Lennon's Jinx (18 page)

She
sings to me with all the vehemence of a hate song, so it sounds great. Her
concentration lasts only a few more songs before her gaze wanders back to Zach.
We close the first set, and Clive is ready to throttle her.

Clive
pulls the strap of his guitar over his head. “What are you doing out there,
Jinx? You’re making us look like amateurs.”

He
stabs a finger at me. “She better get her act together by tomorrow.”

“Give
it a rest,” Danny Boy says. “It’s her first night.” Danny’s debut had been just
as rough. He could barely keep it together as stage fright consumed him, but he
eventually got over it.

Jinx
purses her lips. “Was it really that bad?”

“Yeah,”
I say, “but we all have to start somewhere.” I clutch her shoulder, and she
doesn’t bolt or shudder at my touch. “It’s okay.”

“You
have to keep in mind that Clive comes from a family of professional musicians,”
Danny Boy says. “When you go home tonight, work on the cover songs. The ones with
asterisks are the most popular at weddings.”

“There’s
a few solos I need for you to work on, too,” I add.

Jinx
nods and stares at the wood floor. She steers away from Zach as she threads her
way through the crowd to her table of friends. Zach’s gaze trains on her, and I
don’t like it.

Rena
hands Jinx a mixed drink and slings an arm around her. “You didn’t do that bad.
Sing like you do in choir.”

Even
Susan says, “Don’t worry. You’ll do better next time.” Which isn’t the best
thing to say, but she tries.

“I
didn’t think you were coming,” Jinx says to Rena.

“Iz
and Gabby pulled my hair,” Rena says. “Besides, I didn’t want to miss your big debut.”

I
manage to get to the bathroom before groupies snag me. While I’m in there, Zach
shows up.

“What’s
up with Jinx?” one of his friends says. “I thought she was supposed to be
pretty good.”

Zach
shrugs. “I don’t know. She’s off. That’s why we didn’t let her play in our
band. She got all flaky on me.” When he realizes I’m standing nearby, he
blushes. “Hey, Lennon.”

It
bugs me when guys dish on their old girlfriends. “Where’s your current basket
case?” I ask.

“Don’t
talk that way about Kelly,” he says.

“Why?
I bet Jinx never cheated on you.” I bet she never had sex with him either. I
know Kelly puts out.

Zach’s
distracted for a moment while he processes that I implied Kelly screwed another
guy. “That’s the weird part. I think Jinx did.”

That
leaves me speechless. So she isn’t a virgin. With her fear of guys, she didn’t
give it up willingly.

A
hurt expression shadows Zach’s face. He must still like Jinx or he wouldn’t
have come here without Kelly or tried to take Jinx home the other night. Ex-boyfriends
are tough competition.

“Where
was Kelly the other night?” I’m being nosy because he wasn’t with her at
Sammy’s either when Jinx had her cliff-diving fall from grace.

“What’s
it to you?”

“I
don’t really care.” Just checking to see if he still wants her. “So Jinx dumped
you?”

He
sighs. “It was just before our sixteenth birthdays. I couldn’t make it to that
big party. Jinx went. After that, she was different. I heard she pulled a
train.”

If
she had slept with a lot of guys, I would’ve heard about it from Bailey, and
the guys at school would’ve spread it around. Then what happened to Jinx? According
to Rena, she was serious about Zach.

“Well,
I’m sure Jinx will do better,” Zach says.

“Everyone
has jitters their first night,” I say, defending her. “She’ll be fine.”

“I’m
sure she will be. She has an amazing voice.” Zach shuffles out of the bathroom,
letting the door swing shut behind him.

I
find Jinx and pull her into the band’s room. “Remember the two songs we
practiced yesterday?”

Jinx
hangs her head. “I suck.”

“You’ve
done solos in choir before. This is no different.”

“Why
are you being nice to me?”

“You
have a kickass voice.”

“I
do?” When she looks at me with those green eyes, I want to sink into them, but
I stop myself. I don’t need to go there.

“Hell,
yeah,” I say, “so start showing it.” Having a girl in our band will attract
more guys to the bar.

I
make her go over the two songs, one by Pink, the other Paramore. They sound
good, but she isn’t on stage yet. “You don’t have to play while you sing. Don’t
look at the crowd. Focus on me and the other guys.”

The
bruise above her eye has almost faded. I’m not sure why I care, but I want to
know who hit her and why.

