owe it all to your inspiration, Phil.”
“Awww, now
you’re really trying to make me blush lass, aren’t you? And trust me, it
takes about as much to make me blush as it does Joe.”
“Joe Elliott,
you mean?”
“Yeah,” Phil
said as he scanned the room, looking for his band mates. “Ah, I believe he’s found his protégé. He’s talking to your sister.”
Angie looked
over to see Nina staring up at the tall, blonde green-eyed singer. She also noticed Seth staring at Nina and Joe
with jealousy.
“Her boyfriend
doesn’t look too happy ,” Phil commented.
“Actually, she
and Seth aren’t together anymore, well as a couple actually. They had a bitter breakup,
however it didn’t affect the band – fortunately!”
Phil dared to
ask. “So, what about
you, luv? Has any lucky bloke
snagged you yet?”
Angie’s
insides tumbled, before she berated herself.
“Just because he’s asking about
your status doesn’t mean he’s interested himself!”
“Um…no.
No one in my life. Its hard to maintain
a relationship when you’re in a band, as I’m sure you know.”
“Yeah, I do,”
Phil said somberly. “My marriage
suffered as a result of it. Its really hard to find someone strong enough to put up with
someone in this profession. If its not touring, it’s the writing and recording
process. Sometimes it can keep it away
from your family when you don’t want to be.”
“You have a son,
correct?”
Phil’s smile
lit up his face. “Yes. Rory. He’s thirteen and mouthy, but he’s my pride
and joy. Now that he’s older, I can
enjoy things with him that I couldn’t do when he was younger. I love watching him play soccer, I’ve been
teaching him to play the guitar and he even comes on the road with me. He’s like my little pal.”
Angie warmed
all over listening to Phil talk about his son.
She knew, from all his other fine qualities that she so long admired,
that he was a good father.
“So Phil, tell
me. When’s the
“In
a couple of months. The schedule is almost finalized, its just that we’ve been having a little difficulty
finding………”
Phil cut off
when the answer to his question slammed into him.
“Finding what?”
Angie asked.
Phil smiled
wide and dangerously leaned into Angie, who’s breath
caught in her throat.
“Well luv….I
can’t promise anything, since all of us have to unanimously decide up on it,
but…….how would your band like a job as an opening act?”
Chapter 5
Angie just
about dropped her glass of club soda at Phil’s suggestion.
“Phil,
you…..you must be joking? Us….as Def
Leppard’s opening act?” She couldn’t
have dreamt something so perfect.
“And
why not?” Phil
challenged. “Angie luv….you guys could
probably go on stage and play all our
songs as good as us. Granted, I haven’t
heard any of your material, but I’m gonna make it a point to.”
Angie couldn’t
believe what was happening. To open up
for a band whom she, Nina and Randy grew up idolizing and was influenced by was
just too much. As a joke, Angie reached
over to her other arm and pinched her skin.
Phil saw and knitted his brows together.
“Whats
that for, luv?”
“Just making
sure that this is real and not a dream.”
“Hmmmm, well,
here…..let me make sure too,” Phil said before he reached up and stroked her
cheek.
Angie’s breath
caught in her throat as she felt a strong surge of warmth travel to where
Phil’s fingers touched her face all the way straight down to her…….
“You seem very
real to me,” Phil concluded, breaking her from her lustful thought. And….may I be so
bold as to say….strikingly beautiful. I
gotta say that I commend you on the way you handle your image. Its hard for a
beautiful woman to find her place in rock music. She’s either seen as some vixen, who’s sole purpose is to look good, or she tries to hard to
be like one of the guys when she takes up an instrument. You’ve balanced being a respectable
guitarist, while maintaining the obvious fact that you are a woman.”
Angie blushed
profusely at Phils outstanding praise. As much as she wanted to respected
for her guitar skills, his recognition of her person had her in knots.
“Phil…thank you so much. To
actually have someone notice, especially someone that I’ve looked up to and
admired as a guitarist, means a lot.
That’s exactly the image I strive for.
I’m not some femininist or women’s libber or anything, but I believe
that playing a musical instrument is a unisex thing. There’s no reason that a woman can’t play it
as good as a man without having to act like one.”
Phil inched in
closer to her as his finger lazily ran itself down her arm. “And you are definitely all woman, Angie.”
She felt the
heat of his finger through the sheerness of the material covering her arm. She swallowed hard and gazed into his clear
blue eyes and saw something there that was absolutely dangerous.
“Aye
sis!”
Angie broke
eye contact with Phil as they both turned around to see Nina approach
them. When Nina saw the look on her
sister’s face, she knew the very cause of it was standing right next to her.
Nina glanced
from Phil to Angie and back, deleriously happy for her sister that she got to
meet her personal icon tonght.
“Nina…s..sorry. I know I was
supposed to come over as soon as I got my drink, but um……I got a little
sidetracked.”
“Sorry Nina,”
Phil added. “I’m afraid I’m at fault for
keeping your lovely sister occupied.”
“Oh
by no means, don’t apologize,”
Nina said. “I’ve had her all my
life. I’m sure she much rather be
talking to you. By the way…..yes, I’m
Nina.”
Nina extended
her hand to which Phil took it, brought it up to his lips and kissed the back
of her knuckles. “Lovely
to meet you, Nina. I was just
gushing over the fabulous job your band did with ‘Women’ tonight.”
“Thank you
Phil,” Nina said, eyeing Angie for her reaction. “Joe was just telling me the same thing. It just seems like yesterday that we just
discovered you on MTV, and here you are being honored by them, not to mention
having the honor of covering your song.
Well, I was just coming over to see uh…..what was keeping you, Ange.”
Angie gave
Nina a silent look of mortification, before Phil chimed in.
“Angie luv, as
much as I’d love the pleasure of talking to you some more, I really should go
find the guys and mingle a bit. I’ll
leave you in the capable hands of your sister for now. But….later…..I’d like to catch up with you
again.”
“Th..th…that would be nice, Phil,” Angie nervously
replied. “Hopefully this little soiree
won’t last too long.”
Phil leaned in
and whispered in her ear. “I hope not
either, luv,” before winking and taking off to find the rest of the guys and
mingle.
Angie was just
about recovering from the sound of that sultry
“Man, I’m
having an awesome time,” Randy exclaimed as he threw arm around each of his
sisters.
“Me too,” Seth
added. “I can’t tell you the compliments
I’ve been getting on our performance tonight.
Especially from Rick Savage. He really thew me when he raved about my bass
work.”
“Well, I was
floored when Joe Elliott said I put his vocals to shame on ‘Women’,” Nina
said. “Can you imagine?”
“Yeah, well
some guys will say anything to get someone in bed,” Seth said with sarcasm.
Nina rolled
her eyes at Seth, to which he just looked away, obviously still pained by their
breakup
“Yeah, well,
from what I saw across the room, it looked like Mr. Collen paid you a
compliment or two, Ange,” Eric said in her direction.
“Huh?” was all
Angie could say.
“Uh oh….she’s
day dreaming again,” Nina mused. “Just
what were the two of you talking about?
He looked awfully, uh…..close to you when I
broke up your little party.”
Angie put her
hands on her hips and shot her sister daggers.
“Will you please stop it. Somehow I think you came over on purpose to
be nosy. You know what that man has
meant to me all these years."
“Yes,” came
four voices collectively.
“And because
of that, no man has been able to hold your interest long enough because you’re
forever comparing him to the almighty Phil Collen,” Nina said.
“Nina….you’re
being ridiculous! I’ve dated. I’ve had relationships. They just didn’t work out. And now its even
harder, now that were in the music business.
Its just…you know….hard to find someone that
can deal with all of this.”
“Hmmm,
unless he’s in the music business
too. You know…’birds of a feather……fuck
together!’….” Eric mused. “You’re both
guitarists.”
“Hmm, wonder
if that holds true for lead singers,” Nina said while looking in Joe’s
direction.
Seth rolled
his eyes. “Christ, Nina! The guy’s ancient! Not to mention what he’s done over the years
makes my making out with that chick mild.”
Nina got close
to him. “Seth, knock it off, okay? We both agreed on the breakup,
remember. And, we both agreed not
to let it affect the band.”
“That’s good
advice, considering that we may be……” Angie began before trailing off.
“Considering…what?”
Eric asked
“Well, you
know their upcoming
“Meaning?” Randy asked.
“Well……and
don’t say anything to anyone about this…..Phil mentioned that Def Leppard
doesn’t have an opening act yet.”
Four blank
faces stared at Angie. She just stared
back at them, waiting for what she said to finally sink in. It was Randy who caught on first.
“No! No friggin’ way! Opening up for Def Leppard on their tour?”
“Shhhhh, quiet
bro,” Angie scolded him. “Phil just
mentioned it, and thought we would be perfect because of our performance
tonight. But, its
not something he can decide. I have a
feeling its gonna be discussed with the rest of the
band and their management. All we can do
is wait and pray.”
Chapter 6
Phil continued
to mingle around the party, making new and old acquaintences, all the while
keeping the lovely Angie Black in his line of vision. As much as he wanted to stay and chat her up all night, he was one of the guests of honor and
had to circulate.
He couldn’t
get over what an incredible woman she was.
And….so much like him in many ways. She plays a wicked guitar, doesn’t drink and
works hard at taking care of her body.
Her body! Damn, he didn’t think
he could keep his eyes on hers, especially when he wanted to roam them over
every long, lithe, exquisite inch of her.
He remembered
the look in her eye and how she shivered when he ran his finger up her arm and
then whispered his desire to meet up with her later in her ear. Actually, his desire was becoming more than
wanting to just meet. It had been quite
a while since he ended his previous relationship,
however, he wasn’t just looking for someone to fill a physical void. He wanted a woman in his life that he could
connect with on all levels – personal and
professional. He also had to take Rory
into consideration. He didn’t want his
son seeing his father flinging from woman to woman. He did enough of that in the 80’s!
What a stroke
of luck it would be if Def Leppard could sign on Black ‘n Blue to be their
opening act. That would mean Angie would
be traveling on the road with him, getting to know each other better, having
her become acquainted with Rory and…….maybe just…..
“There you
are,” he heard Joe’s voice come up from behind.
Phil excused himself from talking to one of the exec’s
in charge of the ceremony and turned to Joe, who slung an arm around him.
“So…..tell
me,” Joe snooped. “How is the lovely
Miss Black?”
Phil rolled
his eyes at Joe. “Hmm, I could ask you
the same thing. I saw you trying to pour
the charm on Nina from afar.”
“Yeah, well,
and I probably would’ve succeeded if that damn bass player boyfriend of hers
wasn’t hanging around. Guess he figured
he couldn’t trust her alone with me. Too
bad he’s right.”
“Your humility
floors me, Joe! However, as luck may
have it, she and the bass player are no longer a couple. There’s hope for you after all!”
“Keep it up
Collen and I may just contact my realtor to look for a cozy little beach side
condo near you,” Joe threatened. “Now
that Sav moved back to
“Did I hear my
name?”
Joe and Phil
turned to see Sav come up from behind. “Oh, nothing. Just
telling Phil how much I miss you since you moved to
Sav smirked
when he saw Phil roll his eyes. “Better
you than me, mate,” Sav said. “I’ve had
to put up with him for…what…12 years living in
“Its because of me
that you have any excitement in your life,” Joe sassed
“Its because of you
that I moved back to
“Play nice
kiddies,” said Rick Allen as he came up from behind Joe and Sav. He slung his right arm around Joe and nudged
Sav with his left shoulder.
“What are you
nudging me for?” Sav said. “Like I’m one to start a sparring
session? Joe started, as he always
does.”
“Aye, where
can I place my bet on this fight?” said Viv as he came upon the bunch. “Is there a little spat brewing between the
two of you or are you making up for lost time apart?”
“Quiet Viv,”
Joe and Sav both said.
“Okay,
okay…enough with you two,” Rick said.
“I’ve been waiting practically half the night for Phil to disengage
himself from Angie Black.”
“Right, that
was the original conversation we were having,” Joe blurted out as he remembered. “Tell, tell Phil. Seems like a match made in heaven there. So much in common too. Whats her favorite color? What sign is she?”
Phil stared
daggers at Joe before looking at Sav who had a ‘ha ha’ look on his face. Joe certainly knew how to press all the wrong
buttons, and Sav knew that only too well.
But, he and Angie were clearly out in the open chatting for everyone to
see so there was no avoiding it.
“Well…lets see,” Phil started.
“She’s….she’s fabulous! I really can’t think of another word
incredible enough to describe her. She’s
beautiful, talented, smart, independent, is into kick boxing….”
“Uh oh,” Viv
interrupted. “That’s it! I hear the wedding bells now!”
“And is she as
anal about it as you are?” Rick asked.
“I’m not anal,” Phil defended himself.
“I’m….committed. Anyway, no she
isn’t, but she, you know…takes care of herself.”
“Hmmm, and
judging from that tiny piece of leather called a skirt is covering her, I’d say
she takes care of herself right well!”
“Joe!”
“What? Crikey, Phil…I’m a man! I can’t help but notice these things. Right Sav?”
“Leave me out
of this!”
“Getting a
little testy there, Sav,” Rick mused.
“Yeah, that
nice pink blush from Ms. Crow ooooohing and aaaaaahing all over you is
clashing with your dark roots,” Joe chuckled
Sav glared at
Joe. “You know, I don’t think
“Nooooooo!” came Rick and Viv together.
“Watch it, you
two,” Joe warned. “I’m gonna breathing
down all your necks come the tour.”
Phil’s ears
perked up. “Um…speaking
of the tour. You know how were
having difficulty finding an appropriate opening act.”
All the guys
nodded. Phil just stood there with an
obvious look on his face, waiting for them to catch on. When they didn’t, Phil rolled his eyes.
“Hello? C’mon, guys.
The answer is as plain as day.
They’re right in this room.”
“You
mean….Black ‘n Blue?” Joe asked.
Phil slapped
him on the back. “I see age hasn’t
dulled your sharpness.”
“Keep it up
Collen and I’ll offer your next door neighbor top dollor for his house.”
“Do that mate, and I’ll
move to
“Alright
stop,” Viv said. “You know…what Phil
says makes sense. Black ‘n Blue would be
perfect, especially since Def Leppard was such an influence on them.’
“And how very
convenient for Phil to have Miss Angie as a traveling companion,” Rick
smirked.
“How would you
like to conveniently disappear Rick?’ Phil
threatened. “C’mon, mates, admit
it. They’re smashing! I’d think they’d suit the bill just fine.”
The remaining
four Leps had no choice but to nod in agreement.
“So, what do
you say?” Phil asked. “Should we have
Peter contact their manager for their availability?”
“I suppose you
want a collective ‘yes’ so you can go over there, break the news to Miss Angie
so she can shower you with her gratitude?”
Phil thought a
moment before smiling very wide.
“Uh-huh!”
“Well, you
already know how I feel,” Viv said. “I
think its perfect.”
“I second
that,” Rick stated.
“Count me in,”
Sav said.
“Well it
doesn’t matter what I think because it looks like I’m out-numbered,” Joe said
with a sigh. “However, even if I wasn’t,
I think it’s a brilliant suggestion, not to mention that there’s the possiblity
of getting that sister of hers in close quarters!”
“Well, if you
wankers will excuse me, I promised Angie I’d hook up with her after I finished
my mandatory mingling.”
“Um…should we
wait for you to go back to the hotel together?” Joe said with a leer.
Phil scanned
his bandmates, then looked over at Angie across the
room who caught his glance and smiled.
Phil returned the smile before looking back to the guys.
“Later,
mums. Don’t wait up for me!”
Chapter
7
Phil mingled
his way back to Angie who was also busy fighting off her own throng of
admirers. When he finally made his way
back to her, she was practically pinned up against a tall statue by Kid Rock
who looked to be doing his best charm the sexy guitarist after his girlfriend,
Pam Anderson, took off for the ladies room.
Angie looked
past Kid and saw Phil standing behind him with a smirk on his face. Angie pleaded with her eyes for Phil to
rescue her, but Phil answered by tapping his finger against his chin as he
feigned deep thought. Angie’s eyes
narrowed, then smoldered which really got Phil’s attention. Ooooh, how he’d love to see those eyes
smolder during an activity of a more intimate nature!
Phil stepped
forward, cleared his throat and tapped Kid on the shoulder. He turned around with a whip of his long,
blonde hair and let out a loud, obnoxious whoop.
“Phil
Collen! Fuck, man you guys are fucking
incredible! I’m having a blast!”
Phil could
tell by the bottle of Heineken in Kid’s hand that he probably had a few of them
already. Not having a tolerance for
drunks, but needing to remain cordial and civil, he was the picture of
graciousness.
“Why thanks a
lot mate, I really appreciate it,” Phil replied. “I’m enjoying my self rather well too. In fact, you seemed to hav found what I’ve been
looking for.”
Phil eyed
Angie who looked to be eternally grateful to Phil. Kid turned back to wink at her, then back to
Phil. “Fucking hot, isn’t she?”
Phil then saw
a very blonde figure clad in puffy pink come up behind Kid. Phil leaned into him and whispered. “Uh, I wouldn’t say anything more if I were
you, mate.”
Kid turned
around to find Pamela standing behind him, shooting daggers between him and
Angie.
“Hey,
babe! What took you so long?”
Pamela hooked
her arm through Kid’s. “I think its time
for us to go,” she insisted as she pulled him away. Phil snickered as he watched them walk away
then went over to Angie.
“Thank God!”
she groaned.
“Yeah, nothing
like being saved by the jealous girlfriend,” Phil said.
“Christ, he
engaged to the world’s biggest big-boobed bombshell, yet he still has to hit on
other women,” Angie spewed. “What a
jerk!”
“Ah, so you
prefer monogamy, I see?”
Angie raised
an eyebrow, remembering what she’s read over the years about Phil’s penchant
for not being quite faithful. “You have
a problem with that?”
Actually, he
kinda did! But it was a problem he
wanted to erase. Perhaps he just hadn’t
met the right women who could keep his eyes and body off other women. Perhaps………
“Actually, I
don’t,” Phil replied, not quite lying.
“Being with only one person is a challenge,
however, if it is the right person, then the challenge can’t be that
hard.”
“I guess you
haven’t found the right person yet,” Angie stated matter of factly.
Phil shrugged
and grinned. “I guess you’re right. So…..” he leaned in close, “the search
continues.”
Angie couldn’t
think of anything more that she would want right now than the chance to be with
Phil Collen. However, she wouldn’t be a
one night stand either, nor would she put up with infidelity. From what she knew of him, he was perfect for
her in every way. They had so much in
common that she was practically the female version of him. But there was still a lot she didn’t know – things
that you don’t read about in magazines or on the internet. Those things she wanted to desperately find
out. And……maybe if this deal can be put
together to tour with them, she’d have ample opportunity to get to know Mr.
Phil Collen a whole lot better.
“Um…..so
Phil……you think the chance may be good for us to be your opening act?”
Phil snapped
his focus away from her lovely face to concentrate on her question. “To be honest luv, I just mentioned it to the
rest of the band. They all agree that
it’s a great idea. Of course, we have to
run it by our manager who’ll get in touch with yours. If there are no schedule conflicts, then it
could be a go.”
“That would be
incredible,” Angie said. “This could
really open a lot of doors for us.”
“Well, I
remember how it was when I first started out with the band. Plus, I think you’ll compliment us
perfectly.”
“Hmm, my
sister will take to the idea of traveling with Joe Elliott very nicely.”
Phil got a bit
closer. “Well, I hope you feel the same
way about traveling with me.”
Angie’s breath
caught, but she caught herself quickly.
Sure, Phil oozed charm and he was pouring it on. Even though he did respect her as a
guitarist, she also wanted respect as a woman.
To travel on the road with him and the band meant that they’d be
together all the time. There were
obvious sparks present between the two of them, but Angie couldn’t be blinded
by lust. She had to control what she
wanted, which was Phil Collen in bed, and concentrate on what she needed – a
lasting, meaningful relationship.
Would that be
possible with a man like him?
Chapter
8
The band was
busy preparing to officially start the
And, as luck
would have it, Black ‘n Blue’s manager was absolutely thrilled to have the
opportunity for the band to be Def Leppard’s opening act. However, no one was more thrilled than Phil. Well, maybe Joe, perhaps!
Both seemed to
have been quite smitten with the Black sisters when they last saw them in
He knew that
he needed a woman that was like him in many ways for compatibility reasons, but
just different enough to keep him interested and on his toes. He realized that going for the young beauties
to keep from straying wasn’t enough to keep him interested in the long
run. He needed someone with
intelligence, wit, independence and strength.
So far, Angie Black displayed all those qualities. He had stayed in contact with her since
leaving
During a break
in rehearsal, Joe went into the back room to get some water to cool off his
burning throat. The older he got, the
strain of hitting those high notes became more and more challenging. He hated so much as the thought of it and was
looking forward to the lovely, young Nina Black to make him forget about it.
Joe left the
room and ventured back into the rehearsal area to find each of his bandmates on
their respective cell phones in a different corner of the room.
Grinning he
went over to Rick first, hoping to hear something juicy. When he got close enough, he heard anything
but.
“Lauren
sweetie, stop crying,” Rick spoke into the phone. “We’ll get you another parakeet when I get
home. No, the bird fairy will not take
it away if you put it under your pillow.
That only works with the tooth fairy.
Ask mum for a shoebox so you can bury it outside.”
Joe shook his
head and moved on up behind Viv. He
didn’t hear anything much different.
“Lily Rose,
you better stop this habit of poking your sister in
the eye. No, its
not funny to watch her cry!”
Joe rubbed his
eyes and moved on to Sav. He could only
imagine.
“You
being a good lad for mum?”
Sav cooed in the phone. “Okay, now give
the phone to your brother. I…….who’s crying?
“I need
something stronger than water after listening to this crap,” Joe complained as
he saw Phil looking none too happy on his phone. He got close enough to overhear.
“What do you
mean you got suspended from school, Rory?” Phil shouted into the phone.
Joe grinned
wide. “Finally,
something interesting!”
“Sorry pal,”
Phil continued. “You’re gonna have to
wait until spring vacation before you can join me on the road. No, I’m not taking you out of school early. No, I’m not going to call your school and see
if they can reduce it to detention.
It’ll teach you to skip class again.
And don’t think you’re gonna spend your suspension laying around the
house playing X-Box or fucking around on the internet. Tell your mother I’ll call her later on
tonight to discuss a long list of things to keep you busy. Yeah, I love you too!”
Phil clicked
off the phone. “Little shit!”
“Well, at
least you’re the only one who can talk to their kid like an adult,” Joe said
from behind.
