Capricorn Season - Jimmy Page

Chapter 26

"No! They're waiting for us. We have to go now, so get your suit on."

They joined the other four in the car shortly. Bonzo pushed Robert and Jimmy aside, squishing them as he piled in. Gwen and Lorelei welcomed Tiffany in, commenting on her outfit. They compared bathing suits and complimented each other's shoes. It was a harsh dichotomy between the silent men.

Gwen was not happy to be sitting across from Bonzo. She didn't even want to be in his company, let alone have to share close quarters. But she put her anger aside, just for this one day, so they could have fun. It was their last day in California and she just wanted to have a good time. They all deserved it.

Bonzo, on the other hand, was perfectly content. He tried to pretend the last two days had never happened. He was still upset with Gwen, still filled to the brink with blind animosity, but too was putting it aside.

He knew Jimmy wouldn't say anything and could get away with his treatment. With Grant stepping in each time he fired at her, he was safe to speak his mind. It was his tour after all, why should he have to play second fiddle to some broad?

The group filed out of the car and made their way to the sand. They admired the sun and ran through the hot sand. The girls laid out towels and sat their things down.

"Robert, can you put sunscreen on me?" Lorelei asked, holding the tube out for him.

"Of course." He wore his charming smile and began rubbing the lotion into her skin. She was giggling the whole time, thoroughly enjoying the intimate attention he brought to her. The artificial coconut smell entered their noses, wafting through the air and mixing with the salty seawater. It added a harsh bite to the clear air, a superficial addition to matching the nature of their relationship.

"I can't help but notice how fucking gay they are." Bonzo rolled his eyes and flung his shoes off. They were immediately coated in sand, which was sure to never leave.

"Leave them be, they think they're in love," Jimmy said, neatly placing his shoes next to his towel, which Gwen had just laid out for him. He thanked her, not wanting to make her day any worse. He understood how unfair it was to her that Bonzo was acting this way. But he couldn't bring himself to intervene.

She was lying on her own striped towel, placing her white sunglasses on her nose. This trip would be a chance to catch up on the sun she had missed and get some deserved peace. She'd grown pale like boiled chicken, she thought. She often examined her skin in the mirror, frowning at her lack of pigment. Previously living here in California, it was a big change to never see the sun.

There had been many days she laid out, much like she was now, by the poolside when she lived at home. Her father was a rich man, something that she resented having grown up so poor with her mother, and he had a pool. It wasn't very large but it was grand, lined with elegant white tile, and always well-kempt. Their pool boy was handsomely paid and his work showed. She reminisced about the parties her family held and how nice it was to take a dip whenever one desired.

The suit she was wearing now, under the constraints of her t-shirt and shorts, was one she bought in high school. Her father was not happy about the bikini style, especially sour about the tie on the neck. He thought the new style was in poor taste and made young girls promiscuous. If only he could see her now, surrounded by debauchery and sin.

"You need to put on sun cream." Jimmy turned to her.

"What the fuck is sun cream?"

"Oh Jesus, not this again! You act like I speak a different language."

"You do."

"No, I speak English correctly. We came first, so what I say is correct."

"That's why your tea-drinking asses lost the war. It's sunscreen."