Total pages in book: 30
Estimated words: 27923 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 140(@200wpm)___ 112(@250wpm)___ 93(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 27923 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 140(@200wpm)___ 112(@250wpm)___ 93(@300wpm)
“Y’all need anything else?” the server asks.
I point to her slushy. “Want another?” As annoying as her slurping is, I’ll deal with the nuisance to keep her talking.
Sonya shakes the empty cup. “Yes. Cherry, please.”
“What is Piper hoping will happen if you keep laying it on thick for me?”
Sonya shrugs. “I’m not sure. She told me to act extra clingy when you’re around.”
That’s it? That’s all the information she has for me? I bought her another drink, hoping to get more information, and now I’ll have to sit here listening to her slurp for thirty minutes.
I grab my phone and send a quick text to Marley.
Me: Call me in five minutes and go along with whatever I say.
Marley: Okay.
God bless Marley. That man is always reliable.
The server places Sonya’s slushy on the table, and Marley’s call comes through right on time.
“I’ve got to take this.”
Sonya nods.
“Hey, what’s up?” I ask.
“You told me to call, so I called,” Marley replies.
I stop myself from rolling my eyes.
“Oh, no problem. I’ll head back right away. Yes, yes. See you soon.”
“You all right, Kaye?” Marley asks.
“Yes, I’ll be there soon.” I end the phone call and look at Sonya. “I’ve gotta head back. Will you be okay?”
Sonya lifts her lanyard, which holds her backstage access. “No problem. I’ll grab a cab back.”
When I return to the hotel, I head straight to Marley’s room, praying he’s not shacked up with some girl. You’d think a man wouldn’t answer his phone while having sex, but Marley had an entire conversation with me while some girl gave him a blow job once. I never know with him. Give him his due; it’s a skill keeping your head on straight and talking business in the middle of an orgasm.
I’m relieved when he opens his hotel room fully clothed. Pushing past him, I scan the room in case a girl is lingering. “You’re alone?”
“Unfortunately.” Marley opens the mini fridge and hands me a beer.
I shake my head. “I’m good.”
Shrugging, he twists the cap off the bottle. He takes a swig and pulls a face. “You’d think a hotel that cost so much would have decent beer instead of this shit.”
He heads for the blue sofa and plops down on one side, gesturing for me to sit beside him. “Why don’t you take a load off and tell me what’s up?”
I can’t sit down. The nervous energy coursing through me needs to be expended. So I pace. One foot in front of the other, back and forth from one side of the living area to the large floor-to-ceiling windows.
“Does this have to do with Lifeless Lies?”
Marley’s question is harmless, but he may as well have shot me down dead.
“Iggy didn’t tell you?”
“Iggy doesn’t tell me anything anymore.”
“What’s going on Marley?”
Marley doesn’t answer. He stares at the stark white wall in front of him. His eyes are sad, and his expression is despondent.
Marley has always been the somber one. Occasionally, he plays the jovial, party guy role when he’s Mayhem, his on-stage persona, but he mostly lives on the fringes in solitude and sorrow.
I glance at him to see if anything is amiss. A sigh of relief escapes when I scan his arms. There’s no evidence of drug abuse or self-harm among the tattoos covering every inch of his skin.
Heavy drug use is the only thing that would break up the band at this point. Lars and Cain won’t tolerate it or be around users, as specified in their contracts.
Marley replies after what seems like an eternity. “Thought you were here to talk about your problems, not mine.”
“My problems don’t have me spiraling.”
Marley laughs. “Do I look like I’m spiraling?” He shakes his wet, shaggy hair, spraying drops of water around him. “I’ve showered, I’ve shaved, and I’ve taken my crazy pills like a good boy.”
“What did you take?” I ask, my concern for him automatically outweighing my pressing issues.
“Relax. It’s my anxiety med.”
“Should you be drinking while on that?”
Marley takes another sip of his beer and shrugs. “It’s one beer. It won’t do anything. But if you see me with a bottle of vodka, I suggest you intervene.” He places the beer bottle on the coffee table and smirks at me. “So, what’s up with you and the opener?”
I dramatically place my hand on my heart and glare at him. “What do you mean?”
“Cut the shit, Kaye. You’ve been acting weird since you heard Lifeless Lies was opening for us. Is it the new chicks? I mean, you had an issue with Billie.”
I pace again, needing to move my body so I don’t combust. “I’ve never had an issue with Billie. Cleaning up weird sex antics just pisses me off. I also love women, thank you very much. Figuratively and literally.” I point to my chest. “Lesbian, remember?”
Marley leans back on the couch and belly laughs. I glare at him, and he smiles, his blue eyes twinkling in a way I haven’t seen in weeks. “All right, Kaye, you don’t have an issue with women. But you sure as hell have issues with something, so why don’t you tell me what’s going on?”