Author's Note: It's official; you have been spoiled. I hope this makes up for the long wait. This is the seventh chapter, and my favourite for now. Vote... Share... Comment...
***
Chapter Seven: Cookham 32 Rocks Tembisa
After showering, Lindo and I watched about two movies and a half. Lindo got a call from Thuso saying that he needed Lindo to go help with packing the sound equipment they would be using at their performance. Lindo told me to pack a bag with my clothes for the night and go with him to the commune.
I picked out dark skinny jeans, a white shirt and a red leather jacket. I also picked out red, 3-inch heels to go with my outfit. I grabbed a pair of black pumps, but I knew I wasn’t going to use them. I was a big Beyoncé fan, so I could dance in heels. I didn’t bother to tell Lindo I could handle it because, he had never seen me dancing in heels. I was going to show him tonight though.
I packed my clothes and some make-up into an overnight bag. I grabbed my car keys and Lindo and I left the apartment.
Once we got to his commune, we helped with what needed our assistance. After I got done, I went to change in the bathroom. I then put on some make-up; not too much to look like some black Barbie, but enough to enhance my beauty.
The guys were busy getting dressed in Thuso’s room, so I took my bag and went to put it outside. As I was walking back to the house, Lorraine called me to ask for directions to the commune. I directed her and a few minutes later, she and Bryan arrived. They got out their car and walked to me.
“Hey girl, you look stunning. And you’re glowing. You seem very happy. What happened to make you look like this?” she bombarded me, as she hugged me. I looked at her like she was crazy.
“Do you always have to pick on me, though Lorry? Every time I meet you, you have something odd to say”, I said.
“I enjoy picking on you because, you get riled up so easily”, she said. I shook my head and looked at Bryan.
“How do you cope with this one?” I asked and he chuckled.
“I don’t”, he joked and Lorraine gently hit him with her purse.
“Shut up”, she said. I laughed and hugged Bryan.
“How’re you guys doing?” I asked.
“We’re good. I’m excited to see this band you’ve been raving about”, Lorraine said.
“You’ll understand why I go crazy about them tonight”, I said.
“What kind of music do they make?” Bryan asked.
“They major in all kinds of house genres”, I said.
“Meaning they do tribal house, deep house, electro?” he asked.
“Yes; commercial and others too”, I said. He nodded and looked at Lorraine. I also turned my head to face her and she had a look of total confusion on her face. “What?” I asked.
“Y’all just went technical music vocabulary on me”, she said. I chuckled. “I mean, seriously, what’s the difference? It all has a fast beat”, she continued.
“Well, I’ll get you an interview with the band and you can ask them yourself. First things first though, you need to hear them. I can bet you a hundred bucks that you will fall in love with them”, I said.
“I wouldn’t recommend that though, honey”, Bryan said and I laughed. I heard someone whistling behind me and I turned around to see who it was. Perfect had on a beautiful grin on his face as he looked me up and down.
“My, my, my; don’t you just look gorgeous tonight?” he said as he gave me another hug. He was pretty tall, so I had to stand on my toes to reach him properly.
“Yes, she does”, Langa said.
“Lady, are you single?” asked S’busiso and I laughed.
“Yes, she is. Her number is 072—“, Lorraine started and I held her mouth.
“LORRY; hush!” I said and she just laughed. I got a weird look from Lindo and I brushed it off. All the band members and S’pha were now standing outside the gate with us.
“Let me introduce you to the band. Band, these are my friends, Lorraine and her fiancé Bryan. This is Cookham 32, my beautiful boy band. This is Monde; he sings and plays keyboard. This is Calvin and he is the DJ. Then this is Perfect and Langa and they are both singers. Next to them is S’busiso and he plays the trumpet. Thuso is the synthesizer, and well, you know Lindo and he also sings. And you’ve met S’pha”, I said, waving my hand around the whole place.
“It’s a pleasure meeting you”, Monde said, with a smile and shook Lorraine’s and Bryan’s hands. After the introduction, we set up a way to drive to Tembisa. There were eleven of us and three cars. Lindo and S’pha rode in my car, while Thuso and Calvin rode in Bryan’s car. Perfect, Monde and Langa rode in S’busiso’s car.
When we arrived at the club in Tembisa, it was packed. There were cars everywhere. The security guards asked us who we were and once they heard that it was the band and its entourage, they looked for a private parking space for all three cars. Once we had parked, the guys helped move the equipment into the club. It was around eight o’ clock at night and there were some people who were already drunk.
