KISS THE RING ☆ Taylor Hawkins

30. Temptation waits

Los Angeles, April 1998.

There was nothing that Diane loved more than her than her city at unpredictable hours, hours when it seemed to stop for a few seconds, significantly slowing down the daily frenzy of the crowded streets of tourists. With the arrival of Spring, the redhead seemed to be reborn: the video of the first single, Push It, from second Garbage album was released at the end of March and in a short time reached quite high positions in the charts despite being released recently. Recorded during the previous month in the City of Angels, the shot shows almost an abuse of special effects and sharp irony, resulting in a 70s but at the same time futuristic cut.

That afternoon, the singer had managed to drag Claudia with her, with whom she hadn't spent time for a long time now, between the comings and goings from Virginia and the constant commitments of both who never seemed to get stuck. Although the bassist was adamant about leaving the house at that time of day, she decided to please her friend who seemed to be in a terrible state. "Did a truck run over you?" The brunette asked watching Diane walk in front of her with one hand in the pocket of the large reindeer jacket that she had placed on her shoulders and the other with a cigarette between her fingers. Walking along Sunset Bvld was one of their favorite pastimes, years before surely filled with alcohol and illegal substances. "I went to sleep at 6." She whispered in a faint voice, turning slightly to look at her so that she would join next to her. She explained that the night before quickly became one of the typical nights spent talking to Pat, yet another spent updating on their own lives since the singer now spent more time in Laguna than in Encino, also to check the house of the blond and don't leave it uninhabited while he was in Virginia to record their third album. In any case, although the singer had her usual hours of sleep, she still felt tired. In a short time they reached the Rainbow, settling inside to be able to eat their lunch. Claudia looked amused at the redhead who, trying to focus on what she was reading on the menu, brought it a few centimeters from her nose. "You were better when you were worse, let me tell you." The bassist received a middle finger from her friend, a gesture that made her giggle before moving her gaze behind the singer who hadn't even noticed. The video of Stop! by Jane's Addiction, catching the bassist's attention. "Fuck, it's Dave Navarro." Diane shook her head with a confused expression on her face from both her friend's statement and persistent doubt about what to eat. "Yes, dear. Luckily I haven't lost my hearing yet, at least not yet." Given Taylor's morbid obsession, the redhead was able to recognize Jane's songs from the earliest notes. What she was not able to do at that moment, however, was to pay attention to the words of the brunette who raised her eyebrows, trying not to be too conspicuous as she began to slowly sink into her seat, hiding her face behind the menu although she already knew what to order. "Diane?" The singer felt a hand resting on her shoulder, making her look up to understand who he was: when she saw the guitarist smile broadly under his mustache, a genuinely surprised expression appeared on her face, at times visually panicked. "Dave!" She tried to get up from her seat in the least awkward way possible, letting her menu slip on the table that she was holding until a little while before in her fingers to be able to shake his hand. "How are you? I haven't seen you in a while." Claudia pursed her lips behind the menu, carefully observing the exchange of glances between the two in front of her. "I was busy with the band, with the preparation for the release of the album and the video... A lil busy." The singer seemed to justify herself, trying to divert her eyes as much as possible from the guitarist who, on the contrary, continued to keep his attention on hers. It was clear by now how much he put her in awe, this realization made a small grin appear on the lips of the dark-haired man. "I saw it a few days ago on MTV, it's fantastic, I have to pay you my compliments. I really like all that mood." The smile on his lips widened, taking her hand to kiss the back as Diane tried not to panic too much, whispering a faint "Thank you." to his compliment. "It's a shame you couldn't come last time, a nice situation has arisen that I'm sure you would have liked." Taylor had literally begged her to go with him to Dave's party a few weeks before, but Garbage's schedule didn't allow her to attend, so she let the drummer go alone. And then, she thought, on one hand it's better this way, surely she would have been able to create an awkward situation that would last all evening, just like the one she was going through. "But I give you the opportunity to recover, in fact this weekend you are invited to my house, we still have to dispose of a couple of bottles." He laughed almost underlining the last sentence under Claudia's incredulous sight which eyes looked like two ping pong balls that alternated between him and her friend. Diane nodded slowly without even noticing, almost seeming in a trance from the guitarist's words. "So I'll see you on Saturday?" Dave arches an eyebrow, leaning slightly towards the singer who smiled slightly, tilting her head to the side. "Taylor won't be back for the next few days, I don't know..."-"There will be many people you know, you won't be alone. Besides, there's me." The boy put the hands to his chest, pointing with his thumbs and then showing her a broad smile. "Well... can I bring Claudia?" The bass player widened her eyes again, observing the redhead first and then the guitarist who, turning to her, nodded before apologizing for not introducing himself earlier. "So, see you in a few days!"