“In the real early days we use to do quite a few covers. Credence Clearwater’s ‘Run Through the Jungle’, Pink Floyd’s ‘Young Lust’, hell, I even managed to get David Bowie’s ‘Starman’ mashed into one of our sets mid-performance one night. 70s glam rock with twenty-first century metal … who would’ve thought it would prove to be so popular.” He shrugged and asked, “What about you, H-bomb? What song do you think we should cover?” before biting into his burger.
I picked up a fry, dipped it into mayonnaise and thought for a moment, before popping it into my mouth. Music had been a big part of my growing up back in Georgia. My cousin, Bobby—Bridget’s older brother—was a massive music lover and had bought me my first iPod. He introduced me to good old rock n roll.
“That’s easy,” I said. “Gimme Shelter. The Rolling Stones. It would have to be my favorite of all time.”
Heath’s eyebrows disappeared all the way up his brow. “You know The Stones?”
“I grew up in Georgia, Heath. Not on Mars.” I took a sip of my milkshake. “I grew up on the classics. Led Zepplin. Hendrix. Pink Floyd. Ozzy.”
Heath smiled broadly. “So under all that cashmere and pearls, you’re just a badass rock chick.”
I laughed. “Hardly.”
“Zeppelin? Hendrix? I think I just fell in love with you.” His eyes twinkled and he looked amused as he popped fries into his mouth. “Enough about me. What’s your story? Is there someone back home? Some preppy prince back on the plantation pining away for you amongst all his money?”
I shook my head. “Not anymore. We broke up just before I came out here.”
“Oh yeah? Why? Did the good girl want to be bad out west?”
“He was cheating on me.”
Heath paused and was still and then said with what seemed like genuine regret, “Sorry.”
“Don’t be. I’m okay with it now. I got over it.” I smiled. “Anyway, the more time I spend out here the more I realize he did me a favor.”
A half-smile curled on his lips. “How long were you together?”
“Two years.”
He whistled. “I haven’t been with a girl for two days let alone two years.”
I didn’t go into details about Colton’s cheating but I did notice how the thought of it didn’t register even the remotest hint of hurt inside. It hadn’t always been the case. When I’d discovered Colton had been having an affair with my best friend I had been devastated. It was like my world had been ripped away. On the same day I had lost my boyfriend and my best friend. It was one of the reasons my parents had relented and let me come out to California. They thought the break from Colton would do me some good. I guess they assumed I was still pining for him. The truth was I wasn’t but I just used their assumptions to my benefit.
“So you’ve never been in a long-term relationship?” I asked.
He chuckled. “No. Never.”
“Really?”
He smiled. “I’m not boyfriend material. Or so I’ve been told.”
After we’d finished our burgers, I noticed the smallest amount of mayonnaise on the corner of his mouth and without thinking, reached over and wiped it with my napkin. It surprised both of us.
Immediately, heat flamed against my cheeks.
OMG, why the hell did I do that?
Heath’s eyes were bright and then gleamed. They held mine in a blue gaze that drew the air from my lungs. A small half-smile tugged at his lips, deepening the dimples either side of his mouth.
Embarrassed, I sat back and looked away.
“We should go,” I mumbled, not sure what had just happened.
“I like that you did that,” he said quietly.
I looked up at him and felt a small tug on my heart. Away from the stage lights and hordes of screaming women, he looked harmless and gentle. Not that he was your regular Joe. The absence of his stage persona didn’t make him any less attractive. In truth, he was devastating. I could see why all the girls fell for him.
But I could also see he was trouble. And not someone you could trust with your heart. It would be exhausting trying to compete with all those girls who went to watch them play. I’d just left a whole world of trouble behind me and I was done with the popular boys. The next guy was going to be vanilla safe, not beautiful dangerous like Heath Dillinger.
“Can I take you for a ride somewhere?” he asked.
“Where to?”
“Somewhere special,” he said as he pulled several bills from his billfold and dropped them on the table.
“Sure. Why not.”
I may have been wary of this beautiful man but I wasn’t ready to call it a night just yet. I guess you could say my curiosity was piqued. He was a nice guy and I actually enjoyed being around him.
Plus, I was pretty much friendless in California so I was running low on offers.
We slid out of the booth and I turned to grab my denim jacket. I didn’t notice the attractive brunette until she was standing in front of us. Her face was a contorted mask of anger. Eyes heavy with makeup bounced back and forth between Heath and me.
Before I could avoid it, she flung her milkshake at us. Chocolate milk flew out of the silver milkshake cup and, of course, I bore the brunt of it.
“You’ve. Got. To. Be. Kidding. Me!” I exclaimed, shaking chocolate milk from my hands. I glared at Heath. “Really? REALLY?”
Seriously? What was the go with this guy and these women throwing their drinks at him?
“Jesus Christ!” he yelled at the brunette. “What the fuck is your problem?”
“You, you jerk!” she shrieked. “I had a great time, you said. I’ll call you, you said. So I wait for you to call me. I wait for two fucking weeks but no fucking phone call. Did you lose my number? Or are you really just the prick they say you are?”
“Listen I don’t know what your fucking deal is …” He meant to say her name but stalled. This only enraged her further. Her eyes widened and her face went so red I thought she would pop.
“Sherry! My fucking name is Sherry! Or did you forget that right after you fucked me on my grandmother’s couch?”
Eeeeeewwwww! I wrinkled my nose.
“Apologize to Harlow,” Heath demanded looking furious.
She flicked me a vile look, glaring at me as if I had just run over her cat.
“Fuck you and your Harlot!” she snapped, and turning on her stiletto heels, stormed off.
Elly magically appeared with a towel. “Here Sugar, it won’t take the stain out but at least it’ll help dry you off.”
“Thanks,” I mumbled, wiping at the stain across my chest. But it was pointless. My white shirt looked like Willy Wonka had thrown up on me.
“Harlow I am so sorry …”
I held up my arms but bit my tongue, afraid of the words that might tumble out. Heath looked crestfallen.
I gave up on my stained shirt and sighed. “I’m going home. Don’t worry about taking me, I’ll catch the bus.”
“No! Please,” He stood in front of me, gently stopping me with his big hands. “I am so sorry …”
“So you keep saying.”
“Please let me take you home. It’s the least I can do,” he said, humbly.
The idea of catching the bus home with a shirt soaked in milkshake didn’t appeal to me. Especially when it made the fabric cling tightly to every curve.
“Fine,” I mumbled and handed Elly the towel. “Thanks Elly.”
“No problem, sugar.” She nodded and then patted Heath gently on the arm. “Take care, babe.”
He nodded solemnly and we left the diner in silence.
* * * * *
HEATH
The situation was shit. Plain and simple. I knew Harlow had a preconceived idea of who I was and I had hoped to prove her wrong. But again, my dick had gotten me in trouble, with yet another girl deciding to unleash her anger right in front of the one girl I might be seriously interested in. Things were going from bad to worse. And the way Harlow was looking at me in sheer disgust made me want to take her by the shoulders and tell her that this isn’t what I’m about.