Sex, Lies, RockNHeels Closed For RICK345

[LillyNLace]

Anna arrived home right as dusk was settling in over the lake. She opened the garage door and drove into the spacious enclosure pressing a button to close the door behind as she watched in her rearview to make sure no one slipped into the garage behind her on foot. Shaking head a bit she though, "Anna, this isn't LA you don't have to be on your guard for someone to rob or assault you all the time. Let down your guard just a bit and relax" but she knew that it would take time. Perhaps staying alert and wary wasn't paranoid but a good idea even in a small place like Fork River and as the old saying, "an ounce of prevention was worth a pound of cure". Anna had learned early on after moving to LA of things or people who go bump in the night. Here Jeep had been broken into on several occasions with it's soft top a super easy target thankfully she adhered to the Jeep owners moto, Jeep stood for "Just Empty Every Pocket" and there was nothing of value. Finally, she got tired of it all and just left her top off all the time before finally just selling it. Her first apartment had also been broken into and several items stolen thankfully they hadn't touched her guitar or other musical equipment but had made off with a laptop, tablet, 300 dollars in cash and a pair of air pods. She had also experienced a knocking at her apartment door at 3am one night prompting her to call 911 and got lucky when there was a cop literally down the road. Turned out it was only a drunk trying to get his room mate to open the door as he left his key in his apartment. But there had been some instances where just crossing a parking that lone males would stare at her and not in the way she was used to as men do. It wasn't just the normal guy checking her out having dirty thoughts look but more malevolent and even a few had made some moves in her direction making her either return to the store really fast or hurry up and drive off. It took sometime for her to feel somewhat safe and accustom to the city though she never got used to it completely.

Anna unloaded all of her purchases and started putting everything in it's place. It took a little while but home was finally looking like a home not an empty house. After that chore was done she stared setting up her music room the moving crew had brought everything upstairs and got it close to the correct spot but she would have to finish hooking it all up. Her amps and cabs including her Marshall JVM205 and her restored 1965 Fender Twin Reverb which was a gift from her ex for birthday. She had several more amps such as a Orange, Victory and a Mesa Boogie and a plethora of pedals which had come through several sponsorships through the companies themselves. She even had her own signature distortion pedal called "The Dark Lady" and her own signature line of guitars. While this was a great accomplishment it wasn't quite as big of a deal as it seemed as a lot of musicians got signature lines of equipment as they grew in popularity with companies hoping to profit from the artists endorsements. She took her time in setting up the large pedal board and connecting everything up discreetly running the cords. She didn't bother with setting up the audio mixer as she preferred to use a DAW as her computer had Pro Tools.

Despite her stomach starting to make itself known that it was empty she sat down and picked up her Les Paul and began playing. Starting off with the solo from Ted Nugent's Stranglehold and moving onto Blackbird by Alter Bridge and ending with Triumphs Lay It On The Line. She was about to play Cliffs Of Dover by Eric Johnson but her stomach growled even louder and since there wasn't food in the house she sat the guitar down flipped off the amps and went downstairs. Anna looked at her phone considering ordering delivery once more but decided she wanted to get out as well as have a stiff drink. That was another trip she would have to make which was to a liquor store at some point. While not considering herself a heavy drinker she had done more than her fair share on the road attempting to live the rock star life of one never ending party which her and the band had been pretty good at possibly better at partying than being musicians.

Anna checked her phone for a list of bars wanting something that served food and was quiet and out of the way. Something new that attracted the touristy crowd where she was less likely to run into anyone she might know. She had seen a few bars on the way in but actually found a few more on the backside of the two new shopping complexes she had seen. One of them advertised live music and the Google reviews gave the bar food top ratings. Sounded like something she might enjoy so she pulled up their website and saw that indeed a band from Pensacola was playing tonight as it was Friday. The band was called, "Under The Covers" and the little info stated they played all your favorite rock and roll tunes. So the band's name made perfect sense being they were a cover band which to be fair many bands started that way and gradually began playing their own original music.

