‘Don’t any of the others partake?’
‘They’ve quirks of their own.’ He drew her attention to them in turn. ‘Spook mutters some ancient Swedish ode, and he doesn’t need bananas. He practically lives on guarana and goji berries. Elspeth,’ he said without looking at his former lover, ‘spritzes herself with exactly five squirts of Midnight Poison, but not until the very last second. Rock Giant burns a few new holes in the ozone layer making sure those spikes of his stay in place.’
‘And Ash?’
‘He’ll have spent the last hour sucking aniseed balls, so he tastes like he’s been necking Pernod.’
She didn’t enquire how he knew what Ash tasted like, already knowing she wouldn’t like the answer. However, the damage was already done, and her overactive imagination had produced a crystal-clear image of Xane and Ash kissing. It was hard enough dealing with the fact that Xane had been in love with Steve Matlock, let alone speculating on what relationships he’d had and what things he’d done with the rest of the band. It wouldn’t surprise her to learn that he’d slept with every goddamned one of them. She didn’t need confirmation of that fact, though. It might not surprise her, but it did make her hideously queasy.
‘Ash also likes to line up his post-show entertainment.’ He nodded his head towards a huddle of girls waiting in the corner. To Dani’s astonishment, her best friend Ginny was among them.
‘What – how are you here? Why are you here?’
‘Same as you. I’m scoring myself a red-hot rock star.’ She winked at Xane, who turned away. ‘I got myself a legit pass this time.’ It read, ‘Property of Ash Gore’.
‘We’ll speak in a bit,’ Dani said, before scuttling off to catch up with Xane, whose attention had turned to the new guy. She hoped Ginny knew what she was doing, and wasn’t going to get herself hurt. Ash wasn’t like Xane. He didn’t get emotionally invested.
‘I hope you’re not drinking too much of that shit.’
Dani jumped in response to Xane’s growl. It wasn’t directed at her but at Iain Willows, who was busy necking a very large and lethal-looking cocktail.
Showing impressive guts, Iain locked gazes with Xane. ‘Is there a problem with me having a drink?’
‘No. No problem.’ Ash darted between them, his palms raised towards Xane. ‘It’s just one drink, Xane. It’s not a problem.’
‘If he’s playing for us, I want him sober.’
‘He’s not going to get wasted on one drink. It’s not like he’s downed a dozen pints.’
‘It’s OK, Ash.’ Iain pushed Ash to one side so he could address Xane directly. ‘I get this is difficult for you. Steve was a fantastic drummer, I know I’m going to have a hell of a time trying to replace him, but –’
‘You’ll never replace him.’ Xane turned his back and stalked away.
Dani lingered a moment, staggered by Xane’s bluntness.
‘He’s still in shock,’ she muttered by way of an explanation. ‘He doesn’t find it easy to talk about Steve.’
Ash nodded in agreement with her. He clapped Iain on the back. ‘Give him time. It’s only been a few weeks.’
‘Maybe you’re not ready to be on tour.’
‘But we are. It’ll be fine. It’s only the first night. Once we’re through this, things will settle down.’
Dani hoped Ash was right, but at the moment she wasn’t even sure how Xane was going to manage to sing. ‘How do you and Ash know one another?’ she asked Iain.
‘We were in a band together once. Sorry, who are you?’
‘She’s Xane’s girlfriend,’ Ash said.
‘Oh, right! It was back in college. Do you ever see any of those guys any more?’
‘No.’
‘Remember Tom? I wonder if he still has a games controller welded to his hand.’
‘Probably. Shouldn’t you catch up with Xane?’ Ash nudged her in the direction of her lover. Dani caught up with Xane as he was slipping his yellow contact lenses in. He blinked to make sure they were sitting right. It shocked her just how much they altered his visage. Gone were the shadows and pain she knew he had locked up inside, replaced by a vision of ghoulish decadence.
‘What?’ he asked, curling his lip in response to her stare.
‘Are you all right?’
‘Yeah.’
‘It’s just you were –’ She didn’t want to say rude, even though that’s exactly what he’d been. ‘It’s not his fault. He’s helping you out, Xane.’
‘Yeah, ’cause stepping in to drum for Black Halo is a real hardship. He’s not helping us. He’s helping himself.’
‘Must you be quite so cynical?’
‘Yes, actually.’ He sneered, in a way that probably shouldn’t have wet her panties but did.
‘Xane.’
‘What?’
She stretched on tiptoes to steal a kiss.
‘Um,’ he responded, not pushing her away.
‘Are you always this tense right before you go on?’
‘Sometimes. Not always. It’s odd going out there without him. We’ve always done this together, and now I have to introduce him.’ He inclined his head towards Iain without looking at him. ‘Like I want to go out and say, this is our farewell to Steve and, by the way, here’s his substitute.’
‘Then don’t introduce him. Just play.’
He smiled. ‘And you think I’m rude.’ He shook his head, but kept on grinning. ‘Come here. I need another one of these.’ He demanded another kiss, and another, like he hoped to find strength inside her. Rock Giant walked past and made a loud puking noise. Xane responded by sticking a finger up at him. He didn’t release her, though, not until Ash tapped him on the shoulder.
‘Time’s up, mate. You need to put the nice lady down now.’ He grasped hold of Xane’s upper arm and used the hold to turn him away from Dani and towards the stage. ‘We just need to borrow him for a bit. I swear I’ll bring him back.’
‘Stay right there,’ Xane insisted. ‘The moment I get off …’
‘You’ll what? Get her off?’ Ash interrupted. He gave her a cheeky grin. ‘We’re having a live sex show as an encore. You never said that. If I’d known, I’d have put it on the advertising.’
Xane slapped him round the head, but Dani was grateful to him for lightening the mood.
‘Save it for later, boys.’ Spook glided past them, his guitar already in his hands. ‘You can do all the manly wrestling you like post-show.’
‘I’d rather wrestle with his special friend.’ Ash grabbed Dani’s hand and twirled her round.
Xane dragged him off her. ‘Get your own special friend.’
Ash pouted. ‘But Xane, all my friends are special.’ He waved at the girls waiting patiently in the corner. ‘Since you’re bringing Dani, can I bring them along?’
Xane shoved him up onto the stage.
‘Good luck,’ Dani called after them. She went and joined Ash’s fan club, who had a prime spot at the front of the stage. She was still surprised by Ginny’s presence among them. ‘Why are you here?’ she asked again.
‘To save you the best spot in the house.’ She