Lorraine and I were standing next to my car, waiting for the guys, when this drunk guy came and stopped in front of us. He looked us over like he was picking who to hit on. He was pretty drunk and he kept rocking back and forth.
“Anisebahle (which means, you two are beautiful)”, he slurred and stepped closer to Lorraine. He looked at me. “You have a white friend. I’ve been looking for a white girlfriend”, he said with a lopsided grin. I wanted to laugh, but Lorraine looked like she was uncomfortable, so I didn’t.
“Okay; we’re leaving now”, I said and took a hold of Lorraine’s hand. As I pulled her with me, the guy stopped us.
“Niyakuphi (which means, where are you going)?” he asked. Lorraine struggled to get her hand out of his grip and I squeezed her hand. She looked at me and I shook my head at her.
“To find our boyfriends”, I said and he let go of her hand. Bryan and Lindo showed up just as we were walking away from him.
“I’ll come find you later, my vanilla sister”, the drunk man said, and I couldn’t hold it anymore. I burst out laughing and Lorraine hit me with her purse.
“Shut up”, she said, and I laughed some more.
“What is she laughing at?” Bryan asked.
“She got hit on by that drunk guy over there. He called her “my vanilla sister”, I said and laughed all over again.
“It’s not funny, Thando. He said he was going to come find me”, Lorraine said.
“I’ll go sort him out now”, Bryan growled.
“No, don’t. Let’s not start some mess”, Lorraine told him. I had sobered up now and looked at Lindo. He was quiet and kept giving me this weird look. He looked like his vision clouded over; like he was looking at me, but past me. I squirmed under his intense gaze and turned to look at Lorraine.
“I’m sorry I laughed”, I said.
“It’s cool. Can we go now? I don’t want to be out here anymore”, she said. I put my arm around her and pulled her with me, as we walked towards the club entrance.
“You’ll get cheered up soon”, I reassured her. Lindo and Bryan followed us. They talked among themselves and I wondered what was happening with Lindo.
We walked into the club with Bryan and Lorraine producing their tickets. Lindo took my hand and told the bouncer that I was a VIP guest. They let us through the velvet rope and Lindo let go of my hand and put his arm over my shoulder. He kissed the side of my head and inhaled my dreads. He was seriously starting to freak me out. He hadn’t said anything to me since we left Auckland Park. He spoke to everybody else, just not me.
“Are you okay?” I asked, and he nodded. “Are you sure?” I pressed and he nodded.
“One hundred”, he said. We were now inside the main area of the club.
The club was called ‘Hotspot’ and it was two storeys high. The lower part was like a lounge and then the top part was the main club. There was a dance floor packed with grinding bodies and flickering lights. In front of the dance floor was a stage where I could see Cookham 32’s equipment set up. A few steps on the right side of the stage, there was a VIP section for all the top dogs of the area. There were already people seated there. There were also seats reserved for the band and I laughed.
“There is no way that I am sitting there”, I said quietly to myself. I looked around the club and saw the bar, where all kinds of alcoholic drinks were lined up. I wasn’t into drinking alcohol, so I wasn’t impressed. There was a balcony that had couch-like seats. I spotted the restrooms and a pool table and table soccer. There also were stools scattered around the club and I grabbed a seat next to the bar.
“Thando, you have to come sit at the VIP area with us, remember”, Lindo said over the music. I shook my head.
“I’d rather sit here with Bryan and Lorraine”, I shouted back. We had to speak this way because the music was very loud.
“I can’t keep you safe if you’re here and I’m there”, he said and I frowned.
“You can’t keep me safe from whom?” I asked.
“Drunken idiots”, he announced and I chuckled.
“No need to worry. I’m safe”, I said.
“Please come sit with us”, he begged and I shook my head.
“Don’t worry man; I’ll keep an eye on her”, Bryan reassured him. He looked at me and frowned. I reached out my hands and ran my thumbs over his frown lines.
“Don’t frown at me. I’ll be fine; I promise”, I said. He smiled and then bent his head and kissed me. He kissed me so tenderly that I forgot that there were people around us. He pulled back and then kissed my forehead.
“Let me go check the band. See you later”, he said and I nodded. He walked away and I turned to look at Lorraine and Bryan. They both had huge grins on their faces.
“Oh no. Please don’t”, I said, waving my hands in front of me and they laughed. The guy who owns the club walked onto the stage and the music in the club died down. The man grabbed a microphone and jumped back down the stage, onto the dance floor.
“Good evening Tembisa!” he exclaimed and the crowd went crazy. “How’re you doing this fine night?” he asked, and the crowd shouted back answers ranging from happy, to excited, to wonderful.
