Rhythm in Blue (27 page)

Keith’s drum solo in the middle of the song gave him a minute to get a quick drink and wipe the sweat from his face. Randy joined him, grabbing a towel Johnny threw from the edge of the stage.

“Only ten more,” Randy said.

“I know. Not sure if that’s a good thing or bad,” Rick said, leaning closer to Randy so, he wouldn’t have to yell.

“I think it’s great. I can’t wait to get home.”

“I could stand to put it off a while longer.”

Randy gave him a questioning look, but Rick turned and headed back toward his microphone.

When the spotlight returned to Rick, he launched into the last part of the song. The audience grew louder, knowing the experience would soon be over. He rewarded them for their enthusiasm, giving himself entirely to the effort – they needed to know he loved them too, and by the end of the song, they did. Waving and bowing with the others, he walked offstage.

Like sheep, they followed Johnny as he led them back to the dressing room. Rick’s girlfriend sat on a far sofa, impatiently tapping her foot. As soon as he entered the room, she jumped to his side to await the photographers and reporters for the post show meet and greet. When they closed in, she draped herself over Rick, posing and smiling with a tiger-like bite. She was at his side until the frenzy died down. Her enthusiasm died with it.

“Can we get something to eat now? I’m hungry,” she whined, as the room cleared out.

“Will you settle for room-service? I’m drained. I just want to go to bed.”

“That’s all you ever want to do,” she said. After dirty looks from Keith and Devon, she changed her tune. “Fine, I’ll order room service,” she said, rolling her eyes.

“Thank you.” Rick gave her a quick peck on the cheek.

They rode in silence to the hotel, and once they were in the room, she called for food, and Rick took a shower. By the time he was done, Linda was tearing into her meal. He kissed the top of her head, and crawled into bed. He was asleep within minutes, but he didn’t sleep long, waking to find her naked, rubbing up against him.

“Linda, I’m tired. Not tonight, okay?” She looked at him with a pouty face, pulled the sheet back, and started to fondle him. Rick smiled, but pulled her hand away, shaking his head. He reached for the sheet and pulled it back over them, and closed his eyes. Soon, he felt her lips making their way down his stomach and her tongue working to change his mind. Linda won, and it was several hours before he got back to sleep.

~

The phone ringing woke him the next morning. He answered with a raspy, “Hello?”

“Were heading downtown for breakfast,” Devon said. “You guys coming?”

Rick looked over to see Linda sleeping beside him. His eyes were heavy still. “No, I wanna get a couple more hours in before we leave.”

“Are you sure? I guess this place makes the best crepes and waffles in the country,” Devon said to entice him.

“No. Thanks though. Wake me up when you guys get back, okay?” He hung up and went back to sleep.

Johnny woke them up a few hours later. Rick recognized the familiar knock at the door.

“Yeah?” he called.

“‘Bout an hour, okay?”

“Yep.”

Linda stirred next to him, and he snuggled up to her. She groaned in response, so he gently caressed the back of her arm. She shot it back and elbowed him in the chin before rising and leaving him in the bed alone.

Rick grasped his jaw in pain. “What the hell? It’s fine for you to wake me up, and force me to have sex, but if I wake you up, I get hit?”

Walking away, she said, “God Ricky, people don’t do it in the morning, and nobody
forced
you to do anything.” She slammed the bathroom door behind her.

It didn’t matter. She didn’t matter, but Rick didn’t care anymore. He got out of bed, dressed, and called to have some coffee sent to the room. As he was collecting his things from around the room, there was a knock on the door. Expecting the coffee, he found Randy instead.

“Hey, come on in,” Rick backed away to allow Randy to enter.

Randy looked around the room. “Where is she?”

“She’s in the shower. Come in.” Rick returned to his packing.

“Man, you missed a great breakfast. It was amazing, you really should have been there.”

“Give me a break, it’s just breakfast.”

“No, the food was good, but the company was fantastic.”

“Company?” Rick asked.

“You are going to be so pissed you didn’t come,” Randy said, plopping into a chair. “So we’re sitting there, we just ordered, and guess who walks in?”

“Elvis.”

“Even better. Shelby.”

Rick stopped stuffing his bag – his jaw dropped as he turned to Randy.

“See? I knew you’d be pissed.”

