One Step Ahead

We're On Our Own

      "So, since KISS and the Crue are basically a given, then who would you say were your favorite Eighties bands, besides those?" Ashley inquired, as he sprawled across the bed, chin propped on his hands, with his just-finished gloves lying on the mattress next to him.

      Briar, who was sitting in the chair holding one of his sketchpads in her lap, glanced up and replied, "I like bands with a bit of 'oomph' to 'em, so I'd have to say Aerosmith, Tesla, Queensryche, Kix, and Black 'n' Blue."

      "I definitely know the first three, but I can't say that I'm familiar with the others," Ashley informed her. "I might know them if I heard a song, but I can't visualize right now. But talking about Aerosmith, which album is your favorite?"

      " 'Permanent Vacation', definitely," she responded. "What's yours?"

      After considering the question for a moment, he said, "I think I'll have to go back to the Seventies and say 'Get Your Wings'."

      There was a tap on the door, and they both turned their heads to see Angie Ruiz standing in the doorway. "Danny's getting ready to take the kitchen trash out to the dumpster," she announced. "Do either of you need your cans emptied?" 

      "No thanks, I pulled my bag this morning and actually put it in the kitchen trash can," Briar explained.

      Ashley glanced down at the can next to the bed and said, "Nah, I'm good for a day or two, thanks."

      Angie nodded and left the room, while Briar resumed leafing through the sketchbook. "These are really cool," she told him. "Are these going to be part of your fashion line?"

      "Some of them for sure, at some point. There are a few that I'm iffy on, though," he reached out and flipped ahead several pages, stopping on a drawing of a slim-fitting, one-shoulder dress. "That one I could actually see you wearing, though. Kinda your thing, from what I saw at the shoot, with the pink dress, and that swimsuit."

      She made a rude noise, then replied, "Not exactly. Yeah, that was technically my dress, but it sat in my closet for almost a year without being worn before that day, and the torture device was all Tammi's idea, she didn't like any of the suits that I brought with."

      Looking at her curiously, Ashley inquired, "What do you mean, it's 'technically' yours? And why get it in the first place, if you didn't want to wear it?"

      "I didn't, it was the last gift my ex gave me. Or the last one I didn't literally fling back in his face, that is."

      "Ooo-kay then," he snickered. "Now I'm curious. Am I allowed to ask what that one was?"

      "An appointment slip for a boob job," she stated. "That was his idea of a fabulous Christmas gift, so he set everything up without even bothering to ask if I actually wanted one. When I told him it wasn't gonna happen, his response was, 'If you really loved me, and wanted me to be happy, you'd do it.' So I told him that he'd seemed to be perfectly happy with 'em for the past eight months, and if he really loved me, it wouldn't be that big of a deal, and if it was, to haul ass. So he did. Not even a week later, I saw him on social media, taking pictures with his new 38DD lingerie-model girlfriend."

      "Ouch!" Ashley replied with a wince. "Sounds like a total asshole, you're better off without somebody like that. Was he anybody I might have heard of?"

      "Maybe, he works in PR, his name is Craig Wallace."

      The wince transformed into a sneer, and he announced, "Oh, yeah, I definitely know who he is, if the girl you're talking about is named Dara." When she nodded an affirmative, he continued, saying, "She's friendly with Jazy, who's basically my best friend outside of the band. Jazy told me that Dara had some sort of issue with her implants, and the doctors recommended that she at least reduce, if not get rid of them totally. He was apparently trying everything under the sun to talk her out of it, even though she was in actual pain because of them, and she wised up and kicked him to the curb. Plus, her sister recorded some of the conversation and put it on Facebook, so everybody could see what a douche he really was."