Phil
huffed. “You know, I don’t drink, smoke,
do drugs or eat meat, yet that kid will put me in my grave way before I’m
ready.”
“Yeah, and you
were such an angel at thirteen,” Joe said suspiciously.
Phil made a
face. “Yeah, well….whatever happened to
’do as I say, and not as I do’?”
“Sorry Phil,
but that kid is too much like you.”
“Yeah, well I
don’t want him to be,” Phil replied. “I
definitely don’t want him making the mistakes I’ve made.”
“Especially
the ones with women?”
Joe asked.
“Yeah,
especially. And…..I plan on starting my rehabilitation in
that area when Miss Angie joins us in a week.
Man, I find myself not wanting a day to go by without talking to
her. I know I’ve said this a million
times before, but there’s just something special about her. Something different. I swear Joe, I’m not gonna screw this up if
there’s some kind of chance for us to have a relationship.”
“Christ, you
really are in a twist over her! I
thought you’d just want to have as much fun as possible then…..’see ya’!”
“Is that what
you intend for Nina?”
Joe
shrugged. “Don’t know. I know for sure that I don’t want anything
serious. The last thing I want to do is
find myself like those three over there, cooing into the phone about potty
training and dead pets. You on the
other hand look like a man on a mission.”
“Yeah, lets just hope its not Mission Impossible!”
Chapter
9
Both bands
arrived separately at the hotel the day before the show at the
Their
respective buses were parked side by side as a bevy of bodies began pouring out
of each. Phil was the first to
disembark, all too eager to see Angie again.
One by one, her bandmates stepped off their bus and greeted Phil.
“Hey Phil,
good to see you again man,” Randy Black said exuberantly as he shook Phil’s
hand. “Thanks again for pushing for us.”
Phil shook
Angie’s brother’s hand. “Well, it didn’t
take much prodding on my part. You sold
yourselves at the Icon Awards. We’re
really glad to have you here.”
Seth and Eric
were next to get off the bus. Both
greeted Phil and shook their head over his eagerness to see Angie. Seth got a glimpse of Joe heading on over
with a smile on his face. Seth turned
around to see Nina descend from the bus and meet Joe’s smile. He turned away with a heavy sigh and headed
for the hotel.
Angie was last
to leave the bus. She was very casual in
a pair of loose, faded jeans that hung very low on her waist, exposing her
trademark belly chain and navel ring. A
white crop sweatshirt barely grazed the bottom of her rib cage and her dark,
glossy hair was in a high ponytail.
Angie slid
sunglasses on her face as she hoisted an overnight bag securly on her
shoulder. She saw Phil standing there
watching her and made her way over on shaky legs. Since she last left him at the Icon Awards,
he had been nothing but a voice on the telephone. Now he was here he was – in the flesh. And, oh….what flesh it was!
“Hey there,”
she said as she stopped in front of him.
Phil’s expert
eyes fell to her exposed midriff, his tongue wanting to following
the same trail as her belly chain.
“Long time, no see,” Phil mused, as he leaned
up to kiss her cheek. “Good to see you
again, luv.”
“Same here,”
she nervously responded, as the heat from his lips made her tingle. “Um, I guess we’ve got some time to unwind. We’d like to head on over to the Center for a
quick rehearsal before sound check tomorrow.”
“Well, if you
don’t have any plans, how about unwinding with some lunch?”
“Sounds
great. I’m famished!”
Meanwhile, Joe
approached Nina and stopped in front of her.
He arrogantly folded his arms, waiting for her to acknowledge him. Nina gave him a quick glance up and down, then smiled. “Hey, big Joe.”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Joe wickedly replied.
Nina was
determined to have fun with this man.
“So, everything they say about you on the internet is true after all?”
Joe put his
arm around her and led her towards the hotel door. “If you’re lucky, the truth can speak for
itself!”
Nina took his
arm off her. “If I’m
lucky? You’ve got a ways to go
before you get anywhere near lucky, big guy.”
Joe motioned
towards the lounge. “How
about lunch?”
“That’s a
start.”
Phil walked in
with Angie by his side and went up to Malvin at the desk. “Got my room number yet, Mal?”
Like
clockwork, Malvin handed Phil his key.
“Here ya go Philip. Rooming with Viv.”
“What else is
new?” He then turned to Angie. “Listen, everyone’s probably going to be
eating in the lounge. Would you care for
some room service and peace and quiet?”
Angie marveled
that it didn’t take Phil too long to try to get her alone. And, as tempting as the scenario would be,
she kept true to her word that she would take this slow.
“That sounds
great, Phil,” Angie replied. “I love my
brother and sister and the guys to death, but I need a bit of a break now and
then. I think they all headed over to
the lounge to eat. The tour manager’s
taking care of the bags and the rooms.
Let me just go let them know.”
“Right behind
ya, luv.”
Phil kept true
to his word and followed her into the lounge, if only to have a better view of
her amazing backside in those faded jeans.
In the lounge, Seth, Eric and Randy were at a table directly adjacent to
a large booth that held Rick, Sav and Viv, who protectively sandwiched a
flattered Nina and a very pissed off Joe, who was none-too-happy about his
bandmates cutting into his time with Nina.
Phil smirked
at the sight, knowing that Rick, Viv and Sav were surrounding Nina on purpose,
if only to make it harder for Joe, and was glad for his decision on room
service with Angie.
“Well, don’t
you all look mighty cozy,” Phil grinned, as he slung an arm around Angie next
to him. “I don’t wish to cramp you any
further, so this lovely lass and I are going to enjoy some room service –
alone.”
That last line
was directed at Joe, who was obviously biting his tongue over not suggesting
room service with Nina. Now, he was
stuck here with the lovely Nina on one side of him and Viv’s elbow poking his
ribs on the other side. He looked on the
other side of Nina, who was sharing a menu with Rick, then past him to Sav who
mockingly waved at Joe from above his menu.
Joe’s eyes
went back to Phil who snickered at him before he turned to escort Angie to the
elevators.
Chapter
10
Phil and Angie
spent an agonizingly, platonic few hours in his room enjoying a lite fare of
salad, fruit and iced tea. When Angie
uncovered her salad, Phil winced at the site of several grilled chicken
strips. She smirked over his distaste
for meat and decided to have some fun with him.
She picked up one juicy, charbroiled piece with her fork and held it up
to his face.
Phil backed
away like a vampire faced with a crucifix, but Angie didn’t let up.
“Aw,
c’mon Phil. Just one tiny piece? Don’t think of it as meat. Think of it as just another source of
protein.”
Phil looked at
her pleading eyes and was almost done in.
For the first time in a long time, he considered consuming animal
flesh. Not being able to resist her, he
reluctantly opened his mouth as she fed him the forbidden food.
Phil chewed
slowly, trying to hide what he really felt.
“See, wasn’t
that bad, was it?”
Phil made a
face as if he swallowed vinegar. “No, not bad at all. Bloody delicious.”
Angie
laughed. “Pretty soon you’ll be ordering
prime rib!”
“Not
on your life, luv!”
The two of
them continued their lunch and talked.
Phil filled her in on Rory and his recent trouble in school and his
hopes for him when he joins the tour next month for his vacation. Angie, in turn, brought Phil up to speed on
all the changes that had taken place with her and the band since Def Leppard
asked them to be their opening act.
“They just
released our third video to coincide with the start of this tour,” Angie
said. “The first two turned out to be
very popular and really pushed our album sales.
Now we hope that the tour will do even more.”
“And its helping us as well,” Phil added. “Since you seem to draw a more
younger crowd, it’ll acquaint them with our old and new stuff.”
Angie bit into
a red pepper ring then reached for her napkin.
“I can’t see how anyone can’t get into your old stuff. Hell, I was only 11 when I first saw you guys
on MTV. After that, Nina and I would
take a mop and a broom. She’d pretend it
was a mic stand and sing while I pretended to play the guitar. Then, one time Randy walked in on us and
started teasing us. We shut him up by
giving him two rulers and told him they were drumsticks and that he could join
our ‘band’. The three of us would stand
in front of the televison with MTV on and would play along with all the videos,
but we were especially fond of the Def Leppard ones. One time, Nina stood up on an easy chair with
one foot on each armrest and jumped off, trying to do that Russian jump that
Joe does in the ‘Photograph’ video. The
first time she fell into an end table and knocked over my mom’s lamp. She was not too happy about that. But, it didn’t keep us from ‘air-playing’ our
band. As we got older, we ditched the
mop, broom and rulers for real instruments that we begged our parents for. Nina only wanted to sing, which was fine with
us. We didn’t get very serious until
after college when we met Chet and Seth.
We formed the band then and….well, here we are!”
Phil shook his
head in wonder. “Well, that’s an
interesting story. I can just picture
you guys in front of the telly doing that.
Especially Nina trying to jump like Joe!
If he has his way, he might convince her to recreate the move for
him…..privately!”
Angie rolled
her eyes. “Well, I will say that Nina
does have a thing for him, but I don’t know how serious she’d take it. Between you and I,
she’s still smarting from her breakup with Seth and, well, I think she may be
using this attention from Joe to get back at him. I know she still cares for Seth and he still
loves her. He just made the mistake of
getting caught kissing a roadie’s girlfriend.”
“Ah, I see,”
Phil said. “So, it seems your sister
demands monogamy too, eh?”
Angie looked
him straight in the eye. “Absolutely. I’m a
one man woman, Phil. Its
important to my image as a female guitarist, so its crucial that I keep
myself….respectable. I hope you
understand that.”
At this point,
Phil would agree to anything Angie would say.
However, at this point, he could honestly say that he found no other
woman more desirable than her.
Then again,
the tour just started!
“I understand
perfectly, luv,” Phil replied, looking into her eyes. Phil would love a chance to be that ‘one
man’. However, would Angie be enough to
be his ‘one woman’?
They continued
to stare at each other for several seconds as their eyes tried to read what
their minds were thinking when a knock on the door startled them both.
“Yeah?” Phil called out.
“You decent.?” Viv shot back.
Phil quickly
glanced at Angie to gage her response and caught a slight blush.
“If I’m not,
will you go away?” Phil countered.
“Hell
no! I’ve got a key. I’m coming in. Put away anthing you don’t want me to see!”
Phil and Angie
stood up from the table as Viv made his way inside. He looked a bit disappointed to not have
caught them in a compromising positon.
“What did you
expect to find, Viv?”
“Well….knowing
you……..”
Phil shut Viv
up with a glare. The last thing he
wanted Angie to hear was any talk of his promiscuous behavior.
Angie caught
on and put her napkin down on the table.
“Well, I guess I better catch up with the rest of the band and head on
over to the Center. Thank you for lunch,
Phil. I’ll see you later.”
“Bye luv.”
As Angie
closed the door behind her, Viv turned to Phil.
“You’re
getting slow there, Phil.”
“Not getting
slow, Viv. I’m taking it slow.”
Chapter
11
The following
night, Black ‘n Blue took the stage at about
Phil stood off
to the side and watched as much of Black ‘n Blue’s performance as he was
able to. As much as he tried to
concentrate on the band’s performance as a whole, he couldn’t tear his eyes of
Angie’s performance – or presence! She
was simply magnificent.
He couldn’t
believe that she transformed from a fresh, young lovley in jeans and a
sweatshirt the day before, to a sexy rock guitarist who put every fiber of her
being into her playing. As a ‘homage’ to the band she was opening up for, she was
clad in skintight, lowrise leopard print jeans and calf length black leather
boots. A black, lycra
tank covered her long, shapely upper half and her gold belly chain and navel
ring glimmered off the stage lights with every move she made.
As a last
second decision, Angie had decided to spend a good portion of the morning
having her glossy, shoulder length dark hair corn-rowed and would keep it that
way for a good portion of the tour. It
kept it out of her face when she was performing, not to mention that it made
her exquisite bone structure, charcoal lined, steel gray eyes and clear red
glossy lips stand out even more. A
leopard print bandana was tied over the top part of her head to complete her look.
Phil thought
she looked like a long, lean, black panther, more than
a leopard. She exuded a sexiness that
could never be mistaken for trashiness.
She was wild and sensuous, rocking and mysterious all at once. He was so
taken with the mere sight of her that he didn’t hear his name being called.
“Phil?
Phil? Phil? PHIL??????”
Phil turned
around to see Joe standing behind him, clad in classic leather pants, black
tank and a silver metallic long sleeved shirt over it.
“You calling me?”
Joe rolled his
eyes. “No, I’m trying to get the lighting
guy’s attention,” he sarcastically retorted.
“I’ve called you about three or four times. How’s about leaving
‘Angie-Land’ so we can get ready to go on. They’re almost done.”
“Sorry, but I
didn’t expect to stand here and watch the entire show. They really are amazing. They’ve got so much energy. Look how wound up the crowd is? They’re gonna be pumped by the time we go on
and we’re gonna feed off of that.”
Joe had to
agree. “Yeah, they do rock, I’ll say
that. Nina’s voice is absolutely incredible. Not to mention that she looks good enough to
eat in that outfit!”
Joe’s well
trained eyes took in Nina’s stage attire.
Whereas Angie was ‘rock chick’, Nina was more ‘rock chic’. She kept a more softer,
yet edgy appearance with a long, mocha colored suede skirt that was cut up to
her mid thigh and cream colored calf length boots. A low slung black leather
belt hung from her slender hips with an onyx and rhinestone adorned
buckle. On top she wore a tight, midriff
baring cream colored tank and a black choker necklace with a large teardrop
shaped crystal hanging from it. Her
dirty blonde hair had a tousled ‘bed head’ look with the sides brought up with
a black clip. Large silver hoops hung
from her ears and a mass of black and silver bracelets adorned her wrists and
her makeup palette consisted of dark, smokey eyes and iridescent lips and a
shimmer of face glitter. She looked like
a cross between Gwen Stefani and the lead singer of The Corrs.
Everytime Nina
moved, the nearly obscene slit in her skirt exposed a
long, silky leg, causing Joe to groan.
“Man, I’d love
to get her in the sack wearing that exact outfit.”
“Yeah, well
you’re probably not the only one who thinks so,” Phil said. “Check out Seth.”
Joe’s eyes
went to Black ‘N Blue’s bass player, and Nina’s ex-boyfriend, just as Nina had
slung her arm around his neck as she belted out the end of one song. Even though Nina was working the stage for
show, Joe felt a twinge, especially when he noticed the look on Seth’s face as
Nina stared at him while she sang.
Phil enjoyed
the look on Joe’s face. “Aw, don’t tell
me you’re jealous?”
Joe looked
incredulous. “Jealous? Jealous of what? First, there’s nothing between us – yet. Second, if she had to choose between him and
I……well, lets just say there’d be no choice to
make! C’mon, lets
go.”
Joe spun
around and headed to the back room. Phil
chuckled at Joe’s arrogance then waited a few seconds more until Angie turned
to see him staring at her. He rewarded
her with a sexy smile and a wink which nearly caused Angie to drop her
guitar. Phil noticed her reaction and
couldn’t help feeling a bit arrogant himself.
He then
suddenly thought of Miss Angie crawling across his bed like a wild animal
wearing that outfit. The thought caused
him to get hard instantly.
And this was
only the first night of the tour!
Chapter
12
After they
showered and changed, Black ‘n Blue hurried to catch the Leps show. Angie was the first one done and already
stage side by the start of the first song.
As soon as she heard the beginning of ‘Disintigrate’, her body became
alive as it was filled with the roaring sound of Phil’s
“C’mon, lets go watch from the front,” Randy said to his sister.
However, Angie
wasn’t listeneing. Her eyes were
completely locked on Phil.
“Sis, c’mon,”
Randy repeated, snapping his fingers in front of her face. Angie eyes quickly darted.
“What? Why can’t I stay here?”
“Well, you can
if you want,” Eric said. “I’m getting
down in the front. Its
hard to get the full experience from the side.
See ya down there.”
Nina pulled
her sister’s arm. “Lets
go while they’re at the end of this song.”
“No…wait…”
Angie said. “Just…..just wait till the
end of the next song.”
Nina laughed,
knowing full well why Nina wanted to wait.
However, Seth and Randy didn’t.”
“Why?” Seth
finally asked.
Angie turned a
bit pink, not wanting to answer the question.
However, Nina had no qualms.
“If I know my
sister, and her penchant for Phil Collen, its probably
because he usually waits until the third or fourth song before he loses his
shirt.”
Angie
acknowledged her sister with a dreamy grin as she continued to stare at
Phil. Randy shook his head in amazement.
“You women
have the nerve to talk about us guys!
You’re just as bad. I’m going to
join Eric. I’ll catch you horny females
later!”
Randy left his
sisters and Seth to go join Eric in a front row seat. Seth saw that Nina had joined her sister in
watching the Leps, although her gaze was firmly latched onto Joe. He rolled his eyes and stepped away.
“Guess I know
when I’m not wanted,” Seth mumbled. “See
ya.”
Nina heard him
in time to catch him by the arm.
“Seth….please don’t act like this, okay.”
Seth let out a
frustrated breath and gently pulled his arm out of Nina’s grasp. “Sorry, Neen. Its just a little
hard, okay? I mean, I know I fucked up
when I kissed that bitch, so I guess I deserve a little payback.”
Nina’s eyes
narrowed a bit. “What do you mean
‘payback’?”
“Oh get off
it, Neen! You’ve been fawning over Joe
Elliott ever since the Icon Awards. And
with his reputation, it’ll only be a matter of time before he’s in your pants.”
Nina folded
her arms. “Got a problem with that?”
“Hey, I don’t
care what the fuck you do anymore,” Seth said hotly. “But man, you’re 29 and he’s what……43?”
Nina got even
more defiant. “So? Maybe I just want to see if that dick of his
is as big as its rumored to be.”
Nina’s
response got her nothing but a hurtful look from Seth. Deep down inside she knew he still had
feelings for her, and her for him. Maybe
she was trying to get back at him for his dalliance with a roadie’s girlfriend.
Seth looked as
if he was totally disgusted with her.
“Good luck, sweetheart. And, by
the way, during the show, don’t put your arm around me anymore during a
song. Go hang on Eric.”
Seth walked
away to go join the rest of the guys watching the show from the front. Nina knew he was smarting, but he’d get over
it. She had to deal with it when she
caught him kissing that girl, now it was his turn.
Nina saw that
Angie was completely oblivious to what transpired between her and Seth. She was still totally engrossed in Phil who
had long lost his shirt.
“Ange, if you
want to stay here and watch, I’ll stay with ya,” Nina said.
“Hmmm….yeah……whatever,”
Angie replied, as she caught Phil’s sexy wink her direction.
Nina caught it
too and wondered who would be in who’s pants first!
Chapter
13
Next Night
Both bands
finished the show at the Conseco Fieldhouse in
“Tsk, tsk,
tsk,” he murmured. “Bagels are loaded
with white flour, not to mention that they’re pure carbohydrate.”
Angie turned
around and met Phil’s wicked, admonishing look with a grin.
“Well, after
all the energy I’ve expended these last two nights, a little carbs won’t kill
me. What do you do for energy?”
Phil held up a
plastic bottle filled with a brownish green liquid which made Angie’s face
twist with disgust.
“Aw, its not as bad as it looks, luv. It’s a soy based protein drink. Definitely puts hair on your chest!”
Angie glanced
down at the hair peeking out from the top of Phil’s buttoned shirt. “That it does,” she boldly said.
Phil saw where
her eyes went and he started feeling bold himself. Sure, he wanted to challenge himself by going
cautiously with Angie, but these signals were driving him nuts.
However, Phil
knew that Angie wasn’t a woman to play around with then move on from when
something more interesting came along.
At this point, he couldn’t think of a woman more fascinating or
interesting than Angie. Playing the
monogamous rock star while on tour with a bit foreign to Phil, but he knew he
couldn’t go on like that forever. He had
a newly teenage son that he had to set a good example for.
Phil pushed
his thoughts aside and concentrated on Angie’s sultry gray eyes. He then reached up and fingered one of
corn-rowed braids that swung below her chin.
“You know, I
meant to tell you, I like these. Bo
Derek’s got nothing on you, luv!”
Angie blushed
a bit. “Okay, okay, I’ve heard enough Bo
Derek jokes from the guys. But, they’re
kind of the rage right now. Plus, it
keeps me from fussing with my hair and out of my face when I’m playing.”
“Well, only a
woman with extrodinary features can get away with something so extreme,” Phil
charmed.
“Th…thank you
Phil,” Angie stammered.
They were so
engrossed in each other that Phil, again, didn’t hear his name being called
out.
“Philip! Philip!
Philip!!”
Phil’s head
spun around at the sound of Malvin’s bark.
“You rang?”
Malvin juggled
a bunch of papers in his hand as he looked at Phil with exasperation. “About three times. Get on the bus. Both of you.”
Before Angie
departed for her bus, Phil took her arm.
“Aye, Angie….um…since we’ve got quite a ride ahead of us, I was
wondering if maybe we could ride together.
Since I don’t want to subject you to Joe’s pervertedness, how’s about I
ride with you? I’ll bring my
guitar. We can play together a bit.”
Angie’s
beautiful face became alight at the mere image of sitting side by side with
Phil, playing their guitars together.
She thought of all the pictures she had seem with him with an accoustic
across his lap playing something soothing and couldn’t think of a more
incredible sight. Being able to play in
the same manner seemed…….erotic to her.
“Phil, I’d
like that very much,” she replied.
“After admiring your playing for so long, I’d
love the chance to play alongside you.”
“Great!” Phil
exclaimed before turning towards Malvin.
“Malvin!
My guitar!”
“Yes master,”
Malvin mocked before disappearing onto the bus to get Phil’s accoustic. Once inside, Joe saw him take Phil’s guitar
then turn to leave.
“Where
you going with that?”
Malvin
fluttered his eyes at Joe. “Loverboy is
going to ride with Miss Angie and make some music together,” Malvin quipped.
Joe stood up
and held his hands out to the side.
“Well, if that’s the case, then get Nina on
this bus. Why should he have all the
fun?”
“This isn’t a
contest, Joseph,” Malvin chided.
“Besides, do you think that nice, young lass really
needs to be subjected to all of you?”
Joe made a
face. “Mal, what do you think we’re
gonna do – gang bang ‘er? You’ll be
here, Rick’s in his bunk chanting away, Sav’s sneezing his brains out and Viv’s
asleep.”
Malvin raised
a suspicious eyebrow. “What about you?”
“Someone has
to keep her entertained,” Joe said with a wicked twinkle in his green eyes.
Malvin sighed
then turned to leave the bus. “I’ll ask
her. Don’t get your hopes up.”
“No, but I’ve
got something else ‘up’,” Joe mumbled.
