in which Brian, try as he might, can't stop himself from emotionally tying himself to women he meets on tour--he knows it's wrong but can't seem to stop himself
in which Katie, an unintentional groupie, becomes hopelessly entangled in the life of a...
"They should be here any minute." Stacy leaned against the brick wall, legs crossed daintily. Mott the Hoople had finished and the crowd had long dispersed out into the night. "It always takes an ungodly amount of time for them to pack up their instruments." She looked over her shoulder at Katie, her blue eyes sparkling excitedly in the moonlight. "I bet they'll all be going to the White Parrot, it's by far the best bar in Waterbury. They'll invite us to join, and then maybe you can meet your raven-haired adonis."
Katie glanced at her surroundings, her heart beating a bit faster than normal. What am I doing here? Stacy had dragged her to the back entrance of the theatre before the final song had breathed its last breath, determined to spend time with Ian. Katie semi-reluctantly agreed to tag along and be introduced to the captivating guitarist, so long as Stacy didn't make the interaction forced. She didn't want to intrude and anyway, the likelihood that he was romantically available was next to none-not with those looks.
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She felt like such a groupie, waiting in the shadows of the cramped alley for the men to inevitably show up and expect to be lavished with attention. She hadn't yet decided if being a groupie was something she wanted to be--the connotation was so negative. A single street lamp shone its soft yellow light into the night, painting eerie pictures onto the dusty brick wall in front of them. "They sure are taking their sweet time. I have work tomorrow, you know. Doesn't matter how attractive that man is, I can't be late to the editor's office again," Katie mused, recalling the last warning her boss had given her about her tardiness. She appreciated her first job out of college immensely, and she couldn't afford to be fired.
Catching a glimpse of her freckled face in the dirty glass of a nearby window, she wondered how common it was for these men to have women waiting for them after gigs. Did she look the type? The dress she had chosen for the concert made it seem plausible-the skin-tight, olive-colored a-line dress was something she had only worn once before, at her cousin's wedding. It didn't scream "sex" but it wasn't conservative enough to dismiss the possibility either. She chided herself for thinking this way--It's not that she didn't appreciate the occasional hookup, she just hated when men who expect it right off the bat receive it without putting in any work. Where was the fun in that?
The sound of muffled footsteps and deep voices trickled out from behind the wooden door. Katie shivered--because of the chilly air or the anticipation, she wasn't sure. "Stacy, please don't be weird," she begged. "I don't want this to be a whole thing."
"Pfft, whatever you say," Stacy replied in a sing-songy voice, cherry-red lips grinning knowingly at her friend. The door opened and out spilled five boisterous, sweaty men. They pulled a heavy cart of electronics behind them and were chattering up a storm--the large amount of testosterone and raw energy they radiated was uncanny. The familiar sunglasses-clad face of Ian Hunter loomed in front of Katie as he slid them down the bridge of his nose in order to get a better look at her. "Well," he started, "so this is the talent, then." His beady brown eyes raked Katie up and down, making her squirm.
"Ian!" Stacy chided, grabbing his attention--and his arm--and whisking him, mercifully, out of Katie's face and into her awaiting arms. As they reunited over a profuse amount of loud, hungry kisses, his four bandmates turned to Katie.
"You Stacy's friend?" one of them chuckled, extending his broad hand toward her. "I'm Mick."
She peeled herself from the grimy wall and found her voice. "Yeah, I'm Katie. Great set back there, I really enjoyed it," she half-lied as she shook his hand. He grinned back at her and she decided they weren't all that bad to look at. "That band you're touring with is pretty outstanding as well. I've never seen anything like it!"
"Queen's amazing, we love those guys--we go way back. I'm a bit worried that pretty soon, we'll be opening for them," Mick joked, drawing a laugh from Katie. She watched as he joined the three men to whom she had yet to be introduced and began dragging the equipment across the gravel and towards their van. It was a modest thing, just big enough to accommodate the array of amps, speakers, mics, and instruments they inevitably needed to pack up.
"Do you guys need help with anything?" she piped up, hoping to find a reason to get away from the obscene display of affection occurring only a few feet away.
One of the long, brown-haired men--possibly the bassist, she couldn't remember--threw her a quick smirk over his shoulder before replying, "I could think of a few things you'd be able to help me with, darlin'."
Peals of laughter ensued as Katie's cheeks grew hot--she should've seen that one coming. "Tour has you that deprived, huh?" she taunted back, a reluctant grin spreading across her face. She walked over to the van and leaned against the side, observing the scene.
The one who addressed her just moments before flashed her a playful smile and an "only kiddin', love" before bending over to survey the amount of space left in the trunk. Beside him, Mick gestured back towards the door of the theatre. "There are a few adaptors and mic stands just in the hallway inside the door. You could grab those," he suggested.
Nodding, Katie left the men to their task and headed back towards the building. It wasn't until she was inside the dimly-lit, dingy-carpeted hallway that she realized Queen was still inside--and now, so was she. She took a deep breath, promising herself to keep cool as she cast her gaze to the right and located the jumbled pile of electrical cords and mic stands propped against the peeling wallpaper. Careful to bend in such a way that wouldn't cause her dress to ride up, she gathered as many of the heavy electrical cords as she could.