“Seriously? You guys saw Shelby?”

“Yeah, in fact, she had breakfast with us. She asked about you, and said to tell you she said ‘Hi.’”

“Oh my God,” Rick said, dropping into the chair beside Randy’s. “How is she?”

“She seemed great, a little shy again though. That always surprises me about her, not at all like she was as a kid, but anyway, she seems to be doing okay.”

Ignoring the familiar twinge of guilt, Rick asked, “Does she live around here?”

“No, she’s still in Greece. Said she’s in Phoenix visiting a friend. She was at the show last night,” Randy said, lighting a cigarette. “We asked why she didn’t come see us.”

“What did she say?”

“She said we looked whipped,” he laughed, “and said she figured she’d catch us next time around. She was really surprised to see us at the restaurant, and said she didn’t think the next time around would be quite so soon.”

Rick wasn’t sure what to say. Randy was right, he was pissed that he missed her, again. She had come to stay with Devon and Julia while he was in rehab, so everyone had the chance to see her at length, except Rick. The only thing that could make the humiliation of rehab worse was Shelby knowing he was in rehab.

“How did she look?” Rick asked at last.

“She looked good.”

“God, it’s been so long…how old is she now?”

“I don’t know. It’s not like I asked her.”

Rick thought for a moment. “Well, she was sixteen on Paros, and that was…five years ago? Almost? She has to be around to twenty-one by now.”

Randy nodded, “Yeah, I guess she would be. I did ask her if she was still driving all the Greek guys crazy, but she just gave me one of those looks, you know the kind women give you – the one that says ‘you’re an idiot,’ so I guess that was a
no
.”

Rick had to laugh. Shelby had given him that look before, but she had actually called him an idiot when she gave it to him.

Another knock at the door signaled the arrival of coffee. Rick tipped the bellhop and fixed himself a cup. Linda emerged from the bathroom with her hair in a towel and took the cup from Rick’s hands.

With a sneer, she said, “Hello, Randy.” Randy replied in kind. She took the coffee, returned to the bathroom without another word, and closed the door.

Shaking his head, Randy asked, “What the hell do you see in her?”

Rick grinned and shrugged his shoulders as he poured himself another cup.

“She must give a hellacious blow job for you to keep her around.”

Rick didn’t answer and returned to his seat. “How long is she in town for?” he asked, changing the subject back to Shelby.

“I don’t know, she didn’t say.” Randy laughed at the maneuver. “Is that it? She’s so good in bed that it’s worth putting up with the bullshit, and the attitude? Just being sexy isn’t enough to make up for everything that comes with it.”

“Keep your voice down,” Rick said. “She’s not as bad as you think. She’s intimidated by you guys, that’s why she always has an attitude around you.” Nothing she could do in bed made her worth the trouble, but so far, she wasn’t worth the trouble to ditch, either.

Randy laughed again. “I don’t think there’s much that intimidates that girl.” He rose to leave. “I’ll see you downstairs.”

“Yeah, okay. We’ll be down in just a few.”

Linda exited the bathroom with two minutes to spare, giving Rick just enough time to brush his teeth and comb his hair.

~

During the short flight to Los Angeles aboard the private jet, Linda slept, and Rick considered what Randy asked him earlier in the hotel room. The longer Rick kept her around, the more difficult she became. Mostly, he just liked not having the pressure of the whole girlfriend thing. If he didn’t have one, everyone thought he must be lonely and worried about him, and if he did, they inevitably said she wasn’t right for him. He had long ago decided he would never find anyone who was right for him. Rubbing the scar on his cheek, he reminded himself, girlfriend or not, he would always be alone.

Linda caused a mild commotion at the airport, making sure they received the attention she thought they should have. Rick knew it was only a matter of time before the guys came down on him for it, and he decided to end things before that happened. To her, he was just a stepping-stone and a meal ticket. At first, it didn’t bother him, but in the time he’d been with her, he been in the tabloids more than he had throughout his entire career, and her attention seeking was getting to be too much. Los Angeles was a good place to leave her, after all, she aspired to be an actress, and what better place to start?

Rick turned his attention to Keith who, directly across from him, was talking about a woman he’d been seeing before they’d left to tour. Though they had gone out a few times and Keith liked her, he was reluctant to start a relationship and then leave it behind for months, so he let things die off.

