ROCK N' ROLL NEVER DIES

Chapter 13

A/N: Back to Marlene's POV

I stared at our bills, spread out on our table and massaged my temples in frustration. We barely had enough to cover this month's rent, but at least we kept ourselves dry this time. We just needed to save money somewhere else.

Ivy came into the room and opened her notebook in which she kept a record of all our payments. "So, we payed rent, electricity and water, but we need groceries and we need to call the plumber for that pipe that is fucking us over." She was butting the tip of her pen, pondering over our salaries. "He would take at least a hundred for our problem from us..." she sighed.

"What if we wait with groceries for another week?" I suggested. "We can make do with what we have in our fridge."

"Yeah, some cheese and a couple of yoghurts."

"Come on," I joked, "we have to keep our bellies flat."

She laughed and shook her head. "I'm not giving up ribs for any fat in this world."

"But seriously, we can wait with that, we have something left. As for the plumber...I'll take some extra shifts at the coffee shop and you can take some at the firm."

Ivy was an intern at a major marketing firm, and she scored a payed internship at the office of one of their commercial designers.

"Okay, we've got this."

The doorbell rang, interrupting our small moment of victory. I went to open the door and found Marvin and Tom on our threshold.

"Hello," Tom greeted. "Scott is coming in a minute."

I stood in front of them, the door still gaping open, confused as to why they were even there. "Am I missing something?"

They shared a look and a smile. "It's Scott's birthday. We're all going out for dinner," Tom explained. "We talked about this two days ago."

"Oh, shit," I palmed my face. I completely forgot. With all those worries about paying bills this whole thing slipped my mind.

"Shit, shit!" I cursed and hurried down the hall to my bedroom to change. I trusted Tom and Marvin to lock the door.

My wardrobe usually seemed to be overflowing with clothes, but in that moment, when I needed it most, it was as though it was empty.

"Come on!"

I threw on something I thought seemed appropriate enough for a girlfriend to wear to her boyfriend's dinner party. It was a long black dress with a slit up one leg. I brushed my hair and twirled it back with the brush, then did make up and donned on some strap heels.

When I emerged back from the room — after twenty minutes or so — Ivy was already dressed up and Scott, luckily, still hadn't arrived.

"Yeah, man, you disappeared," Tom was just saying when I joined them.

The corners of Marvin's lips curled in a proud smirk. "I had my fun." He crossed his hands behind his neck.

"What are we talking about?" I inquired. Ivy looked at me and said, "The party."

I lifted an eyebrow at the man sitting behind our table, nonchalant and satisfied with himself. "You mean how Marvin disappeared in the middle of it?"

"Come on, tell us what you did!" Tom was this close to grabbing his friend and making him tell us what it was that he did.

"More like who." Tom was silent for a beat before erupting into a fit of laughter. He lifted his palm for Marvin to high five it.

"Who?" Ivy asked.

"Maya and Alexander."

Tom went silent. "You had a threesome?"

"Yes."

Another moment passed. Tom glanced sideways at Ivy. "How was it?"

"Don't give me that look, Tom," Ivy whined. "I'm not having a threesome with some stranger."

He lifted his hands in the air. "Just an idea."

She crossed her legs, giving Tom a full length view of them. "Am I not enough?" Her "innocent" smile was all but that, as she pouted her lips and widened her eyes a bit.

Tom's eyes didn't budge from her exposed skin. "More than," he said in a half whisper.

He suddenly stood up, pulled my friend's chair back so it screeched on the floor, picked her up, saying, "Give us a moment."

Marvin and I groaned simultaneously. "Scott is almost here!" the former called after them.

"Go ahead without us!"

"Jerk!"

Marvin and I looked at each other and as giggles started turning into heavy panting, we silently decided it was time to grab our stuff and go.

Something banged in their room, prompting us to hurry up.

When we were safely outside with the door locked, he said, "They are at it like bunnies."

"Don't even mention it. I can't tell you how many nights I had to sleep with my headphones on these last few weeks."

The silence in which we were waiting on Scott and our friends to finish their deed, was interrupted by Marvin asking, "How's Braxton doing?"

I chocked on air. Why would I know how he is doing? Why would he even ask that? And me of all people?

"I don't know," I shrugged.

"You sure? He seems to he spending awful lot of time at that coffee shop of yours".

Shit, he must've passed and saw him and it gave him the wrong idea. "I know," I said carefully, "And believe me, if it were up to me, he wouldn't."

Marvin didn't let me breathe. "You can throw him out."

"Yeah."

For some reason the idea of throwing Braxton Pfeiffer out of the coffee shop didn't sit right with me.