“I heard
that,” Sav said from two seats behind, followed by a cough.
“Go take a
cold pill and mind your own business, will you?”
Sav pulled a
blanket around him and turned in his seat.
“I’m sure Nina’s gonna be impressed with how compassionate you are,
Joe.”
“Good night,
Sav,” Joe said, wanting the last word.
Just then,
Joe’s head turned to see Nina step onto the bus wearing gray, low rise
drawstring sweatpants and a fitted, white hooded zip up top. Joe took in how the material clung to every
sweet inch of her and flashed her his trademark dimples..
“A good night,
indeed!” he thought.
Chapter
14
The guys in
Black ‘n Blue had long dozed off as Phil and Angie made their way to the back
of the bus. They sat across from each
other with their guitars across their laps.
“Well…what
should we play?” Phil asked.
Angie thought
a bit. “Well…..if you don’t mind….I’d
really just like to watch first while you play.
Your style and the way you put yourself into it is so captivating. Uh…..that sounded corny, didn’t it?”
Phil flashed her a grin and propped his guitar into positon. “Not at all. I’m quite flattered. Hmmm, how’s about I just rattle off a little
something that I’ve been fooling around with.”
With that,
Phil bowed his head and began to expertly pluck the strings with his pick as
his fingers mastered the chords on the neck of the guitar. Angie sat there hypnotized as she watched
Phil play the guitar as if it were attached to his body. She bit her lip as his left hand moved up and
down the neck, as if he were caressing a limb.
That visual sent a chill up the back of her spine.
When Phil
finished, he looked up and his breath caught at the look of what appeared to be
arousal on Angie’s face. He wouldn’t be
too arrogant to think that Angie got turned on by watching him play. His eyes caught hers and tried to communicate
what his mind was thinking.
“How was that
luv?”
All Angie
could do was shake her head in amazement. “Absolutely beautiful,
Phil. I learn a lot by watching
other guitarists, whether electric or accoustic. I love watching their playing style and the
expressions on their face. But of
course, I’ve been watching you the longest.”
Phil crossed
his arms on top of his guitar and leaned in a bit. “Well now, how about giving me an opportunity
to watch you? I know I can learn
something from it.”
Angie gulped
at the thought of this man studying her as she played. She suddenly felt vulnerable. He was the reason she picked up the guitar in
the first place and now he wanted to learn from her. What could he possibly learn that he didn’t
already know?
Angie steadied
her instrument on her lap and closed her eyes for a bit. Then, her fingers went to work. She kept her eyes closed as so to concentrate
on the piece and not the magnificent man watching her….studying her….gazing at
her.
When she was
finished, she opened her eyes to gage Phil’s reaction. The look on his face made her heart catch in
her throat. It was a look of awe and
incredulousness.
“Angie, that was a fabulous piece!” Phil said with
astonishment.
She blushed at
his praise, but kept eye contact. “Thank
you. Its something I
wrote…well…..recently. I call it……’Dream
Come True’.
Phil’s mind
churned over the possible irony of that song.
Was being on this tour her ‘dream come true’ or meeting him? Or both?
“Absolutely
beautiful, Angie,” Phil said of the song, and of her. “However, there was one part in there where,
if you changed chords a bit, it would flow better.”
Angie perked
up. “Really? Where?”
Angie began to
play it again and Phil stopped her when she went by that part. “Stop, right there. Change it to…….here, let me show you.”
Phil put his
guitar aside and scooted over to get behind Angie. His arms went around her from behind so that
his left was on hers that grasped the neck of her guitar.
Angie just
about died from the contact. Since they
both had sleeveless tops on, the inside of Phil’s upper arm caressed the
outside of hers, sending a flood of warmth through her entire body. How was she gonna play with him so close,
innocently touching her like this?
“Now…play that
part again,” Phil whispered into the side of her neck.
His tone
caused her flesh to tingle, even as she began to play. When she got to the part in question, Phil
expertly moved her left hand down the neck of her guitar to where her fingers
orchestrated a different chord. As Phil
predicted, it enhanced the piece.
Angie turned
her head to find her face mere inches from Phil’s. “You….you were right,” she stammered. “It does sound better.”
Phil’s left
hand left hers on the neck of her guitar to run it seductively up the silky
smoothness of her arm. His eyes remained
locked on hers.
“Glad you
think so,” he replied, as his eyes left hers to drop to her lips. He saw her chest rise and fall a bit as her
breathing intesified due to his closeness.
Angie remained perfectly still as Phil closed the gap between them and
sweetly kissed her lips.
Angie was
totally and completely lost. The feel of
Phil’s lips on hers…the caress of his fingers on her arm…..made her feel as if
she were made of liquid. Her hands came
up to cup his face and put more pressure into the kiss. As she did, she was completely unaware of
something slowly sliding off her lap.
KABONG!
Phil and Angie
pulled apart, startled by the sound of Angie’s guitar as it slid off her lap
and onto the floor of the bus. It made
such a racket, that it woke up the other guys up front.
“Hey, what are
you two doing back there?” Randy called out.
Phil raised a
quizzical brow, daring Angie to answer.
She took up the challenge.
“Sorry about
that, Randy. Phil was just….uh…..giving
me a lesson.”
Phil responded
to her comment with a very naughty look.
Oh, he looked forward to giving her another lesson.
But it had
nothing to do with the guitar!
Chapter
15
On the other
bus, Joe was not having the luck with Nina that Phil was having with
Angie. First of all, the individual
noises were making him crazy.
If it wasn’t
the loud humming under the bus, it was Viv and Malvin’s snoring in perfect
harmony. If it wasn’t that, it was Sav’s
nagging cough! Since Rick was still in
his bunk, all was quiet with him, but the smell of his sandlewood incense
seeped out from under his door and down the center aisle of the bus. When it permeated Joe’s nostrils, he threw
his head back.
“Bloody
fucking hell,” he murmured under his breath.
Nina looked up
from a stack of Joe’s recently purchased CD’s she was checking out and
smirked. “Problem
there, big guy?”
Joe sat back
heavily and let out a breath. “Perhaps I
should’ve rode with you on your bus,” he
complained. “If I don’t get asphyxiated
from the smell of Allen’s incense, I’m gonna catch whatever bacteria is being
coughed out of Sav’s lungs. I especially
can’t get sick, being the singer and all.
You understand that, don’t you luv?”
Nina
nodded. “Absolutely. Hmmm, maybe we should move out of Sav’s
coughing range.”
“Where?
Malvin’s snoring like a freight train up front and Allen’s burning
incense like a volcano in the back. My
head is pounding and my eyes are watering.
And on top of that, my bloody shoulder is killing me. I must’ve pulled something doing ‘God knows
what’?”
Nina couldn’t
help but smirk over Joe’s incessant complaints.
She should be annoyed, but somehow it seemed to be a natural part of his
personality. She knew that just by being
on the bus with him was probably driving Seth up the wall. Oh well….let him stew a bit. She’d enjoy this for all it was worth. Who knows where it would lead to?
She put the
stack of CD’s down then reached up to gently massage Joe’s right shoulder. “There….how does that feel, big Joe?”
Joe began to
ease up a bit as a pleasurable look washed across his face. “Mmmm, nice,” he purred in his classic
British tone. He then turned his green
eyed stare on full force. “You know,
calling me ‘big Joe’, is just pressuring me to have to prove you right.”
Nina met his
look straight on, thoroughly enjoying her opportunity to flirt with him. “Somehow, I don’t think you have to be pressured
to do anything,”
Nina then
squeezed a tender part of his shoulder, causing him to wince. Joe grimaced, then
put his head back, enjoying Nina’s touch.
After a few moments, she suddenly stopped. He looked over and saw that she had leaned
her head against his shoulder and had fallen asleep.
He rolled his
eyes and turned his head to look out the window. This wasn’t turning out the way he had
planned. The young woman that he wanted
to seduce had fallen asleep on him, surrounded by his snoring, chanting,
coughing bandmates and tour manager.
He then heard
a yawn and turned to see Sav sitting up, rubbing his eyes. When he focused on Joe, and Nina’s head
slumped against him, he sleepily grinned.
“Let me
guess….you bored her?”
So not to wake
up Nina, Joe answered by simply flashing his middle finger. Sav chuckled and went back to sleep.
It wasn’t long
before Joe gave up and did the same.
Chapter
16
On the other
bus, Angie opened her eyes to see that the night had turned into morning. But what really got her attention was the
position she was in. Her back was
nestled against Phil’s front as they laid sideways in
the cushioned seat. His head was to one
side, his features relaxed and his breathing easy.
She slowly
raised herself upward, only to be startled by being pulled back down.
“Where
you sneaking off to?”
Phil groggily asked.
“The
bathroom,” Angie answered. “Plus, the
buses are stopping in front of some restaurant.
Guess we’re gonna have some breakfast.”
Phil sat up
and stretched the kinks from his body, suddenly missing the warmth of
Angie’s. “Great, I’m kind of hungry.”
“Me
too. Be right back.”
Angie used the
bathroom then quickly brushed her teeth and applied a bit of eyeliner, blush
and lipshine. Thankful that she didn’t
have to worry about her braided hair, she exited the bathroom just in time to
run smack into Seth.
“All yours,”
Angie said.
“Yeah,
thanks,” he mumbled.
“Wait, you’ll
get coffee soon.”
“Just what I
want,” he grumbled. “Coffee and
breakfast while watching Nina and Joe slobber all over each other.”
Angie put a
hand on his arm. “Seth…..”
Instead, Seth
just walked away from her into the bathroom.
Phil saw the whole thing and gave Angie a questioning look.
“Guess he’s
not a big fan of Joe’s,” Angie said.
“Hell, I’m not
a fan of Joe’s and I’ve know him almost half my life!” Phil joked.
“Yeah, but
he’s not after your ex-girlfriend!”
“No, but he
can have my ex-wife if he wants – both of them!”
Angie
snickered, but then realized that it really wasn’t funny. Even though Phil joked about it, she was sure
that his divorces weren’t much fun to go through.
“Aw, I take
that back,” Phil quickly retorted, seeing the look on Angie’s face. “Actually, my first wife, Jacki, is a good
mum. She holds the fort down with Rory
while I’m tour until I can bring him with me.
She recently remarried too. As
for my second wife, Anita…..well, she’s a wonderful lady. Beautiful, smart, talented. I guess………. I just remarried too quickly.”
“Its okay
Phil, you don’t have to get into all of this now,” Angie said.
“Yeah, I’d
rather not. Maybe
another time.”
When the buses
came to a halt, everyone began to get off, desperate for some food and
caffeine. Viv stepped off while on his
cell phone, checking in with the wife and kids.
Joe and Nina got off next, engrossed in some secret looks. Sav was right behind, coughing away, while
Rick slapped him on the back from behind.
“Got some
loose phlegm there, Sav?” Rick mused.
“Hit me that
hard again, and I’ll cough up my kidney!” Sav shot back.
Joe turned
around in Sav’s face before moving away.
“Keep your germs away from me.”
Sav feigned a
hurt look. “I suppose a good morning
kiss is out of the question then?”
Nina
supressed a chuckle, which got Sav’s attention.
He leaned into her while eyeing Joe.
“He’s quite a kisser, luv.”
Joe grabbed
Sav’s arm and pushed him ahead of him. “Wise ass! Don’t give
her your germs, either.” Joe then put
his left arm around Nina. “Us lead
singers have to stick together.”
Nina reached
up and held onto Joe’s left hand that cupper her shoulder and nodded at
him. Her eyes then caught Seth coming
off the bus. She saw Seth’s eyes glance
from her to Joe and back before looking away and walking into the restaurant. Nina’s heart was starting to hurt for him,
but he had no one to blame but himself.
Let him feel what she felt when she found him with his tongue halfway
down that girl’s throat. She didn’t mean
to be spiteful, but her pride was getting in the way. Plus, the attention from Joe was intoxicating
and doing wonders for her self-esteem.
She then saw
Angie get off the bus looking all lovey-dovey with Phil. She couldn’t wait to find out how her night
was. Joe however, had no such patience
and waited for Phil at the entrance of the restaurant
“So…..get
lucky or what?”
That comment
earned him a raised eyebrow from Angie and a none-too-pleased look from
Phil. But Phil gave Joe a determined
look.
“As a matter
of fact, yes,” Phil proudly stated. “I
was lucky enough to spend several hours last night in the company of this
beautiful woman while playing our guitars together. And you?”
Before Joe
could answer, Viv came up behind Phil.
“Man, you scored a home run compared to Joe. First, he subjected her to his newest CD
additions, then faked a sore shoulder to get her to
massage him, which caused her to fall asleep on him. I heard everything.”
Joe turned
angry eyes to Viv. “Its amazing that you
could hear anything over your own snoring!”
A horrible
sounding cough suddenly rang through the nearly empty restaurant. Phil’s ears perked up.
“Is that a sea
lion?”
“No, its Sav,” Joe huffed.
“Been coughing like that all night.
I’m sitting far away from him until Mal gets him some antibiotics or
something.”
Joe then
turned to Nina. “You
joining me, luv?”
Nina swept her
hand ahead. “Lead the way.”
As she
followed Joe, Nina caught her sister’s arm.
“Well?”
Angie answered
her sister with a glowing smile. “Later, sis.”
Chapter
17
As soon as
they got situated on their bus, Nina nudged her sister.
“Spill it,
girlie!”
Angie looked
non-plussed. “Nothing
to spill. All we did was play for
an hour or two then fell asleep. If you
don’t believe me, ask these guys.”
Nina looked to
her brother who threw his hands up.
“Hey, I was asleep,” Randy stated.
“But, no mysterious moanings or groanings were heard.”
That remark
earned him a slap on the back of the head from Angie.
“Ow!”
“Its true,”
Chet chimed in. “I just heard them
playing guitar in the back. However,
they looked quite snuggly when I went to take a piss early this morning.”
Angie looked a
bit defensive. “We….we just fell asleep,
that’s all. Perfectly
harmless.”
“Oh sure,
sleeping is harmless, except when you’re on top of Phil Collen,” Nina
grinned.
“Trust me sis,
if I was on top of Phil the way I wanted to be, we wouldn’t be
sleeping!”
Randy threw
his head back and laughed. “Don’t you
girls ever talk about us guys being horndogs. You’re worse than we are!”
Angie acted
coy before she realized that one of their group wasn’t
participating.
“Hey Seth, you
gonna vouch for my virtue last night like these two did?”
Seth just
shrugged. “You’re a big girl, Ange. You can do what you want, with whomever you
want. Right, Nina?”
Nina was a
cross between being guilty and annoyed.
“Just what is that supposed to mean, Seth?”
“Just
what it sounds like, Neen. If Angie wants to bang Phil Collen in the
back of the bus, fine. If you want to bang Joe Elliott, fine too.”
“Seth,” Randy
replied with a slight warning tone.
“What? Your sisters are consenting adult women and
can do whatever they want. Just like
you, me and Chet are consenting, single adult
guys. I can’t speak for you two, but I’m
gonna be looking for a lovely female or two backstage soon.”
With that,
Seth got up, went to one of the back bunks and shut the door. Randy’s eyes followed him until he
disappeared, then looked at Nina. “So,
is he right? Did Joe Elliott try
anything with you?”
“No, he
didn’t. I fell asleep on his
shoulder. That was it. For now.”
“Neen,” Randy
said with that warning tone again. “Don’t
start something you can’t follow through with.”
“Why are you
lecturing me? How come Ange isn’t
getting warned about Phil? My God, out
of all those guys, Phil’s the most promiscuous one of them all – even when he
was married!”
That was
something that Angie did not need to hear. Not that she wasn’t aware
of his rumored behavior. She just
didn’t want to be reminded of it. Nina
saw the look on her face and was instantly contrite.
“Ange, I’m
sorry. I didn’t mean to blurt that out.”
Angie grabbed
her guitar and stood up. “No
problem. I mean, its
probably true. Although, I’d like to
think that maybe he’s changed. Don’t
worry about me. I don’t plan on giving
anything to Phil unless I can be sure that he’s still not giving it out
himself.”
With that,
Angie took her guitar and went to the back to play by herself. She wondered how she was ever going to be
sure about Phil. She couldn’t come right
out and ask him. It would have to take
time. But, after their erotic guitar
playing session last night and waking up against him this morning, she wondered
how long she’d be able to last.
Chapter
18
On the other
bus, Phil was glowing while Joe was scowling.
“Will you
please take that fucking dreamy look off your face?”
Phil’s head
rolled against the cushion seat to face Joe as he flashed him glaring blue
eyes. “Problem?”
“You don’t
fool me, Collen,” Joe stated. “Angie
Black may be hot and have just about everything in common with you, but….I know you. Your
eyes don’t stay in one place for long.”
“C’mon,
Joe! Its impossible not to look,” Phil
defended himself.
“Yeah, like
last night,” Viv chimed in.
Joe and Phil
both turned around to face Viv. “Meaning?”
Viv rolled his
eyes and grinned. “Didn’t you see that
20-something lovely in the third row flash her tits? They were…….they were……..”
“Reeeeeal
niiiiiice,” Sav suddenly blurted out.
Joe, Phil and
Viv turned surprised eyes to Sav who was huddled down in his seat, a box of
Kleenex by his side.
“Doth my ears deceive me?” Joe mocked. “Was that Sav making a comment of the sexual nature.”
“He has half a
bottle of Robitussan in him,” Malvin called out from the front.
Joe, Phil and
Viv looked at each other. “That explains
it,” they all said in unison.
“So………. did
you?” Viv asked again.
“I sure did,”
Joe answered first. “God, I felt like
weeping. Those were quite a pair.”
Viv looked at
Phil. “And you?”
Phil threw his
hands up. “Of course I saw! I’m a bloody man, for God’s sake. Even if I was happily married, I’d look.”
“Like that’s
stopped you before,” Joe chided.
“I said happily,”
Phil reiterated.
“So, if you
were happily married and ecstatically in love with a woman who puts every other
woman to shame, you’d never look again?”
“Don’t’ be
absurd!” Phil said ridiculously. “What
man could never, ever look?”
“Okay, so would say……..a
woman like Angie be enough for you to faithful?”
Phil thought
about what he was asked before answering.
“As of right
now, I can honestly say the answer is yes.
But, I’ve got to be honest with myself.
I mean, I though Anita would be enough and, well…look what
happened. Angie doesn’t deserve to be
subjected to my mistakes. But, on the
other hand, I don’t want her to slip through my hands either. We click in every possible way. I know I’m capable of being faithful. Maybe Jacki and Anita weren’t enough. Perhaps Angie is. I don’t know.
All I know is that Rory isn’t a baby anymore. I can’t be screwing around like this when
he’s aware of what’s going on.”
Joe listened intently until Phil stopped
talking. “Very deep there, Phil. Easier said than done,
though.”
“You don’t
think I can do it?”
“Bet you
can’t!”
“Sorry,
Joe. This isn’t a contest. I have too much respect for Angie to make her
the subject of a bet just to satisfy your assumption.”
Joe took a
deep breath, leaned back in his seat and clasped his hands before putting them
behind his head. “Well, if you’re gonna
play choir boy, I guess this means that I may have better luck with Nina than
you’ll have with Angie.”
“Hope you’ve
got your boxing gloves on, mate,” Phil warned.
“Meaning?”
“Seth is still
smarting over breaking up with her.
You’re not his favorite person right now. Nina could still very well have feelings for
him. And….has it ever occurred to you
that she may be using you to make Seth jealous and get back at him for cheating
on her?”
Joe gave Phil
an incredulous look. “What? A woman….using me? Not a chance.
I’ve been wetting her knickers since she was 10. And that was from a telly screen. Now, I plan on doing it to her in person.”
“Oh, here we
go,” Sav groaned. “Joe’s laid down the
challenge.”
“Why aren’t
you asleep yet?” Joe retorted back at Sav.
“You’re all
talking too much,” Sav whined.
“Joe,
why don’t you do yourself a favor and try a little romance for once?”
Joe perked up
at the sound of Rick’s voice, quiet for so long.
“Not only do
you plan on joining the conversation this late in the game, but you suggest
something absolutely absurd,” Joe replied.
“Its not absurd,” Rick shot back. “You want to make sure that she’s forgotten
about the ex, right? Give her something
to make her forget.”
“Oh, I’ve got
something, alright! Its
about 6 inches south of my navel and almost twice as long!”
Sav began to
bubble up with laughter. “Twice?”
Joe reached over,
grabbed the Kleenex box and tried to swat Sav with it, but he dodged it.
“As I was
saying, before I was rudely interrupted,” Rick continued. “..if you want to
make a woman forget about another guy, you’ve got to shower her with things
that cloud her senses. I tell ya, its
all about romance.”
Joe looked
about to throw up. “Allen, I’m not
planning on marrying the woman, so I’m not going to all that trouble. Besides, my idea of ‘romance’ is a bottle of
courvoisier and a king sized bed.”
“Its a wonder you’re still single,” Sav murmued.
“Don’t you
have a child to call?” Joe shot back.
Sav sat up,
wide eyed as he went for his cell phone.
“Thanks for reminding me. Paige
took the lads for their shots.”
Joe looked at
him. “You know, there was a time when
you used to be fun. What happened?”
“Its called
‘fatherhood’, Joe,” Sav said, matter of factly.
Phil kicked
Joe in the foot. “So….you gonna
‘romance’ Nina?”
Joe made a
sour face. “No way! Listen, I’ve gotten women all these years
just being myself. It’ll be no different
with her. You’ll see.”
Phil just
raised his eyebrows at Joe before turning back in his seat. It wouldn’t be so easy for him. He knew he couldn’t be his ‘old self’ if he
planned on winning Angie. He had to
prove that he was capable of being a faithful, one woman man.
Even on tour!
Chapter
19
April 8
The tour was
moving along wonderfully. Both bands
equally impressed the other with the impact they had on their crowd. Black ‘n Blue was amazed at the loyalty of
die-hard Leppard in the audience, a majority who were clad in classic Pyromania
and Hysteria concert t-shirts for nostalgia.
They also saw a
Def Leppard
was also benefiting from the youthful mix in the crowd that Black ‘n Blue
brought to the show as well. Concert attendees
ranging in ages anywhere from 18-25 were curious to see if the British pop
metal band with the one armed drummed who practically ruled the ‘80’s lived up
to all the hype. And, judging from the
infectious roar of the crowd from the moment the Leps took the stage until they
screamed for one more encore answered any and all doubts.
Even more
amazing, was the fact that Phil and Angie rode together on the bus practically
every night and he had yet to make a serious move on her. It was driving him absolutely crazy, but he
was a man on a mission to prove to her, and to himself, that he could be satisfied
with only one woman. Plus, Rory would be
joining him on tour in a few days when his school let out for spring break.
