Three Words: A Novella Collection (6 page)

At last Daisy
reached the front of the line. Georgia looked up from her
clipboard.

“
Well, hello. Daisy, isn’t it? How nice of you to come.” From
the way her mouth had morphed from over-enthused to irritated in
the blink of her lash extensions, Daisy guessed she wasn’t that
happy about her being there at all. The smiles had all been for
show.

“
Henry invited me.”

Georgia’s lips
pressed together. She sighed as if having to organise one extra
person for the tent was the trial of a lifetime. “Yes. I know. Now,
why don’t you pop inside? Refreshments and dinner are being served.
Henry will be along in ten minutes or so to sign autographs and
such. Please don’t expect that he’ll have any time to talk to you.
He’s here to say thank you to his fans, not to hang around with
you.”

Daisy opened
her mouth to say she was one of Henry’s biggest fans, had been
since his first single ‘Love Like This,’ but she held her tongue
and walked into the tent.

*****

It was half an
hour of torture before Daisy got to see Henry again. Standing next
to the bar while she waited, she felt extremely out of place
despite the fact that she was dressed ‘appropriately’. Some of the
other women were wearing Hawk Moon t-shirts from his last
Australian tour and one die-hard had his name tattooed on top of
her arm, just near her shoulder. They were all slim and very good
looking, as if they’d been picked from a model agency to make Daisy
feel self-conscious. Which she did. Daisy hated being in crowds
especially when she didn’t know anyone. Though living on the farm
was her choice, she had to admit she’d lost touch with the real
world. She felt as if everyone was looking at her, wondering how
the hell she could even afford to pay for the VIP package. Still,
it was worth it if she was going to see Henry again and watch his
show.

After a little
while, Daisy struck up a conversation with two girls who had
travelled from the top end of Western Australia ~ three hours by
plane and then another three by car ~ just to attend the VIP
function. They were like two playful kittens both talking at once
and giggling over what they were going to say when they met Hawk,
how hot he was and how much they were looking forward to the
concert.

“
You don’t seem that excited,” one of them said to Daisy. “My
heart’s beating so freakin’ fast I think I’m going to have a heart
attack if he doesn’t come out soon.”

“
God knows what she’ll do if he touches her,” the other
gushed.

“
Probably wet myself. Do you think I should tell him about
that dream I had?”

“
Not unless you want to scare him to death before he goes on
stage.”

“
Don’t be such a cow.”

“
I’m not. It’s a fact of life that Hawk Moon would never, in
his right mind, date someone as normal as us. He’s merely our
fantasy man.”

Daisy said
nothing. Inside she was a bundle of nerves but she was trying to
keep a lid on it. She realised Henry wasn’t interested in her. Like
the girls she was talking to, Daisy was merely another fan, a
normal girl. Not one who had a rock star for a boyfriend. She would
have to be content knowing that Henry had invited her even if it
was only to say thank you.

As if by
remote, the tent went silent and though Daisy was facing the other
way she knew Henry had entered the room. It wasn’t the fact that
everyone was silently agog at his charisma. She could smell his
aftershave. Hints of the bush after a rain wafted around the room
as he circulated, greeting his guests and signing autographs. It
was exactly the same as the smell on his shirt the previous
evening. Well, the part that wasn’t covered in sheep wee.

“
Oh. My. God. I think I’m having an orgasm,” the first girl
said.

“
Sooo hot,” whispered the second.

From behind
her champagne glass, Daisy’s eyes widened at the man who had put
his arm around her last night. He
was
hot ~ sizzling like a
hotbox in a sauna, in fact ~ there was no other word to describe
him. Imagine what the girls next to her would do if they knew Henry
had been at her house!

Henry looked
like a different person from the man she’d met the previous
evening. His hair was gelled and spiked towards the ceiling in
twists. A diamond stud decorated his ear and a large cross tattoo,
the symbol on the cover of his first album, stood out on his bicep.
He wore a black vest with no shirt under and a pair of black
leather pants that were so fitted nothing was left to the
imagination. He was all ready for the performance. He was his alter
ego, Hawk Moon.