Anna quickly showered, fixed her makeup while not to the point of trying to be impressive but a bit more than the basic she had used that day, spent a bit more time on her hair, and walked over to her closet. So many of her clothes were either everyday jeans and tee shirt stuff, LA trendy club outfits or a bit more provocative stage attire. She didn't have a lot of clothing for things in between all of that so she had a dilemma. She finally decided on a black V cut mini dress that probably showed to much cleavage for this place but, "what the hell" she thought. She finished the outfit with a pair of side zipping ankle boots took one last look at herself in the mirror glanced at the perfume but decided to skip it that her body wash was enough as she wasn't trying to hook up with anyone tonight.

Twenty minutes later she was parked in front of the bar that looked very new. The name read, "The Boomerang" in big red letters and she could see there was a bouncer at the door checking ID's and several people in their mid-twenties were entering but she was thankful there wasn't a line. Anna grabbed her small purse or neck pouch which she put around her neck and let it rest at her side. Reaching the bouncer he glanced at her for a few seconds then asked for ID which she presented. He shined a light at it then at her before saying, "No cover for ladies have a wonderful evening". Anna smiled politely at him and walked into a room that would hold probably 75 people at max capacity and there appeared to be a good 50 people there. The ages ranged from about 25 to a few close to 50 and a good mix of male to female patrons though there were more males than females. She surveyed the seating options not wanting to take a seat at the bar and invite conversation and spied a small half booth only big enough for two people one on each side of the table really close to the stage. She made her way through several groups before taking a seat figuring the only reason it was empty was due to the fact it only seated two people but it did provide an excellent vantage point to watch the band.

Currently the band was not performing either taking a break or hadn't started glancing at her watch she saw it was 9:38 and thought she remembered that the band wasn't scheduled to start until 10PM. There were two guys adjusting equipment on stage and guitars on the stands. She quickly appraised their equipment though it appeared they were plugging into house equipment and she spotted a small sound booth stage right. The stage while not large was adequate with a small lighting truss with numerous lights over the stage as well. One of the guys on stage looked at her and their eyes locked for just a second before she was interrupted by a waitress asking to take her order. Anna had been so engrossed in checking out the stage and equipment that she hadn't even looked at the menu. The waitress must of picked up on her hesitation, "here is our cocktail and food menu" she said and offered it to her. Anna waved it off, "bourbon, do you have Bookers", Anna inquired. "No I'm sorry we don't carry Bookers" Anna sighed, and said, "fine a glass of Jefferson's neat please and how about an order of wings extra hot with sweet potato fries and when you bring the food please bring out a bottle of Weihenstephan if you have it if not Coors Light is fine". The waitress gave her a bit of a befuddled look, "Jeffersons, wings, sweet potato fries and a Coors Light got it".

Anna turned her attention back to the stage where several more guys all around 30 years of age appeared to be getting ready though they kept throwing glances her way. She took out her phone in an attempt to break the awkwardness afraid that perhaps they recognized her. It was less than 30 seconds and she realized that someone was approaching her booth. She looked up from her phone hearing a slightly tentative male voice, "Excuse me are you Cithara" the man asked with a hopeful voice. Anna paused considering lying and saying no but her herself say, "Yes". The man's face lit up, "Oh my god your so awesome I can't believe I'm talking to you" though it all came out in an excited jumble. "We thought we recognized you that is my band there "Under The Covers" we just do cover tunes but is an honor to have you in the audience." Anna listened closely and attentively making sure to not appeared bothered or bored though it was a regular occurrence this wasn't her first rodeo meeting a fan. "Well thank you I appreciate that your a fan and I'm quite sure I will enjoy the show." The grinned from ear to ear, "Hi, I'm Dane and extended his hand" Anna reached out and shook it, "I err I mean we were hoping that you might sign and few things for us and perhaps we could talk you into coming up and playing a song or two your you pick the song"?

 

[LillyNLace]

