To love a flower ~ Roger Taylor

Chapter 2

Looking out for a place to go...

“Alright,” Freddie said into his mic. “The first song for tonight is called Keep Yourself Alive,” he announced, nodding at the drummer.
He began hitting the drumsticks together and nodded along in the rhythm.

The guitarist started playing a fast melody, and soon the others joined in. As soon as Freddie opened his mouth, people in the crowd were cheering.

By the time they reached the chorus, Renée felt the need to sing along, although she had just heard the song for the first time.

She was stunned by how much of a different person Freddie was while performing, yet that wasn't the only thing that kept her eyes glued onto the stage.

Her gaze wandered over to the back from time to time, to peer at a certain drummer. She could see in his face that he was in his element.
Music, the fast beat, the passion that flowed into the rapid movements of slamming the drumsticks against the drums. She was amazed by him.

After a few covers, they started playing a song called 'Doing Alright', which had to be Renée's favourite song of the whole gig. She loved the switch between calming harmonies and a sudden rock passage that made you want to dance until your feet hurt.

When the song was over, Freddie grabbed his mic stand and smiled brightly, a bit like a child on Christmas Day, when he saw the crowd applauding and cheering for them.

“Thank you. We had a lot of fun tonight, you were a wonderful crowd. And also, we'll be back next week!” Then, they disappeared behind the stage.

Mary came back from the bar, handing Renée the glass of water she'd asked for. She hated to admit it, but she couldn't take much alcohol without getting tipsy.

There was music coming from the speakers and people were starting to chat again. “You know what?” Mary said all of a sudden. “You should come backstage. I bet the others would love to meet you.” Renée thought about it.

Freddie did say he wanted to meet her before the show to introduce her, but now...she didn't know.
“Oh Mary, I don't know if that's such a good idea. I don't want to disturb any routine, or come in the way of any plans,” she said.
Mary waved her hand as if to say 'no it's fine' and dragged her out of the venue.

They went out back and found the band near a dark van. Renée wiped her suddenly sweaty hands off on her trousers.
When the two of them came to a stop, Freddie was already approaching them, taking Mary's hand and placing a kiss on her cheek. “Hello, darling. Did you enjoy the show?” he asked her. Mary nodded and Freddie placed an arm around her waist.

Renée looked at the couple, and then at the other band members, trying her best not to blush when she saw the blonde drummer. “And who's this?” it suddenly came from him.

Renée's heart skipped a beat, but she didn't hesitate to introduce herself. “I'm Renée Lovett,” she said, trying to bring out a tone of confidence in her voice.

“Lovett? Like the studios?” the bassist asked, a surprised expression on his face. She nodded shyly. She wasn't used to people recognizing her last name because her uncle owned a recording studio.

“That's cool,” the drummer said, getting up from the back of the van and walking towards Renée. “I'm Roger.” He held out his hand for her to shake, and she accepted it, looking into his eyes.

She didn't know if she had ever seen something as blue as this man's eyes before. He stared back at her, still holding her hand. When she noticed that the others were looking at them, she quickly let go of his hand and stepped a few centimetres back.

The curly-haired guitarist cleared his throat, looking a bit confused, and then stepped forward to shake Renée's hand as well. “Hi, I'm Brian,” he said, a smile making his eyes crinkle a little bit. “Nice to meet you,” she responded, smiling back politely.
Lastly, the bassist shook her hand too, introducing himself as John Richard Deacon.

“I've got to say, I really enjoyed the gig. Your own songs are incredible, and the whole set up, how you play together, doing something unique with such a casualty impressed me,” Renée finally said when she couldn't keep her opinion to herself any longer.

She was met with four faces smiling at her, and Freddie simply stated: “See? This is why I invited her. I feel like she gets us.” The three of them nodded.

“So how about we go somewhere and have a drink?” John suggested. “I mean, I wouldn't mind that,” Roger replied, a smirk on his face. Freddie turned to face Renée. “You should come, we're just going for a pint,” he said.

She felt flattered that the band invited her to tag along, but it was already late and she didn't want to be the one person to make things awkward as they didn't really know each other yet.

“I don't know,” she said, checking her watch. “It's quite late actually, I should probably head home.”

“Oh come on,” Roger suddenly said. “It won’t take long. Just one drink. We can even give you a ride home afterwards if you want.” He smiled at Renée, making her reconsider taking up on Freddie's offer.

“Well okay then,” she gave in. “I won't need a ride; I have my car parked right there.” She pointed to her car. “Thank you for the offer though.”

“No problem,” Roger responded. Renée noticed Brian whispering something into John's ear, quickly stopping when he saw her looking.

He smiled, before breaking the silence. “Great! Then let's get going,” he announced, starting to walk back into the bar. John, Mary and Freddie followed him along with Renée, who was walking slightly behind them.
She heard Roger catch up with her and quickly put a strand of her hair behind her ear.

When he was walking beside her, she sheepishly smiled at him. He smiled back, making her feel all fuzzy and warm inside, and she already looked forward to getting to know him better...