After
finishing their show tonight at the Spectrum, the band was now headed to
What would
make it even more heavenly was to have a warm, female body beside him.
Joe’s
situation was a little bit different. He
was hell-bent on seducing Nina, if only to prove that he was still
irresistable. As for Nina’s intentions,
he wasn’t sure if she was just trying to make Seth jealous. He wasn’t really sure if he cared.
On the Attack
bus, Phil stared out the window as it pulled up in front of their
Meanwhile, Joe
had his own little plan of attack.
“I’m making
use of this hotel room tonight if it kills me,” Joe stated.
Viv shook his
head back and forth. “Face it, Joe. If Nina hasn’t put out yet, chances are she
won’t. I think she’s just using you as a
little ‘boy toy’. And…..you’re just
using her too, so why don’t you just forget about your mid-life crisis!”
Joe bristled
when he heard the term ‘mid life crisis’ and turned to Viv with an extremely
calm face.
“Viv?”
“Yeah?”
“Fuck you.”
Joe then stood
up as the bus came to a halt in front of the hotel. Rick approached him, unzipping his own
overnight bag.
“Here, Romeo,”
Rick said, handing Joe a small candle.
“Its vanilla-mango scented. The
vanilla lends a soothing sweetness while the mango stirs up the libido with
visions of a tropical island.”
Joe’s green
eyes looked abdsurdly from the candle then back to Rick. “You’re joking, right?”
Rick looked at
him with all seriousness. “Do I look
like I’m joking? Trust me, Joe. Women love it when a man shows a romantic
side. For some reason, they’re attracted
to the vulnerability of it.”
Behind Joe, Sav
laughed. “It would take more than a lit
candle to prove to any woman that Joe is vulnerable.”
As Joe went to
turn on him, Sav ripped two Kleenex from the box and loudly sneezed into them,
causing Joe to retreat.
“Getting sick
isn’t worth telling you to piss off,” Joe said, turning back towards Rick. He slowly lifted the candle from his hand.
“Okay,
Allen. I’ll indulge you. If I don’t get laid tonight, you’ll find this
candle up your ass tomorrow.”
Rick grinned
over Joe’s temperment that he was used to for the last 25 years. “Well, you might want to give yourself a
little added insurance that you’ll get lucky tonight.”
“Such
as?” Joe asked with
a raised eyebrow.
“Such as………not
talking,” Rick calmly offered.
Joe shoved a
giggling Rick away from him. “You know,
you’ve got a lot of balls for someone with only one arm left!”
Rick left the
bus, followed by Viv. Behind Joe, Sav
was still laughing. Joe turned to
advance on him, but Sav feigned the beginnings of a sneeze which caused Joe to
hightail it off the bus.
Phil was slow
to get off the bus, wanting as much time away from irresistable sight of Angie
to think clearly. He decided that he
would take her somewhere nice for dinner tonight – alone – and talk. How that talk ended would determine whether
or not he’d be sleeping alone tonight.
As he got his
bag, he felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to look at Sav.
“You okay,
mate?”
“Yeah, just
doing some thinking,” Phil answered.
“Looks like Joe’s acting the way I used to.”
“Used
to?” Sav questioned. “Does this mean that your pursuit of Angie is
more honorable than Joe’s pursuit of Nina?”
Phil smiled
and regarded Sav. “Well, its been eleven days.
Eleven nights of shows with some very delicious looking women roaming
around backstage and…….nothing! I have
been sex-free.”
Sav
gulped. “Sex? What the fuck is that?”
“I think
someone needs to make a phone call!” Phil mused. “However, yours is just a flight away. And….if Joe does keep his mouth shut
and that damn candle lit, he may just succeed tonight. I have a much more difficult terrain to
plod.”
Sav slapped
him on the back. “Good luck, mate.”
Phil looked
out the window and spotted Angie getting off her bus. She was dressed in a tank top, denim jacket
and low rise, fitted track pants. Her
ass couldn’t look any more perfect.
Phil’s lustful
self was beginning to take over his sensible one.
For the first
time, Phil Collen needed luck!
Chapter 20
As soon as
Phil got off the bus, he intercepted Angie before she joined up with everyone
else.
“Aye luv, got
a minute?”
“Sure, what’s
up?”
“Listen, how
does a nice, quiet dinner together in some little corner restaurant sound? Tonight? Just you and I? Japanese, maybe?”
Angie didn’t
even have to think about it. “Yes, yes,
yes and…..absolutely! I love
Japanese. However, I should warn you
that………uh…..well, nevermind.”
Phil was
intrigued by her embarrassment and had to know what caused it. “What?
Tell me!”
Angie put a
hand on her hip and tried to stop her cheeks from coloring, but to no
avail. “I can’t!”
“Why
not?”
“Because…….you’ll
have the advantage, that’s why?”
Angie luv, I
promise….whatever it is, the secret is safe with me.”
Angie crossed
her arms and regarded him. “Alright,
fine,” she gave in. “I should warn you
that sushi and sake has, well…….kind of a weird effect on me.”
Phil raised a
naughty eyebrow. “Such as…….?”
Angie had a
feeling that Phil knew and was baiting her to further enjoy her
embarrassment. She decided not to let
him have the upper hand, but rather play him at his own game.
She put a hand
on his shoulder and drew her lips towards his ear.
“Such
as………they make me incredibly horny that I have no control over myself, that’s
what? So……you better watch yourself
tonight.”
Angie leaned
back and thought the look on Phil’s face was priceless. She coyly winked at him. “You pick the place,
I’ll be down in the lobby at
She hoisted
her bag over her shoulder and walked away from him, leaving Phil to stand there
with nothing but the enticing shape of her ass to hold him over until tonight.
“That
good, huh?”
Phil diverted
his eyes away from Angie’s backside and closed his gaping mouth to turn towards
Joe’s voice.
“Huh?”
Joe snapped
his fingers in Phil’s face. “Snap out of
it, Collen! Crikey, is that woman a
witch or what?”
Phil grinned
wide. “No, but she certainly is evil
in her own way. I’m taking her for
Japanese for dinner and hopefully a little English for dessert! Tonight’s it.
I can feel it.”
“Perfect!” Joe
exclaimed. “She rooms with Nina. I’ll have Malvin put us together. Sav can go infect Viv or Rick tonight. This way here, you can take Angie back to her
room and I’ll have Nina with me.”
“So, you and
Nina are on tonight?”
“I haven’t
asked her yet.”
“So…..what
makes you think she’ll say yes?”
Joe
shrugged. “Simple. “I’m Joe fucking Elliott, that’s what!
Chapter
21
Both bands discovered
a few fans waiting for them inside the hotel, although they did their best to
be sure that hotel they were staying at was as undisclosed as possible. Fortunately, there were no problems, no
weirdos, no stalkers, no woman thinkin she’s one of
the guys’ long-suffering wives or something!
After
appeasing the small crowd with some autographs, Malvin and Black ‘n Blue’s tour
manager swiftly got their respective bands checked in and began to pass out
room keys. Sav was the first to the
elevator, wanting nothing more than to take some cold medicine and pass out in
bed. Rick and Viv both had their cell
phones in their ears, checking in at home, as they entered the elevator as
well.
Randy and
Angie got on the elevator together, giving Phil a promising wink before the
doors closed. Chet and Seth headed to
the lounge to unwind with a drink. Joe
looked around for Nina when he didn’t see her get on an elevator.
“I saw her
head towards the lounge, Joe,” Phil said as he saw Joe’s eyes darting all over
the place. “If you’re gonna ask her out,
better make sure she’s nice and drunk first.”
Joe turned a
sarcastic face to Phil. “I don’t need
alcohol to convince her of anything, Phil.
Remember, I am now the possesser of of the mighty vanilla-mango candle!”
Joe then
covered his face with his hand. “I can’t fucking believe I said that!”
Phil stepped
on the elevator, then turned to Joe. “Well, if I see vanilla-mango scented smoke
billowing out from under your hotel door tonight, I’ll take that as a ‘do not
disturb’ sign. Good luck!”
Phil’s words
ended when the elevator doors closed.
Joe then headed for the lounge to find Nina.
Nina had
entered the lounge and her eyes immediately fell upon Seth and Chet, who were
standing at the other side of the bar talking to two very pretty young women
perched upon the bar stools. Jealousy
like a knife suddenly cut through her.
She knew that Seth threatened to find someone when he got into
She then
brushed it off, thinking that they were nothing but two fans, and ordered herself a melonball.
As she waited for her drink, she saw one of the two women put her hand
on Seth’s shoulder and pull him down so she could whisper something in his
ear. She then saw the expression on
Seth’s face in response to what she was saying.
His mouth was turned up and his eyes narrowed a bit. Nina assumed that this woman just
propositioned him.
She continued
to stare as the bartender put her drink on the counter. Then, Seth looked up and over at her,
catching her staring. He didn’t even
give her so much as an acknowledgement before he took the woman by the hand and
led her over to a corner booth, Chet joining him with the other woman.
Nina felt like
throwing the drink across the room when she turned and found herself almost
imbedded in Joe’s chest, nearly spilling her drink.
“Oh my God,
Joe….I….I didn’t hear you sneaking up behind me like that.”
“Just wanted
to make sure you didn’t get away,” Joe replied, flashing her
a trademark green eyed stare.
Nina gave him
a flirting look of her own. “And……just
where would I run off to?”
“Somewhere I
couldn’t find you,” Joe replied. “Aye, listen luv. Phil’s
taking your sister out to dinner tonight.
Since he and I are rooming together, I’m going to be alone. I was hoping you could keep me company. I’ll order us room service – whatever you
like - , maybe order a movie on satellite.”
Nina bit her
lip, absolutely flattered by Joe’s invitation.
“Sounds interesting,” she purred, taking a sip of her melonball. She then made a face. “Christ, how much frigging Midori did they
put in this? I like sweet things, but
this is too much.”
“Is that a
melonball?”Joe asked.
“Yeah, I like
fruit based drinks. They’re refreshing.”
Joe felt like
an idiot, but he decided to go for it.
“So……perhaps you like……mango?”
Nina’s eyes
widened a bit. “Oooooh, I love
mango! Why?”
“Surprise,”
Joe answered. “But, you’ll only find out
what it is if you say yes to tonight.”
Nina quickly
thought about Seth in the booth with that woman and what she might be doing to
him later, then looked up at Joe with a seductive
grin.
“Yes.”
Chapter
22
Phil was down
in the lobby by
Her long, bare
legs were covered by a mid-thigh length, blood red skirt and a pair of strappy
heels that criss-crossed halfway up her calf.
A black, hankerchief halter top covered her sleek upper half. In truth, she had more exposed skin than she
had clothing, but she looked anything but trashy.
Phil
approached her as his eyes ran over every long, silky inch of her. “I’m here.”
“Youre
late.”
“Five
minutes!” Phil defended, before noticing the front of her halter. It had red stitching that matched the color
of her skirt. The stitching spelled out
something in Japanese. Angie saw where
his eyes went.
“Thought it
would be appropriate for tonight,” she said.
“What does it
mean?”
“Don’t
know. Maybe we can get a waiter to
translate it,” she mused.
Phil then held
out his arm. “Shall we?”
Angie looped
her arm through his. “I’m all yours.”
“We’ll see,”
Phil leered back.
Several hours
later, Phil and Angie finished up their meal at Choshi’s on
“Okay, I know
I said I don’t drink, but I just can’t pass up sake when I have Japanese.”
Phil cocked an
eyebrow. “Especially
since it turns you into a randy woman!”
“Actually, I
feel fine,” Angie announced. “Not
affected by the sake at all. Or the sushi, for that matter, which was delicious. No, I wanted to remain perfectly sober and
have all my wits tonight.”
Phil reached
over and ran his finger up her forearm. “Any specific reason?”
Angie had been
thinking of this all afternoon. Hell,
she’s been considering it since Phil approached her at the Icon awards. They’ve been on the road with each other for
over a month and have been talking almost every day for two months prior. She spent many long busrides with him playing
their guitars or just talking more. She
felt as if she knew everything about this man.
But…..she was curious about one more thing.
“Well,” she
began. “I’m assuming that the night
isn’t going to end when we leave this restaurant. Whatever happens afterwards, I want it to be its because of my own free will and not the sake.”
Just as every
nerve in Phil’s body came alive, the waitress returned with his credit card and
receipt. He then suddenly remembered
something and tapped her arm.
“Excuse me,
miss. Could you translate the stitching
on my lady’s top?”
Angie stood up
so the young, Japanese waitress could read the stitching on her halter. After a few moments, the girl straightened up
and grinned at Angie.
“It says…..’a person’s destiny is written in stone. If you want it to happen sooner, re-write it
yourself.”
When the
waitress left, Phil stood up and joined Angie by her side.
“What do you
think of that, luv?”
Angie looked
deep in Phil’s eyes and took his hand.
“I say…..lets start on chapter one.”
Chapter
23
Phil pushed
the ‘up’ button as the elevator doors opened in the hotel lobby. As he stepped inside, his hand took Angie’s
to pull her in. They had remained
virtually quiet the entire cab ride back to the hotel. However, when the doors closed, they
unleashed themselves on each other.
Angie wrapped
her arms around Phil’s neck and had his back pressed up against the wall while
her barely clad body covered his front.
Their mouths fused in a kiss that was full of weeks of pent-up
frustration and fueled by the aphrodisiac effects of the sushi!
Phil couldn’t
touch enough of her exposed skin. Her
arms, her bare back, the backs of her thighs – anywhere and everywhere that
Angie allowed. In her mind, no access
was denied.
“Angie,
dammit!” he gasped as he trailed his mouth from hers to her neck, breathing in
the very essence of her as his hand trailed up the back of her thigh under the
hem of her skirt. “God, I don’t think
we’re gonna make it to the room.”
Angie’s hand’s
disappeared up the back of Phil’s black, silk buttoned down shirt, dragging her
sharp nails lightly over his tight skin.
She couldn’t believe that he felt even better than he looked.
“We better
make it,” Abby replied huskily as she bit Phil’s earlobe. “Even though doing it an elevator has a
‘Fatal Attraction’ appeal to it, I’d rather have you behind doors that won’t
suddenly open.”
Phil felt her
teeth on his ear and nuzzled her neck to lightly bite her shoulder as his hand
made it up her skirt to grab her…….
“Fucking hell,
Angie,” he growled. “Tell me you don’t
have any panties on!”
Angie pushed
away from him with a sinister smile, turned around and teasingly lifted her
skirt to reveal a black thong outlining her perfectly shaped bottom.
“God dammit,
woman,” Phil murmured as he pushed her towards the wall and had her place both
hands on the panel. He then ran his own
hands over her lucious bare bottom.
“C’mon, Ange, lets just ride the elevator up and down. If I don’t do you now, like this, I’m gonna
die!”
Angie admitted
that she was absolutely turned out by the sheer naughtiness of the moment. She then realized that Phil Collen didn’t
seem to be a man who seduced a woman with wine, roses and a lit fireplace
before being carried off to a large velvet bed to make love to her. He was more a ‘pull-you-in-a-dark-alley-and-fuck-your-brains-out’
kind of guy. Having fast and furious sex
in a traveling elevator seemed to be more his element. And, she happily
obliged.
He hand
reached over to the panel as they neared their floor and pushed the button for
the 12th floor – 6 more floors up.
She then looked over her shoulder at Phil.
“Good thing
for you that I had just enough sake,” she said. “Now…..you were saying?”
“I wasn’t
saying anything, Miss Angie,” Phil said as he undid his trousers. “Time for talk later. I have something else in mind right now!”
He pulled his
trousers down then, with a delicious grin on his face, pulled Angie’s thong
over to the side. His hands came up
under her hankerchief halter until they found her breasts. Both Phil and Angie groaned at the same time
upon the feel.
“Phil,
please………” she begged. “Please…………….ahhhhhh!”
Phil slammed
inside of her and was immediately engulfed with her slick, hot softness. He leaned forward and placed his forehead
against her bare back.
“Fuck,
Angie! Crikey, you feel amazing!”
Angie’s hands
slid down the elevator panel to hold onto the bar along the center. She had to hold onto something else her knees
would collapse from the feel of this man, whom she’d been worshipping for
years, thrusting in and out of her body.
“Phil……..yeah……oh
yeah, that’s it! Harder. Oh, shit, there’s the bell! Faster!”
Phil looked at
the panel and saw that the bell for the 12th floor rang and knew
that the doors would open. He quickly
punched the button for the lobby, hoping that no one would stop the elevator on
its descent all the way back down.
“Got more time
luv,” Phil panted as he slid his body in and out. “Still want me to go faster…….?”
“Yes!!!!”
Phil pulled
Angie up so her back was almost flat against his front and increased his
tempo. Angie bucked her body backwards,
meeting his every frantic thrust. Angie
threw her right arm back to hook around Phil’s neck as she felt her body reach
its peak.
“Phil! Phil!
Oh my God! Yes! Yes!”
“Yeah,
Angie do it! Fuck,
the bell!”
The bell rang as the elevator reached the lobby and Phil
immediately punched the button for the 6th floor then grasped Angie
tight as he felt himself about to climax.
“Bloody
fucking hell…….yeah!!!”
The lovers
culminated their wild ride in the elevator in mutual satisfaction. Both leaned against the wall to catch their
breath.
“Damn, that
was two close calls,” Phil muttered with a chuckle.
“I would’ve
died if those doors opened,” Angie said with labored breath.
“Speaking of
which, here’s our floor,” Phil said.
“C’mon, lets get in bed and do this again
horizontally.”
As Phil and
Angie straightened themselves up, the elevator doors opened to their
floor. They both stepped out and Angie
immediately made a face as if she swallowed a lemon.
“What is that
smell?”
Phil sniffed a
bit before breaking out into a hearty laugh.
“Mango!”
Chapter
24
As Phil and
Angie got closer to Joe’s hotel room door, the sickeningly sweet smell of
mango, mixed with a hint of vanilla, became stronger and stronger. Suddenly, another room door opened and Rick
came out and spotted Phil and Angie covering their mouths.
“What the hell
was that you gave Joe – an atomic candle?” Phil asked.
Rick made a
sheepish face. “Hmmm, must’ve been one
of those fast burning ones. Probably not good for enclosed spaces.”
Then, Joe’s
door suddenly opened. When Rick saw the
disgusted look on his face, he backed inside his room and shut the door.
“You can’t
hide forever, Allen,” Joe fumed, as a cloud of vanilla-mango wafted behind him
in the room. Angie peeked in with wide
eyes.
“Christ Joe,
what are you doing in there? Performing
some sacrificial ritual? And…..where’s
my sister?”
“Out on the
balcony getting some much needed air,” Joe shot back. “Allen is dead! As soon as the tour’s
over.”
“How
thoughtful of you to extend his life so he can finish the shows,” Phil added.
“Hmm, guess
your romance plans went out the window, huh Joe?” Angie said.
“Just because
I lit Mount St. Mango doesn’t mean that I was trying to romance your sister.”
“Oh, glad you
cleared that up, because you seem about as much as the ‘lit candle type’ as
Phil seems to be……….”
Angie gave
Phil a secret, seductive look about what they just shared in the elevator.
“The canopy
bed type, maybe?” Joe finished for her.
Angie’s eyes
widened. “Exactly! No way can I picture Phil in one of those
romance novel scenes. No, Phil seems to
be more the………..elevator type of guy.
See you in the room.”
Angie winked
at Joe, then Phil, then headed to her room. Phil looked at Joe.
“Well, guess
that’s my cue. Good luck, mate.”
Before
Phil turned Joe called out. “Aye Collen?”
“Yeah?”
“Your fly’s
open, mate.”
Phil looked
down and smiled. “So it is! Well, no sense in zipping it up. Nighty night!”
Joe watched
Phil disappear into Angie and Nina’s room.
He left his room door open a bit to air it out then saw Nina come in
from the balcony. Joe felt like an
absolute idiot at the moment, but he wouldn’t show it.
“Okay,
luv?”
Nina waved her
hand in front of her face. “Yeah, I’m
fine. I didn’t think that candle would
burn so strong.”
“Me
too. Thought it would be a nice
touch.”
She cocked her
head at him. “Funny, Joe. You just don’t seem the candle type.”
“Hmm, your
sister said the same thing. Her and Phil were out in the hallway on their way back. They uh….just went into the room.”
Nina bit her
lip. “Guess I won’t be going in there
for a while – if at all.”
Joe saw the
opportunity to have Nina here for the night and even in bed. “Well, you could…….”
Just then Nina
looked up and out into the hall through the open door. She saw Seth standing there with his arm
around the young woman from the bar.
“What’s that
fruity smell?” Seth asked.
Joe saw the
look on Nina’s face upon seeing Seth with another woman and walked over to the
door. “Just a candle
gone mad. Have a good night,
mate.”
Joe slowly
closed the door to see Nina take a seat on the couch, a somber look on her
face. He’d been picking up on little
signs and signals these past few weeks and was slowly coming to a conclusion of
his own.
“Listen,
Nina. Lets
watch the movie. By then the room should
be aired out. Since I think your sister
and Phil won’t be budging from that room, I’ll just stay in Malvin’s room and
you can stay here.”
Nina looked at
him with resolve. “No, Joe. That’s okay.
You can stay here. I’ll just
crash on the couch.”
Joe joined her
on the couch. “No, I’ll take the
couch. No arguments. Are you okay?”
“Why wouldn’t
I be?”
Joe raised one
eyebrow. “Seth,
maybe?”
Nina was
caught off-guard and went for the remote.
“Seth and I have been through for a while. I’m completely over him. He can screw whoever he wants. Now……lets watch this movie.”
Nina snuggled
against Joe and he couldn’t help but put his arm around her, even if he knew
shy was lying through her teeth.
Chapter
25
Nina opened
her eyes the following morning to find herself snuggled under the covers of a
hotel bed. She turned her head upon
hearing deep, even breathing behind her.
On the couch, Joe
laid on his back, one arm thrown over his head, one long leg bent upon the
floor. His tall frame dwarfed the
standard hotel sized couch, which caused her to smile. All she remembered of last night was settling
with him to watch the movie after seeing Seth in the hallway with that
woman. As much as it burned her up, she
tried hard not to show it. She only
hoped that she didn’t offend Joe because of it.
She looked at
the clock and saw that it wasn’t even
“Oh, sorry Joe, didn’t mean to wake you. I just called the room to see if those two
were decent so I go shower and change, but there was no answer.”
“Perhaps
they’re in the shower together,” Joe said with a groggy
morning voice. He sat up, stretched out
his stiff joints and winced as he grabbed his right shoulder.