“Drunk”, said one man in the crowd after the noise was cut and we all laughed.
“I see that”, said the owner. “My name is Harry and welcome to my club, Hotspot”, he said and the crowd cheered with clapping hands, whistles and screams. “Tonight, we have a special line up. We have a new-kid-in-the-block boy band, Cookham 32; make some noise”, he said and the crowd cheered some more. “Then later, we will have DJ Clock and Bucie to come perform”, he said. The crowd went nuts when they heard that. “For now though, we have our in-house DJ, DJ Smooth, on the ones and twos. Have yourselves a great evening. Don’t drink and drive. Be merry. Make some noise one more time”, he said and the crowd obliged.
DJ Smooth turned the music up and people started filling the dance floor again. The music got ridiculously loud and I was itching to dance. I didn’t though. I stayed put and bought myself a can of coke. Bryan and Lorraine went to dance and I sat at the bar all by myself. Next thing I knew, Lindo was sitting next to me. He bought a cider and looked at me.
“Do you see why I wanted you to sit at the VIP section with me? What will happen to you if Bryan and Lorraine dance all night? Plus you’re wearing those heels. Will you be able to keep up?” he asked. I smiled.
“I’m fine, Ndo; seriously. And don’t go ruining Bryan’s and Lorraine’s night by making them stay with me all night. I’m here to support Cookham 32, not socialize”, I said. He frowned again. “Don’t do that”, I said and he stopped.
“Okay; let’s go to the balcony then”, he said as he got off his stool. He offered me his hand to take and then I got off the stool. We walked hand-in-hand to the balcony. There was a group of four girls standing at a corner and they looked at Lindo with hungry eyes. I frowned at that and felt a pressing jealousy in my chest. I pushed it down and followed Lindo onto the balcony.
“This is beautiful”, I said looking at the night time view of Tembisa.
“Not nearly as beautiful as you are though”, he said and I smiled.
“Thank you”, I said. I stood by the railing and Lindo stood behind me. He pecked my neck lightly and I shivered.
“Did I tell you how gorgeous you look in this outfit?” he said and I shook my head. “That is a punishable crime. Let me rectify that. You look absolutely gorgeous, Noluthando”, he said sweetly and I smiled. I turned around to face him.
“You don’t look too bad yourself, mister”, I said and he really didn’t. He was wearing black trousers and a white shirt. He added a black leather jacket and white sneakers to the mix. He looked yummy, if you asked me.
I grabbed his leather jacket and pulled him down to kiss me. We stayed like that for the next hour and a half. After that, Calvin came up to us and told Lindo that it was time for them to go on stage. I was bouncing with excitement and Lindo could see that. He smiled and pulled me back into the club. He made sure I stood close to where they would be standing while singing. I was in front, with Lorraine next me and Cookham 32 were introduced.
“Introducing our first performance for the night; give it up for Calvin, Thuso, Monde, S’busiso, Perfect, Lindo and Langa. Make some noise for Cookham 32”, said DJ Smooth into a microphone, while the band members walked onto stage as their names were being called. We all cheered. I could see all the ladies were swooning over my boy band and I smiled at the thought.
“Hola, hola Tembisa; hola, hola”, Lindo said into his microphone.
“Hola”, replied the crowd.
“How’re y’all doing tonight?” Perfect asked and the crowd cheered.
“We’re so blessed and humbled to be given this opportunity to be the opening act for DJ Clock and Bucie”, Langa said and the crowd clapped. Monde was playing something on his keyboard. He had a microphone stand in front of him.
“We are Cookham 32, and we do hope you enjoy our performance”, he said. Calvin then played a beat and of the song ‘Hey Ya’.
“Clap your hands; come on. Clap your hands; come on”, Perfect said and clap our hands we did.
They started singing and Lorraine looked at me like she was shocked at what was happening in front of her. I moved along with the beat and sang along with the lyrics. I knew their songs like the back of my hand. I told you; they said I was part of the band.
“Oh my word! They are the bomb dot com”, Lorraine exclaimed over the music and I nodded. “Why don’t you go dance and show Lindo that you know your way around with high heels?” she suggested and I laughed and shook my head.
“Not yet”, I said.
Next, they performed ‘Let Love Go’. After that, they did Alive and Fever. Fever was the song I chose to dance to. I was accustomed to the beat and moving to it was like a walk in a park. I got cheers from the crowd.
“That’s our girl, Thando”, Perfect said at the end of the song and I stopped to look at him. He was smiling widely, while the rest of the band looked like they couldn’t believe they just saw me dancing. “Hopefully, you’ll be seeing a lot of her at our performances and in our music videos”, he continued, and the crowd cheered some more. I looked at the crowd and some girls looked at me like I was something they had stepped in. I curtsied and went back to stand next to Lorraine.