Anna arrived home right as dusk was settling in over the lake. She opened the garage door and drove into the spacious enclosure pressing a button to close the door behind as she watched in her rear view to make sure no one slipped into the garage behind her on foot. Shaking head a bit she though, "Anna, this isn't LA you don't have to be on your guard for someone to rob or assault you all the time. Let down your guard just a bit and relax" but she knew that it would take time. Perhaps staying alert and wary wasn't paranoid but a good idea even in a small place like Fork River and as the old saying, "an ounce of prevention was worth a pound of cure". Anna had learned early on after moving to LA of things or people who go bump in the night. Here Jeep had been broken into on several occasions with it's soft top a super easy target thankfully she adhered to the Jeep owners mantra that Jeep stood for "Just Empty Every Pocket" and there was nothing of value. Finally, she got tired of it all and just left her top off all the time before finally just selling it. Her first apartment had also been broken into and several items stolen thankfully they hadn't touched her guitar or other musical equipment but had made off with a laptop, tablet, 300 dollars in cash and a pair of air pods. She had also experienced a knocking at her apartment door at 3am one night prompting her to call 911 and got lucky when there was a cop literally down the road. Turned out it was only a drunk trying to get his room mate to open the door as he left his key in his apartment. But there had been some instances where just crossing a parking that lone males would stare at her and not in the way she was used to as men do. It wasn't just the normal guy checking her out having dirty thoughts look but more malevolent and even a few had made some moves in her direction making her either return to the store really fast or hurry up and drive off. It took sometime for her to feel somewhat safe and accustom to the city though she never got used to it completely.

Anna unloaded all of her purchases and started putting everything in it's place. It took a little while but home was finally looking like a home not an empty house. After that chore was done she stared setting up her music room the moving crew had brought everything upstairs and got it close to the correct spot but she would have to finish hooking it all up. Her amps and cabs including her Marshall JVM205 and her restored 1965 Fender Twin Reverb which was a gift from her ex for birthday. She had several more amps such as an Orange, Victory and a Mesa Boogie and a plethora of pedals which had come through several sponsorship through the companies themselves. She even had her own signature distortion pedal called "The Dark Lady" and her own signature line of guitars. While this was a great accomplishment it wasn't quite as big of a deal as it seemed as a lot of musicians got signature lines of equipment as they grew in popularity with companies hoping to profit from the artists endorsements. She took her time in setting up the large pedal board and connecting everything up discreetly running the cords. She didn't bother with setting up the audio mixer as she preferred to use a DAW as her computer had Pro Tools.

Despite her stomach starting to make itself known that it was empty she sat down and picked up her Les Paul and began playing. Starting off with the solo from Ted Nugent's Stranglehold and moving onto Blackbird by Alter Bridge and ending with Triumphs Lay It On The Line. She was about to play Cliffs Of Dover by Eric Johnson but her stomach growled even louder and since there wasn't food in the house she sat the guitar down flipped off the amps and went downstairs. She began looking once more at available delivery options and decided it was Friday night so she was gonna go out for food.

Looking once more at her phone Anna instead of pulling up a delivery service she just went to a list of eating options in her area. Her eyes settled on one particular listing, “The Boomerang” as it advertised great bar food and live music Thursday thru Saturday nights. She checked the location and saw that it appeared to be on the backside of one of the new shopping developments she had seen on her way into town. It was also located not far from where there were several condo’s and other vacation rental properties some within walking distance. This was good as it meant most likely it didn’t attract as many locals and catered more to tourists. Eventually she would have to get out there and mingle with the locals or rather those that remembered and knew her growing up.

Anna saw that “The Boomerang” had a website which she clicked on not wanting to stumble into a country and western bar as she generally was not a fan of country music and the entire scene that came along with it. The website loaded and she saw that the lineup of various bands trying to get a start were mostly rock bands from one genre or the other. There were two bands playing tonight the first band would be finishing their show soon and the second band was scheduled an hour after the first due to start playing at 9:30PM tonight. A small description of the band detailed they were from Pensacola, Florida and played cover tunes of rock hits from 1970 to today. The google review of the place was pretty favorable with lots of reviews coming from what was most likely vacationers and the food received excellent reviews. The only real complaint was they didn’t appear to offer nearly enough craft beers and a few various complaints of service but overall it didn’t sound bad.

Making the decision to go out Anna headed off to get ready for the evening. After showering she put in a little more effort into her appearance than the first foray into town earlier that day. Selecting an outfit was a bit more complicated for her however. The clothes hanging in her closet were either way to casual such as jeans and tee shirts or made her look like she was out for a date or looking for a good time at a club. The other available options were some of the outfits she wore while performing and those certainly would not work especially here in Fork River most likely someone would accuse her of being a working girl.
She finally decided on a black V neck mini dress though it was still a bit to much for this evening it was better than everything else. She slipped her feet into a pair of side zippered ankle boots glanced at the perfume and decided against it as the fragrance from her body wash would do just fine. She finally decided on a black V neck mini dress though it was still a bit to much for this evening it was better than everything else. She slipped her feet into a pair of side zippered ankle boots glanced at the perfume and decided against it as the fragrance from her body wash would do just fine.

