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Author's Note: Picture used with permission from *lavonia on deviantart.

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Chapter 102
 

Jem…Chapter 102

Chapter 102

It takes me a few minutes to slip out of the zone that I was in on our way over to The Amsterdam and I blink a few times and look at Rayne. “You okay?”

“Me? Yeah I’m okay what about you are you good to play?”

“Yeah I think I’ll be fine once we get up on stage and playing but I think I kind of slipped into the whole sleepy and too caffeinated to actually sleep zone.”

Rayne nods. “You’re not used to the long nights.”

“Oh I was a regular night-owl before we met I just think it’s the whole post trip stress and adrenaline wearing off and stuff dragging me out even more than usual.”

She nods and she leans over and takes my chin gently into her fingers and she kisses me long and slowly and sweetly in that whole Rayne’s doing me French style with her tongue again.

I swear she swirls my brain around sometimes with that kind of kissing.

Nooo, sooo not complaining.

We actually keep going until Brooklyn pounds on the hood of the van and we break the kiss and it’s such a good kiss when I can taste her lipstick on me and I know that we need to redo our lipstick.

Which is what we both do once we’re out of the van and leaning on the doors using the big mirrors to clean and re-apply.

I feel so kind of street and yet so totally girl in doing that. I mean really putting on fresh lipstick in a mirror is got to be one of those kind of rites of passage thing for like being a teen girl right?

I am definitely feeling better and we start to unload our gear from the van to inside and Molly is looking at me.

“Hey what’s up?”

“Uhm…you.”

“Me?”

“Yeah, I’ve only ever seen the shows here online so it’s kinda different seeing you all done up in the hot clothes and the really kind of rocker chick look when I’ve always seem you being like all super-girly.”

“Okay sooo good thing or a bad thing?”

“Actually a good thing I mean you’re hot even all super girly but it’s like You’re Jem like the whole cartoon-slash-stage name carton thing but like only if you were like going to say a Joan Jett concert.”

“I wish I love Joan Jett.”

“I know you do some of her stuff in the covers but you also do them justice as well.”

“Really? That’s sooo cool. Thanks a lot Molly!” I give her a hug and she blushes and she gets her bags with her stuff in them.

“Ah…yeah okay.”

“You okay?”

“Oh I’m fine I get hugged by super-hot rocker girls all the time.”

“Molly…I’m not.”

“Dressed like that Angel….” She blushes.

“Dressed like what?”

“You are really hot dressed like that. I mean you are usually but this is like more rocker and less sweet faerie princess.”

I laugh a little. “Faerie princess!”

“Cake decoration?” Molly smiles but there’s a blush still there.

“What!?” I can’t help it but that is making me giggle.

Rayne’s arms slip around me and she presses her chest into my back and her pelvis to my hip but her arms circle around me.

“She sure is, all pretty and pink and white and lacy and sweet…I’m such a sugar junkie when I’m with her.”

Okay now I’m turning red and she’s still hugging me and I can’t stop giggling but at the same time I’m help in her sex strong embrace and Rayne’s sucking on my neck…I feel the graze of her teeth as she’s giving me a hickie.

(Sharp inhale.) “Raven….oh…mmmm…damn girl…we have to play.”

She does her sexy contralto purr. “I am playing chere.”

I’m melting a little that voice and her accent when she wants to use it…that’s so…

“Oh Tish that’s French…”

Then she does this little move that turns me around and I’m up against the outside wall by the doors and we’re kissing again.

“Rave…lipstick…”

“Mmmm…have lots, don’t care.” Oh…oh just the thought of it is kind of a turn on…Oh I could so take off with her someplace.

And that’s when she breaks the kiss and she sways up into the bar’s back doors.

Oh my…I’m all achy and ow for her touch in a way I can only describe as I need her to touch me.

All over…I need her doing that thing we did the other morning.

Good thing I’m wearing jeans right now.

I kind of breathe a few before heading in and I cross my arms and hug myself to sort of make it look like I’m trying to calm the girls down too. I head inside once downstairs is behaving and I grab some things to carry inside.

I really want to be fixed y’know…so that this isn’t an issue but so the Rayne and I can really, really be together.

That’s what I really want, more than getting Adam I want my life, my life and he’s in the way of that.

I carry the amps I have in and I take my phone out and I use the online phone book and I find the number I’m looking for. I press it and I head to the bathroom while it’s ringing.

…………….

…………….

“Hello?”

“Hello Carmen? Carmen Wilson?”

“Yes, who is this?”

“This is Angel Benton from Starlight Butterfly.”

“Okay…I know who you are but why are you calling me?”

…………… Adam might actually own her phone; I should have thought of that when I called.

Okay, Improvise.

“You’ve been to a few of my shows and you’ve even been around at my busking and you’ve tipped pretty well so I was thinking that if you wanted to come by The Amsterdam tonight I can get you in.”

“You know that’s a bar right?”

“Yep and as long as you’re not drinking I don’t really see a problem.”

