Nothing But Trouble

11/happy stick

ch11: happy stick
blake ren

"It's a five dollar admission fee."

I furrowed my brows at the bouncer for the Blue Pigeon, which mind you never has one, and stared him down for a few seconds hoping he'd crack. He didn't. His crossed arms tightened over his chest as he wordlessly shifted his mountain top heavy weight to his other foot.

"That's ridiculous." I told him flatly. His face remained impassive. "Do you know who I am? I fucking birthed you son, where's my respe—"

"Okay," Riley stepped in and gently pushed me behind her. She shimmied up her top to rearrange the girls and batted her eyes invitingly at the giant man blocking the entrance. "Sorry about her, she means well usually. I bet you have to deal with so much shit as a bouncer and she isn't making it any easier is she?"

I shuffled over to the side to stand by Easton and pout while Riley talked up the bouncer the right way, the way I was not apparently. I folded my arms resentfully and Easton wrapped me up in a comforting bear hug. "He was mean to me."

Easton sighed and rubbed my arms like he was soothing a tempered, untrusting cat. "I know, pumpkin."

The night air was cool on our bare skin, and summer was changing into autumn sooner than we anticipated. The sky was pitch black but the lights of the Blue Pigeon were blinding to the eye, and illuminated the long line into the sketchy bar well enough for us to see the mosquitoes and moths charging at our faces. Everyone was here to see the comeback of Suntide after their unexplained disappearance for the last however many months.

If it weren't for me and my great PR skills, there wouldn't have been such an impressive turnout. Actually that's a lie, Lucas split the work on Sunday between the two of us and I know the rest of the band was doing their own advertising. A thank you would still be nice, though.

"Okay guys come on," said Riley as she waved us through the opened glass doors. She winked at the bouncer before following in after us and grabbed my outstretched hand, sprightly navigating the dim blue glow of the crowded bar.  

        "You little tease," I chaffed her and she flipped her hair with a shrug, pretending to appear nonchalant.

        "We're fifteen dollars richer aren't we?"

        "I don't know about the suffix er but thanks for getting us in, you seductive little witch you," Easton praised and, in rare cocky Riley fashion, she smirked proudly.

        We were both wearing tight mini skirts and low- cut crop tops that would make even the devil blush a shy pink so it wasn't a surprise that Riley was exuding her confident bad bitchiness. Clothes are what empower her the most out of all things. She's always confident, but the second you get that girl into some tight revealing clothes she's invincible.

        Easton popped open the lid of his mint tin, revealing the homemade spliffs wrapped in some yellow smiley faced rolling papers. He took one out and lit it between his lips, sucking in the first breath before breathing it out and passing it over to me.

"Hello? This thing on?" A voice filled the speakers by the stage as I breathed the toxic smoke into my lungs. Static disrupted his talking and the mic came fully on, making the guy standing up there break out into a smile. "Kay, sup guys. Who's ready for Suntide?"

The crowd around me cheered wildly. I blew out the heap of smoke and handed it to Riley. We had our fakes on us so while the random dude up on stage announced the band before they came out, I went and got a hard cider from the bar. Not my drink of choice but I wasn't trying to get slammed tonight. I couldn't do that to my new friend Violet at her band's comeback show. At least that's why Riley said I couldn't.