Less than twenty minutes later she pulled into the parking lot in front of the establishment with a big lighted sign that read, “The Boomerang” which looked new and modern. The parking lot was fairly full and she saw a bouncer out front checking ID’s. A young couple had just entered and she was thankful there wasn’t a line while she wanted to be around people she wasn’t looking for a packed with bodies kind of space.
Anna walked up to the bouncer and he asked for her ID which she presented to him. He scanned it with a bar code reader and then looked at the picture on her license before looking at her to confirm a match. “No cover for our female guests enjoy your evening”, and motioned for her to enter.

 

[Rick345]

“Thank goodness she's gone”, he mutters under his breath. Lisa is alright but bet taken in small doses. But the news about Beth being back in town was surprising. His thoughts are interrupted by his stomach growing in protest as he hops into his truck.. It had been a long day and he hadn’t had a bite to eat since the peanut butter sandwich he wolfed down at lunch..

He was home in no time flat and put away the milk, juice, and bread before going outside and firing up the gas grill to let it heat while he went back inside and sliced tomato and onion before opening a package of ground chuck he bought while Lisa’s oldest was bagging for a candy bar.

He is carefully shaping the grinds in three patties dousing each with a liberal shake of Dales. Dales makes everything taste better. There’s nothin’ you can’t fix with Dales, Tabasco, or duck tape. Places his mounds of deliciousness on the plate alongside three buns. He heads out the door onto his back porch where the grill awaits. Pressing his thumb into the center of each burger so they don’t puff up like balloons lays each on the grill with just the right amount of TLC.

After turning down the grill He hurries back into to pour himself a tall cold glass of sweet tea stepping back outside he takes a seat and waits for the grill to work its magic. All the while wondering why Beth is back in Fork River, in his heart of hearts he knows lower Alabama LA to the locals is to small to hold her. He wonders if she is running from something or someone.. It seemed to him even as a child she was always looking for something around the next corner, something that always eluded her like something just out of reach.

All those years he knew her the only thing he wanted to reach for was her, no his shy ways just wouldn’t let him. She seemed unattainable so he never asked her out, never asked her to the prom, never told her how he felt about her not that it would make a difference he knew he was relegated to the friend zone, A guy can tell.

The burgers were almost done so he threw the buns on the grill to toast them just a tad. He lifts the glass covered in condensation to his lips and takes a long deep swallow. Even though to sun is dripping below the horizon it is still too damn hot for this time of year. All because there are not enough trees and green spaces. There is just too much asphalt and not enough azaleas and amaryllis.

He scoops the burgers and buns off the grill and quickly shuts it off and closes it lid, before going inside he looks back at the grill checking he shut it off. A few weeks ago he forgot and wasted an entire tank of gas..

While sitting at the table and enjoying his burgers he wonders if he should take his box of letters from Beth he saved from what seems like a couple of lifetimes ago and torture himself by rereading them..

 

[LillyNLace]

Entering the bar the Anna surveyed the space finding the "U" shaped bar along the back wall. To the right as she entered was a decent sized stage with a small area directly in front for those that wanted to stand and listen or dance to whatever band was playing. Directly stage right was a small sound/control booth where someone could control all the lighting, sound control, smoke machine etc. The center of the floor was tables of various sizes and along the walls were booth seating. The bar was about full Anna estimated with probably around 35-45 people either sitting at the bar or other seating options throughout the space. Anna didn't want to sit at the bar where she would be more likely to draw any attention so she looked for something a bit more discreet. Finding a small booth just big enough for two people to sit across from one another she started moving in that direction. It was close to the stage at the end of the front row of booths directly by the stage.

She sat down facing the stage and began to study the various pieces of equipment arranged on the stage floor. Several guys were connecting cords and equipment and she assumed they were members of the next band to perform. The guys all looked to be in their mid-twenties and were dressed in jeans and tee shirts that featured various famous rock bands such as KISS, Guns N Roses, and The Doors. The guy wearing the GNR shirt looked her way and his eyes started to move on but stopped and they caught one another's gaze. "Fuck, I hope he didn't recognize me already" Anna thought as a voice from behind said, "Can I get you anything"? Anna turned to see a 20 something woman with dirty blonde hair holding a iPad wearing a shirt with the name of the bar on it.

