"Hey, Sean."
The smallish guy with light brown hair looked up at me with a crooked grin as he licked the edge of the paper he was using to roll a joint. He smoothed it down and checked it to make sure he had it tightly packed in.
"Ez, man. What the hell brings you here?" Sean asked curiously as he stuck the joint between his lips and lit it. He took a huge hit and slunk back against the stained couch.
This place always smelled like piss and vomit. I didn't even want to know what the stains on the couch were.
"I heard you had a contact that could score some Camo tickets." By contact, I meant him. He was the overnight maintenance guy at Bannon's. He had bragged to me once at a party that he would swipe tickets and scalp them for four times as much as they were worth. It was about time to see if this guy was all talk.
"Eh, Camo. Sorry, dude. All out, I just let my last tickets go yesterday." He sucked in a sharp breath through clenched teeth like it hurt him to tell me he couldn't come through for me.
"Can you get more?" I was almost pleading with him. I had to get these tickets. It may be my only shot to see her again.
"Why do you want them so bad? I thought you said they were inferior musicians or some other dramatic Ezra Miller bullshit like that." He started laughing between coughs as he exhaled.
"They are." I couldn't lie about my opinion when it came to music. Camo was good for only playing about four chords during their sets. Most of their songs sounded exactly the same. Their drummer was decent, but the rest of the band held him back. I had seen a video of him playing solo and he could hold his own. They were another example of expertly crafted, overly-produced bands in the studio. They never even remotely sounded like their records live.
"So, the tickets aren't for you then?" Sean cocked his head at me.
"No. Yes, sort of. I'm going to the concert, but it isn't to see them." I admitted.
"Ahh, for some bitch then." Sean shook his head in disbelief. "You usually don't have to work this hard to get your dick sucked."
"It's not for that." I denied it. I would keep denying it. I wanted a girl I couldn't really have and it was killing me. It was driving me so insane that I would go see a band I had absolutely no interest in. I was secretly starting to wonder if I was developing some masochistic tendencies. It would explain why I was trying to find a way to keep her close to me, knowing I would never be able to act upon my urges.
"Sure," Sean nodded sarcastically. "I'll tell you what, I might know a guy who can get them, but it won't come cheap. I can get you four for $200.00 each."
Fucker. The door price was an even fifty at Bannon's for tickets, but I was desperate.
"Four isn't enough." I was trying to find a way to strategically make this work if I had to settle on four. It would be impossible to go to JD and ask him to invite Anna and his sister. If I brought home four, he might just offer them to Mark and Aiden instead. If I got five, he would bring Anna without Riley.
No matter how hard I tried to make it work, Riley was always left out of the equation. There would be no point in getting these tickets if she wasn't coming with us. That was the whole point of trying to make this happen in the first place.
"I need six," I grumbled.
"That will cost extra. Now the price is $1,500 for the six." He sucked on his joint again.
"But you said $200.00 each. That would be $1,200." I gritted my teeth.
"Bigger risk of getting caught. That's the deal. Take it or leave it." He exhaled with his head leaned over the back of the couch.
Didn't this guy know I could beat the fuck out of him right now without even breaking a sweat? Unfortunately for me, I wasn't in much of a place to negotiate. He was my only shot at getting these tickets for her.
"Fine. I'll get you the money tomorrow."
I knew I didn't have all of it. I would have barely had enough to cover the four tickets. I would have to resort to pawning some of my shit to get by until I got my next paycheck. Mark might have to pay my portion of rent this month. He still owed me from covering his ass last month when he went on a TV series collection shopping spree and forgot to leave enough left to cover bills.
"That girl must have a golden pussy. Let me know when you're finished with her. I'll take her off your hands." Sean chuckled.
"Not for a girl." That was never going to happen. He would never go near Riley.
"Keep saying it until you believe it." Sean grinned.
Sean and I sat back and made small talk for a bit. He was telling me about his new strain of marijuana he had just procured and offered to sell me some cheap. This was part of the reason I didn't like hanging out with Sean. He was always trying to peddle something my way every chance he could. He reminded me a lot of my cousin Jake, except for the slipping things in their drink part. Sean would pressure a girl until he convinced her it was her idea to take it. If she didn't, he would just move on to the next one until someone would bite.
The front door opened and a girl with purple hair walked in. She was wearing sky-high clear heels, a tube top, and a tiny little skirt that barely covered her. She dropped a bag down on the floor with a thud and walked over to sit down next to Sean on the couch with her legs wide open. I wasn't at all surprised to see she wasn't wearing any underwear under the tiny fabric. She just sat there spread wide open without a care in the world.
I wondered if Riley would ever be daring enough to be out in public without any panties on. It would be hot if she did. Unlike this girl, I would never let her flash herself to anyone else but me.
She grabbed the joint from Sean's hand and took a quick hit.
"Mmm." She moaned.
"Long day?" Sean asked her.
She nodded and took another hit. She looked towards me and leaned up to get a better look.
"Who are you? Have we met before?" She started licking her lips as her eyes lowered down to my dick. She was staring at it like she had seen it before.
I tried to think back to see if I could remember her from anywhere. I know I hadn't slept with her before unless her hair was a different color at the time. I don't think I had been with any girls with purple hair in Ohio.
"Have you been to Revis?" She asked.
She was a stripper.
The clear heels made a lot more sense now. I couldn't imagine seeing them on someone just strolling around the neighborhood. Revis was one of a few strip clubs around town, it was the lowest end one or so I had been told. I didn't have much of a need to go see strippers. There were enough girls around me willing to take their clothes off for free.
"Nope, never been."
"Then you should come up there and see me some time." She winked at me.
I wasn't at all in the mood for this.
"Why would I go up there when you are giving me a free show right now? I think I've already seen everything I need to see." I lowered my eyes down to the spot between her legs.
"Fuck you." She closed them quickly and pouted.
"Awww, Cookie. I'll make sure you have your fun tonight." Sean reached down between her legs and palmed her roughly.
"It's so sweet. You gave her a nickname." I was gagging internally. Pet names were the worst. There had to be a level of hell devoted to the people who came up with them.
"That's my real name." Her mouth pulled into a tight little pucker. It looked like she had an asshole on her face.
"No, you can't be fucking serious." My face and sides hurt; I was laughing so hard. What kind of cruel parents named their daughter Cookie? They had to know she was headed straight for the pole with a name like that.
"It was my grandmother's name." She hissed.
I shivered with disgust when I started imagining her and her granny up on stage waxing the pole together in front of a bunch of old men with bald heads and beer bellies.
My head was beyond fucked up sometimes.
"On that note, I think it's time I headed out." I patted the arms of the chair and stood up.
"Real quick before you leave. I think I heard Levi say something about a band backing out last minute. Do you think you guys might be interested in playing tomorrow? I could throw it out and see if he bites." Sean asked.
It took me a little longer to think it over than it should have. While I didn't think we were completely ready for a full show, the money from a gig could help me with the Camo tickets.
"What's the set length and pay?" I asked.
"Normally, forty-five minutes for twenty-eight percent of the cover charge," Sean said.
"Have him call JD to set it up." I sighed.
I couldn't afford losing out on this show if I wanted to see Riley again.