Poison Rose (Sequel to "Good Love")

Three

As he prepared to head out for the meet-and-greet that was actually one of very few on this particular tour, Duff couldn't get the young woman–Rebel, she'd called herself–outta his head. Trying to get her voice outta his head proved to be an even more futile effort, 'cuz it was almost like that Mythical Siren Song he'd always heard about. If he wasn't completely Entranced by that sweet Sound, not to mention the Emotion that'd been in it while she was singing, he was a needle-dicked midget.

        Walking out to the area that'd been set up for the meet-and-greet, part of him hoped that he got to see her again before bus call was made. He might have three Days till he and his band played in Tampa, Florida, but that didn't mean he wanted to leave without getting a true goodbye. If he'd known this was practically a replay of four Years ago, just with a different man, he prolly woulda burst into incredulous laughter.

        Somewhere toward the front of the VIP line that'd since turned into more of a crowd, Bobby and Aerin were waiting as patiently as they could. The bassist was still cramping, and those cramps only seemed to be getting worse as the Night wore on, which left his wife beyond worried about him. Naturally, being so worried about her husband caused the young woman's good Time to slowly diminish to the point that she was getting crabby from just wanting the band to c'mon out. It wouldn't be much longer before she was either rushing said husband to the hospital herself, or calling an ambulance for him. Such a decision'd be based on how much pain he was in, and at the moment, it wasn't looking good for her doing anything but calling an ambulance.

        "Well, hey there. I was hoping I'd get to see ya again before the Night was over."

        Turning slightly, she saw that none other than Duff McKagan'd walked over to them, much to the delight of the swooning fans surrounding them.

        "Hey there, man," Bobby managed to chuckle, which finally allowed him to get a good look at him.

        "I'll be damned, man–long Time, no see!" the slightly younger bassist laughed, abruptly sobering when he winced. "Ya okay, man?"

        "If you'll excuse me, there's something I need to take care of." He shot a look at the young woman at his side, the same one who'd introduced herself as Rebel.

        "Keep your phone on ya, love," she told him, apparently figuring out what he was trying to tell her without actually saying anything.

        "Ya know I will," the slightly older bassist promised her as he leaned down for a quick kiss.

        "Well, now I know why ya didn't hesitate to take a crack at Axl's age onstage," Duff said after he'd excused himself.

        "Yeah, kinda hard to resist with anyone else who's roughly the same age as my husband," the young woman laughed.

        "Wait, you're actually married?" He seemed a bit surprised.

        "In a couple different ways," Aerin answered, holding up her left hand. "In the legal sense like you're used to, as well as in a Spiritual sense."

        "That almost sounds Mormon or something," the younger bassist chuckled, impressed by the wedding set he saw. "Gotta say, he's some damned impeccable taste, if this is anything to go by."

        "Not quite Mormon, and yeah, he does," she agreed. "Course, he picked this set 'cuz he knew that while I might still answer yes, I'd just as soon throw anything with White Diamonds in it at his head as wear it."

        Duff couldn't help a laugh at that statement. "I'd definitely say the name Rebel suits ya well, then."

        "Hey, I admitted that I'ma rebellious thing onstage–I just didn't admit to being a bitch on top of it, even though I can definitely be such," the young woman told him with a grin.