Sketch

65 - Sam

Dedicated to JuneStar!  Lyrics to the song on the side is where I got the idea for Emmy's dress and the picture is of Tandy.  Does anyone like the new book cover?  Enjoy :)

I hold onto my beer with one hand, the other resting on the counter behind me.  My arm is dangerously close to Emmy's back, and when she laughs at something that Ollie says, she leans back into me. Her dress is soft, but not as soft as her skin.

I'd almost said the L word earlier.  I'd complimented her song title idea, but I'd nearly taken it further.  Stunning doesn't even do her justice.  Her blonde hair is wilder than ever, standing out around her face and cascading in waves to her just below her shoulders.  She smells sweet and her lips look more seductive than ever painted a deep red.  It's the same shade as her dress.

Alex has left to find Andrea, the girl whose party it is, and the rest of us are chatting about the set-list and the sound-check.  It's not like we're going to be able to perform a full on rehearsal, but I need to make sure we're all in tune.  We'd played a show last year, after people started going crazy over our single, and it wasn't until I watched it back on the internet a couple of weeks later that I realised I'd been coming in far too early on the bridge.  I cringe just thinking about it.

I feel a tap on my arm and look up from my beer bottle to see Emmy smiling at me.  My insides melt.

"Ready?" she asks, excitement making her voice crack.

I glance behind her to see Alex with a girl who's obviously drunk.  Her brown hair is slipping out of the elastic band that she's tied it back with and she's swaying, leaning into Alex to stay upright.

I nod, the nerves making my pulse race.  I can feel my heart pounding into my ribs.  "Yeah.  You?"

She bites her lip and I can feel a stirring in my gut.  "I think so."

I rub my fingers over her back.  "You'll be great."

"Thanks."  She beams at me before squeezing my hand briefly.  My skin tingles at her touch and as I follow her into the back room, my eyes trained on her hips swaying, I try to keep my thoughts on the gig and not all of the things I want to do with Emmy.  A little bit of beer and I'm suddenly as dirty minded as Vince. 

I set my practically empty beer bottle on the amp my guitar is leaning back against.  Vince is settling himself behind his drum-kit and Ollie is making last minute tweaks to his bass.  He slings it over his shoulder at the same time that I bring my guitar strap over my head.  I glance at Emmy to see her muttering to herself.  I'm about to reassure her again when Tanya steps up to us. 

"This is going to be great," she says, clapping her hands together.  I barely hear her voice or her claps.  The sound of the music is getting louder again and the bass is reverberating through my body.

"Hell yeah!" Ollie exclaims.

Tandy and Alex are standing where the front row of teens will be in a few moments, all of the furniture having been moved to the sides of the room, and I breathe a deep breath in.  I catch sight of Alex and Vince sharing a glance before the bass stops pounding in my ears as the music shuts off.  I hear cries of outrage until Andrea, who'd been leaning into the wall, opens up the connecting door between this room and the lounge under instruction from Tanya.

The room immediately floods with people, unsure of what's going on, but when they spot us standing with our instruments poised for action, a gaggle of girls wielding alco-pop bottles start to screech.  The sound rings in my ears and I take a step back as they surround us in front and on both sides.  Some of the drunk girls are dangerously close to me and I move toward Emmy on impulse.  She looks at me, offering a hypnotising smile that's both confident and nervous at the same time, before she leans into the microphone, wrapping a hand around the stand.