On the Road with Jersey Line: The confessions of a Wardrobe Assistant

Liar's Paradise

I was still in the middle of organizing my suitcases when there was a knock at the door.
"Liza?" I heard Donna's voice. "Oh no!" I mumbled. I opened the door, not really caring about the suitcases on the bed  and the room in disarray. Donna walked in, took in the mess in the room and laughed. "Going somewhere?" She asked.

"Just getting a head start on packing", I said. Hoping she wouldn't take notice of my pale face and worried demeanor.

"Everyone is asking for you downstairs"' she said. "Is everything okay?" She put her hand on my shoulder.

Over the past decade, Donna and I became close friends. But after Ronny left the tour, she was one of the first to start spreading rumors about the reason for his departure. Rumors of drinking, bimbos and excessive behavior. I felt hurt and insulted, as she was one of the first to discover and support the relationship between us. We fought so hard to keep it a secret to protect my job. But over time it became common knowledge. We had been very successful in keeping it out of the tabloids, though I had to sit home and watch as he went to Awards shows and Events with a string of Hollywood Starlets. Every single female in LA wanted to be seen walking on his arm.

"I'm fine", I said trying to smile. But Donna knew me too well. "No you're not", she said.
I really didn't want to confess my worries to her, because I didn't feel like I could trust her any longer.

"C'mon," she said, hooking her arm through mine. "Freshen up that gorgeous face and come back down to the party."

I agreed, and waited for her to leave before reaching for my phone. I tried Ronny's number once more. "Hey babe!" He answered, in his normal cheery voice. "How are you?" He asked as if nothing was wrong. "What's going on, Ronny?" I asked, both relieved that he answered, but angry that he sounded so cheerful.
There was a long pause before he answered. "Nothing, babe! Just been working in the studio! We got some good shit happening."

"Who all is there?" I asked. He ran off the names of all his usual suspects. Producers, well known sessions players and his assistant Laura. But none of them matched the voice on the phone.
"And?" I asked, "who answered the phone a few minutes ago?" Again, there was a pause. "I don't know baby, Laura?" I rolled my eyes. "No babe, it wasn't Laura. But how did you know it WAS a woman?" I asked. Ronny laughed, "oh it may have been Don's girl. I was busy and asked her to grab my phone. But she said no one was there."

I sighed with relief. "Well, it was me, and since I didn't recognize the voice, I hung up. She sounded out of breath. Had she been running?"
He said "yeah babe, she ran over to grab the phone. Are you okay?" He asked.

"I'm fine babe, I just miss you. I came up from the party to call you, and when a female answered, I got scared and hung up. I tried calling you back, even on the land line, but no answer and calls went to your voicemail.  Which is full, by the way. 

"You know you can trust me, Liza", he said. I knew I had struck a nerve at his use of my given name. "I love you, baby! I'm over the moon about you!" I smiled at his use of some of his song lyrics. "I'm over the moon about you too." I smiled, my eyes full and my voice quivering. "I just want to be home with you. I miss your arms around me." I was just about to hang up the phone and return to the party when I heard a woman laughing, and a female voice saying "Hey baby, where are you?" Suddenly the phone went dead, and he was gone.

I was filled with an alarming sense of dread that he was moving on. After all, six months was a very long time to be away from each other and Ronny Sampson was almost as famous for his libido as he was for his guitar playing.

"Well," I said out loud, two can play at that game!" So I did as I had promised. I went into the bathroom and freshened up my tear stained face, ran a comb through my dark wavy hair and adjusted the cleavage on my Emerald green mini dress. I took a look into my reflection, my green eyes were bright with unshed tears. "Go get 'em tiger, it's a Liar's Paradise tonight." I quoted one of Jersey Line's most famous songs.  I turned off the lights and closed the door. It was time to go back to the party.

But my feet felt heavy and my heart full of dread. What was I doing? I was angry and feeling reckless.  It was time for me to step back and breathe.  Suddenly, I see Peter walking towards me, a huge grin on his face. 

Hello luv!" He said, "you look ravishing!" The elevator doors opened and he held the door, allowing me to step inside. After the doors shut, he looked at me with a devilish look in his eye and pushed the stop button. I knew what was up, as I noticed his excitement growing under his tight leather pants. I was also feeling a sense of reckless abandon.

"You know," I said in a trembling voice, "I prefer making love on a bed." Peter laughed, and with a growl he said "who's talking about love baby? This is an old fashioned shag!" He grabbed me and pulled me closer, then he reached between my legs and spread them wide. He lifted me up and I wrapped my legs around his waist as his zipper came down. In just that moment, I thought about Ronny and what he may be doing with the nameless faceless woman in LA. Soon Peter was inside me, and I forget everything. After all, it was a Liar's Paradise.