Lainey
At the end of the night, after the boys hardly got anything done, Annie, Terry, and Julia were chattering up a storm, Brad and Karen had had to leave for a thing for the band Brad had recently quit, Derek St. Holmes, and Steven, Tom, and Joey were still working out a rhythm for a song.
I sat alone on the couch with my beer, a cigarette between my fingers. I guess Joe noticed, because he came to join me. "Whaddya think?" he asked me.
"Of what?" I ask.
"I dunno..." Joe replies. "You looked lonely."
"Not lonely. Just alone," I say vaguely, which causes him to laugh.
"You see," Joe says, "that's the concept of being lonely: you're alone."
I narrow my eyes, running my finger around and around the lip of my beer bottle. "Not necessarily," I argue. "I've got Steven, I've got all of you here, I've got Janet–my best-friend–and I've got L– uhm, yeah. I've got all of that. Presently speaking, I was by myself on this couch surrounded by people, talking with each other. So yes, I'm alone–hence, by myself–but not by any means lonely."
"Who's L-l-l?" Joe asks.
"Nobody," I say with a wave of my hand.
"Are you you sure?" Joe says.
"Yeah," I say, shaking my head quickly.
"Alright." He takes a long drink from his beer bottle. "Lainey, is it?"
"Yes," I nod. "Joe, right?" Though of course I know his name is Joe Perry.
Joe smirks, kind of. "Yeah." He lights himself a cigarette, offering me one. I accept, placing it between my lips. He lights it for me. "So what did you think of today?" he asks, blowing the smoke away from my face.
I shrug. "Sounded good," I reply.
"Why thank you," he says. "But what about the others?"
I roll my eyes. "That's who I was talking about," I say sarcastically. "You, on the other hand..."
He feigns hurt, but says, "Good to know... Seriously, though. Could some of those songs be on an album?"
"I dunno," I say truthfully. "I'm gonna say yes, 'cause I'm a fan and I'd honestly listen to anything you guys have, but I'm not Columbia, so... I dunno."
"Yeah," he sighs. "You're much prettier than Columbia. Nicer, too..." he adds with a frown.
I find myself blushing. A world famous guitarist just called me pretty... and nice. Oh, and I'm sitting in his basement talking to him. "Erm, thanks," I mumble.
He chuckles again, muttering something about getting another beer. Seconds later, he returns with two, one for me and one for him. "So Lainey," he says, popping the caps, "you've toured with us for awhile, but I dunno you." I find myself blushing again. "That was your cue to tell me about yourself," he whispers dramatically.
//\\
Annie
Joe whispers something to Lainey, and she begins to laugh. I roll my eyes, now more intent on watching those two than participating in conversation with Terry and Julia. I feel kinda bad for Julia. Joey's with this new girl, April. Though she's not that new. Joey's just too nice to break up with one of them.
Anyway, I don't even know what Terry and Julia are talking about anymore. I'm too engrossed in reading lips, that I'm not paying attention to the conversation in which I was actually invited to participate.
Why is this a problem?
Lainey is a pretty girl. A very pretty girl. From what I've gathered, she dropped everything to join Steven on tour. And she's been staying every night at his house, yet she's flirting with my husband.
Are they flirting? It's hard to tell with Joe. Well, I've known him forever so it's not that hard, but... is Lainey participating in the flirt?
"Annie," Terry says, poking my shoulder. "Do you want some popcorn or something? You're practically on the edge of your seat."
"Are we that boring?" Julia laughs.
"Huh?" I ask. "No, no. What? Popcorn?"
Terry and Julia laugh again, making fun of me. "She's new," Terry says, speaking of Lainey. "They're just getting to know each other."
Yeah, that's the problem...
"You're right," I say with a sigh. But she's not right. "I'm gonna get another beer. Want anything?"
Both women decline my offer and go back to talking about... I don't even know.
I made a slight detour on my way to the stairs that would take me to the kitchen. Steven was leaning against a wall, nodding along to what Joey was saying, but he (like me) wasn't listening. He was staring intently at Joe and Lainey, looking really pissed off.
I went over to go see if we were experiencing the same worries. Joey was smirking. "So the next album's gonna be called I'm Down but it Ain't a Mental State. Right?"
