Be My Bad Boy

“We've got the CDs? Please tell me we have the CDs. I can't remember putting the box in the cab."
"Take a deep breath. I've got them right here." Angie nudged me in reassurance. Kind of like a pat on the arm when your arms are stacked full of boxes.
"Great. I'm sure we've forgotten something. We do have all the boxes?"
"There's still another load outside. That damn cab driver coulda helped us carry them in, lousy bastard. Hopefully no one will steal them."
I put the boxes down and sighed.

"They stole our tree frog costumes from around here, remember. If they'll steal those, they'll steal anything."
We looked at each other then ran outside to grab the rest of the boxes.
“That's 500 CDs plus all the t-shirts and posters? Are you sure that's not too much stuff? This is all my money invested in merchandise. If we don't sell anything, I'm ruined. And I'll be wearing BVB t-shirts for the rest of my life."
"Relax. I told you, we have to look like we mean business. We can't have a shit stall with nothing on it. No one's going to touch that shit. And I've talked a few friends into coming along. Plus, check out these t-shirts."
Angie opened one of the boxes and pulled a t-shirt out.
"Sexy t-shirt is totally sexy! Jinxx is a genius. The design is amayonaising. You wouldn't even need to be into BVB to want one of these."
She ripped off the t-shirt she wore and stood in just her black lace bra. Did I mention that the foyer had plate glass windows that anyone on the street could look through?
"Angie!"
She slipped the t-shirt over her head.
"It's okay, Hannah. It's not like I'm showing anything, no worse than wearing a bikini at the beach."
That might be true but it seemed indecent. You could see her nipples through that bra.
"And don't stress. If we sell 200 t-shirts, we break even. Anything over that is pure profit."
"That sounds like a lot of t-shirts to me. Where do we set them up? What do we do here? I have no experience at this kind of thing."
All thought of being a shitty manager and getting out of this contract had emptied out of my head. I could not fail at this. Not something this big and public.
"Ah, there you are." Sleazy Jason came through a side door, his booming voice echoing around the empty room. "You can stack all that in there."
He nodded toward a door, obviously a store cupboard or something. We hauled the boxes over while Jason watched and nodded his head. I'm all for women's equality and that kind of thing, but what was with these guys letting us do all the heavy lifting?
"Okay, what now?"
"Is the band ready to sound check? They only have a small window of time before the next band needs to use the stage, so if they don't get here soon, they'll miss out."
I had no idea where they were.
"Give Andy a call," said Angie. "It'll screw things up if they don't sound check."
"I don't want to." Okay, that might have sounded a bit whiny.
Angie gave me a searching look. I wasn't about to tell her anything though.
Luckily we were interrupted by a knock on the glass. CC waved at us and I pointed to the unlocked side door.
"You guys set them up," I said. "I need the bathroom."
I really did not want to see Andy even though my pulse raced and all the colours around me seemed more vivid. That was just nerves, not excitement about him being so close.
I didn't want to think about him. About that. About Andy and that kiss.
I hadn't been able to get it out of my head though. I should never let him kiss me. I should never have returned his kiss.
But, when his lips pressed against mine, my brain stopped working and the world contracted into a tiny circle that was just him and me and the sensations of our bodies moving together.
I'd not heard from him since and I couldn't call him. I just couldn't.
When I got out of the bathroom, the sounds of them tuning their gear filled the main room. Angie jumped around, all excited.
"I get to watch them sound check. This is the coolest thing ever. I never hoped to do anything this cool. I'm going to take some photos to post on the blog. And we get to hang out with them afterwards, right? Ah, my life is so sweet."
I laughed at her.
"Everything ready for tonight?" Sleazeball Jason appeared beside me. "Now, remember, on stage at 9 o'clock exactly and off at 9:45. The band gets two free drinks each and they have to be out of the back room by 10:45. You can set up your stuff for sale out the front just before the doors open. We don't get that good a crowd in on a Tuesday night normally, so if they drag some people in, who knows in future."
