Rollercoaster (The Circle Series - Part 3)

Chapter 5

The three months following Janelle's Bar Mitzvah had seen a wave of new clients and event bookings. Add to it David's new musical going into Broadway production, there wasn't a lot of allotted social or relaxation time. Both couples were swept up in the flurry of business and Sammy had started begging for drum lessons. "I wanna be as good as Tico," she had told them with a beaming smile.

They gave in and, after the little girl had called excitedly to tell her aunt and uncle, David came right over with a pink Pearl drum kit. "Same brand Tico used," he told his niece and handed over a set of his old friend's black drumsticks. "Just promise me you'll take care of these and practice practice practice."

David managed to teach Sammy the first half of Livin' on a Prayer with Jon playing along on his guitar. He could no longer hit any of the proper notes, so Dave took over the singing. Sammy was elated and talked Julie's ear off that night about her lesson.

"Uncle Lema taught me how to peddle and boom boom boom," Sammy rattled off, pretending to bang on cymbals in midair and headbanging.

Saturday rolled around and the boys had arranged for Colton and Steph to pick up Janelle and Sammy. Ethan had suggested to Arielle about going to the Seaside Boardwalk to meet up with a few friends and crash at one of their beach homes.

"Just keep her safe so Jon won't hunt you down," David said, looking up from strumming his guitar. It wasn't out of the ordinary for their group to stay at the beach for the weekend, so David didn't give it a second thought.

Ethan fist-bumped his Dad and left. "I'm almost ready!" Leesha called out from upstairs.

"You said that two hours ago, darlin!" David joked. "I've almost finished writing a song in the time it took you just to do your hair!"

David's driver texted to let his boss know he was outside. "Coming coming coming," Leesha repeated, putting on her earrings as she came downstairs. She stopped at David's wide eyes. "What? Is the leopard print too much? Too short?"

"You look gorgeous, my Queen," David said with a low growl, spanking her ass when she grabbed her purse. Outside Mike greeted and opened the door for his bosses. The ride to Red Bank wouldn't have been bad if David had been able to keep his hands to himself

Teak Rooftop was a crowded Jersey Shore hotspot, upscale with the laid-back vibe one would expect. David gave the reservation name to the Host and they were led to their table. Today was a special one. A double date to celebrate the anniversary of the day the couples had met.

Leesha's phone buzzed and saw a message from Julie. "15 minutes away. Be there soon."

"Did you talk to Julie about tonight?" David asked, ordering four drinks and a couple appetizers.

"Yeah and she's excited about it. Promised that she wouldn't say anything to Jon," she told her husband. The two shared a scorching kiss. "You're sure about this? Last time we played with Richie, you got a little huffy."

David nodded and said, "200% sure." The cocktails arrived and he grabbed Jon's, taking out a small bottle from his jacket. He took two blue pills from it and crushing them, quickly stirring them into the drink and stirring until they dissolved.

"Is that really necessary, D?" Leesha asked as David slid the drink back.

"If you two are wanting us both to last that long, yes it is," David said, drinking the Bourbon in front of him. The appetizers had just been set down when Julie and Jon were brought to the table.

Leesha stood to hug them both, showing her short leopard print dress with a plunging neckline to her stomach and black stilettos. Her SS medallion was nestled between her breasts and Jon's eyes darted down then back up. "Beautiful as always," he commented.