for a fun ride, in more ways than one.
The suite I walk into barely resembles mine although it should be identical. The furniture has been rearranged, the two sofas pushed together and a coffee table shoved to one side, now littered with empty bottles and glasses. A smoky haze and familiar sickly scent fills the air, giving the scene a dreamlike ambience. More than a dozen people fill the space, the laughter and voices more exuberant than the muted conversations downstairs.
Will and Nate hold court on the biggest sofa, surrounded by girls, one with platinum blonde hair who’s managed to lose her top. Possibly this is what the girl left the house wearing tonight, but the lacey, barely-there material looks like lingerie to me. Lucky Nate has the best view in the house as she’s on his lap, arms around his neck with her ample breasts close to his face. Will stares at the ceiling giggling at something, and a girl seated next to him looks perturbed at Will’s lack of attention, despite the fact she’s running her fingers across his chest.
Jax sits alone in an adjacent armchair, focused on his phone again. Does he do that as a sign to tell people to ‘stay away’? Girls hover on his periphery, including the girl from earlier who, although she’s chatting to a different guy, keeps glancing at Jax.
I sit on the sofa arm and when Jax looks up, his frown at the interruption turns to a smile. “Hey, stranger.”
“Drugs?” I ask Jax incredulously, indicating the people around.
“Just a bit of weed.”
“Is that a good idea?”
“You telling me you’ve never hung out with people who smoke pot?”
“I have, yeah, but not in an obvious place with a flashing neon sign saying ‘Rock stars in training, arrest us for drug use’.”
Jax laughs. “You’re funny, Tegan.”
“Have you been smoking?”
“Not tonight. I take it you don’t?”
“Not my thing.” I glance around. “Isn’t Riley here?”
“Nope. She stayed for five minutes and left. Shame, hey?”
“Why? What happened?”
Jax shrugs. “I dunno. Probably too exciting for her and she had to go for a lie down.”
“That’s not nice.”
Jax ignores me and grabs a half-empty bottle of vodka from the table. He takes and inspects a nearby glass for cleanliness before holding the glass out to me. “Want a drink?”
“No, I don’t drink a lot. I’m avoiding spirits.”
“Right.” He stands. “I’ll fetch you a beer instead.”
“It doesn’t matter, I -” Before the sentence is out Jax is gone. Another beer is not a good idea. I don’t want to move from relaxed to uninhibited. As Jax walks off, the girl who was sitting on him earlier follows.
“You’re right, quite the party.” I turn to see Tomas and Paul arrive and their faces unmistakably brighten as they look around the room at the girls. “Ruby Riot boys party better than Blue Phoenix, huh?”
“Looks that way,” I say.
Paul says something to Tomas in a low voice. He replies in Portuguese and Paul walks away. I’m willing to bet they didn’t come up here because they’re fans of the bands.
“Did you go to the concert?” I ask.
“Of course. And you? Although you’d be VIP because of your brother.” Tomas looks around. “He’s not here?”
“I’m not an extension of my brother.”
“You’re here to have fun, right? Lucky girl, you get to party with rock stars for six weeks.” Tomas rests against the wall and stretches his legs in front of him, bringing himself down to my height.
“I didn’t come for that. I wanted to travel more of Europe and explore the places we visit too.”
“Yes, I said I’d show you around Lisbon today, but you never called.” Tomas pouts and I laugh at him.
“You never gave me your number!”
“You wanted my number, Tegan?” he asks quietly.
Crap. “No, I meant if you’d wanted to be my tourist guide you’d need to… Doesn’t matter.”
Tomas rubs his mouth with the tips of his fingers. “I saw you with Jax
The suite I walk into barely resembles mine although it should be identical. The furniture has been rearranged, the two sofas pushed together and a coffee table shoved to one side, now littered with empty bottles and glasses. A smoky haze and familiar sickly scent fills the air, giving the scene a dreamlike ambience. More than a dozen people fill the space, the laughter and voices more exuberant than the muted conversations downstairs.
Will and Nate hold court on the biggest sofa, surrounded by girls, one with platinum blonde hair who’s managed to lose her top. Possibly this is what the girl left the house wearing tonight, but the lacey, barely-there material looks like lingerie to me. Lucky Nate has the best view in the house as she’s on his lap, arms around his neck with her ample breasts close to his face. Will stares at the ceiling giggling at something, and a girl seated next to him looks perturbed at Will’s lack of attention, despite the fact she’s running her fingers across his chest.
Jax sits alone in an adjacent armchair, focused on his phone again. Does he do that as a sign to tell people to ‘stay away’? Girls hover on his periphery, including the girl from earlier who, although she’s chatting to a different guy, keeps glancing at Jax.
I sit on the sofa arm and when Jax looks up, his frown at the interruption turns to a smile. “Hey, stranger.”
“Drugs?” I ask Jax incredulously, indicating the people around.
“Just a bit of weed.”
“Is that a good idea?”
“You telling me you’ve never hung out with people who smoke pot?”
“I have, yeah, but not in an obvious place with a flashing neon sign saying ‘Rock stars in training, arrest us for drug use’.”
Jax laughs. “You’re funny, Tegan.”
“Have you been smoking?”
“Not tonight. I take it you don’t?”
“Not my thing.” I glance around. “Isn’t Riley here?”
“Nope. She stayed for five minutes and left. Shame, hey?”
“Why? What happened?”
Jax shrugs. “I dunno. Probably too exciting for her and she had to go for a lie down.”
“That’s not nice.”
Jax ignores me and grabs a half-empty bottle of vodka from the table. He takes and inspects a nearby glass for cleanliness before holding the glass out to me. “Want a drink?”
“No, I don’t drink a lot. I’m avoiding spirits.”
“Right.” He stands. “I’ll fetch you a beer instead.”
“It doesn’t matter, I -” Before the sentence is out Jax is gone. Another beer is not a good idea. I don’t want to move from relaxed to uninhibited. As Jax walks off, the girl who was sitting on him earlier follows.
“You’re right, quite the party.” I turn to see Tomas and Paul arrive and their faces unmistakably brighten as they look around the room at the girls. “Ruby Riot boys party better than Blue Phoenix, huh?”
“Looks that way,” I say.
Paul says something to Tomas in a low voice. He replies in Portuguese and Paul walks away. I’m willing to bet they didn’t come up here because they’re fans of the bands.
“Did you go to the concert?” I ask.
“Of course. And you? Although you’d be VIP because of your brother.” Tomas looks around. “He’s not here?”
“I’m not an extension of my brother.”
“You’re here to have fun, right? Lucky girl, you get to party with rock stars for six weeks.” Tomas rests against the wall and stretches his legs in front of him, bringing himself down to my height.
“I didn’t come for that. I wanted to travel more of Europe and explore the places we visit too.”
“Yes, I said I’d show you around Lisbon today, but you never called.” Tomas pouts and I laugh at him.
“You never gave me your number!”
“You wanted my number, Tegan?” he asks quietly.
Crap. “No, I meant if you’d wanted to be my tourist guide you’d need to… Doesn’t matter.”
Tomas rubs his mouth with the tips of his fingers. “I saw you with Jax
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