stand, imagining her big brown eyes on him. Her full lips. Her tits. Her sweet hand reaching for his cock, tightening around it.
"You'll never be what I am, never know what I know!" he sang, drawing the backs of his fingernails down his body dramatically, head back, legs apart. Colin was stomping around to his right, while Nigel's guitar was held erect, his fingers flying, coaxing out the growl and scream of the solo.
The song ended with a crash of the drums and they stood, looking at each other with pride.
"That was brilliant!" said Nigel, happily. "This is going to be a fucking awesome show."
"I can't wait to see my face on that screen," Riff smiled.
Reg piped up from behind the drums. "Fuck yeah." Aside from the drumming, he was usually so quiet, that they all looked at him strangely.
"Well it's got Reg's approval," smirked Leo. "But seriously, you guys were right. From now on, no more distractions. We sound better than ever, Reckless Love is climbing the charts, and tour sales are through the roof. I don't need anyone except the band."
"I do." Nigel was comically adamant. He drew himself up to his full height – about five foot seven. "I need a pile of fucking groupies with their laughing-gear wrapped around my tallywhacker."
"And that can be arranged!" It was Graham, laughing. "As usual. Just tell me what you want, and it will be done!"
A pang hit Leo in the stomach. Shit. How was he going to get through that. The groupies. Because despite his protestations, his brave face, he knew that things were different for him. He hadn't been able to get hard without thinking of Jasmine since that night. And he'd lost his taste for the masses. But would the group understand?
"Yeah, get a few extra for Leo," said Riff. "He's been mooning over some bird and we need to help him get over it."
"Dirty ones, too," Nigel added. "Ones that are up for anything."
"Shouldn't be a problem," Graham grinned. "Why else be in a rock band after all? Your music isn't that good!"
They laughed and broke for lunch, though Leo wasn't sure if he'd be able to eat. He'd lost weight as it was, which wasn't a bad thing to a point. His abs looked washboard, and his jeans hugged every sleek, lengthy, muscular plane of his body. But if he were to lose any more weight, he knew it would start to show in a negative way. He might lose muscle. And the boys would comment.
As it was now, he just said he was trying to tighten up for the tour, and the weight loss went by without too much comment - only Riff said that he should take a page out of his book.
The loss looked great in photos as well - he looked tougher, more muscular. Sexier. The tabloids were having a field day with it, his picture turning up with regularity on covers and insides. There was even a picture of him with Jasmine on the day they went to London in one of the rags. He had carefully cut it out and stashed it in his wallet, unfolding it every now and then when he was feeling particularly weak. But aside from the wave of speculation that sprang up about their status, luckily for him they had let it go fairly quickly when they hadn't been seen together again.
He never thought that not being focused on in the tabloids would be a source of sadness for him, but there it was. He almost wished that they were hounding him because he was 'canoodling' or however they put it, with a young black American girl, speculating on where it was going, whether there was a bump or if there would be a ring any time soon. Anything. Any news of Jasmine would make him happy.
Was she even thinking of him? He wondered.
This is stupid.
Focus, Leo. Fuck us Leo. Fuck us, Leo, the girls would be saying. Perhaps he should just lose himself, like he always had, with drugs, drink, and girls. Sex, drugs and rock and roll was the name of the game in his business and it had always served him well.
Yes, perhaps he would allow Graham to bring someone to the room tonight. Just to see how it went.
Claire Zorn
Michelle L. Levigne
Suneeti Rekhari
Laura Brodie
Holly Lisle
Judith Rock
Lorna Seilstad
Michael de Larrabeiti
Lawrence Durrell
T. E. Ridener