Behind the Mask: A Rockstar Romance(67)
“So, what do you think you’re going to do while you’re here? You can do nothing and have the life of luxury, if you want. I’m just curious.” I pause as I think about the question. What am I going to do with my life? I grew up with expectations: Marry a man that my parents think will benefit the family name, pop out babies, look after my husband and children. But I’m twenty-one, I’m still young. I don’t want my life to end yet.
“I never really thought about it. I don’t really have any passions to follow except reading.”
“I didn’t mean to rush you, I just wanted to know. I want you to do something you love, and if you want to read books all day, every day, then do it. Just do what makes you happy. I love that I manage Leon’s band; I can’t imagine doing anything else.” I can see that she is telling the truth by the way her face lights up talking about Leon and the band.
“It will come to me; I just need to think about it.” I continue eating the rest of my delicious burger.
“You can be a book reviewer. Start a blog. If you need any help, just come to me,” she offers.
“You know I will.”
The rest of the day we bounce from shop to shop. I have never seen so many clothes in my life. It was a thrill making my own decisions on what I wanted to wear. My clothes have always been picked out for me to be sure I fit the image of what the perfect daughter should look like. We have bags of clothes that I’m sure will last me for years. I notice Lake’s leg bouncing as we drive back home and my curiosity spikes, knowing she does this when she is excited about something.
We park and Leon comes out the door straight away, grabbing our bags and walking off without saying a word. That was weird. Lake loops her arm through mine and practically skips us to the door. I can hear music on the other side and when the door opens I am surrounded by strangers who yell out ‘Welcome’. I almost jump from fright.
I look at my sister who’s bouncing with excitement. She threw me a party? I see a welcome sign and balloons and people drinking from red cups. Lake walks me towards the crowd and starts introducing me to everyone. There are so many people, I know I am going to have trouble remembering their names.
I’m talking to a girl with short pink hair when I can’t help but look up at Dominic who is talking with some guys, a different girl on his arm. This one is a red head. Like the one I saw this morning, she is stunning. She is wearing tight jeans and a shirt that is high enough to show her flat stomach. So he doesn’t hang with the same woman twice?
As if he can feel me staring, he looks up and gives me a nod and continues back to his conversation. He didn’t look at me like I just watched him get a blowjob six hours ago. No disgust or cocky smirk. Hopefully he’s willing to forget it ever happened. If that is the case, I will thank my lucky stars. Some other girls come up to me, introducing themselves. Lake told them that I’m a huge fan of reading so we are discussing the books we’ve read. One even calls herself a book whore, which I blush at.
I am enthralled in our conversation, openly talking about a recent book that I read, when I see a girl out of the corner of my eye walk through the door like she owns the place. She has long blonde hair with pink tips, flawless makeup, and a leather skirt to go with her leather jacket. She screams bad girl. The kind of girl my parents warned me about. I can still hear my mom’s voice drilling in my head that anyone that wears leather is bad news. Boy or girl.
I watch her walk through the crowd, men watching her, girls whispering and pointing. Who is she? She looks familiar but I can’t put my finger on it. It isn’t until she stops by Dominic that it clicks. She’s the lead singer of the band. My sister showed me some pictures, mostly of Leon, but I remember her showing a picture of a man with his head turned and a girl posing to the camera.
“That’s Sherry, the lead singer of their band. She’s a badass. If she doesn’t get her own way though she can be a real bitch,” the girl with pink hair, Charlotte, whispers.
“My sister showed me a picture of her once, it just took a second to sink in.” We continue watching her talk to Dominic and some of the guys.
“Yeah, she thinks because she’s the lead singer she’s the boss of the band. I’m a huge fan, I go to every gig, but she is so full of herself. They only put up with her shit because they need her.”
Sherry turns her head and glares at me and I realize we are openly staring at her. I start to feel out of my element, so I look around the crowd, trying to find my sister. I’m still searching when I feel someone poke my shoulder. I turn and see Sherry; the look she is giving me isn’t welcoming.
“Excuse me, I don’t know who invited you, but can you please leave?” What? It’s more of a demand than a question.
“Umm... the thing is... this is ummm,” I stutter over myself. I look around the crowd again trying to find Lake.
“Umm, umm, umm,” she mimics me. “This is a private party. So if you can find the door, we won’t make this any more of a scene.” She takes a few steps away before turning back around. “Oh, and I don’t know what look you are going for, but the teacher-geek look won’t get you laid. F.Y.I.” What is F.Y.I? How can she just come up to me and kick me out?
“I’m not leaving. I...” I try and talk with more confidence than I have but I’m sure my voice is all shaky.