“Girl, I don’t know how you do those moves with those shoes on”, she said.
“Beyoncè taught me well”, I said and winked at her. She bumped hips with me and we turned our attention back to the stage.
Cookham 32 performed their last song, ‘Ubani’. I loved how the crowd loved their performance. You could tell that Cookham 32 rocked Tembisa. I was super proud of my crazy boy band. After their performance, they went to sit at the VIP section. DJ Clock had already arrived and was being ushered onto the stage. I wasn’t really much of his fan, so I went to sit at the bar again. I bought myself another can of soda and watched the people dancing.
After a while, Lindo came to find me saying the band wanted to talk to me. I was a little stunned, but I went with him anyway. We went outside, where the band was standing after they had packed their equipment in both S’busiso’s car and mine. We walked towards them and they were all smiling at me. I looked at Lindo and he was grinning too.
“Hey Thando”, Langa said.
“Hi guys; what’s with the Cheshire grins?” I asked.
“Well, we wanted to tell you that we loved your dance”, Monde said.
“Oh; thank you guys”, I said.
“That’s not all”, he said and I frowned.
“Okay… What else could there possibly be?” I asked.
“We were wondering if you would like to be our choreographer for the future performances and recordings of our music videos”, Thuso said. I looked at them with my eyes wide.
“Are you guys drunk?” I asked and they laughed.
“Yes, we are, but that’s not a problem”, Calvin said.
“You may be blurry, but we know what we’re saying”, S’busiso said, and he gave me his signature grin. I laughed and looked at Lindo.
“Seriously…?” I asked and he nodded. “Guys, I would love to”, I said.
“That’s great. We’ll set up a meeting for you and our manager, KG”, Perfect said.
“Awesome”, I said.
“Let’s go back inside”, Calvin said and we all went back.
The band went to the VIP section. Bryan and Lorraine were now seated at the bar. I walked up to them and we chilled. Sometime during the night, I went into the restroom. Once I was done using it, Bucie was already on stage. I went to the dance floor to watch her perform. I was so excited. I loved her voice. I might have learned how to dance on high heels like Beyoncè, but God did not give me a singing voice.
As Bucie was performing, I glanced at the VIP section and I wished I hadn’t. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I was standing with Lorraine and she followed my horror-struck gaze. She gasped at the scene before us. My world stopped spinning and not in the good way. The music became an annoying hum in my head and my vision blurred with unshed tears.
I couldn’t believe it. Lindo couldn’t seriously be that much of a jerk, could he? Are you wondering why I’m freaking out? Yes; no; maybe? I’ll tell you anyway. A girl wearing a very short skirt was straddling Lindo and they were having a make-out session. Lindo was holding her like he was enjoying himself and I felt a tear roll down my cheek.
I snapped out of my pain, checked my pockets and found my car keys. Thank God Calvin gave them back after they had finished packing the equipment. I looked at Lindo and his dish for the night and took out my phone. I took a couple of photos and before I left the club I turned to Lorraine.
“I’m leaving. Tell the band I said bye and I’ll bring their stuff later in the day”, I said. It was already past midnight.
“I’ll get Bryan and we can go with you”, she said and I shook my head.
“No; it’s fine. S’pha and…“, I paused and looked at him. ”… Lindokuhle will need a ride remember? I’ll be fine. I promise. Have a great night. Tell Bryan I say bye”, I said and got ready to walk. She stopped me and gave me hug.
“I’m so sorry, babe”, she whispered.
“I’m fine”, I said and pulled away. I waved at her, gave Lindo one last look and left.
I climbed into my car and used my phone for directions back to Auckland Park. Once I had arrived at my apartment, I took a hot shower. Sometime during the shower, I broke down and cried, thinking about Lindo. He had slept with me and now, he was busy sucking some girl’s face. What was I going to do?
After my shower, I wore my pyjamas and made myself a cup of hot chocolate. I climbed into bed and it smelled like Lindo’s cologne. I screamed into a pillow. He was everywhere in this house. I grabbed the sheets and duvet and tossed them in the bathroom. I removed the pillow cases and replaced them with fresh ones. I also replaced the sheets and grabbed another duvet. Once that was done, I fell right asleep.
***
Author's Note: I'm hanging you on this slight cliffhanger. What is going to happen between Lindo and Thando? Should their fling end or continue? Let me know... Vote... Share... Comment...
Love Thaby. ❤