Please Don't Try and Turn On the Lights

29. Ultracheese

Alex stumbled back to his seat and was met with a pat on the back from Miles, "you crazy fucker," he was laughing.

The award show continued and I was busy listening to Bono's speech about ending world poverty when my phone buzzed from the bottom of my purse.

Received at 10.32 p.m. from Alex Turner:
I know you hate my guts right now but do you want to get out of here?

I looked at him and he shot me an apologising smile.

Sent at 10.33 p.m. to Alex Turner:
No.

But not 10 minutes passed before Miles leaned in and whispered, "I'm bored out of my mind. Do you guys want to get out of here?"

The other guys nodded and Alex shot me a triumphant smile which made me roll my eyes. He had definitely set Miles up to this.

-

"Where are we going?" I asked Jamie who was sitting next to me in the taxi heading for some address that he had provided the taxi driver with.

"I know this isn't going to indulge you but we're going to Alex' place."

"Alex' place? Why?"

"More room than at the hotel"

"He isn't staying at the hotel with you guys?"

"No, he's going to be in L.A. for such a long time that he thought he would rent a house."

I nodded, "yeah I was wondering why he didn't do that last time instead of wasting so much money on a ridiculously expensive hotel room."

"He can afford it, love," Jamie shrugged.

We didn't speak for the rest of the taxi ride until we finally pulled over to the side at the address that Jamie had said before. "We're here. You girls just go in while I pay for the taxi.

Katie and I got out of the car and walked inside the enormous beach house that the other guys already had arrived at.

Alex had rented the most bonkers house I had ever seen. It was so modern and expensive looking, it could've belonged to a museeum. It had the ocean on one side and a pool on the other, and since almost all the walls in the two-story building were made out of glass, I couldn't decide which view I liked the most. Alex had made one of the corners in the living room into a small studio with a microphone and a few guitars. On the wall behind the guitars were the same handwritten notes that he had had in his apartment back in England. The only two readable notes said:

'She looks as if she's blowing at kiss at me and suddenly the sky is a sizzle'

and

'Just when things are getting complicated in the eye of the storm. She flicks a ... off the tip of her tongue - It does a couple of somersaults and leaves you with a charge. Makes me wanna blow the candles out just to see if you glow in the dark'

I had a weird feeling that both these notes related to me and I couldn't take my eyes off of them. I took the last note - the long one - down and examined it. There was something weirdly familiar about it. Had he maybe quoted me?

"It's still just a draft," I heard someone dawdle behind me.

"You quoted me, didn't you?" I said without turning around.

"Yeah, I don't recall when but that last bit definitely has 'Rhea' written all over it."

"You should give me 10 % of your earnings then."