"Uh huh," Steven mumbled.
"The Tour will be called Eating Out: An Anthology of Cheesecake. And the concert movie, Back in the Saddle: Greased Up and Ready to Ride. Okay?" Joey continued.
"Yep," Steven said, still looking at Lainey and Joe.
Joey laughs, looking at me and pointing to Steven like, Get a load of this guy! "Joey, Julia wants you," I say. She doesn't, really, but... Whatever.
"And the follow-up album, called– Oh, what?" Joey says, lost in his own world of innuendos.
"Julia wants you," I repeat.
"Good," Joey says, clapping his hands together. "Steven, good talk my friend." And then he walks off.
"Greased up and ready to ride," Steven mutters under his breath, still not looking away from the two. "Not a bad idea..." he frowns.
I roll my eyes.
Steven's still staring at them. I watch too. How they both talk so animatedly and how Joe actually seems to be engaging in the conversation. Like he's truly interested or something. Having known him since we were little, I'm certain that he's never ever like this in a conversation. Ever.
Steven and I look back at each other. "What the hell?" he hisses angrily. Though the anger isn't towards me.
"I dunno!" I whisper-yell back. "I found them like that."
"Seriously?" he asks, still whispering and irritated.
"Yeah! I went to get another beer, and I turn around and they're taking," I say.
Yeah, yeah. What's the issue with then taking? Everything. She's a groupie, and Joe can't resist groupies. None of the band members can. She is a groupie, right? I occasionally have a small inkling of fear that he's maybe bored with me, but I'm always somehow able to push that away. Now, it's brought into my mind again.
"I've only been with her for a few weeks," Steven offers.
"Yeah. And he's been taking about her nonstop for a few weeks," I say a little sardonically.
"You're joking," Steven mutters, clearly knowing that I most certainly am not joking. Nonetheless, I shake my head solemnly. "Welp..." Steven says, popping the p, "this sucks."
"No shit," I reply, drawing out the no. Steven agrees with a sigh.
--
Most, if not all, of the band slept over. I went to bed before some of the others, so I guess I'll find out if they stayed when I get up tomorrow morning... If I get up tomorrow morning.
Steven and I tried fruitlessly to pull Lainey and Joe apart, but eventually gave up. I told him I was going to bed, and with one final try, went over to Joe. "G'night," I said to him.
"Uh huh."
"Joe," I tried again.
"Hang on one sec," he replied, not even looking back at me.
I rolled my eyes. "You know a Jess, too?" Lainey carries on.
Joe nods, giving a little chuckle. "Yeah, her sister and Steven were real close..."
"Hey," I said, poking him.
Joe closed his eyes and sighed, though I'm sure I wasn't supposed to see that. He turns to face me. "Yes?"
"I'm goin' to bed," I say with an involuntary yawn. I was sitting in the arm of the couch with my feet in the seat.
"Okay."
I frowned at his shortness. Why does he have any reason to be short with me? "Wanna come?" I ask, though I'm not sure why.
He looks at me incredulously. "I'm talking," he says. Well, obviously. He stares at me for a few seconds. "G'night."
I stand with a sigh. "Love you," I offer, leaning down for a kiss.
"You too," he says, giving me a quick peck on the lips.
Well fine, then.
Steven catches my arm before I'm able to storm discreetly up the stairs. "You okay?" he asks.
"Yeah," I clip.
"Stop lying," is his reply. He studies my face with a look of concern.
"Those two are pissing me off." I point to Joe and Lainey, still on the couch. "And I just wanna go to bed."
"I know the feeling," he murmurs, looking over at the two. "Goodnight," he adds, letting go of my arm.
"See ya," I say with a tight smile.
I trudge up the steps and, after removing my dress, climb into the bed. Though I can't fall asleep.
In fact I don't fall asleep until Joe lays down next to me several hours later. But at that point I was pretending to sleep already.
--
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A/N: If you haven't noticed, I've changed the name of this, as well as the cover. It's Back in the Saddle now, and I'm going to try to update a bit more. Hopefully, I hold true to that. I'm just really lacking in inspiration at the moment and it's kinda frustrating, but... I'll get over it and keep posting. All you've gotta keep doing is voting and commenting :)))