“Damn shoulder
still hurts,” he grumbled. He then
looked on the floor and saw that Phil’s overnight bag was missing. “Hmm, he didn’t take with him last night.”
“What?” Nina
asked.
“Oh,
nothing. I just saw Phil’s overnight bag gone. Maybe he snuck in here earlier and took
it. If there’s no answer in your room,
they’re probably already up and out.
That is…if your sister can walk!”
Nina rolled
her eyes and blushed. “Joe, stop! What is Phil…..some sort of sex fiend or
something?”
Joe
chuckled. “Oh, you don’t know Phil! You think I’m bad……he’s worse!”
“Hmm, I
wouldn’t know exactly how bad you are,” Nina teased.
“Well, you
didn’t give me a chance. You fell asleep
on my shoulder halfway through the movie.
I just let you stay there till the movie was over then I put you in
bed.”
“I’m sorry
about that Joe. Guess I was more
fatigued than I thought.”
Joe raised an
eyebrow. “Sure it wasn’t something
else?” He wanted to get her to admit
that she was still hung up on Seth.
Nina, however,
refused to give in, willing herself to believe that she had no feelings left
for him. “No, I’m sure that was it. Guess that candle had a lulling affect to it
as well.”
Joe got up and
rubbed his eyes. “Do not mention
that candle again,” he huffed. “The only
time I’ll ever light that thing again is to shove it up Allen’s arse.”
Nina laughed
as she put her shoes on. “Tell ya what,
big Joe. Since they’re out of the room,
how’s about I go get showered and changed and treat you to breakfast?”
“You’re
on! I’m sure everyone else is still
asleep, Sav especially. We’ll have no
one to bother us.”
A half hour
later Nina and Joe entered the dining room to find Phil and Angie sitting at a
table dressed in workout clothes, their skin slightly flushed, dining on an
unappetizing breakfast consisting of egg whites, fruit salad and green
tea. Phil saw them enter and picked up
his tea cup to salute them.
“Well, top of
the morning to the two of you,” he exuberantly said. “Nothing like a solid 5
miles on the treadmill following a passionate night to get the appetite up.”
“Mmm, hmm,”
Angie agreed. “I could go another
five miles.”
Phil snuggled
her ear. “In or
out of bed, luv?”
Angie giggled,
which caused Joe to turn. “C’mon, Nina. Lets go find a corner diner or something. This dining room is full.”
“Yep, they’re
full of it, alright,” Nina agreed with a grin.”
As Phil saw
the two of them leave, he called out. “Aye! Where ya
going? The fruit salad is nice and fresh……especially
the mango!”
Phil was
rewarded with a package of coffee filters aimed right at his head.
Chapter
26
April 15th
How things
have changed in a week!
Sav’s cold got
better, while Joe’s shoulder got worse.
It turned out to be a torn rotator cuff that would need surgery to
repair. Joe kept his arm in a sling when
he wasn’t performing so not to aggravate it further before his scheduled
surgery date the first week of May. He
was still proceeding with caution with Nina. He had a feeling that her feelings
for Seth were not as forgotten as she was leading him to believe and didn’t
want her to get into anything with him for the wrong reasons. He just needed for Nina to realize that. Joe had no idea that he had become so cavalier
over the past week.
Phil was awaiting Rory at
the airport who was going to be traveling with him for the next 6 days,
starting with tonight’s show in
And now Phil
was anxious over introducing Rory to Angie.
Rory had already seen him go through two wives and Phil wanted him to
understand that Angie just wasn’t some fling to bide his time on the tour.
Even though
Phil has made his share of mistakes with women in the past, he needed a
starting point to begin making amends.
In the past, he had always been driven by lust first, then
let the balance of the relationship build off of that.
True, Angie
was a young, beautiful, sexy, woman, but Phil headed off a physical
relationship long enough to get to know her other attributes first and found
himself attracted to those from the get-go.
Her amazing talent, strength, independence and wit drew him in first,
which only heightened their physical relationship once it happened. For the first time in a very long time, Phil
felt as if he found the total package with Angie.
And it was
causing him to fall in love with her.
On the ride
back from the airport, Phil got caught up with his son’s life.
“So……you staying out of trouble in school?”
Rory sat next
to him, slouched down in his seat. “Yes
dad, I am,” he answered, almost agitated.
Phil raised an
eyebrow at him. “Not here even a half
hour and already developing an attitude.
I suggest you lose it.”
“Sorry. I just
don’t want to talk about school and stuff.
I’d rather hear what’s been happening on tour. Meet any hot babes?”
Phil
smirked. “Hmm, you could say
that. As a matter of
fact, one very special one in particular. She’s the guitarist for our opening act.”
Rory gave his
father a horrified face. “What? A chick guitarist? What is she, a dike or something?”
Phil smacked
his son across the back of his head.
“Watch your mouth! No, she’s not
a dike! If she was, she wouldn’t be with
me.”
“Okay
then…..bi-sexual?”
Phil gave Rory
an evil look. “You want another smack?”
“No,” he
drawled out. “Hmm, can’t wait to see
what this one looks like.”
“Oh, I think
you may be pleasantly surprised. C’mon,
we’re here.”
The car pulled
up at the 1st Mariner Arena where the band was about to start
soundcheck. The car took off back to the
hotel to drop off Rory’s luggage as he and Phil went inside the arena. The rest of the Leps hadn’t arrived yet, as
Black ‘n Blue were just finishing up their sound
check.
Rory was busy
looking around so he didn’t see his father wave Angie off the stage to come
down. When he finally turned around to
see Angie walking towards him and his father, his eyes bugged and his mouth
dropped. No doubt who’s
son he was!
“Angie luv,
this is my son Rory. He’s gonna be with
me for the next 6 days. Rory, this is
Angie Black. She’s the guitarst for
Black ‘n Blue, our opening act.”
Angie held out
her hand to the precocious teenager.
“Well Rory, its nice to finally meet you. Your father has told me a great deal about
you.”
Rory’s thirteen
year old eyes couldn’t control themselves from traveling up and down Angie’s
long, lean body. Phil noticed this out
of the corner of his eye and nudged him.
“Uh, nice to
meet you,” Rory finally said, shaking her hand.
“Wow, I didn’t think female guitarists were such babes.”
Angie stifled
a laugh and even blushed a bit seeing so much of Phil in his son.
“Excuse me, lad?” Phil scolded him.
“Its okay,” Angie said.
“Well, listen, let me finish up here and I’ll hang here during your
sound check. Maybe we can all have lunch
afterwards.”
“Sounds
brilliant, luv,” Phil said, giving her a chaste peck on the cheek. When she walked away, Rory spoke up.”
“Holy
crap, dad! Are you banging her!”
Phil pulled
his son aside by the back of his shirt.
“Rory James! You better put a
tight lid on that mouth of yours and watch what you say.”
“Sorry,
sorry,” Rory groaned. “So……are you?”
“That…is
none of your business!”
Rory smirked
with victory. “I’ll take that as a
yes. So…..does she have a much younger
sister?”
“Well, yes,
but only a year or two younger. She’s
the lead singer, up there on stage with the blonde hair. Her name is Nina.”
Rory focused
on Nina on stage and whistled. “Damn,
she’s hot too. Thinks she likes much
younger men?”
“Forget it,
Romeo. Anyway, Uncle Joe has been after
her from day one.”
Rory made a
face. “Uncle Joe! He’s too old for her! Then again, aren’t you too old for Angie.”
Phil glared at
him, causing Rory to roll his eyes. “I
know, I know…..watch my mouth!”
Chapter
27
After
soundchecks were completed for both bands, Phil decided to take Angie and Rory
to some quiet, out of the way place so they could all talk and get to know each
other.
Rory waited
for his father as the other band members came off the stage first. Sav was the first to see him.
“Aye there
mate,” Sav said, slapping Rory’s open hand for a shake. “How long you here with
us?”
“Five or six
days,” Rory replied. He then glanced
over at Angie who had returned to the arena after going back to the hotel to
change. “Then again, I kinda wish I was
staying longer.”
Sav followed
Rory’s eyes to Angie, then back. “Easy there, lad.
Don’t go hitting on your father’s woman.”
“Oh, I’m
not. She’s just some great eye candy.”
“Yeah, your
dad certainly can pick’em,” Sav said.
Viv and Rick
suddenly joined them. “Aye kiddo,” Rick
said. “Out of school for the spring
break, I see.”
“Man, I can’t
wait till school’s over,” Rory huffed. “All my teachers suck, except for my
geography teacher. She wears short
skirts a lot.”
Viv leaned his
head back and laughed. “You are
your father’s son! So, I see that Angie
came back. Your dad
taking the two of you out for lunch?”
“Yeah.
Wish that sister of hers was coming.
Man, they are both so hot.
And…how did uncle Joe wind up with the other
one?”
Sav, Viv and
Rick laughed together. “Well…..he hasn’t
really wound up with her officially,” Sav said.
“Yeah, you
could stay that they’re still experiencing technical problems,” Viv
added with a smirk.
Rory’s
‘Collen’ mind quickly went to work.
“What’s the matter, uncle Joe can’t get it up or something?”
The guys
couldn’t resist, but they managed. “More
like the ‘or something’” Rick said.
“Some guys just aren’t meant to be romantic!”
“There’s my
buddy!” Joe called out from behind upon seeing Rory. “Finally, someone who’s on
my mental wavelength.”
“Was that some
sly insult?” Sav asked.
“No, just a
direct one,” Joe replied.
“We were just
filling Rory in on all the fun he’s been missing,” Viv added with a smirk. “He’s particularly interested in you and his
father chasing after the lovely Black sisters.”
“However,
Phil’s no longer chasing,” Rick added. “You on the other
hand have some catching up to do, Joe.”
“Oh don’t be
so hard on Jo,” Sav mused. “Remember,
natural charm tends to fade a bit over the years.”
Joe glared at
his three mates. “Don’t the three of you
have some children to go and call?”
“That’s our
cue,” Sav said. “I’m gonna go rest up
before tonight.”
“Viv and I are
going for Thai,” Rick said. “Wanna join
us Joe?”
“Afraid I
can’t. Nina and I are going CD
shopping.”
Rick slapped
Joe on the back. “Oooooooh, now that’ll
romance her pants off for sure. Of course, you’re the one who
practically wets his pants in a CD store.”
“You know
Allen,” Joe said with an evil glare.
“Between that stupid candle and your mouth, you’re getting closer to me
granting your death wish!”
“Candle?” Rory asked.
“Well……” Rick
began.
“Don’t you
even dare!” Joe warned.
“Sorry,” Rick
said, as he and Viv turned to leave. He
bent down to Rory and whispered in his ear.
“I’ll tell ya another time.”
Phil then came
over with Angie. “Ready,
son?”
His eyes went
right to Angie. “Oh,
yeah!”
When Rory
turned, he almost ran smack into Nina who was coming to get Joe. Rory’s face was practically in her
chest. Once he got past the view and
eyed her up and down in her skinny tank, low rise terry cloth sweats and mass
of wild, dirty blonde hair, he felt his tongue get tied again.
Joe put a hand
on his shoulder and pulled him back. “This is too much for a thirteen year old to
handle,” Joe said. “Nina, this is Phil’s
son Rory. He’ll be traveling with us for
the week.”
Nina put her
hand out. “How are you Rory?”
Rory shook her
hand and grinned. “In
heaven!”
Phil grabbed
him by the back of his
t-shirt. “Okay, time to douse the
hormone train. Lets
go to lunch and get you some ice water.”
Chapter
28
Joe and Nina
entered Flashback – an antique/junk store on South Broadway in downtown
He and Nina
casually perused until the owner came over to him. He was a late 40-ish man who had one too many
tattoos, not to mention one too many extra pounds around his expansive middle
that was covered by a Grateful Dead t-shirt.
“If you’re
looking for anything particular, then I could maybe point the way,” the man
said. “Nothing is really in any kind of
alphabetical order.”
Joe couldn’t
take his eyes off the CD’s. “Oh, that’s
okay, mate. I could stay here all day
until I looked at each and every one of these.”
“You
from
“Born
there, but live in
The man looked
at Nina who had already made her way down to a bin of vinyl albums. “Wife?”
Joe looked
horrified. “No! Already had one of those. We’re just friends – so far.”
The man
continued to look at Nina with a lascivious leer. “No way can you be ‘just friends’ with a
sweet ass like that. Why
I’d……..hey….wait a minute. I…..think I
recognize you. You in
a band?”
Joe leaned in
a bit and whispered. “Def Leppard.”
“Oh, fucking
cool!” he replied, a little exuberantly.
“You’re the singer, right? Sorry,
forgot your name.”
“Its Joe. Joe
Elliott.”
“Good to meet
ya, man. You’re playing at the arena
tonight, right?”
“Yep.
Just finished sound check and now I plan on spending an hour or so
expanding my own collection at home.”
“Hey…..wait
just a minute. I’ll be right back.”
The man
disappeared into a back room for a moment then came back out with a wooden milk
crate crammed with CD’s. He motioned Joe
over.
“I keep these
for very discriminating customers. Since
you know your music, perhaps you’ll find something in here. Take your time.”
Joe was in his
glory. “Thanks mate.”
Joe spent a
good 20 minutes rifling through the CD’s and had set aside 5 that he had to
have. He gathered his five treasures
then realized that he hadn’t seen nor heard from Nina.
Feeling bad
for ignoring her due to his CD obsession, he went in search of her. He found her on her knees sifting through a
crate full of old albums resting on the floor.
Joe halted a bit when he saw her white satin thong peek out from above
the tops of her low rise sweats. He
groaned as he well trained eyes followed the center piece of satin all the way
down until it disappeared under her sweats.
The owner was
right. She did have a sweet ass! But, he was still hesitant to be the one to
make the first move. He wanted to be
sure that Nina dealt with her feelings for Seth first and not just jump into
something just to make him jealous.
This
knight-in-shining-armor behaviour was definitely not Joe’s forte.
“Albums,
eh? You don’t seem like the vinyl type.”
Nina turned
around to see Joe standing behind her and straightened up, clutching an album
in her hand.
“Well, you
caught me,” she confessed, almost blushingly.
“This may be silly to you, but I have a fondness for classic movie
soundtracks. I can’t believe I found
this one.”
Joe looked at
the album in her hand. It was the
soundtrack from Finian’s Rainbow. “Ah, a
Fred Astaire fan, I see. Or…Petula Clark?”
“Well, neither
actually. I just…….well, this movie has
a special meaning to me. One night……I
woke up not feeling too well. I made
some tea and watched tv for a bit. There wasn’t much on at
Joe took it
out of her hands. “Then you shall,” he
said.
“No, Joe…..I
don’t want you paying…..”
“I insist,”
Joe said, cutting her off. “Especially,
since it means so much to you.”
Nina coyly
smiled. “Thanks Joe. You’re really sweet.”
Joe looked
almost disgusted. “Now that’s
something I’ve never been called before!”
Nina’s eyes
swept him appreciatively. “First time for everything.”
Joe put aside
his chivalrous thoughts for a moment as he took in the inviting look on her
face before dropping his gaze to her bottom lip, which was seductively caught
between her teeth. He couldn’t stop
himself from leaning down to kiss her.
He pulled away
then sunk his eyes into hers. “I don’t
know how I went so long without doing that again.”
“Me neither,”
Nina purred.
“I guess I was
just leaving the moves up to you. I’ve
been out of a relationship for a while.
You haven’t.”
“Joe, I told
you, its……its been…….over for a while between Seth and
I.”
“You
sure?”
Nina nodded
with a hint of uncertainty. “C’mon, lets……go back to the room.”
Joe grinned
over the prospect of finally having this woman, but not without a hint of
reservation. He stacked his CD’s and
Nina’s album on the counter and paid for everthing. He slung his arm around Nina’s shoulder and
she rewarded him for the album with another kiss. Joe then turned to the owner.
“Thanks again
for all your help mate.”
“My pleasure
Joe,” he replied before leaning in to whisper, “guess you two are no longer ‘just
friends’!”
Chapter
29
Phil, Angie
and Rory returned to the hotel after a pleasant lunch together. Angie gave Phil a peck on the cheek before
she headed up to her room to rest up before the show tonight. She then looked at Rory.
“See you at
the show tonight, kiddo.”
“Don’t I get a
kiss too?” Rory asked.
Phil looked
audaciously at his son, who was way too much like him. “Rory…..”
“Oh sure, why
not,” Angie said as she bent down. When
she did, Rory got an eyeful of cleavage as she planted one one his cheek. She straightened up and winked at him before
disappearing into the elevator.
An enamored
Rory looked at his father. “Man, dad, it
would be a waste if you aren’t banging her!”
“Okay, that’s
enough young man,” Phil said, yanking him by the scruff of the neck. “I will not have you talking like that about
her.”
“Damn, can’t I
have any fun?” Rory huffed. “I get
yelled at enough by my teachers. I
thought I could let loose while on tour with you.”
“Not if your’e
disrespectful or nosing around in my sex life,” Phil said.
“Fine, I’ll
settle for a comic book or two from the gift shop.”
“Deal.”
As Rory
perused the comics, Phil’s eyes lustily glanced at the cellophaned covered
issues of Penthouse and Hustler. Rory
saw where his father was looking.
“Get it
dad! Then give it to me when you’re
done.”
“Forget it,”
Phil quickly said, darting his eyes away from the natural temptation. “So….what do you think of Angie?”
Rory opened a
Green Lantern comic and pretended to read.
“Well, she’s not a bimbo.”
“Praise,
indeed!” Phil retorted.
“I think she’s
cool. Gorgeous. Great body. Nice tits.”
Phil cradled
his head. “Why do I even bother,” he
murmured to himself. “I mean……other than
how she looks!”
“Well, you
didn’t specify that,” Rory non-chalantly said as he grabbed another comic. He knew his father really liked Angie and was
having a bit of fun with him. “Like I
said….she isn’t a bimbo. She actually
has a brain. Mature, even for you. She’s in her own band, so she doesn’t need to
hang on you for your money or fame.”
Phil raised an
eyebrow over his son’s astuteness. Rory
had seen him go through two failed marriages, not to mention a posse of
assorted other young beauties in between – not to mention during! It was obvious that he knew which type of
woman his father should avoid.
“Well, I’m
glad you like her because I think she’s awfully special.”
Rory looked at
his father suspiciously. “Wasn’t mom and
Anita special too?”
God he was
more astute than he thought!
“Of course
they were, Rory. Its
just…..both marriages just happened at bad times and for wrong reasons.”
“So….the time
and reasons are right now?”
“So far, they
are,” Phil replied. “Don’t get me wrong
– Angie and I aren’t ready to walk down the aisle or anything. Its just……I’ve finally learned to take it
slow and not jump into anything serious just because I’m lonely or…..”
“…….horny?”
Phil gave him
a stern look before continuing. “I’m
learning patience. And, to look at a
woman not just for what she looks like on the outside, but her other qualities
that are just as important.”
“Yeah, well
lucky for you she’s a total babe!”
Phil
smirked. “Yeah, she is. So……decide what you want?”
“Hmm, what I
really want is a Manga comic. I love
that Japanese anime stuff.”
“Aren’t they a
bit racy?”
“Yeah,
but not as bad as……..Hustler!”
“Touche’,” Phil said.
“Tell you what, you pick out two clean comics and I’ll forego Hustler
for………here, this guitar magazine.”
“Alright,”
Rory dejectedly said. He took two comics
as Phil took the guitar mag.
Maybe he can
talk Malvin into sneaking him the Hustler later!
Chapter
30
Joe and Nina
walked back into the hotel hand in hand, both knowing what they’d be doing as
soon as the hotel room closed behind him.
Joe pushed the
elevator button and gave her a kiss on the forehead before handing her his room
key. “Here. I’m rooming alone tonight since Phil’s
rooming with Rory. I’m gonna go put an
order in for something to nosh on. Be
right up.”
Don’t be too
long, big Joe,” Nina said before stepping on the elevator.
Joe felt his
arrogant male come to life as he couldn’t wait to show Nina just how much he
lived up to that name!
As Joe headed
towards the dining room, he ran into Phil and Rory coming from the gift
shop. He grinned and folded his arms.
“And did the
happy threesome have a good time at lunch?”
“Went very
well,” Phil said. “At
least, when my son wasn’t salivating all over Angie.”
“What do you
expect?” Joe said. “Look who’s sperm he sprouted up from!”
Rory looked
around the lobby. “Hey uncle Joe, weren’t you with Nina this afternoon?”
“Yep.
Went to the CD store. She actually had a good time.”
“She
was probably being nice,” Phil snided.
Rory was still
looking. “So…….where is she? She had on those hot looking sweatpants and I
could swear I saw a thong under them.”
Joe
smirked. “You know, Phil, if he’s this
bad at 13, you’re going to have to leash him by the time he’s 15.”
“Rory, mind
your business,” Phil scolded. “C’mon, lets go back to our room and chill out. We’ve got a long night tonight.”
Phil headed
towards the elevator, but not before Rory whispered to Joe.
“Let me know
if you score with blondie!”
“Rory!” Phil bellowed.
Rory rolled
his eyes and huffed. “All that soy gives
him super hearing powers!” he said before joining his father on the elevator.
Joe placed an
order for some sex food – fruit, cheese and crackers and some small
finger sandwiches – before heading to the elevator. When the doors opened, he was surprised to
see Angie come out.
“Aye luv,” Joe
said.
“Oh, hi Joe,”
Angie replied. “I’ve got a horrible
sinus headache. Hope the gift shop has
some nasal spray. Um…..is Nina with
you?”
Joe motioned
his eyes upward. “She’s waiting for
me….upstairs.”
“Ah, I see,”
she said before seeing his bag of purchases. “I see you hit the jackpot.”
“I never leave
a CD shop empty handed. And your sister
nabbed quite a find too.”
“Really?
What?”
“The
soundtrack to uh…..what was the name of that musical…..oh, Finian’s
Rainbow. On vinyl. Said the movie had a
special meaning to her.”
Angie’s
eyebrows lifted with remembrance. “Ah,
yes.”
Joe was
curious. “What?”
Angie bit her
lip. “Well……you see…..it has to do
with…..”
Joe caught on
instantly. “Does it have something to do
with Seth?”
Angie
reluctantly nodded her head. “I’m…I’m
sorry, Joe. You see, that was the movie
that they stayed up all night and watched together after they……..well, it was
their first night – together, know what I mean?”
Joe felt
slighted for only a moment. “Yes, I
do. Angie, she still loves him, doesn’t
she?”
“I’m afraid
so, but she’s too stubborn. I know the
two of you have been pretty close since the tour started, but……..”