“Okay…actually sounds like a cool way to change up a Friday night, I’ll be there. Can I bring some friends?”

“Sure, more the merrier.”

“Alright I’ll see you there.”

I head out and I go looking for Jake and when I see him he’s got this really big smile on his face and he comes right over and her hugs me!? Like the lift me off the ground kind of hug.

“Oh! Wow, Jake! What was that for?”

“That awesome spot you sent me.”

“Oh the commercial, it’s kind of not finished but you liked it?”

“Liked it? It’s pretty rocking and we’ve never had something like that.”

I put my finger to the corner of my mouth. “Sooo you liked it then?”

“Hell yes, but what do you mean that it’s not done?”

“Well I want to get some stuff about the place from tonight’s show and stuff to put in there.”

“Like?” he looks curious and kind of confused. I reach back and I undo his arms from being around me with a smile and he blinks and he blushes like her realized he forgot he still was holding me.

I lean on one of the tables and smile and he really looks flustered and kind of younger like that. He’s also dressed kind of nicer. Did he spruce himself up for me?

Okay…that’s a bit cool.

And scary.

And cool.

In a wow I’m a girl way.

Yes, I’m a lesbian and yes I’m in love with Rayne but still there’s something innately feminine about being able to turn someone’s head even a little bit. It’s empowering in a way that I think I kind of like.

I take a breath and yep…her boob watches the expansion. I do a hand gesture with my fingers flicking a little in that…up here… kind of way and he gets even redder.

“How can you not have a girlfriend?” I ask.

“I…uhm…I’m between relationships right now.”

“Well that won’t last Jake, trust me you’re a good guy. Seriously if I wasn’t a lesbian or seventeen it’d be a different story and me playing here’s be a conflict of interest.”

I try for a kind of joking with him tone and smile with what I just said.

He looks at me and I smile and his gaze softens and there’s a more grown up and calming down look there. He knows I could have caused a stink or blown a gasket or something but I didn’t and I’m not and I’m just letting it slide and giving him an out.

Sometimes you just like who you like and there’s some chemistry there sometimes. And I’m sincere. If those things weren’t a factor yeah maybe…I mean Jake’s been a really decent guy and he seems not just to like me for my looks but just me as well.

I’m not going to wreck his friendship with me or the band by pitching a fit for the sake of pitching a fit.

I take a breath and this time he doesn’t look but grabs some paper menu’s and starts putting then on the tables and I walk with him. “Oh that’s a good idea, so people just tick off the boxes of what they want and what they want on them?”

He nods. “Yeah I’m trying something new that way and seeing if we can’t get the orders out faster.”

“Smart. Okay I’d like to shoot some footage of the food and the bar and get some testimonials from some of the people that come here and stuff.”

“Sounds okay but the one you did was pretty cool too.”

“It was good for the rough draft as things go but I want people that log onto our site to click onto to our commercial and want to come here to see a rock show and to be drooling over the food by the time that they get here and have it linked to your website.”

“Uhm…about that we don’t really have one?”

“You want one?”

“Uhm…really?”

“I have a girl and I think that she might be able to do….” I yell. “Hey Molly come here please!”

She comes over with a curious look on her face and yet she’s sort of giving him the stink eye. “Yeah Angel?”

“Molly this is Jake he owns the place, Jake this is Molly she’s the girl that did up the video you were so over the moon with.”

And yes I mentioned that to sort of chill Molly out. I think she was a bit hard-gay over Jake picking me up and spinning me around.

She blushes and he offers his hand and she looks at it a moment before shaking it and when he doesn’t do anything she had running through her head she relaxes.

“You did an amazing job with the commercial.”

She looks at him like she wasn’t expecting to get praise from doing it and she smiles a little it’s kind of nice to see. “Thanks; Angel’s right though we can do better with just a little bit more.”

I grin at Jake with this I told you so look. I turn to Molly. “And we were talking about that and the link to the page for The Amsterdam but Jake doesn’t have a web page for the pub yet.”

Molly looks at me and points at herself. “Me?”

I nod. “It’d add big time to your portfolio.”

She looks at Jake. “This place is pretty old and it’s always been a pub right?”

He nods. “My grandfather started it up and then my uncle had it and went to a rock styled pub with it and then he sold it to me.”

“I thought that’s what I remembered about this place. So you have any stuff from like before you took it over?”

“Stuff in the basement after the renovations and bringing the place back up to code. My uncle kind of let the place fall apart.”

Molly nods. “Yeah I heard that too.”

Jake colors a bit and puts his hands in his pockets and looks at her and then at me. “She doesn’t pull any punches does she?”

“Nope, Molly’s awesome totally stand up too.”

He smiles and looks at her. “Good, so…will you do it?”

Molly looks at me. “You okay with this? It might slow down stuff I’m working on for the SLB site?”

I look at Jake. “Add her to my band fees.”

He nods. “Done.”

Molly looks at me mouth open. “Angel you’re already paying me.”