After the sound check, we waited for the guys to pack up their gear. The next band waited to hit the stage – three hulking guys and a tiny chick with piercings and tattoos and her hair dyed various shades of pink. She huddled in a big fake fur coat of neon pink on one of the guitar cases playing with her phone, oblivious to everything.
Andy kept glancing over at her. She didn't pay him any attention though, just kept on playing Candy Crush Saga or whatever it was she was doing. A lump of big horrible stuff bounced around my stomach as I watched at him looking at her. Of course, she was the kind of girl he liked. She looked all alternative and dirty. The kind of girl who would not even hesitate to take him back to her apartment.
The guy that was with them, the older guy who wore a leather jacket but didn't wear it well, and the jeans that seemed a little bit too dark and a little bit too short, walked up to Jason and they high-fived each other.
"How you going, bro?" he asked.
They walked off, chatting and laughing. Is that how a manager was supposed to act? I wondered if I should watch him and take notes but, no matter what, I would not stoop to dressing so badly. I'd not stoop to being all buddy-buddy with that sleazeball either. When Black Veil Brides became hugely famous, I'd never have to deal with shits like him again. I'd be laying down the terms. Lear jets, cases of champagne backstage and money. Lots of lovely money.
Angie nudged me.
"The guys are going to get something to eat, come on.”
If my belly had felt upended watching Andy look at that clown girl, it totally took a nosedive now. What would I say to him? How would I react? I didn't want anyone knowing what had happened the other night. It didn't mean anything anyway. It was just a few too many beers and then the adrenalin rush from racing through the streets. I'd look like a fool if I took it to mean anything more than that.
As we walked down the street, Angie and I lagged behind while she jumped around. For her, this was the greatest day ever. For me, I had too many emotions and too many head-things to deal with. But it was good just to enjoy her excitement.
"A pizza joint? This is the glamorous rock star life?" Angie asked.
"Sure is," said Jake. "Nothing like a pizza before a gig."
We settled into a booth. Andy avoided my eyes. I avoided his. Well, I tried to, when I wasn't checking to see if he was still avoiding mine. I wondered if he hated me or if he had just been playing around the other night and had forgotten all about it. I figured he'd probably be picking up another chick tonight. Probably that singer chick from the way he’d looked at her.
When the food came out, he picked at it, moving the food around his plate.
"Don't you want that?" asked Jake and grabbed for Andy's pizza.
"Nah, you have it."
"Are you nervous?" asked Jinxx.
I looked at Andy again. He laughed.
"As if. I'm just not hungry."
"You guys are going to rock tonight. It's going to be the greatest gig ever. I've got a few people coming along. Everyone wants to support you."
"How many people?" Jake asked. "I've had nightmares that we'd be playing to an empty room. I mean, who comes out on a Tuesday night? Especially to see the opening band? No one bothers going to see the opening band."
Andy tapped his fingers on the table. As much as he said he wasn't nervous, he couldn't hide it. He seemed full of energy, like a wound up spring. That was good, I guess. He needed all this energy when he got on stage.
I tried to swallow a bite of my pizza but it became a dry, tasteless lump in my mouth.
In the end, CC wolfed down my piece of pizza.
"You'll be sick, playing drums after eating all that," said Angie.
"No way. I enjoy a good feed."
As we walked back to the venue, I noticed a line of people on the street. Not a huge line, not a going around the block line, but enough people to look like it was more than just milling around on the street. I nudged Jake.
"Doesn't look like you'll be playing to an empty room."
He grinned.
"Are they here to see us?"
“Looks that way," said Angie. "Told you I invited some people."
"You're amazing," said Jake.
Angie's face lit up. She tried to reply but she just stammered. The guys went in the back stage door and I followed them to make sure everything was ready.
"Do you need anything? Drinks? Towels?"
Ashley shook his head.
"I guess we'd better set up the merchandise then," I said to Angie.
We lugged the boxes to the front lobby and set up the rickety card table. Angie grabbed some hangers and climbed on a chair to display the t-shirts and posters.
The other bands turned up with their merchandise.
"We have to make our stuff look the best," Angie whispered to me. "Look at their ugly t-shirts."
I grinned at her. Our stuff did look a lot better.

Notes

I need feedback ;c