“…….but you
think that she’s just trying to take her mind of Seth or even make him
jealous,” Joe finished for her.
Angie tried to
make him feel better. “Hey,
who better to make your ex-boyfriend jealous than with Joe Elliott?”
Joe thought a
bit, then smirked.
“True! Hmm, maybe a little shove
is needed to get them back together.”
“You….you’d do
that?”
“Sure. I don’t want a woman to be with me while her
heart is somewhere else. Its not fair to either of us.”
“You have a
plan?”
Joe’s devious
mind worked and a wide smiled deepened his trademark dimples.
“I think I
do!”
Chapter
31
Angie went
back up to her room after getting some medication for her sinus headache. She saw that her room door was ajar and
thought that maybe Nina came back.
“Sis…..you
in here?”
“No, but will
you settle for me?” Phil suddenly said, grabbing her from behind the door.
Angie first
shrieked, then relaxed when she realized it was
Phil. “Hey sexy,” she purred, reaching
her hand to the back of his head and giving him a kiss. “I thought you and Rory were safe and snug in
your room till the show.”
“Well, he’s engrossed
in his new comic book, so I thought I’d sneak over here for a quickie since
your sister’s with Joe in his room.”
“Hmmm, not
sure what the outcome of that will be,” Angie said. “Joe sort of knows that Nina still has
feelings for Seth. I wouldn’t be
surprised if he’s the one to put a plan into motion to get those two back
together.”
“You know,
enough about Joe and everyone else,” Phil said, pulling her towards the
bathroom.. “Lets go do it against the vanity!”
“Uh, not that
I’m complaining Phil, but….didn’t we already do it that way?”
Phil encircled
her waist and hoisted her up onto the vanity.
Angie instinctively wrapped her legs around his waist.
“Yes, we did,”
Phil replied with a naughty gleam in his eye.
“And, if my memory serves right, you are correct. I didn’t give you anything to complain
about! I just love watching us in the
mirror.”
“You’re such a
pig!” Angie mused
They began to
furiously kiss and grope each other before Phil began to slide her sweatpants
off. Angie yelped a bit at the feeling
of the cool, porcelain vanity on her bare tush.
Phil’s hand then slid up the inside length of Angie’s long, silky leg
until he came in contact with exquiste heat and…….
“God Almighty,
Ange!” he hissed into her mouth. “You
are soooo ready for me.”
Angie moved
against Phil’s hand as she worked on pulling his track pants down. “Then what are you waiting for? Give it to me, hot stuff!”
Phil grinned,
absolutely loving how fun their sex life is, before pushing his way inside
her. He anchored Angie to him with his
arms around her waist and helped her to balance on the vanity while she met his
thrusts.
They continued
to go at it like little bunnies until they both gave into the pressure building
up inside. They both came instantly and
hard, panting and heaving as they did.
Afterwards, Phil lightly bit the side of her neck and growled.
“Damn, I just love it that
way,” he said with a twinkle.
“I can tell!”
Angie shot right back.
“Uh….Ange……what
are you doing in there?”
Angie’s eyes
popped when she heard her sister’s voice on the other side of the bathroom
door. “Oh shit!” she whispered to Phil
before thinking something up.
“Uh…..I,
uh……dropped my bottle of moisturizer and it splattered all over the floor. I’m
out of breath from cleaning up the floor.”
Phil gave her
an ‘ok’ sign, as if he approved of her fib.
“And…….who’s
that in there helping you?” Nina called out.
Phil bit his
lip and winced before an idea came over him.
“Housekeeping,”
Phil called out in a mock-feminine voice.
“Yeah, right,”
Nina said. “Listen, Joe got detained
with a business call so our afternoon together isn’t going to happen. Thought I’d just come back here, but I think
I’m better off elsewhere. Come find me
when the coast is clear.”
When the heard
the door close, Phil and Angie emerged from the
bathroom.
“C’mon,” Phil
said, pulling her towards the center of the room. “Lets do it in bed
for a change!”
*************************************
When Nina
closed the hotel room door, she heard a door across the hall open then saw Rory
step out.
Rory looked at
the lovely Nina and grinned. “Lost?”
Nina
shrugged. “Well, Joe stood me up
and…..well…..my sister…..”
“….is doing the
nasty with my dad, probably,” Rory said without hesitation.
Nina laughed
over his boldness – and accurateness.
“Guess I am lost, then.”
“My room has
Playstation,” Rory flirted. “Do you mind
men much younger than Joe?”
Nina threw her
hands up in the air. “Oh…,why not!”
Chapter
32
At the show
that night, Angie and Rory stood off to the side as they watched Def Leppard
perform the last two songs of the night.
Rory beamed with pride as she smiled up at Angie.
“My dad rocks,
huh?”
Of course,
Angie had no choice but to agree. “Oh,
yeah,” she drawled out, obviously thinking about his off-stage skills instead.
“Bet he rocks
your world too,” Rory flirtatiously said.
Angie put her
hands on her hips and looked down at him.
“You’re not a very shy boy, are you?”
Rory looked at
his father on stage, then back at Angie.
“You tell me?”
“Touche!”
Angie said
Suddenly, Nina
came over, looking very nervous. “Is it
time yet?”
“One more song
left,” Angie said. “Calm down, sis. You know every word to every song on
Hysteria.”
“I just wish
Joe told me which one they were doing for the encore,” Nina fretted. “He’s been acting awfully funny today. First we had this chemistry going between us
in the CD store and I thought for sure that this afternoon would be it. Then he winds up blowing me off. And then……he snags me before we leave the
hotel to ask me to come on stage with them for the encore.”
Angie hid her
smirk, wondering if this was part of the plan Joe had to get Nina and
Seth back together. “Maybe he’s got
something up his sleeve,” Angie stated.
“Who knows
with him?” Nina said.
Rory boldly
put an arm around Nina’s waist. “Don’t
worry darlin’,” he drawled out. “If
things don’t work out with him…..I’m free for the next few days until I have to
go back to school.”
Angie looked
from Rory to Nina. “Not a bad offer,
Neen!”
Nina rolled
her eyes down to Rory. “Wasn’t this
afternoon enough for you?”
Rory’s eyes
popped. “Are you kidding? I didn’t even get to first base. What am I gonna tell the guys in school when I get back?”
“I’m sure
you’ll think of something.”
After the Leps
finished their set, they briefly came offstage where they grabbed towels and
cold, bottled water. Joe swigged some
water to cool off his overworked throat and wiped the sweat from his face with
a towel before going over to Nina.
“Ready,
luv?”
“Not until you
tell me what song we’re doing?”
“Love
Bites. Just sing in your usual style and keep your
eyes on me for the cues, okay?”
Nina nervously
nodded and headed over to the other side of the stage where she would enter
from.
Phil’s naked
upper half was still slick with sweat when he went over to his son and Angie.
“So, what’d
you think, Ror?”
“Super as
usual, dad.”
Phil then
looked at Angie and raised his brows.
“Oh, you don’t
need me to stroke your ego anymore,” Angie said. “Remember, you’ve been my icon for years.”
Phil leaned
into whisper in her ear. “Fine then. Later I
can find something else for you to stroke!”
“I heard
that!” Rory announced.
Just then, Sav
tapped Phil on the shoulder. “C’mon,
we’re going back out.”
Phil winked at
Angie and ruffled Rory’s hair before going back out onstage for the encore to a
roar of cheers.
From the other
end of the stage, Nina waited for her cue to come on.
From the back
of the arena, Seth awaited with Chet and Randy for the encore as well.
Chapter
33
The guys went
back on the stage for the encore. Sav
immediately came in with the bass intro that caused the crowd to go wild. He then went over to the keyboard to continue
as Phil came in with the guitar. Joe
stood off to one side of the stage, trying to capture the mood of the
song. He kept his eyes on Nina from
where she remained unseen by the crowd on the other side of the stage as he
came in on cue.
When you make love, do you look in the mirror?
Who do you think of? Does he look like me?
Do you tell lies, and say that its forever?
Do you think twice, or just touch and see?
Ooooh, babe.
Joe made sure
to keep his eyes on Nina the entire time he sang that line, hoping that she’d
catch onto the significance. He then
signaled for her to come on and continue.
When she slowly made her way on stage, the audience went nuts over the
impromptu duet. Nina kept on walking to
the center of the stage until she was only a few feet away from Joe as she
sang.
When you’re along, do you let it?
Are you wild and willing, or is it just for
show?
Oooh, c’mon!
Then they both
came in together and looked deep into each other’s eyes.
I don’t want to touch you too much baby.
Cause making love to you might drive me crazy.
I know
you think that love is the way you make it.
So I don’t want to be there when you decide to
break it.
Then Joe let
out the word “no” with a primal scream as they resumed together.
Love bits, love bleeds,
Then Joe sang
alone.
Its
bringing me to my knees.
Then
together.
Love lives…love dies.
Then
Nina alone.
Then
together….
Love begs, love pleads…..its
what I need.
From the back
of the audience, Seth pushed himself away from the wall. “I’m not watching this lovey-dovey shit,” he
huffed as he headed out to go wait backstage instead.
Joe and Nina
finished the song to a wild applause.
Nina took her bow and a kiss on the cheek from Joe which caused a lot of
the ladies in the front to throw visual daggers at her. Nina exited the stage and immediately got a
hug from her Angie.
“That was
awesome, sis,” Angie said. “Although,
Joe’s choice in song had a bit of irony, didn’t it?”
“Yeah, just a bit,” Nina
said. “I think he feels I’m still in
love with Seth.”
“You are,”
Angie said, matter-of-factly. “And he’s
noticed. Why do you think the man hasn’t
made a move all these weeks on the road? It would’ve been easy for him to take
advantage of your broken heart, but he didn’t.
Now, just go forgive Seth and get on with it, okay?”
Just as Nina
nodded in agreement, Seth had made his way backstage. Nina didn’t think the timing could be more
perfect. Her face lit up upon seeing
him.
“Hey,” she
softly said to him.
All Seth did
was give her a disgusted look before disappearing into the hospitality room.
Once inside,
he slammed the door. “Fucking
women!”
From the couch
along the wall, Rory munched on a bag of potato chip while watching Seth’s
tirade. “Yeah, tell me about it!”
Chapter
34
After the
show, both bands prepared to board their respective buses to head to
“You okay?”
Nina faced him
and slung her bag over her shoulder.
“Just a little tired.”
“If I haven’t
told you already, you did great tonight,” Joe complimented her. “The crowd loved it.”
Nina
smiled. “Yeah, and there’s probably
gonna be gossip all over the the fan sites about us having a love affair. But Joe…..I think I know what you
did….especially with that song.”
Joe folded his
arms. “Oh?”
“Well, you
haven’t made any kind of a serious move on me in several weeks. I either thought it was me or that something
was holding you back. You still think
I’m hung up on Seth, don’t you?”
“I don’t think
you are, Nina. I know you
are.”
Nina sighed
heavily. “Yeah, I am. He burned me bad, but we have too much
history between us for me to forget about him over kissing some bitch. That song opened my eyes tonight, but I think
it really pissed Seth off. He probably
thought the same thing the audience did about us.”
Joe’s eyes
caught Seth in the backround gathering his things before he turned to
Nina. “Don’t worry, luv. He’ll come around. Go, get on the bus.”
As Nina left,
Joe decided it was time to have a little man to man talk with Seth.
In the
hospitality room, Phil grabbed a bottle of water and some fruit for the bus
ride to
“You’re gonna
eat all that?”
I’m starving,
dad!” Rory whined. “Can’t
get too far on potato chips.
Hey…are we riding on Black ‘n Blue’s bus?”
“No, we’re
not. We’re riding on our bus. As soon as I get settled, I’m going to
sleep.”
“Well…….can I
ride on their bus?”
“No! Your hormones are overactive as it is. Just act like an adult and behave.”
“But I’m not
an adult – I’m 13.”
Phil pulled
him by the arm. “Lets
go.”
Angie met them
in the hall on the way out the back.
“Hey, do I get company tonight?”
Phil gave her
a kiss. “Afraid I won’t be much company,
luv. I’m flat out knackered. I don’t think you want me falling asleep on
you.”
Angie nuzzled
his neck. “Won’t be so
bad.”
“Unless I
start to drool on you,” Phil mused. “We’ll
do something when we get to
“Okay, fine,”
Angie huffed with feigned disappointment.
“Guess I’ll have to serenade myself tonight.”
“Hey Angie, I
can play the guitar,” Rory proudly announced.
“I can take my dad’s accoustic and ride with you.”
“Rory!”
“Dad, I really
don’t want to spend the next several hours listening to you guys snore.”
“Sure
Rory, why not?”
Angie said. “See ya on the bus.”
Angie turned
to board her bus as Rory gave Phil a sheepish look. “Sorry, dad. You snooze – you lose!”
Meanwhile, Joe
approached Seth, who looked none-too-happy to see him.
“Aye mate,”
Joe said. “Mind if I have a word with
you?”
Chapter
35
Seth looked up
at Joe and slightly rolled his eyes.
“This sounds serious,” he said with a hint of sarcasm.
Joe ignored
his attitude, knowing that he was the last person Seth really wanted to talk
to. “Well, if you consider your
relationship with Nina
a serious thing, then yeah….it is..”
Seth slung his
bag over his shoulder and faced Joe. “My relationship with Nina? I don’t know where you’ve been the last few
weeks Joe, but I don’t have a relationship with Nina anymore. And if you’re here to rub it in my face, like
you did onstage with that encore, I’m not really in the mood. You’ve been quite cozy with her since the
tour started and she seems to feel the same way so there’s no relationship to
speak of.”
Joe was a bit
taken aback, even though he couldn’t blame Seth for assuming the things he
did.
“You’re
partially wrong, Seth,” Joe said. “You
may have ended your relationship, but not your love for each other. You still care about her and I know she still
cares about you.”
Seth’s face
perked up a bit. “She told you that?”
“She didn’t
have to. Its
still written all over her face. It’s
the reason why I haven’t made a move on her – even though we’ve been cozy,
as you say.”
Seth softly
laughed and looked audacious. “You mean
to tell me that in all these weeks you haven’t tried anything with Nina – just
because you thought she was still in love with me? That doesn’t sound like you.”
Now it was
time for Joe to show his arrogance.
“You’re right, Seth. If it was 20
years ago I would’ve nailed Nina in a heartbeat – and I wouldn’t have cared if
she was married! However, I’m older and
wiser now. Even though it’s a jolt to an
older man’s ego to have a hot, young woman after him, its
still hard to take when you know she’s doing it to make someone else
jealous. And…as for that encore
perfomance – I chose that song to open her eyes. She may be with me, but she thinks of
you. So…..instead of standing here
arguing this point with me, get your arse on that bus and go make up with
her. Oh….and if you do plan on snogging
anyone else while I’m around, not only will kick that arse of yours, but I will
steal Nina from you – for good!”
Seth looked
down at the ground and smirked before he looked back at Joe. “I get it.
And……thanks.”
Joe just
nodded as he watched Seth head towards the bus.
He then sighed heavily and headed back to his own bus. As he boarded, he flopped down in the seat
and drew his long legs up across it.
Phil watched
him, amused.
“You look like
you lost your best friend.”
“Nah, I’m
getting soft in my old age,” Joe replied.
“Don’t they
have a pill for that?” Rick asked, overhearing.
Joe got up,
which caused Rick to get up as well.
“I believe
there’s a certain ‘candle incident’ for which you need payment on!” Joe snarled
as he chased Rick to the back of the bus.
Chapter
36
On Black ‘n
Blue’s bus, Rory worked hard to try to impress Angie with his guitar skills for
about an hour. He didn’t have to try too
hard because, being the son of a rock guitarist, his father taught him well.
“You’re pretty
good there, kiddo,” Angie said. “Your
dad must be a good teacher.”
Rory kept his
head bowed over his guitar while his mischievous eyes looked up at Angie. “Oh, I’m sure you know the answer to that
one.”
Angie rolled
her eyes and flustered a bit. “Okay,
now. Enough of that. Boy, you have no shame, do you?”
“About as much
as my dad,” Rory proudly stated.
“Touche’!”
Angie replied. “So…..you have a
girlfriend back home?”
Rory gave a
dimpled grin and shrugged. “Nah, not really. I’m
just looking. A lot! I’m not ready to settle down yet.”
Angie
snickered at his humor. “I’m sure
you’ll have a long line of broken hearts before you even enter high school.”
“Ohhhhh, I’ve
broken a few so far,” Rory bragged.
“Actually, I’ve probably broken their mother’s hearts even more.”
Angie knitted
her brows. “Huh?”
“Well, the
kids in school, or, I should say, their parents, know who my dad
is. They were big fans back in my dad’s
glory days in the 80’s. Who knows….maybe
even some of their mothers were one night stands back then? Anyway, two months ago….this one girl in my
class had a birthday party at this hip,
Angie couldn’t
believe that a thirteen year old’s candid honesty could make her blush like a
girl as Rory continued.
“Anyway, after
the party she asked if we could maybe meet at the mall or the movies or
something. I didn’t want to. I mean, she was nice and all, but she just
didn’t do it for me. She got really
pissed because she thought I’d go out with her because of what she did to me
before. I mean, what guy my age would
turn that down? Not me! Then, she tried to get back at me by telling
me that she didn’t like me that way.
That the only reason she did that to me was because her mother
told her to so we’d hopefully get close so her mother could invite me and my
dad over sometimes. Isn’t that sick?”
Angie’s mouth
dropped, not being able to fathom that a mother would use her thirteen year old
daughter to snag a man – even if that man was Phil Collen.
“Yeah, that is,”
Angie replied. “I’m sorry that she used
you like that.”
Rory shrugged
again. “Hey, I’m not complaining. I did get something out of it!” Rory leered,
wiggling his brows to emphasize his meaning.
“Guess your
father is still hot property after all these years,” Angie said.
“Yep……he sure
is the sex machine! But….I wouldn’t
worry if I were you.”
“Worry about
what?” Angie asked curiously.
“Well, you
know….my dad’s rep as a ladies man……two divorces. I mean, I know he wants to settle with just
one woman, he just doesn’t have too much like finding the one he wants.”
“And what
makes you think I’m the one?” Angie countered.
“Well…..you’re
young, that’s a start. I think
it’s a mid-life thing for my dad to like younger women. You’re hot, that’s always a plus. But…..I think you have more in common
career-wise with my dad. I think the two of you would…..fit well, ya know? Its just been hard
for him to find one person to make him happy, but……I think you may be it.”
Angie smiled
over Rory’s astuteness of his father’s personality and concern for his love
life. However, as much as she and Phil
‘fit’, as Rory put it, she still couldn’t forget his longstanding reputation
for infidelity. As much as this past
month on the road with Phil has been anything but perfect, its
only been a month. How can Phil
be sure she’s the one? How does she know
that his roving eye may wander to other young beauties he comes across?
“What should
we play next?”
Angie’s
thoughts were snapped by Rory’s question.
“Oh….your choice,” she replied.
As they
played, the sounds of muffled moans and groans came from the enclosed bunk at
the back of the bus. Rory flashed a wide
grin and snickered.
“What’s that
noise?” Chet called out from up front.
“Just Nina and
Seth doing the ‘humpty-hump’,” Rory called back.
“Rory!” Angie finally scolded.
Rory turned
apologetic. “Sorry. Dad says I have to watch my mouth. Can’t help it if I take
after him.”
Angie smiled
warmly, wondering if that was a good or a bad thing.
Chapter
37
Three Weeks
Later
The Leps took
the stage with a mixture of excitement and a little fatigue. They only had two more shows left in
But that
didn’t stop him from giving the audience his all every night, pain or not.
Actually,
every single one of them performed with the energy and vibrancy of a
20-something year old. With the
exception of Rick Allen, not one of them could stay still or in one place for
long.
Sav flirted his ass off – figuratively and literally – for his
infamous, hiphugger jeans had a difficult time staying around his hips, much to
the delight of the many females in the audience. Viv flashed his grin in between screaming
guitar riffs and Phil was half naked and loving it, as usual!
And Joe
was…well…..Joe! Never at a loss for
words and he used the perk of having a mic in his hand to his advantage. When he saw a very well endowed, 30-ish woman
in the third row with a homemade t-shirt that said ‘Def Leppard or Bust’, Joe
wasted no time in pointing her out.
“Def
Leppard or Bust, eh?”
Joe said from the stage. He then feigned
deep thought while tapping his finger against his chin. “Hmmm….from the looks of it….I’d rather have
the ‘bust’!”
The crowd got
randy at his comment and even more wild when the woman
screamed out “you got it Joe” and lifted her shirt to reveal those naked
breasts beneath.
Being the men the are, every single band member looked their fill, but it
was Joe who had the last word, as usual.
“Ask and you
shall receive, I suppose,” he said with a chuckle. “If that’s the case, wonder what I should ask
for next?”
A few women in
the audience threw out a couple of very bawdy suggestions, to which pretended
to take notes with an imaginary pen and pad.
Afterwards, he pretended to look at what he had written down and began
to comment.
“Hmm, lets see….this one…this one……hmmm, now this one will rip my
other shoulder, for sure. Hey, who
suggested motorcycle sex?”
A late 20-ish
woman with deep auburn hair waved her hands furiously at Joe screaming “ME!”
Joe flashed her a dimpled grin.
“Now that’s my kind of woman!”
“I’m all yours
Joe!” she screamed back.
“Well, you
know what they say,” Joe replied. “Lust
is nice…but it ain’t…..L-O-V-E!”
The band then
appropriately segued into Four Letter Word, whose upbeat rhythem had the entire
crowd going. There were women standing
on top of their chairs moving their bodies to the beat – some a lot more
seductively than others.
In the second
row, a very tanned, very built and very bottled blonde
had her arms up in the air and grinding her body in a very risque manner. And, since she was right in front of Phil, he
kept his eyes on her the entire time.
Phil
acknowledged her by running his tongue across the bottom of his upper teeth
before subtly rubbing himself against his guitar. The woman responded to Phil’s acknowledgement
of her by sticking two fingers in her mouth and simulating oral sex.
The one thing
that caught Phil’s eye was that this woman had a backstage pass around her
neck. His one track male mind began to
fantasize about replacing those fingers of hers with his cock. The thought got him so aroused that he was
thankful for the Gibson that was covering the front of his tight trousers.
For the first
time since that January night in
Chapter
38
The band had a
small meet and greet backstage after the gig.
A local photographer was there to take a few pictures for their paper as
well as get a few words from each of the guys on how the tour’s going so far.
Phil was the
last one out of the showers and headed to a side room to dry off and
change. First he poked his head out the
door, clad only in a towel, and looked around until he spotted Malvin.