“Clive’s
really pissed.”

“He’ll
get over it. Danny was just as nervous during his first gig.”

“He
was?” Her hands are shaking. “Zach’s out there.”

“Don’t
worry about him.” I can tell she is.

We
leave the room together but go our separate ways. I wind through the crowd of bar
patrons to talk to the three girls. That’ll take my mind off Jinx. Bailey
thinks I’m coming her way until I stop at the other girls’ table. The two girls
I’ve had before wrap their arms around my waist. Bailey glares at me, slams her
beer down, and walks out. After a few minutes, her friends follow.

Good,
no more entanglements. The sick feeling in my gut lets me know it’s not that
simple. I hate hurting her, but I know Bailey can do better.

“This
is our friend, Mitzi,” one of my fans says, pointing at the blonde with
feathers in her hair.

“I
have a secret to tell you,” she says, tugging on my shoulder.

I
lean down to her. “What’s that, little girl?”

Her
tongue slides around my ear. “You’re really cute.” 

“I
know. See you after the show?”

“You
bet.”

When
we get back on stage, I give Jinx a water. She takes a deep breath before
taking a sip. Her next song only requires her on the keyboard.

Danny
comes up and pats her back. “You’re doing fine. Take your time. We’ll get
through this.”

“Thanks,”
Jinx says.

Susan
gives Jinx a wary look from her table. Jinx’s friends raise their drinks to Jinx.

“Yeah,
Jinx,” Iz screams.

Two
girls hit on Clive before he takes the stage. He talks to them for another
minute before returning to us. Clive goes to his bass and picks it up. He
plucks at it and gives it a tune. The two girls, both brunettes, yell at him. My
groupies dance close to their table so they can keep an eye on their drinks and
purses.

Zach’s
focus fixes on Jinx, which makes her fidget. She fingers her keyboard, avoiding
him. We do a couple cover songs before I nod to Jinx. Her playing wasn’t spot
on, but it wasn’t bad either. She bites her lip and closes her eyes.

Danny
sets the beat while I come in with the guitar. Jinx belts out
That’s What
You Get
. She keeps her eyes closed and pretty soon, she’s in the groove. A
bit of confidence returns to her voice. She flounders through a few more songs
before I let her take the lead on the Pink song. By the end of the night, she’s
not so shaky. Much to my displeasure, Zach stays until then, whereas Jinx’s
friends left around one.

Susan
waits for Danny Boy while he packs up his drums. Many clubs have their own
setup including percussion, but Danny insists on playing his own. I pack my
guitars, and within no time, Clive is down talking to one of the brunettes.

Mitzi
slides over to me. This girl has legs that can wrap around my neck all night
long. Zach’s friends are long gone. He waits for Jinx. This pisses me off
because the band normally regroups before we split off in different directions,
and honestly, I don’t want her hooking up with him.

I
amble to the band room down the hall. The guys and Jinx filter in along with
their accompaniments. Though I gave Clive and Jinx a ride, I expect them to
take the train back.

Zach
speaks softly to Jinx. Her expression is a mix of emotions. “You have to
practice. You were pitchy on your solos.”

Clive
must’ve heard because he pokes Jinx in the back. “Your solos were spot on,
bird. You get the rest working like those two songs, blokes will be piling in
to see you. By the way, great rags. The chaps loved them.”

Danny
Boy slips by Jinx. “You did good. Your voice is hot.”

It’s
okay if we give each other a hard time, but we don’t let outsiders rag on any
of us.

I
wave my arms. “Other than Susan, everyone else, please wait outside.”

“Why
does she get to stay,” my groupie Mitzi coos, slipping an arm around my waist.

When
she sucks on my neck, Jinx snorts with disgust. I pull the girl away before she
leaves a hickey. I don’t let girls mar me. It reminds me of a dog marking its
territory. I don’t belong to any girl, except Currie.

I
tap the groupie on her butt and send her out. “Go on, Honey.”  

She
blows me a kiss. “Okay.”

I
hand out two Ben Franklins to each of them. The door gave us another three
hundred. My money plus some of theirs goes to paying the utilities on the
warehouse. The place was a gift from Jonathan, which I tried to turn down, but
Danny and Clive had already accepted before I could say no.

“If
you want your full pay tomorrow, Jinx, you have to know every song.” I hand her
four solos and one duet. “These are requests from the bride-to-be and her dad, the
one paying for the whole shebang. Get them memorized.”