"Yes, a Yuengling Traditional, a glass of Bookers bourbon on the rocks, and a order of wings extra hot." She hadn't looked at a menu but knew from the reviews she had read the wings were supposed to be really good the beer was popular enough they should have it and the Bookers she hoped they had. The waitress tapped a few times on the iPad and said, "Coming right up" gave her a smile and headed off to put in her order. When Anna turned back to the stage the guy wearing the GNR shirt was gone but she quickly spotted him making his way towards her.

Anna smiled warmly as he approached, "Excuse me I don't mean to intrude but I just have to ask if you are Cithara the guitarist for Carnal Desires?" His face wore an excited and hopeful look mixed with a bit of shyness. Anna smiled and said, "Yes I'm Cithara", and offered her hand to him. His smile widened and he introduced himself, "I'm Rodney or well my friends call me, "Big Rod" but well yeah you can just call me Rodney or whatever it doesn't matter what you call me honestly. I have been a huge fan of your playing since your first album and saw you live once in New Orleans." Suddenly he turned and looked over his shoulder at his band mates who were all huddled at the edge of the stage watching with great interest. "Yes its her" he shouted back a bit louder than Anna would have preferred. They waved at him as if to say, "go ahead ask her" and before she could really wonder what they meant he spoke again. "I or errr we were hoping that you might come on stage and maybe play a few songs with us? I mean to say I was on stage with you playing would be a dream come true and maybe you would sign my guitar?"

Anna hadn't been able to get a word in for the most part as his excitement had made him talk fast and with virtually no pauses but she realized he had suddenly stopped and he was staring at her mouth open waiting. "Look I really just came to relax and fly under the radar here tonight plus it is your bands night I don't want to take away your spotlight." She really didn't want to publicize that she was back in such away but she hadn't seen anyone she knew plus it was a place built mostly for the tourists. The only issue was those that worked there were most likely locals but it wasn't like she knew everyone living here especially after all these years.

"I don't want to beg but I will if I have to. Would it be creepy if I told you I had a poster of you in my bedroom with your guitar?" Anna laughed, "Yeah a little bit". "Well, its a good thing I never had that poster of you naked with your guitar covering your private area's. I would never put that on my wall ever", he said with a huge laugh. Anna couldn't help but laugh as well, "Alright I will do it just two songs alright". "Maybe three" he asked as he made puppy dog eyes towards her. "Fine I will do three songs but what songs do you want to play". He appeared to think for a second, "I don't care you pick I'm sure we will most likely know them." Anna considered this for a second not really wanting to play anything she had done with the band. "Lets do two cover songs and one original from me is that alright" Anna asked?. He made a big show of thinking about it before saying, "Two originals, one cover song". "Fine two originals and one cover but I pick, for the cover do you know "Fuck Away The Pain" by Divide The Day?" Once more Rodney smiled, "Yes we know that one" Anna nodded and said, "the first original will be "Midnight Morass" which was a fast upbeat song about a young couple stuck in a swamp at midnight which was a metaphor for the state of their relationship. Anna considered for a second, "the final song will be "Cithara's Call" and I will sing it" , this was a song Anna had written almost completely by herself. Initially she was going to sing the song but her ex had liked it so much he hijacked the song making it sound as if he had written it for her which was not true at all. The first time he heard it she had already written the guitar part and lyrics while the rest of the band worked out the rest. But now most of the world thought the great Calix had written the song for the love of his life who had now betrayed him.

That song had been her baby Anna had been working on it for months and it was going to be her big debut at singing lead while playing but instead Calix stole the song and a moment which she thought lost forever. She did get the credit as writer and composer if anyone cared to check but no one ever did and it was such a crowd favorite he would never relent and allow her to sing the song. But Anna was looking for redemption and while she had mixed feelings on singing the song tonight was a chance to set things right even if it was only in front of 50 people. It was a start to redemption perhaps even if small she had to start somewhere and when opportunity knocked it was wise to open the door.