“What’s taking
so long, Philip?” Malvin asked. “Fotogs
are here.”
“They can deal
without me for once,” Phil said.
“Besides – Sav’s there, believe it or not! He can take my place for a change. I’m feeling really wiped out. I just want to rest a moment.”
“Fine,” Malvin
said. “Just be ready to leave as soon as
their done.
“Just knock on
the door in case I fall asleep,” Phil winked as he closed the door.
He flopped on
the small couch inside and let his head fall back. For some reason, tonight’s performance really
wore him out and he just wanted a breather – alone. He then unzipped a little insulated bag and
retrieved his protein drink that he pre-mixed before the show and took a few
swallows to hopefully get some of his energy back.
He looked up
at the door when he heard a knock and rolled his eyes. “Mal…what?” he called out.
When the
knocker didn’t answer, Phil went over and meekly opened the door. Before he knew what was happening, the door
was pushed open wider from the other end and the tanned, buxom blonde woman
from the second row entered – her backstage pass strategically laying across her cleavage.
“Surprise
Phil,” the woman purred.
Phil’s eyes raked
her over as quickly as they could before he nervously looked around. “How…..how did you get in
here? You….you shouldn’t be
here.”
“Actually, it
was easier than I thought,” the woman said.
“There’s so much distraction out in the hall with the interviews and
cameras going off that I was able to slip right past everyone, especially with
my pass. And….why shouldn’t I be
here? You seemed to have invited it from
onstage tonight.”
Phil still
couldn’t keep his eyes from roaming her.
She really was hot looking with a great body, even if the boobs were fake and the hair color came from a bottle. He then remembered her oral sex simulation
and the way she moved that body of hers practically all night to the
songs. He knew this because he couldn’t
keep his eyes off her most of the night.
“Well, I…..”
Phil began to stammer. “I suppose I did
flirt with you a bit. You were very
um…..into the performance.”
“So were you,”
she said, eying him wickedly. “Were you
thinking of something else when you were humping your guitar?”
Phil blushed a
bit. Even though it was wrong to have
her here, he was thoroughly intrigued and getting a bit turned on, which his
towel did not hide. He saw her eyes look
down.
“Guess you’re
thinking of that ‘something else’ right now,” she cooed as her hand reached to
to touch him through the towel.
“Crikey!” Phil
bit out. “I….I don’t think….I…..damn!”
The woman
pulled his towel off………just as the door opened.
“Phil, Malvin
said your were resting a bit,” Angie said as she
entered. “Thought you might like a
little neck rub………”
Her speech cut
off as she saw a very guilty looking Phil standing there in all his naked glory
with a smirking blonde woman holding his very stiff cock in her hand.
Phil pulled
away from the woman then reached down to grab the towel to cover himself. He knew that no words….no
explanations…..nothing short of throwing himself off a cliff would convince
Angie that this wasn’t what she thought.
“Angie…..Angie….you…you
don’t understand…..”
“…….Excuse
me,” she choked out before she headed out of the room before slamming the door
shut behind her.
“Let me make
it up to you?” the woman offered.
Phil’s mind
reeled over possibly losing the best thing that came into his life. He looked at the woman with disgust – for her
and himself.
“Yeah, you can
make it up to me. By
getting out of here. Now!”
As the door
closed behind her, Phil realized that, even though nothing happened, he still
got the screwing of his life.
Chapter
39
Phil never
dressed so fast in his life. With his
trousers barely fastened and black, buttoned shirt hanging off his shoulders,
he threw on his shoes, grabbed his bag and headed out the door and almost smack
into Malvin.
“Philip,
what………”
Phil cut him
off. “Mal…” he panted. “Did……did you see Angie?”
Malvin looked
puzzled. “I thought she was inside with
you? I told her you were skipping the
interviews to rest and to go right in.
Didn’t you see her?”
Phil rubbed
his face with frustration. “More
like…..she saw me,” he muttered.
“Huh?”
“Nothing,
listen….are we ready to go yet?”
“Just
about…….”
Before Malvin
could finish, Phil headed out the side door to where the buses were waiting,
but saw that Black n’ Blue’s bus had already left ahead of them.
“Bloody fuck!”
Phil hissed out, before getting on his own bus.
About 15
minutes later, the rest of the band boarded one by one.
“Phil…what did
you bail on us to hide out here?” Sav asked.
Phil’s mood
was none too pleasant at the moment.
“Look who’s talking? He who talks to no one after every show.”
Sav narrowed
his eyes at Phil. “Excuse me?”
“You heard
me!” Phil bit out. “You rarely talk to
anyone, not to mention you freak if someone asks for a picture.”
Sav just
blankly stared at Phil. “I don’t think I
have to get into my reasons why, especially the pictures, Phil,” Sav said with a
twinge of hurt. “Now…..what’s really
bothering you that you’re jumping down my throat?”
“Who’s jumping
down who’s throat?” Viv asked as he walked up the
aisle.
“I don’t think
we were talking to you, Viv,” Phil snipped out.
“Oooooh, am I
gonna have to pass out boxing gloves here,” Rick said, approaching them. “Where were you, Phil?”
Phil looked up
at Rick with blazing eyes. “What, do I
have to account for my whereabouts after every fucking gig?”
“What the hell
crawled up your ass and bit you?” Joe asked from behind Rick.
“More fucking
questions,” Phil mumbled.
“Well, how
about some answers?” Joe shot back.
Phil stood
up. “You want answers? Fine, I’ll give you answers. I passed on the interviews because I was just
plain wiped out. I took a shower, then took a breather on the couch until some woman from the
show snuck in. To make a long story
short, we were in a very uncompromising situation when Angie just happened to
walk in on us. Her bus took off. There’s probably no chance in hell that
she’ll ever listen to me. Hell, she
probably doesn’t even want to look at me right now. And yeah, I can hear what you’re all thinking
now….if only I just had my ass out there with the rest of you doing the
interview, this wouldn’t have happened.
So….I’m sorry for blowing off the interivew;
Sav, I’m sorry for jumping all over you and snapping at everyone else. Now….if you’ll all excuse me, I’m going in
the back to stew in my fucking stupidity!”
As Phil
entered the back bunks and shut the door, Joe looked at the rest of the guys.
“Well…..at
least he’s honest!”
Chapter
40
On Black n’
Blue’s bus, Nina looked over her shoulder to where Angie had barricaded herself
in the back bunk. All she heard for the
last 45 minutes was the sound of her angrily strumming her guitar.
She gingerly
got up, careful that Seth’s head didn’t flop over from where it was resting on
her shoulder. She had been so blissfully
happy since they got back together and can’t believe she had Joe Elliott to
thank because of it! But, she wondered
if her sister’s similar happiness was hitting a glitch. After seeing her storm out from backstage and
straight to the bus, she wondered if she and Phil got into an argument of some sorts Knowing her
sister the way she did, she gave her time to herself before going to talk to
her.
Nina tapped on
the bunk door. “Sis…open up, its me.”
“Not now,
Neen!” she shot back. “I’m busy.”
Nina folded
her arms. “Busy doing what?”
“I’m writing a
couple of songs so please don’t bother me!”
“Angela
Melanie Black…..open this door now!”
The bunk door
opened with a fury, which matched the look in Angie’s eyes. “Don’t call me by my full name, Nina Scarlett
Black!”
Nina smirked a
bit. “Hey, don’t blame me for mom’s
‘Gone With The Wind’ obsession. Hey..wanna tell the
other guys that Randy’s middle name is ‘Ashley’?”
“If mom really
wanted to be cruel, she’d have named him Randall Rhett!”
“See, you’re
in a better mood already,” Nina said.
Angie frowned,
remembering the source of her anger. “No
I’m not!” she spat, sitting back down on the bunk. Before she knew it, Angie had scooped up the
sheetmusic on the bed.
“Give those
back, Neen!”
Nina perused
the song titles. “Hmmm, “I’m An Uttter Goddamn Fool”? That’s an interesting title.”
Nina then
shifted the pages and her mouth dropped.
“But not as interesting as this song….’Phil’s A Conniving Asshole’. Verrrry interesting. So…what did you guys fight about?”
Angie ignored
her sister and strummed her guitar with a vengence.
“Ange, take it
easy, will ya? You’re gonna break the
strings.”
“Good! I’m pretending their Phil’s neck! Or….better still…..his
balls!”
“Tell me.”
“I walked in
on him with……someone else, okay?”
Nina’s mouth
dropped. “No way? Ange…are….are you sure that it wasn’t what
you thought?”
Angie gave her
sister an absurd look. “Nina,
please! I’m 30 years old. I think its suffice to say that when your supposed
boyfriend is caught standing butt naked with some strange woman’s hand wrapped
around his stiff weener, that its pretty much what you think!”
Nina fell back
against the wall and covered her mouth with her hands. “Oh…my..God,
Neen! I…I can’t believe it!”
“Yeah, well
believe it, because I saw it. Oh, I’m
sure he chased after me to explain, after he threw some clothes on, but the
buses were gone by then. However, there
is nothing to explain. There is
no way to misjudge what I saw.”
Nina sat down
next to her sister. “Ange, I’m so
sorry. But….I don’t
know. I mean, I know it sounds bad, but
maybe…..”
Angie turned
to her. “Don’t you even go and try to
explain his screwed hide to me,” she seethed.
“You…of all people.”
“Yeah, and I
finally came to my senses and forgave Seth, and now we’re happier than ever.”
“Nina
dear……you caught Seth with his tongue down some girl’s throat. I caught some woman giving Phil a
handjob. I think my situaiton is a
little more drastic than yours.”
“Angie,
whether it’s a kiss or a fuck….infidelity is infidelity. So don’t think that you’ve been more wronged
than I. Now….considering how ga-ga
Phil’s been over you, I just can’t imagine that he’d want someone else. I just can’t.
There has to be some logical explanation for this.”
“Yeah, there
is,” Angie snapped. “Just like the song
title said….Phil Is A Conniving Asshole’! And don’t even think of trying to get me to
talk to him once we arrive in
Nina sighed
heavily and left her sister alone. It
wasn’t until she closed the door that she heard Angie begin to cry.
Something was
definitely wrong. If Angie wouldn’t talk
to Phil, Nina would.
Chapter
41
Both bands
arrived in
As soon as he
felt the bus come to a permanent halt, Phil’s eyes flew open. His first thought was of Angie. Hell, she was all he thought about since that
fiasco last night! What was he
thinking? Okay, so he encouraged it from
the stage, but all of the guys flirted – even Sav, who was the most cautious of
all. They never held back from giving
their all, especially winding up the female fans, no matter how happily married
or committed they were.
But it was his
hesitation when the women slipped into the room that was his destruction. He should’ve shuttled her out as soon as she
showed her face. But his curiousity got
the best of him – curiousity about other women that was his downfall since
before his first marriage. That
curiousity ended that marriage and the one after that. If he didn’t get it in check, he knew that no
woman would even be able to trust his sincere feelings for her.
But Phil
didn’t care what any other woman thought except Angie. From the moment he set eyes on her back in
January, she had floored him. Enchanted him. Inspired him. Drove
him mad with desire, lust and……love.
Yes. He did love Angie. No….he was in love with her. For the first time in he didn’t know how
long, Phil was one hundred percent certain that no other woman – no matter how
young and sexy – could ever surpass her.
Angie had it all – looks, talent, personality, charm, humor and amazing
sex appeal.
And…..she
loved him too.
So how was he
ever going to explain what happened last night? Was there an explanation that existed that
she would be naïve enough to believe?
As the doors
to the bus opened, Phil unbarricaded himself from his bunk and headed down the
aisle. The rest of the guys were getting up out of their seats and Phil used
the opportunity to make amends for his ornery behavior the night before.
“Aye….Sav,”
Phil said, putting a hand on shoulder from behind. “Listen, mate….I’m
sorry about snapping at you last night.
You know that really wasn’t the real me talking. It was the screwed up me, taking it
out on everyone else.”
Sav grinned
and nudged Phil. “Don’t worry about
it. I understand. I sure hope you can work it out with Angie.”
“Yeah, you and
me both,” Phil said exasperated.
Rick then
looked at Phil and immediately held his hand protectively in front of his own
face.
“Are you gonna
come out swinging or what?” Rick asked.
“No, I’m not,”
Phil said with a hint of a grin. “I’m
sorry about last night.”
“Feeling
better after a night’s sleep?” Viv asked.
“Sleep?
What sleep? All I did was have nightmares of what a dumb fuck I am!” Phil replied.
“As I said
last night….at least he’s honest,” Joe cut in, overhearing.
“Yeah, yeah,
kick a guy when he’s down,” Phil said.
Joe slung his
arm around Phil’s shoulder. “Aw, no self
pity crap. Doesn’t suit you.
Just do your charmed best to win her back. It’ll probably take a miracle, but hey…..they
can happen.”
“Well, at
least you guys forgive me.”
Joe pushed him
out the door. “What? You kidding? You’re not totally forgiven. Breakfast is on you today, Collen!”
****************************
Black n’
Blue’s bus halted as well and everyone began to depart, with Angie being the
last one to get off. She kept her eyes
down and walked towards the hotel, even though she knew that Phil’s eyes were
on her.
She made the
mistake of looking up to find him almost in front of her, his face pale and contrite.
“Angie….luv…..please……..”
he began.
Angie stopped
dead in her tracks and looked Phil square in the eye. “Don’t you even go there, Phil,” she warned
before walking away, right past Joe.
“Well, good
morning there, Miss Angie,” Joe sang out.
Angie stopped
and turned towards Joe, a devious look in her eye. “Morning, big Joe,” she said with syrupy
sweetness. “How about letting me treat
you to a pre-op breakfast this morning?”
Joe rubbed his
bad shoulder, which he’d have taken care of in two days. “Sure luv!
Sounds great.
However, Phil here was kind enough to offer to treat us all to
breakfast this morning.”
Joe raised his
brows at an astonished Phil, who didn’t offer anything, but rather Joe
demanded.
Angie didn’t
even look at Phil when she answered.
“That’s okay, Joe. I’d rather not
have anything he has to offer. So…you
gonna take me up on mine?”
Joe shrugged,
knowing where this was going. “Sure, why
not? Phil’s money isn’t good anyway.”
Angie smiled
victoriously and headed into the hotel.
Joe walked after her, only to be caught by the arm by Phil.
“What are you
doing? You know she’s only flirting with
you to make me jealous. Nina did the
same thing.”
Joe feigned a
very excited look on his face. “I
know! It makes me feel like such a piece
of meat! Don’t worry, mate. I’ll keep her warm for ya till she decides if
she wants to forgive you or not.”
Joe took off
leaving Phil there to stew. Until…Nina
came up behind him.
“Trust me,”
she said, “now is not a good time to attempt to talk to my sister.”
Phil turned
cautious eyes to her. “I take it you’re
pissed at me too?”
“Actually, I’m
willing to listen,” Nina said. “What she
described sounded pretty incriminating, but I’m willing to give you the benefit
of the doubt and try to explain yourself.”
It was a
glimmer of hope, but Phil knew that if anyone could get through to Angie, it
would be her sister.
Chapter
42
Phil was
forever grateful that Nina allowed him the chance to explain an absolutely
unexplainable situation at that afternoon’s soundcheck.
“I don’t know
Phil,” Nina said after hearing him out.
“I know
that everything sounds as if everyone was in the wrong place at the wrong time,
but look at it from my sister’s point of view.
I mean….considering how she found you……”
Phil cradled
his head and shook it back and forth. “I
know, I know,” he exasperated. “I just
don’t know how she’ll ever believe me.”
“Well, I don’t
think it’s a question of believing you,” Nina said. “But….rather trusting
you. With all due respect, you do
have a reputation for the ladies. How is
she to believe that you really didn’t want it?
Or….that you may want it again?
Or….if you really want her – for good?”
“I do,
Nina,” Phil said with a heavy sigh. “I
love your sister. And
not just because she’s hot and beautiful. That’s only the icing on the cake. I’ve never felt such a connection in my life,
I swear it. And…I don’t care how long it
takes, I’ll make her believe me and I’ll make her trust me.”
Nina smiled,
knowing that Phil’s near begging was nothing but sincere. He could see how distraught he was over
losing it all with Angie and he was beside himself with regret and wanting to
make things right.
“Well, I know
for sure that now is definitely not the time to try to win her back,”
Nina said. “She’s pretty raw. I mean, she was up half the night writing
songs about how much she hates you.”
Phil chuckled
over her honestly. “Yeah, well I was up
half the night thinking about how much I hate myself. But Neen, I’ve got to do something now. Tomorrow night’s our last show before we
break for 20 days.”
“My point
exactly, Phil,” Nina said. “If you’re
going to try to win her back, do it outside the tour. Once we all get back home for a rest, pay her
a surprise visit. That way she won’t
have time to run. In the meantime, I’ll
try to soften her up a bit. I know she
loves you – you’ve got that much on your side.”
Phil gave her
a relieved look. “I can’t believe
you’re doing this for me, especially after you went through the same thing with
Seth.”
Nina smiled
softly to herself. “I know, but……that’s
where love comes in. I was hurt – really
hurt, but I never fell out of love with him.
As shattered as Angie is, I know she still loves you, even though she
thinks you’re a conniving asshole.”
Phil raised
his brows. “She said that?”
“It’s the
title of one of her songs in your honor.”
“Guess I
deserve it. Okay, well then its settled. As soon
as I get home the day after next, I’m gonna spend some time with my son then
I’ll pay her a visit. Do you really
think you can soften her up a bit?”
Before Nina
answered, they both looked up to see Angie come down from the stage to see Phil
and Nina talking. She shot Nina a
contemptable look before graciously giving Phil the finger.
Nina sighed
then looked at Phil. “Guess I have my
work cut out for me!”
Chapter 43
Two Weeks Later
Phil stood on
the redwood deck of his
Nina had urged
him to wait at least two weeks before attempting to contact her in order to
give Nina enough time to try to soften Angie up.
Everyday Phil
wished that he could turn back time and prevent that
awful incident from happening. Needless
to say, he’ll never ditch another backstage interview again!
He slid open
the glass doors and headed back inside his kitchen just as Rory came in.
“Want your old
man to make you an omelet?”
Rory made a
face as he pulled a box of Cocoa Puffs out of the cabinet. “Yeah…right!
I’d rather eat something that has some taste to it.”
“Like that
boxful of sugar?” Phil asked, nodding towards the cereal box.
“Dad, I’m
thirteen. I don’t need to be worried
about my ‘girlish figure’ until I’m at least…….your age.”
“Watch it,
pal. Even though I’m this age, I can still kick your ass!”
Rory poured
the cereal into a bowl. “Sorry dad. You just don’t look too threatening right now
for me to take it seriously.”
Phil put his
teacup down and folded his arms.
“Oh? Just how do I look?”
“Like a
lovesick fool,” Rory stated, matter-of-factly.
“So….when are you gonna kiss and makeup with Angie?”
Phil’s mouth
dropped at his son’s astuteness. “Just
what makes you think we’re fighting?”
Rory shoved a
spoonful of cereal into his mouth.
“Uh….because she’s not with you, nor are you with her,” he replied,
spitting milk onto the table.
Phil closed
his eyes and shook his head. “Talking
with your mouth full and spitting milk on the table. Any other bad habits you want to exhibit?”
Rory
grinned. “Well, I could force a fart,
but I think that would be rank, especially since we had Mexican last night.”
Phil slapped
his hand against his forehead. “I had to
bloody ask,” he murmured.
“So……..answer
me, dad. Did you guys get in a lovers
tiff or something?”
Phil sighed
heavily and bowed his head. “More like…..or something.”
Rory glanced
up. “Yeah? Whats her name?”
Phil’s head
came up like a shot. “What? Who’s name?”
“The chick you
screwed around with behind Angie’s back,” Rory answered with unaffectedness.
Again, Phil
was dumbfounded. “Rory, I…I didn’t screw
around with anyone.”
“So, your
fight didn’t include another woman?”
“No. Well, yes, but….not the way you think,” Phil
stammered.
Rory looked
down into his bow. “Uh, huh,” he said,
taking another spoonful of cereal.
Phil stared at
his son with amazement, and also a bit of shame. He didn’t realize the affect his behavior
with women had on the thirteen year old, nor did he realize that Rory picked up
on it. Phil took a seat next to him at
the table.
“Rory, tell
me…..what do you think of me?”
Rory looked up
and grinned mischievously, but saw the contrite look on his father’s face and
didn’t have the heart to have fun with him.
“I think
you’re a great dad, really,” he answered.
“No, I
mean…..as a man,” Phil corrected. “How
do you see me in terms of a relationship with a woman?”
Rory lowered
his head and shrugged. “I don’t know…I
mean….you’re 45 and divorced twice. You’re in a rock band and you meet a lot of
women on the road. I guess….I guess its just hard for you to be faithful.”
Phil stared
into his son’s eyes. “You really think
that of me?”
Rory
nodded. “But…..that doesn’t make you a bad
person, dad. You just don’t know what
you want.”
Phil leaned
back in his chair. “You’re right – I
didn’t know what I wanted. But now I
do. I want to be with Angie, but I think
I may have fucked it all up. Rory…I want
you to promise me that when you start dating girls that you don’t treat them
like dirt and lie to them and sneak around behind their backs, especially one
who’s your steady girlfriend. That’s not
the way to be. Please…..don’t look to me
as an example in that department, ya hear?”
Rory nodded
and stared at his father. “So…..you
gonna try to win Angie back?”
“I sure as
hell am gonna try. God knows where to
begin? I’ve had her number on that piece
of paper, waiting out the two weeks before I call her. I’m afraid to call though. Afraid that she won’t take
it or hang up in my face. Part of
me wants to dial that number and the other part of me is scared to.”
Phil then got
up from the table. “I’m going to take a
shower. Maybe the hot water’ll give me
some courage.”
Phil disappeared
from the kitchen as Rory’s eyes darted to the piece of paper on the island by
Phil’s cell phone.
A wicked ideal
caused a wide smile to break across his face!
Chapter 44
Angie, Nina
and Randy were taking advantage of the time off by spending time with their
family in their hometown of
Since both
sisters shared a condo together, both took advantage of the weather and did
some sunbathing before they and their brother went to their parents
house for dinner that evening.
Angie sipped
her first morning cup of coffee already attired in a bikini and a pair of terry
cloth shorts. She had long since had the
corn rows removed and her dark, glossy hair was caught up in a messy
ponytail. Nina joined her in the kitchen
soon after that.
“Anybody
call?”
Angie looked
up. “Expecting any calls?”
Nina looked
innocent. “No, not
really. Just
asking.”
