Angie Read Free

tell you I really enjoyed the set. You guys are great. You know about the party at Freddy’s Bar after the gig? Hope to catch up for a chat then."
    "Yeah, we'll be there," said Eric.
    After Bastian left, Eric groaned.
    "Why did I say we'd be there? I just want to go home and sleep, not go to some fancy bar. Jack really wants to go though."
    "I want to go too. Come along, it won't kill you."
    He grinned. "I guess, but I dunno if I'll stay long."
    Before long , Hannah and the guys were back.
    "Do we get free drinks at this party?" said Spud. "The Monkey Bride guys are swell. You should see their room. Nothing like this shithole. It's all groupies and a whole fridge full of booze. Dealers hanging around giving out free samples too. Like proper rock stars."
    I bet Spud had had his hands out for all that was on offer too.
    We headed back up to the stage area to watch Monkey Bride play. I was happy to stay at the side of the stage for their set. I didn’t think I’d fit anywhere else anyway. The whole floor looked jammed to capacity. It’d been a sell-out show.
    I got so lost in the music, I hadn't noticed Eric move behind me until his arms wrapped around my waist. I wanted to pull away. I wanted to send him a signal that he couldn't go there but Monkey Bride were playing that ballad that they were famous for. The one about true love healing. It made me a bit smishy inside and I felt safe with Eric's arms around me. I leaned back against him and he rested his head on my shoulder. It felt so right. The kind of right that made alarm bells go off in my head but it was only for one song and maybe that would be okay.
    When they moved on to the next song, I pulled away so I could dance but the feeling of his arms stayed with me.
    After the gig finished, we got our stuff together and headed to the bar for the after party. We flashed our VIP tags at the girl on the door and she gave us wristbands for free drinks. You know, they could be my two favourite words in the English language – “free drinks”. Drinks you didn’t have to pay for tasted so much sweeter.
    I stumbled into the dark cavern of a room . Seriously, I’ve been to clubs with dim lighting but this place was something else. The only thing I could see at first was a string of lights glowing around the bar. At least that made the bar easy to find. The rest of the place was a blur of black. Black walls, black floor, black-outfitted people. And really, the choice of music? That cheesy pop song had better be the DJs idea of ironic, ‘cause if I had to listen to that all night, I’d be hijacking the turntables and playing something decent.
    My eyes adjusted just seconds before I barrelled into a group of girls standing around near the door. I grabbed hold of Hannah to anchor myself.
    “Are you right?” she asked. “You haven’t even started drinking yet.”
    "Who are these people?" I asked Hannah. “Isn’t it a private party?”
    "People from the record label and media, some of them are crew from the tour and then just randoms. That guy over in the corner is from the tour promotion company. I should go over and talk to him. Probably should talk to the label guys too." She sighed. "No fun party shenanigans for me. I have to be totally on my game."
    She headed for the back of the room where the tour promoter guy sat.
    Eric got us all a round of beers from the bar and we grabbed a table at the side of the room where we could watch the action without being in the thick of it. A couple of girls came over and asked for autographs but most of them were looking around, waiting for the Monkey Bride guys to turn up. I could spot a few other familiar faces in the crowd too – not familiar as in I knew them, but familiar as in I knew their bands and had seen them play. In a recessed pit near the DJ desk, a couple of girls tried to sexy dance but I didn't think they were getting the attention they were after.
    A couple of Jack's friends turned up and sat with us and things were