“I think you should forget about her,” Randy told him. “She’s too cute to stay single for long. I’m sure she’s found someone by now.”

“I think I need to at least try, I mean, she was really cool. I can see myself settling down with someone like her.”

“I doubt she’d even see you again, the way you just dropped her without an explanation or anything,” Randy said.

“But it wasn’t like that. I told her about the tour.”

“Did you tell her you wanted to see her when you got back?” asked Randy as he took a drink from his can of soda.

“No.”

“Then don’t expect anything, that’s all I’m saying.”

Devon was listening but hadn’t said anything so far. Finally, he asked, “Why do you have to be like that Randy?” He shook his head, “Since when did you become such a pessimist?”

“A whatamist?” Randy tilted his head to the side with the question.

“Why are you being so negative? Amy is a great girl, and it was obvious she really liked Keith. Don’t sit here and tell him he hasn’t got a chance.”

“I’m just trying to be realistic is all. If he wanted her, he should have said so before we left.”

“Don’t listen to him, Keith. You call her up as soon as we get back. In fact, you should call her before then,” Devon said. “Call her tonight from the hotel. That way you’ll know if it’s too late.” He gave Randy a dirty look as he finished.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m gonna do that. Thanks Devon.” Keith scowled at Randy too, but Randy just shook his head and looked out the window.

It was a long time until anybody spoke again. Finally, Devon tapped Rick’s knee to get his attention and leaned forward. “So, Randy told you about breakfast?” he asked in a hushed voice.

Rick nodded, hoping Devon would leave it at that. He wasn’t keen to be reminded of his misfortune. His finger traced the scar.

“Does that thing still hurt or something? You’re always touching it.”

“No. Nervous tic I guess.”

“Are you nervous?”

“No.”

“Did Randy tell you she asked about you?”

Rick nodded once again. “Yeah, he did.”

Devon looked around to make sure no one was listening. “She called the hotel this morning and I told her to meet us there. Don’t tell them that though, they think it was just a coincidence, and Shelby wants to keep it that way, not sure why.”

“Was she surprised I wasn’t there?” Rick asked.

“No. I told her you wouldn’t be. In fact, she wasn’t even going to come until I told her you wouldn’t be there. I think she must be scared of Linda too,” Devon joked.

“How would she know about Linda?” As the question left his mouth, the tabloid pictures filled his head.

“I told her,” Devon said. “Nothing bad though. I don’t know why she would want to avoid you, and I didn’t ask. It was weird, because then she acted all bummed that she missed you.”

“Even though she knew I wouldn’t be there?” Rick asked.

“Yeah, I don’t get it either.” Devon sat back in his seat, and Rick spent the rest of the flight trying to figure out why she was still going to such lengths to avoid him. She knew when she visited Devon and Julia that he wouldn’t be there, in fact, she was reluctant to make the visit until she found out Rick was gone. Five years later, she was still angry with him. He didn’t allow the guilt to get to him this time though – he had finally learned to let it slip away for the sake of self-preservation.

Linda awoke when the pilot opened the door to inform them that they would be landing soon. She stretched, and looked around at everyone. Keith, lost in thought, had his eyes fixed straight ahead, which just happened to be where Linda was.

She looked at him in disgust. “Oh my God, have you been staring at my breasts this whole time?”

Keith snapped out of his trance and looked at her in shock. “No, no, I was just lost in my thoughts, daydreaming,” he said, as his face turned red.

“Yeah, I bet you were,” she snapped back.

Rick turned to her. “Linda, you’re gonna love Los Angeles.”

Chapter Thirty-Two

Spring 1985

“I can’t believe you’re just gonna leave me and Ricky behind like this,” Randy said, reaching over Rick, and slapping a very unsteady Keith on the back. Searching for Rick with eyes that couldn’t quite focus, he said, “Can you believe it Ricky?” He spoke in an uneven rhythm.

“No, no I can’t,” Rick said, herding them both toward his car. When he volunteered to get the two home safely from Keith’s bachelor party, he never imagined it would be such a violent job. A limo, however, would have brought out the paparazzi, and that was the last thing they needed – pictures and footage to the two hammered, just before what was supposed to be a quiet and small wedding.