TANTRIC (Book 3 of the Soundcrush Series)

Chapter 1: Hippie Chics and Front Men and Foolish Games

This chapter switches point of view in the middle. The song  for this chapter is Foolish Games, but I think for most of the chapter Ash is in a fairly positive place. I think her feelings mirror the song in the final  paragraphs of this chapter, where the action solidifies her position that she needs to protect herself from Leed's advances...

Ash, Present Day, Tamara's Wedding Weekend

"Fuck Ash, you look like you could set the goddamn world on fire in that dress," my dear friend Mac greets me with her usual blend of profane encouragement, as she sails into my hotel room.

It's just a little black dress, like almost everyone else but the bride will be wearing for the rehearsal dinner but Mac is always thoughtful with a fashion compliment.

True to form, her husband Adam is right behind her. Mac doesn't bother with a hug, she's more interested in the fruit tray that I was snacking on, but Adam gives me a casual one-handed embrace. Gosh, I haven't seen Adam in more than six months—not since that day he found me wondering the halls of the hotel in Atlanta. He stashed me in his room, refusing to give me Trace's room number. I feel my cheeks color, remembering how rude I was to him.

So much has happened between then I now. I had a car accident that forced me into detox. Trace and I dissolved our marriage-of-convenience because it was no longer convenient and it hadn't helped me to get clean, like we had hoped. Then I went to my fourth rehab treatment program, but this one was different. This one Leed helped me find—an alternative wellness program. I learned to treat my underlying pain with yoga, medication, and acupuncture, and the debilitating headaches I have suffered for three years are practically non-existent these day.

I've been sober for over six months—the longest sober stretch since my brain injury over three years ago. I still take it one day at a time, but I feel healthier than I have in years. I'm happy for the first time in years.

I return Adam's hug lightly. Adam is truly the nicest guy in the band and thankfully he's big on forgiveness. I have apologized for the many times I was ugly to him when I was hurting or high and also for the couple of times I stole his weed when I was desperate for pain relief. He was very gracious about the whole thing, and I think he and I will be friends again, especially because Mac never stopped being my friend, no matter what horrible things I did. But with Adam, and with most everyone, I know I have to earn back my credibility.

"So good to see you, Ash. You look great. Healthy," Adam's greeting is genuine but his eye contact is brief. He's watching Mac like a hawk as she rubs her six month baby belly. She's already dressed for Tam's wedding rehearsal and dinner, in a form fitting mauve dress that shows off her beautiful pregnancy shape.

"What?" she snaps at him as she waves a fruit kabob threateningly. "I sat on a plane all day. I sat in the limo. I took a nap when we got here. I sat in a tub, and I sat at a vanity to get ready. I walked from our room three doors down to here, Adam. I can stand for five minutes and eat this fruit, you know. The doctor said partial bedrest. Don't start with me again," she warns him.

He crosses to her and bites the strawberry off her kabob, chewing as he pulls her in. "Shut-up. We're not fighting anymore remember? You won, we're here in LA despite my best efforts. Sit your ass down before I pick you up and carry you back to bed and you miss the rehearsal dinner."

They are always like this. The only thing Madam like better than pretending to maul each other with words is actually mauling each other in bed.

Mac draws her arms around Adam's shoulders and sticks the kabob suggestively in her mouth, pulling off a piece of melon. "I call your bluff. I'm too fat for you to pick up," she mumbles around her cantaloupe.