At last, Henry
reached Daisy’s side of the room. His face lit up when he
recognised her. That was the man she’d met, the real Henry.

“
Daisy.” Coming to stand beside her, Henry leant over and
kissed her cheek, leaving a burning imprint behind.

Two mouths
dropped to the floor. “You know each other?”

Daisy glared
up at Henry. Why had he had to draw attention to her like that?

“
Ah, yeah.” She gave an embarrassed shrug. “Sorry. I should
have said something when you started going on about his body but I
didn’t know how to without sounding like I was dropping names.” And
she didn’t know Henry
that
well. Even if it felt like she
did.

The girls
began to laugh. “God, how embarrassing. Here we were gushing and
you said nothing. What is he? Like your cousin or something?”

“
Daisy and I are friends,” Henry replied. “We have a common
interest in sheep and red wine.”

He pulled her
towards him for a hug. Daisy’s pulse began to pound. Her heart
started flip-flopping. Oh dear. There it was again. That spark of
electricity. Surely, he could feel it or maybe she was just getting
carried away with the whole rock star adoration thing.

After a
second, Henry pulled back and gave her a dazzling smile. “It’s so
great to see you again.”

The girls
looked at each other, confused. It was obvious they weren’t
convinced that Daisy and he were only friends. After all, why would
Hawk Moon be interested in sheep? It was about as believable as the
moon being made of cheese.

Henry talked
to the girls for a minute or two and had Daisy took photos of them
together. Then, after signing their t-shirts with a white marker,
he made an apology and pulled Daisy to a corner of the bar that was
empty.

Finally, they
were alone. Well, as alone as they were going to be in a tent with
two hundred gawking fans staring at them. Wondering.

“
What are you doing?” Daisy hissed. “You have guests. You
can’t ditch them.”

“
I’ve already done the rounds besides I’m Hawk Moon,
remember?” he chuckled. “I can do whatever I like and I wanted to
tell you that you look nice tonight without the addition of an
audience. I like that jacket.”

A warm feeling
spread through Daisy’s body. Last night Henry’d told her how
important the fans were and now he was blowing them off to talk
exclusively to her. Could it be possible that Henry did like her?
As more than a fan? Enough to brave the wrath of Georgia, who was
at the minute working her way towards them brandishing a pair of
sunglasses like a sword?

It was
beginning to seem that way.

“
Thank you so much for inviting me and organising it all. You
didn’t have to. I didn’t even want the clothes back. You should
have thrown them out.”

Henry smiled.
“I couldn’t think of any other excuse to see you again.”

Daisy looked
into his eyes. He seemed so genuine. “You’re making me blush.”

“
It suits you.” He took a sip from his water bottle. “So,
how’s Marsha? Recovered from her ordeal?”

“
She’s fine. I found the hole where she escaped this morning
and patched it up. She won’t be getting out again any time
soon.”

“
That’s good to know. Did Avery like her photo?”

“
She’s already printed it and stuck it on the wall above her
bed. No doubt she’s cropped me out. She can’t wait to get the hat.
She said to say ‘thank you’.”

Henry nodded.
“Anytime. You know, I had a really good time last night. It was
nice to be treated like a human and not a sex object.”

Lucky he
didn’t know what had been going on inside her head for most of the
evening then. Daisy could lay odds that the dreams of those girls
would pale in comparison to the fantasy she’d devised while doing
the dishes that morning.

“
I felt so comfortable in your home,” he continued.

“
I noticed. There was no bread left when I opened the pantry
this morning.”

Henry gave her
a playful punch in the arm.

“
Hey, did you get your VIP bag?” he asked, glancing around on
the floor. All the other guests had been handed the bag containing
a signed limited edition program, a tour t-shirt and cap and a fan
only CD as they entered the marquee.