I nod. “Yeah for our site and for this but you’re a part of the company and that means that you get paid and that it can help offset some of the stuff you’ll have to do for us.”

“But…”

I look at her and do the girl cross my arms under my breasts and hip lean. I give her the eyebrow too. “You can really afford to say no? I’ve seen where you live Molly.”

She colors. “Okay…okay you win, but the place you live in isn’t much better y’know.”

I shrug. “It’s a work in progress.”

She smirks. “Okay, okay I’ll admit it’s nicer inside than outside. I’m going to go and set up with Mike and we’ll do out thing.” She turns to Jake. “Can you get together all the old stuff that you have for the place by the end of the night?”

He nods. “Sure, I mean if you’re sure it’s okay with what you’re doing.”

Molly grins. “Hey, I’m legit getting paid and building my body of work and I’m getting in tight with a guy that sells beer and fried food…I’m so bringing dates here and going to like impose on you for stuff.”

Jake laughs. “Sure thing, you do a kickass job on my page and stuff and I’ll make you a staff ID card.”

“Okay…?” She’s looking at him.

“Free cover charges and no tax.”

“Really!?” Her eyes went huge and she got really excited.

Jake looks at her and I have no idea if he was joking when he said it but he’s dead serious now. “Really.” And he offers her his hand again.

And I’m grinning like an idiot watch her have a real like equals honest to goodness handshake with a guy.

I mean it’s not like all lesbians are freaking out man hating people but Rayne has her reasons plus just being one and Molly looked like she had stuff too and I will admit especially here in Marshall land there’s a lot of misogyny that’s around here too for years so she might have very well have had a dose of nasty treatment buy some guys.

I would too if I was to judge all the guys I know by Adam and crew.

I look at Jake. “Hey can I ask a favor?”

“Sure anything?”

Okay…that was fast and agreeable.

“I have a friend coming and she has some friends with her and do you think that you can let them in without a problem?”

“They minors?”

“Yeah, but I kind of need her goodwill and this would really go a long way towards that.”

He looks like he’s thinking. “Okay, but seriously angel no booze.”

“No I told her that already, you think I can reserve a table for her?”

He nods. “Like you said, favors for just being decent to each other. They are going to pay for their food and drinks though right?”

“I hope so; I never told her that I’d cover that.”

“Okay give me her name and description and I’ll pass it to the door guys and I’ll get them a table up near the front.”

I describe Carmen to Jake and give him her full name and he grins.

“What?”

“Oh I’m just going to get Patrick to say when he sees her and gets her name that she’s on the list.”

I smile. “Is there a list?”

“No but making it seem like there is one might butter her up even more.”

“Maybe, she is kind of sort of a prep.”

“Not someone you’d hang out with then?”

“No, not normally but like I said I need the goodwill.”

“Okay, just leave it to me.”

I step over and give him a peck on the cheek. “Thanks Jake.”

He blushes and heads off pretty quickly. “Yep, okay…it’s no problem….”

I’m still sort of bemused at it all, well the way that Jake reacts around me when I get over to the stage and start to tune up. Rayne’s looking at me. “You too were close tonight?”

“I needed a favor.”

“Oh?” She gives me this raised eyebrow look.

“I invited Carmen Wilson to come and see us play tonight as a thank you for all the tipping she’s done.”

“Oh…so you’re going to talk with her?”

“I’m going to try, maybe with all of us together here and stuff she might say something or let something slip.”

She nods. “Worth a try at least.”

I start tuning. “I hope so, even if we just find out something that might just give Mike and me a hint of where to look past the whole stuff we know he’s into.”

Rayne nods. “But likely can’t prove.”

“Yeah and if it doesn’t take this time then maybe she will see that we’re pretty okay and we can sort of wear her down some.”

“Assuming she’s not in thick as thieves with him too…it wouldn’t be the first time that the spoiled little rich kids did something to try and make even more money.”

Mike’s there too passing us some cables and taping some of the ones down on the stage. “I don’t think so, Adam and his bunch wouldn’t really see a girl as an equal really…she’d be beneath him. I honestly think she knows that which is why she tipped you heavy maybe a cash sort of screw you to Adam.”

I look at both of them. “I honestly hope so.”

We start getting into warming up and doing some riffs and stuff back and forth just playing around as the pub starts to fill up and I see Carmen getting escorted and seated at a table by Jake with a couple of other cardies. She does a short hesitant little wave and I wave back and give her a thumbs up.

She has this sort of maybe…kinda…sorta…happy smile there. It’s small but it’s there. I think it’s exciting her friends though since they’re looking around with this whole first time in a bar thing going on.

The place is filling up and there some of our regulars here and some of the regulars from just here…here and there’s a really good crowd and a line up outside from what I can tell.

I grin and look at the girls and before we do the toast and once the seats and bar look really full we open with. *Bar-room Blitz.* it’s by The Sweet but we’re doing it in the style of Tia Carrera from the Wayne’s World movie.

I love this song, I love that we cover it and I love belting it out.

Because sometimes…sometimes you really gotta rock and roll…