by Julieâs side dressed in my black knee-length cocktail dress, I heard their whispers following us down the aisle. With a dismissive sniff, Julie said quietly, âDonât mind them. Theyâre Stevieâs little replicas. Youâll get used to it. Believe me, I have.â I looked at her gratefully and started to relax.
Crossing the huge soundstage, we entered a large dingy tiled bathroom. To my surprise, but apparently not Julieâs, Curry Grant, the bandâs lighting director, was leaning nonchalantly against the wall. âHello ladies. I wondered how long it would take for you to get in here.â
Julie laughed as she walked quickly toward him. âHow nice that you just âhappenedâ to be here, Curry. I was just about to offer Carol Ann a little bit of a pick-me-up. Would you care to join us?â
With a bright smile he nodded his head and watched as Julie pulled a small bottle out of her pocket, unscrewed the top, and poured some of the powder out onto her wrist and inhaled it. A look of utter satisfaction crossed her face and she motioned for me to come to her.
âJulieâ, I stammered, âI donât know if I should. Iâve never had any â¦â
Curry laughed as he put his arm around me. âHey, little girl. Weâre here to corrupt you. Come on, now, give it a go.â
Julie shot a warning glance toward him, saying, âCurry, if you know whatâs good for you, youâll get your hands off of her. Lindsey wouldnât be pleased.â
He dropped his hand from my shoulder as though I were on fire.
Julie turned to me. âYouâve got to try blow sooner or later, Carol. All of us do it. Itâs no big deal. Itâll make you feel great, I promise!â
Not wanting to look stupid in front of my new friends, I eyed the bottle warily and then shrugged my shoulders. âSure. OK. Uh, how do I do it?â
âJust inhale. Thatâs it. The blow will do the rest.â
So I did just that. And I waited for something to happen. Nothing did. I didnât feel any different. With Julie and Curry watching me expectantly, I smiled and said, âHey, great. Thanks.â They seemed to be satisfied with my response and started talking and giggling as they poured more out onto their wrists and inhaled again. They dumped another pile on my wrist and I sniffed it again. Nope. I didnât feel any different.
Julie looked at me searchingly, apparently no longer fooled by the smile I kept plastered on my face. âCarol, itâs no big deal if you donât feel anything the first time. That happens a lot. Weâll do some more later. Youâre gonna love it, I promise.â
Yeah, right
, I thought to myself.
Hearing a break in the music, Julie and I looked guiltily at each other. We were supposed to be watching! We rushed out the door and headed back to our seats. Lindsey wasnât anywhere in sight, but Stevie was. She was waiting for me. Standing next to the chair that Iâd been sitting in. With a feeling of trepidation, I sat down.
âCarol, I just wanted to tell you something. I donât know if youâre aware of this, but you and I have the same birthday, May 26â, Stevie said as she sank down into the chair next to mine.
âGee, Stevie. Thatâs weirdâ, I answered hesitantly.
âDo you wear black clothes a lot?â she asked in a husky whisper.
âYes, I do. Blondes look good in black, I think.â I tried to keep the bewilderment out of my voice as I spoke to her. Where in the hell was this going?
âDonât you see?â She beamed. âThat explains everything! Black has always been my color and we were born on the same day! You know, Carol, you must be so much like me that itâs beyond coincidence. Itâs almost mystical.â She was smiling now in triumph. âNo wonder Lindsey would go for you!â
Sitting in stunned silence, I didnât know
Joelle Charbonneau
Alexa Rae
Eliza Crewe
Rodolfo Peña
authors_sort
Belle Aurora
A. J. Hartley
Beverly Barton
Ben Ames Williams
Lynna Banning