Daisy’s heart
dropped back where it belonged. He
was
only being nice to
her because she was a fan. She’d been silly to think otherwise.
Their two worlds could never coincide. “Yes, I did. Thanks. I left
it next to the bar. Avery will love it.”

“
Cool. Don’t forget to take it home with you.”

“
Mmm.”

Just then,
Georgia appeared. Between now and the last time Daisy had seen her
she’d reapplied her lipstick. Her mouth was now the colour of a
ripe plum and looked every bit as edible. “There you are,
darling.”

Sliding
between them, she put her hand gently on Henry’s elbow and leant
into the side of his body. She handed him the sunglasses he wore
for the first part of the show before throwing them to the
audience. “Come on. It’s time to do your warm up. Show time in
ten.”

“
Thanks George. You’ll make sure Daisy gets to her seat at the
side of the stage, won’t you?”

Georgia’s body
stiffened. “Of course. Now, get to it.”

Chapter 7

This was
absolutely unbelievable, Daisy thought, as she sat perched on the
stool that had been provided for her side stage, her bag of
merchandise propped up on the floor beside her. Not only was she
attending her first ever rock concert but she was also doing it as
a special guest of the star. How would she ever tell the people at
home? Nobody was going to believe this. Pulling her camera out of
her pocket, she checked the settings. She’d need photographic
evidence that was for sure.

Next to her,
one of the stage crew was fiddling with a bunch of cords.

“
Is it okay for me to take photos?” she asked.

“
Sure, just don’t take them when the lights are dimmed. We
don’t want the audience to get a flash from the side of the stage.
Not that any of them would notice,” he added with a
laugh.

“
Thanks.”

The man
bustled off with his load.

As the minutes
until the show ticked down, Daisy became more and more hyped.
Around her, crewmembers were making final adjustments to lights and
sound while the support act finished up. A huge set of stairs
appeared at the back of the stage and smoke machines were turned on
to warm up. Every now and then someone would stop to give her a
friendly smile or explain what they were doing. Daisy thought it
was nice that they were trying to make her feel welcome when she
was so clearly in the way. Henry must have told them to do
that.

Then the
support act finished and left the stage. This was it. Any minute
now and she was going to see her idol. Live. Wriggling like a child
in a car seat wanting to be let out, Daisy watched the light show
that had begun above her head. Pulsing rays spurted into the sky.
Images of Hawk Moon that had to be at least three metres high
swirled above the crowd next to an automatic countdown clock that
signaled the time left before the show started. One minute and
fifty-eight seconds. This really rated as the best days of her life
so far. Her cheeks ached so much from involuntary smiling she felt
as if they’d become paralysed. Her feet jiggled on the rail of the
stool. It was like the day her and Jack had got married. Her cheeks
had ached then too. Not so much lately though.

Then Henry
appeared beside her. He had assumed this look of quiet confidence ~
quite the opposite of what she’d expected ~ but it did nothing to
dampen his sexiness. If anything he looked sexier than ever. Sort
of rough around the edges. It made her want to hug him and make him
soft again.

“
Thanks again for inviting me,” Daisy said. Hesitantly, she
placed a hand on his bare arm. She could feel his skin tingling
with adrenalin. “Good luck or break a leg or whatever it is that
rock stars say.”

Henry didn’t
reply. His eyes travelled down to where her fingers warmed his arm.
The corner of his mouth tilted a little.

“
Show time,” he said and taking his microphone from a
crewmember, he flipped his sunglasses over his eyes and strode out
onto the stage with his arms raised in salute to the audience. The
crowd went crazy and he stood centre stage for a second savouring
the moment and looking like a modern day god.

As Henry, now
definitely Hawk, launched into his first number ~ the song that had
been the beginning of it all for him ~ Daisy sat in awe.

No wonder he
loved it so much. No wonder people got hooked on fame. The noise
from the crowd made
her
feel like a rock star and she wasn’t
even on the stage. Henry must feel like the King of the World.