“Good, neither
am I,” Angie replied, pouring a second cup from the coffee pot.
“You
sure about that?”
Angie slammed
her coffee cup down. “Yes, I’m
sure! Not only would I not take a call from Phil if I was expecting it, but I think he
would’ve already called by now, that is….if
he had the balls!”
“Maybe he’s
just waiting for you to cool off,” Nina suggested.
“Oh? Is that what you suggested to him?”
“What?”
“C’mon,
Neen. I saw the two of you kabbitzing after that
incident. You’re in cohoots with him to
try to get us back together.”
“Alright, I
confess!” Nina admitted. “But
Ange….don’t you think you should at least hear him out? I know what you saw looked pretty bad, but
there is a good explanation for what happened.
You just walked in at the wrong time.”
“No, I walked
in at the right time!” Angie spat out. “If I hadn’t, we’d still be together and he’d
still be fucking around behind my back without me knowing about it. He’s only pissed because he got caught and
now he’s trying to make it look like it was a misunderstanding. Yeah, right!
How do you ‘misunderstand’ having a woman’s hand wrapped around your
pecker?”
Nina let out a
heavy sigh. “Ange……”
“Forget it,
Neen! Just forget it. My only regret is having
to go back out on tour with him, but I guess I’ll have to be mature about
it. Maybe I’ll find some hot young guy
myself!”
Just then,
Angie’s cell phone rang. She picked it
up, looked at the caller ID, then threw it down.
“Hmmm,
After the
phone stopped ringing, it rang again. And again.
“Persistant
little Brit, isn’t he,” Angie quipped.
“Ange, just
answer the damn phone,” Nina huffed.
The ringing
stopped and it didn’t ring again. Angie
picked it up and saw that she had a message.
“Oh, hell, lets see that that snivelling turd has to say.”
Angie went
into her voice mail and was shocked to find, not Phil, but Rory’s voice.
“Angie, hi. This is Rory Collen. Remember me?
Of course you do! Uh..listen, I really need to talk to you about my dad.
Its kinda urgent. He’s in the shower right now so call back now
if you get this message. Thanks, bye.”
“Ange…..what
is it?”
“It was
Rory. He wants me to call him about
Phil.”
Nina
smiled. “Aw, he’s worried. Phil must be so distraught that his teenage
son needs to intervene. Ange, that’s
it. You can deny Phil, but you can’t
deny that little boy. Call him back, for
God’s sake!”
Angie took a
deep breath and dialed the Collen household.
Chapter 45
The following
afternoon, Phil continued to mope around the house with his cell phone
permanently affixed to the inside of his hand.
He had placed several calls to Angie’s cell, only to get her voice mail
each time. Finally, he decided to
swallow his pride and leave her a message, knowing full well that she may not
even respond.
He flopped on
his couch and turned the telly on, desperate for something to take his mind off
possibly losing an incredible woman that he loved and respected, all because of
his own stupidity.
Even if she
did call back, what would he possibly say to explain what she saw? In a way, he couldn’t blame her for not being
able to trust him. Had he walked in on
her with another guy in a similar situation, he’d have thought the very same
thing.
But he knew
that Angie wouldn’t have even considered anyone else. She was a one-man woman, and by professing
her love to him, Phil knew that he was the one
man. And because of his curiosity
and laciviousness that always did him in in the past, he betrayed her.
He turned the
telly off and threw the remote on the coffee table. He got up and paced around, looking for
something to do. He contemplated calling
Joe to see how he was recovering, but he didn’t want to field any questions
about his progress with Angie. He
thought about going for another run, but his body was tired. He decided to open the fridge and look for
something to eat.
He then heard
the side door open and knew that Rory was home from school. He smiled and thought that he’d spend the
afternoon with him doing something fun.
Maybe go to see a cool action flick.
Anything but a love story!
“Rory, is that
you?” Phil called out as he went in search of him.
“Yeah, I’m
home,” he called back. “Uh dad…wait…..”
Just as Phil
rounded the corner, he stopped dead in his tracks. Standing beside his son was Angie.
His stunned
expression over having her in his home kept the words from forming in his
brain.
Rory looked
from his father, to Angie, then back.
“Uh…surprise!”
Phil found his
voice. “What? How?”
“I sure hope
you have more to say to me than than,” Angie said rather emotionlessly.
Phil held his
arms out to the side. “Where do I
begin? However, I’d rather begin with
how you got here.”
“Why….airplane,
of course,” Angie replied with a twinge of sarcasm before her features softened. “That is….after a received an interesting
phone call from your son here.”
Phil’s eyes
darted to Rory. “You called Angie? Rory, I
don’t believe you……!”
“……I got her
here, didn’t I?” Rory interrupted his father’s tirade. “I had a feeling she wouldn’t take a call
from you, but I knew she would from me.
What can I say? I just got
it! Talked her into coming
to get me at school when she got in.
You should’ve seen the look on the guys’ faces when she picked me up! They were probably bustin’ a nut in their
jeans!”
Angie
smirked. “I see some things haven’t
changed,” she said, referring to Rory.
“I’m hoping that when this afternoon is over, I can say the same for
you, Phil.”
Phil felt as
if he was given the opportunity of a lifetime.
“I’m just thankful that you’ve given me the opportunity, luv.”
“Don’t thank
me….thank your son.”
Rory stared at
his father without a humble bone in his body.
Phil mussed his hair and pushed him towards the stairs. “We’ll talk later,
right now…Angie and I need some privacy.”
Rory protested
a bit. “But…..don’t I get to, like,
referee or something? After all, I did
orchestrate this little afternoon delight….”
“Upstairs, please,” Phil said sternly,
but softly.
“Promise to
fill me in later?”
“Of
course.”
Phil watched
his son go upstairs before turning to Angie.
“Shall we?”
Chapter 46
Phil led Angie
outside nd motioned for her to sit on one of his cusioned deck chairs.
“Can I get you
anything?”
“No, thanks,”
she replied. “I ate on the flight.”
Phil chuckled. “Can’t be anything too
healthy!”
Angie grinned
over Phil’s forced humor to try to lighten the mood. She then turned to him.
“I guess we
should start off with the phone call I received from Rory that brought me
here.”
“That seems a
good place to start,” he replied.
Angie stood up
and went to lean against the railings of the deck, looking out at Phil’s
meticulously manicured lawn.
“I don’t know
how much you told Rory about what happened between us,” she began. “All I know
is that when I got a voice mail message from him saying that he needed to talk to
me about you, I was concerned. At first,
I thought that maybe something happened to you.
I may be mad at you, but I’m not totally heartless.”
“I know you’re
not, luv,” Phil quietly said.
Angie began to
pace as she continued. “Anyway, when I
called Rory back, he went on to tell me how miserable you’ve been since you
came home and how you’ve been beating yourself up over what happened. He didn’t think I”d
take your call, so he took a chance that I’d take his. He was concerned about you and your happiness
and practically begged me to come out here to talk things out with you.”
Phil smiled
softly to himself. “He’s a good lad.”
“Yes, he is
Phil,” Angie replied. “If it wasn’t for
his phone call, I wouldn’t be here. All my sister’s prodding and pleading to call you didn’t get
through to me. But that thirteen year
old boy did. That boy who’s seen his father go through two
divorces and desperately wants to see his father find happiness with someone –
permanently.”
Phil hung his
head a bit at the truthfulness in Angie’s words. “I know Angie, you’re right. All the relationships I got myself into in
the past were either with the wrong person or for the wrong reasons. I don’t want my son to think that’s the way
to be. But, when I met you, I held out
pushing anything physical because I wanted to get to know you as a person
without sex clouding my judgement. And
when it did happen, it was five times as good.
I love you Ange, and I’m so sorry about what happened. If you can just let me explain …….”
Angie put her
hand up to halt him. “No, Phil…don’t,”
she said. “Nina already explained
it. However, the sad truth is that
there’s no way to explain how your dick wound up in some strange woman’s hand
by accident. It never should’ve even
gotten that far. As soon as she snuck
into the dressing room, you should have insisted she leave immediately. But you didn’t. Its almost as if you
wanted to see how far it would get. You
had a beautiful woman offering you ‘whatever’ and you were intrigued, whether
you knew it was wrong or not. However,
you got caught. By me. And, as shocked as I was by what happened,
I”ve decided that it isn’t healty to dwell on it anymore. Its because of your
son’s phone call, and the fact that I do love you, that I’m here.”
Phil had no
choice but to agree with everything Angie said.
She was right that he never should’ve let it get that far in the first
place. But, she was here and professing
that she still loved him. He know had the perfect opportunity to make it up to her.
“Ange, you’re
right. And, I’m not just agreeing with
you to get on your good side. I’ve done
nothing but think of what my stupid behavior almost cost me. I love you too, baby. So much. For the first time, I believe that I’ve found
the right person and for the right reason. Please…..let me make it up to you.”
Angie walked
towards him and stopped to lean against the railing. “Phil, you say that you believe you’ve found the right person in me. That tells me that you’re still not
sure. Which means that
there’s a possibility that someone else may come along that strikes your fancy.”
“Angie……” Phil
interrupted.
“…….not to
mention the fact that its going to be very difficult
for me to trust you again.”
“So…what do
you propose that we do?” Phil asked.
“That we put
our relationship on hiaitus. I want you
to have the opportunity to be with someone else if you want.”
“And
what about you?”
Phil asked.
“I’ve gone
without a serious relationship for a long time,” she said. “You’re really the first. If I happen to meet someone on tour that I
want to spend time with, then I will, otherwise I just
want to concentrate on playing. If you
have any temptations that you need to get out of your system, then you’re free to do so – no questions asked.”
“But Angie….I
don’t want anyone else,” Phil pleaded.
“Well…that
remains to be seen, doesn’t it Phil?”
Chapter
47
Several Weeks Later
Beginning of June
Both bands
were back on the road to resume the tour as of May 25th. Joe recovered wonderfully from his surgery
and everyone was well rested and ready to get back to work.
All
except Phil.
Not
that he wasn’t ready to get back to performing, but more he was dreading the tension
of being back on the road with Angie.
Even though they stayed in contact during their hiaitus, they would now
be in each other’s constant company for the next several months – with the
status of their relationship still in the balance.
Phil used the
last few weeks to ponder all the mistakes he made in his life and the changes
he’d have to make to avoid them again.
He just didn’t have himself to think about anymore. He wanted to be a good role model for Rory as
well.
But he also
knew that he didn’t want to face his future going from woman to woman. He wanted someone steady in his life. Someone whom he connects
with on all levels. Someone whom he wants for all the right reasons. Someone whom he could spend passionate hours
in bed with one night to watching cheesy movies on the couch the next. Someone who respects who he
is and what he does and vice versa.
He didn’t need
to convince himself any further that that ‘someone’ was Angie.
They
maintained a close, yet platonic, relationship since the tour resumed. It was hard on both of them, especially with
each knowing what the other is like intimately.
But Angie needed to be sure of Phil’s intentions before going back to
the way things were.
Both bands
attended a small party given by the promoter of the gig they had just finished
up. Local personalities and a handful of
lucky fans were in attendance as well and all were looking forward to a little
unwinding and mingling in a contained circle.
Nina went up
to Joe at the bar and rubbed his shoulder.
“How ya feeling there, big Joe?”
“Real good,”
Joe replied with a smile. “Just a little minor stiffness every now and then, but nothing that
a good painkiller won’t cure.
So….how’s your love life?”
Nina
grinned. “Wonderful. Seth and I are talking about getting married
after the tour ends. I think we’ll just
run off somewhere. How’s yours?”
“Non-existant,”
Joe shot back.
“Hard
to believe. Didn’t hit on any pretty nurses?”
“Didn’t have
the opportunity,” Joe huffed. “The nurse
assigned to me was a guy!”
“Hmmm, wise
move on the hospital’s part,” Nina surmised.
“Probably figured they’d have a bunch of swooning
female nurses screwing up patient charts.”
Joe thought
about it and arrogantly grinned. “Yeah,
you’re probably right.”
Nina cleared
her throat. “Uh….speaking of ‘swooning
females’……..”
Joe followed
his eyes to where Nina nodded her head and they fell upon a very lovely woman
with dark brown eyes, deep red hair and a tank top that revealed a generous
bosom. She glanced at Joe, bit her lip
seductively, then looked away.
Joe looked
looked at Nina. “I think I’m being
summoned!”
“Go get her,
big Joe!”
Over on the
other side, Angie was in deep conversation with a radio DJ – a late,
20-something male who seemed a bit smitten with her.
Phil was off
to the other side with Rick and Sav, holding an bottle
of Aquafina. He kept his ears on the
conversation, while he kept his eyes on Angie.
He drained his water and squeezed the empty plastic bottle as he watched
the DJ try to work his magic with Angie.
If he were any closer to her, he’d be wearing her clothes!
He excused
himself to go get another bottle of water.
It was times like this where he was glad he didn’t drink, else he’d get
himself totally pissed. When he turned,
two very tanned, lovely ladies were standing behind
him.
“Hi….Phil,”
one of them said. “We’re both attending
a party at the other pavillion. My brother knows the promoter and let us sneak in. Could we trouble you for an autograph?”
Phil smiled at
the two of them and took a pen and pad that one extended to him. “Of course!”
After he gave
the both of them autographs, the other one looked him up and down. “Hey Phil, why don’t you
stop by our party? Hawaiian
Tropic is sponsoring it. Maybe they can
talk you into judging the contest. A lot of tanned bodies in bikinis to choose from.”
Phil’s male
mind instantly churned, before his newfound sense put a damper on it.
“Well, I
appreciate the offer, but I’ll have to decline,” he politely replied.
One of the
women tried to change his mind. “Oh,
please? It’s a perfect opportunity for a
single guy like you.”
“Well, I may
be single, but…..I do have a lady in my life.”
The other
woman raised a brow. “She must be pretty
special.”
“Enough for me
to be in love with her,” Phil replied.
The women then
looked past Phil, then looked sheepishly back. “Guess we better get out of here then. Thanks for the autographs.”
When they
left, Phil turned around to see Angie standing right behind him.
“So……you’re in
love with me, huh?”
Chapter 48
“So……you’re in
love with me, huh?”
**********************************
Phil looked
dead into Angie’s eyes. “You know I am.”
Angie’s eyes
followed the two departing women, then back to Phil. “Passed up quite an
opportunity, there. What man can
say no to ogling women in bikinis?”
“This man,” Phil said with certainty and
seriousness. “So…what tore you away from
DJ-boy? Did you miss me?”
Angie smirked
at his obvious attempt to hide his jealousy and held up her empty bottle of
water. “Thirsty. Its so damn hot
today. If I had on any less, I’d be
naked.”
Phil’s eyes
scanned her long, lithe body, clad in tiny black lycra
shorts and matching black halter. Her
signature gold belly chain and navel ring gleamed against nicely tanned
abdomen. His lusty eyes reached hers.
“That’s not
the visual I need right now, Ange….considering our circumstances.”
Angie glanced
at the ground and bit her lip.
“Sorry. I….I do miss you, Phil. I mean….I
miss us…..together.”
“So do I,” he whispered, as he boldly reached to take her
hand. “I told you, whatever it takes….I
want to prove myself to you.”
“Well, in a
way, you did,” she replied. “I
mean…..you could’ve taken off with those women. You didn’t know I was listening. You
had no reason not to….”
“Yes, I did!”
Phil emphatically stated. “You were my reason! Just because you set the terms of this
‘relationship-on-hiatus-when-we-resume-the-tour’, doesn’t mean that I have to
play by them. But…I have no choice. Yes, I fucked up, but the fact that I love
you hasn’t changed. I did nothing but
think on this break. About
me. About us. About…….being together, in
the future. Angie, no other woman
has affected me like you have. No one!
No groupie. No model. No bikini
contestant. They’re not even worthy of
walking on the same ground as you. Since
the moment I saw you up on that stage playing the guitar at the Icon awards, I
was floored. And I don’t think I’ve been
able to pick myself up since then. But,
I’ve got a task ahead of me. I know you
need time and I understand, but know this Angie. I’m not going anywhere. Whenever you’re ready, I”ll be waiting. Just say the word, and I’m all yours.”
Angie stood
there speechless, with tears forming in her eyes. Phil was so intent on what he was saying and
she was so focused on listening, that they hadn’t noticed that it got silent
around them. Until
they heard clapping noises.
“Bravo,
mate!” Viv called
out, clapping.
“Uh oh…I feel
a tear coming on,” Sav mused as he clapped.
“Oh, that was
so touching,” Rick mocked, touching his hand lightly to his chest.
“You’re so
full of shit, Collen,” Joe shouted.
“Not the
romantic type, I see,” the redhead commented to Joe.
“Please! The last
time I tried to be romantic…..well, the results were disastrous. Tell me….are you into……scented candles?”
She wrinkled
her nose. “No, I’m allergic.”
Joe flashed
his dimples and put an arm around her.
“Thank God!”
Meanwhile,
Phil and Angie turned red from their public display. Phil gave everyone a ‘ha-ha’, smile, then
pulled Angie off somewhere private.
“Angie…I’m
sorry. I didn’t mean for anyone to
hear. Then again…,I
don’t give a damn if anyone
hears. I want everyone to know how I
feel about you. I just….hope I didn’t
embarrass you.”
All of Angie’s
intentions went out the window. All she
knew was that, regardless of what happened, she had loved this man. Loved him since she first
saw him on television back in 1983.
His influence had molded her into the musician she is today. In every way, she was his protégé and he was
her mentor – her icon. Always would be.
She threw all
caution to the wind and put her arms around his neck. “No…no, you didn’t embarrass me. But….you’re slowly
winning me back.”
Phil put his
arms around her waist, groaning at the feel of her silky back. “Anything I can do to speed things up?” he
grinned.
She leaned in
to kiss him then pulled away. “I’d say
yes, but….you know how I like things……nice ‘n slow!”
Phil slid his
hands up her bare back and filled them with her hair. “Angie!
You’re killing me, woman!”
She kissed him
softly again and ran her tongue along the seam of his lips. “Then lets go ease
your suffering!”
“You mean
it? Angie, you……you
sure?”
Angie took his
hand and pulled him out of the party.
“Quick! To the
tour bus!”
Epilogue
January, 2004
For the tenth
time in the last half hour, the doorbell rang at the Collen house.
And, for the
tenth time, Phil answered the door to find, yet another 14 year old – gift in
hand.
“Well, hello
there lass,” Phil grinned at the pretty teenage girl.
“Hello Mr.
Collen,” the girl replied. “I’m here for
Rory’s party.”
“Lucky
him!” Phil mused as
he motined her inside. “Down the foyer,
take a left into the kitchen, and down the open door into the lower level.”
Phil then
waived to the waiting car in his driveway, signaling the girl’s parent that she
was inside – safe and sound.
Phil closed
the door and went into the kitchen to find Angie mastering five different tasks
at once, all while balancing the telephone receiver against her shoulder.
“Yeah,
everything’s in full swing, Jac,” Angie said.
“I’ll make sure he calls after everyone’s gone. Oh…and thanks so much for that body
stuff. I can’t wait to try it. Okay…talk to ya later. Bye.”
Angie hung up
the phone and went to open all the recently delivered pizza boxes. Phil walked over to her.
“Was that
Jacki?.”
“Yeah.
She just wanted to know how things were going here and to remind Rory to
call her after everyone leaves. Oh…she’s
sending me a bunch of stuff from her Medieval bath and
body collection. The stuff sounds
amazing.”
Phil
shuddered. “Its
kinda weird – you being so chummy with my first wife.”
Angie looked
at him strangely. “Its not weird. I mean, you and her are closer because of
Rory so I see and talk to her more than Anita.
Besides, I think she’s cool – not to mention a brilliant businesswoman.”
“Yes, she is
that,” Phil agreed. “So…are we ready to
feed the troops?”
Angie surveyed
the pizza, sandwiches and soda all lined up.
“Guess so.”
Just then,
Rory came upstairs. “Dad! The CD player’s busted.”
Phil folded
his arms. “How’d that happen?”
“I didn’t do
it! It just……stopped playing. You gotta fix it. We need makeout music for later!”
“Yeah, I bet!”
Phil grinned. “Speaking of which…who was
that lovely little thing who just arrived?”
Rory gave an
impish grin. “That’s Lyndsay. Hopefully, I’ll be making out with her later!”
“Rory!,” Phil warned. “I
don’t need any angry fathers knocking my door down.”
Rory then
looked at Angie. “Hey Ange…all the guys
want to know who the major babe with the dark hair is.”
Angie put a
hand on her hip. “And…..just what did you tell them?”
“Hopefully,
my future stepmother!”
“Rory
James! Get your ass downstairs and wait
for us to bring the food down.”
“But…the CD….”
“I’ll fix it
when I get down!”
Rory went back
downstairs and Phil turned to Angie.
“Will he ever learn?”
“Oh, I’ve
grown to appreciate his honesty,” Angie replied. “Its
refreshing. At least you know he’ll
never lie to girls.”
“I hope not,”
Phil said.
“Well, you’ve
been doing a good job coaching him,” Angie drawled as she ran a finger across
his chest. “At least he only has ‘making
out’ on his mind, which is normal for his age.”
Phil took her
hand and kissed it before looking down at it.
A braided gold ring, which matched a similar one on his hand, encircled
the ring finger on her left hand. They
were Christmas gifts to each other last month – promise rings. Even though things were going well, they made
a pact not to rush into marriage quite yet, but they wanted to symbolize the
‘promise’ they made to be true to each other.
“Yeah, well
‘making out’ was beginner’s stuff for me when I was 14,” Phil joked.
“Well….you are Phil Collen
after all. Had to get
your rock star beginnings somewhere!”
“And
now….those days are long over, luv.
You’re the only woman for me. I
can’t tell you how happy I’ve been these last 6 months. I love you.
Rory’s bonkers over you. And…from
the sound of it…so are his friends! You
may just find yourself being brought to school for ‘show and tell’!”
Angie leaned
into him. “How about I show you my version of show and tell later?”
“Thought
you’d never ask!”
Phil wickedly grinned before kissing her.
“Dad!” Rory called upstairs. “Stop playing kissey face! We’re hungry and there’s no music!”
Phil pulled
away with a huff. “That kid will not see his 15th birthday!”
“Sure he
will,” Angie retorted. “Someone has to
make ‘little Collen’ grandchildren!”
Phil narrowed
his eyes at her. “How’s
about another little Collen child in
the future?”
Angie
smiled. “Its
worth considering. Think you’re up to
the task, old man?”
“I’m always
up,” he said, leaning in for another kiss.
“Dad!!!!”
Phil pulled
away and rolled his eyes. “Unless he puts me in my grave first!”