Her
face pales and droops down like a dog that’s been kicked. “I’ve never heard of
half of them.”

“I
have demo CDs in the car you can borrow.”

“Looking
forward to seeing Katie Winthrop, the bride.” Clive whistles. “A real fit bird.”

“She’s
off limits,” I say. We’ve had this problem before.

Clive
pockets the cash. He pinches Jinx on the ass before she knows what he’s doing.
She swipes at him but misses.

“Have
to be quicker than that. Later, mates. Pretty ladies.” Clive scoops up the
brunette on his way out.

Zach
is not hanging out by the door to wait for Jinx. Disappointment creases her
forehead. My groupie comes in and wraps both arms around me. She kisses me
hard. My eyes trail after Jinx. She doesn’t once look back at me. I have to
settle with a quickie here, so I can drive home alone.

Jinx
leaves the door open on her way out. My hand is half way up the girl’s shirt,
when a scream comes from outside.

“Buzz
off,” Jinx yells.

Shoot.
If I leave Mitzi now, I won’t be able to return. I can feel it in my bones and
elsewhere. God, I need this more than what awaits me out in the hall.

“Excuse
me,” I say to Mitzi who has her hands down my pants, searching for the big guy.
I slip away from her, grab my guitars, and walk out.

She
gives me a puzzled look.

A
regular at the club has cornered Jinx. He’s six feet and beefy with chains
hanging off his chaps, biker style, and sporting a ZZ Top beard. “Come on,
Sweetie. Come to Papa.”

She
slaps him hard. Bad idea, Jinx. Very bad.

His
face goes red. He grabs her arm and shakes her like a dog killing a snake. She
struggles against his steel-like grip. He takes a beer and drenches her. From
the amber color, I’m guessing whiskey goes down her dress next. I don’t want to
laugh, but I do. Jinx is fuming so much that I honestly believe smoke billows
out of those beautiful pipes of hers.

“Hey,
Leroy,” I call. “I think she’s learned her lesson.”

She’s
shaking like a yield sign in a hurricane. Leroy’s harmless, but she doesn’t
know that. I’m glad she hasn’t pepper sprayed him.

“Lennon,
my man.” After he releases her, he gives me a hearty backslap and a handshake.
“Need to tame this filly.”

I
sling my arm around her. She’s petrified. I pull her in tight in an attempt to
calm her and because I like the way she feels against me. “Jinx is with me.”

“You
got a lot of honey dripping from your pot.”

“Yeah,
it comes with the territory. We had a fight. I was going to do that other wench
to show her what’s up, but I should go home with the old lady. You know how
they can be. Can’t live with them, sure can’t shoot them.”

“Wouldn’t
want to impose on a bro.” He pinches Jinx’s ass before he heads out. “Nice and
firm. Liked that one song you did, girl.”

I
grab Jinx’s hand before she takes another swing.

Jinx
stinks like a distillery. “Now, what am I supposed to do? I can’t go home like
this. Step-monster will…” Tears bubble up in her eyes.

“It’s
okay.” I snake an arm around her, though she’s sopping wet. She’s trembling
hard. “Can’t you go to Rena’s?”

“No.
They’re going out of town tomorrow morning.”

“We’ll
wash your rags at my house and get you home.” I can’t believe I just said that.
No girl has ever come to my house.

She
shakes and drops her head. “Are you sure? My stepfather…”

I
can tell this is seriously going to cut into me getting any. Clive has already
left with a girl. Somehow, this isn’t right, though it’s my fault.

“I’m
sorry,” I say. “I should’ve made sure you had a ride back to the train station.
I wasn’t thinking.” I’m used to the guys figuring out their way home.

She’s
still shaking and wipes the tears with the back of her arm.

I
pull her against me. I like the way her body feels pressed against mine. “It’s
going to be okay.”

“What
about that girl you were with?” Jinx asks.

“She’ll
figure it out.”

“Wow.
That’s cold. Don’t you ever have sex with someone you care about? Don’t you
want a relationship?”

“Not
really.”

“I
don’t get you. Being with someone you really care about is more important than
just a roll around in the trunk of your car.”

“Don’t
knock sex until you try it. I like it, and I’m not giving it up.” Even for that
tight little ass of yours. “Maybe if you got some you’d loosen up on stage.”