Rock All Night

105




That was the plan, anyway.

Didn’t quite work out the way I’d envisioned.

Instead, I seemed caught in a time warp and sent back to the first night I’d seen the band, when I was a wallflower at a dance with the most popular kids in town.

Derek more or less ignored me the entire time. He just hobnobbed with his celebrities, palled around with rock and rap royalty, and signed a lot of bare boobs.

Ryan came up to me almost immediately, though.

“You alright?” he asked, a concerned look on his face.

“Yeah. Thanks for what you did,” I said, truly grateful.


He shook his head and glared out at his best friend clowning amongst the beautiful people. “He can be the biggest f*cking a*shole in the world when he puts his mind to it.”

I reared back slightly in mock surprise. “WHOA – you used more profanity in that one sentence than in the last five weeks combined! You ARE angry!”

“Damn right I am.” Then he grinned. “Good thing my sisters weren’t around to hear that.”

“Or your mother. She might have washed your mouth out with soap.”

“No, my sisters are worse. Even if my mom weren’t here, my sisters would have totally ratted on me.”

I remembered the way Mara and Casey had tattled on Ryan four years ago, the night I ate dinner at his family’s house.

“That’s what little sisters are for. But I don’t think they would rat you out.”

“You don’t know my sisters.”

“No, but I know they wouldn’t want to endanger getting cut off from cool selfies with a rock star.”

He laughed. “That’s true. I guess I finally have a bargaining chip.”

“Seriously, though, Ryan… thank you,” I said, putting my hand on his arm.

He gave me a hug. A really, really good hug. “It was nothing. You should get out there, make him jealous. Turn the tables on him.”

“What, and make out with Riley?” I joked.

He gave an exaggerated look of alarm. “Don’t say that. It’s like saying ‘Voldemort’ in the Harry Potter books. Bad idea.”

“Okay, how about, ‘Make out with ‘She Who Must Not Be Named’?”

“I was talking more about just combining the words ‘make out’ with ‘Riley,’ not necessarily her name itself. She might hear you and decide you’re serious – without double- checking with you first.”

“Like a drive-by kissing?”

“Worse, probably. I would say more, but I’ve used up my allotment of crude language for the evening, so I’ll just leave it to your imagination.”

I laughed. “Okay – thanks for the warning.”

“Alright, then. I need to go talk to these radio guys over here – have fun. But not too much fun.”

I smiled. “Don’t worry, I don’t think that will be a problem.”

He smiled back, then strode off towards a bunch of businessmen in three-piece suits.

Talking to Ryan had made me feel so much better. In fact, talking to Ryan always made me feel better. Why couldn’t Derek be more like him?

Killian was up next. He approached at an angle, his head down pitifully and his eyes lifted up towards me, acting exactly like a dog that expects to get beaten.

Even the plinking on his guitar strings sounded sad and hesitant.

“No hard feelings?” he asked.

“Killian, I told you to play it!” I said, laughing. “It’s fine.”

“So… no hard feelings, then?”

“No. No hard feelings.”

He immediately relaxed, and the guitar tune brightened considerably.

“Good. He was a bit of a tosser tonight, wasn’t he?”

“Uhhh… if by that you mean he was a dickhead, then yes, yes he was.”

“Well. It’s nice that you’re being such a sport about it.”

“He’ll get his later.”

“I’m sure he will.”

He and I just stood there awkwardly. No bad vibes or anything – just nothing to say.

“Well – I’ll be off, then,” he announced, then gestured with his eyes towards the joint dangling from his lips. “Unless you’d like a puff.”

“No, I’m good, thanks.”

“Alright, then.”

And he strode back into the crowd, plinking away at his guitar.

Riley was the last.

I didn’t even see her coming. Just felt the stinging slap on my ass.

“What up, BITCH!” she howled.

I flinched, then glared over at her. “Hi, traitor.”

“Awwww, don’t be that way, Bitch.”

“Could you not call me that? Thanks.”

“‘Could you not call me that ‘kay thanksssss,’” she mimicked me, making me sound like a Valley girl.

I turned up the cold factor on my stare.

“Awww, come on, Blondie. You know I’m just playin’ around. And I couldn’t pass up ‘99 Problems’ – it’s got, like, the best beats ever.”

I relented. “…I know. You did a great job.”

“Yup, it was… bitchin’,” she joked, then elbowed me lightly and wiggled her eyebrows.

I started to look a little irritated again –

“AW COME ON, Blondie, that was funny. Lighten up.”

I couldn’t help it. It was like staying angry at a five-year-old.

A really annoying, foul-mouthed, smelly five-year-old… but still.

“Okay, fine… it was funny.”

“You should do some shots with me. Wash your cares away with some Jack. Or – what was that shit you were drinking? Ama-somethin’? I’m sure I could get you a bottle – ”

“Nooooo. Thank you.”

“Awwww, come on.”

“Last time I drank with you, I felt like I wanted to die for two days straight.”

“Okay, fine – we’ll go five for one, how about that?”

“So I can just feel like dying half of a day? I’ll pass.”

“Ten for one – how about that? Ten for one. Final offer.”

I realized that, in her own way, Riley was trying to make it up to me. She was really going out of her way to be friendly… maybe even console me.

I smiled. “It’s the last night of the tour, Riley, and there is some fine ass out there, just waiting for you to tap it. Time’s a-wastin’.”

She grinned and took the rejection gracefully.

“Alright… but if you change your mind…” she said, her face suddenly serious.

“I’ll come find you.”

“Alright… talk to you later!” she yelled, and dove into a nearby group of supermodels.

I sat on the sidelines for another ten minutes, watching Derek ignore me. Then I got tired of it and decided I was done.

I walked out of the party room, down a long series of hallways, and emerged into the main casino. From there I got lost amongst the ding-ding-dinging slot machines, then finally found the elevator. I went up to Derek’s room on the 30th floor, took a quick shower, and got dressed for bed.

I didn’t have to wait long.