Chapter 10

It was early Sunday morning, about 6am. I had already been on the water for about a half an hour. I tried to get Michele to come surfing with me. Though she said she might come out, I haven't seen her yet. Or Bret. I told him I would be at the beach between 6 and 8, but I am sure, either way, it would be too early. He had only said he would try. Oh well, I thought, no worries. I needed to practice anyway, as I was thinking of entering an amature surfing contest later in the summer.



It was 8am when I finally left the water and with my board under my arm, I made my way across the sand towards my truck. I was so wiped out. As I got closer to my truck I noticed someone standing next to it. My heart jumped. I closed my eyes for a sec. It was Bret. In my head I was telling myself 'be casual', but on the outside I was shaking. All I could do was stare. He was sssooo handsome. Double take handsome.

"Hi Bret," I said as I stepped up to the truck.

"Hello," he replied. Then said, "Here, let me help you with that," as I lifted my board to put it in the back of the truck.

"Thanks. I see you made it after all. I thought maybe it would be too early for you."

"It is. I haven't even had any coffee yet. And it looks like I am a bit overdressed," he said, looking at his clothes then looking at me.

"Ya, just a bit," I chuckled, looking him up and down thinking who cares. He was incredible in his tight jeans, t shirt, vest, and a bandanna over the top of his head 'pirate style'. His long blonde hair waving in the breeze.

As I was looking him over, I had been taking off my wet suit, revealing my bikini underneath. I stood back up from bending over to pick up the wet suit after I took out my feet and I noticed Bret's eyes on my chest, which was not bad, though not big. AND...my nipples were at attention. I wasn't sure if it was from the breeze against my damp suit or I was seriously turned on by him. I walked past him to the passenger side of my truck just to break contact, opened the door and took out a towel to wrap around my waist.

Bret walked up to me, leaned a hip against the truck and ran a hand from my shoulder to my elbow and said, "K, I think you are really pretty. I like this whole wet look thing." He tugged gently at my elbow pulling me a bit closer to him. "You have beautiful blue eyes. They are like a turquoise blue and yet at times they are a bright blue like the sky."

By this time I was in front of him looking up into HIS incredible blue eyes, gave him this doubtful look, made a kind of disbelieving noise and said, "ttssshh. I'm not that pretty. I am sure you've met prettier women." It was hard for me to take compliments, actually never really had one before, at least about whether or not I was pretty, just about things like my surfing or something. 

I was looking at my sand encrusted feet when Bret put a hand under my chin, lifted my face, leaned in and kissed me. I just melted. It was ....oh gawd...soft, warm, and sensual. I broke the kiss. I loved it but everything seemed to be going too fast. I didn't really know anything about him. At that moment both our stomachs growled. We both laughed.

"Bret. Follow me to my house. My mom always fixes a big breakfast on Sundays. We'd be happy to have you and you can get some coffee." When he didn't answer right away I said, "We don't bite."

"No, but thank you. I really need to get going," Bret said. He actually looked nervous all of a sudden, and then I remembered he said he didn't like crowds. Maybe he was uncomfortable in unknown situations.
"Oh, OK. Well, maybe some other time," I said with a small smile. Inside I was really disappointed, though trying to hide it. But something must have showed on my face....

"Hey now, come on, don't look like that," he said, rubbing his fingertips up and down my arm.

"Like what?" I said, my arms crossed by this time, trying to look innocent.

"You looked so disappointed," Bret said softly.

"How could you tell? I was trying to hide it," I replied, looking away from him.

"Your eyes are very expressive and your smile looked forced, like you are not feeling it......Come here," Bret said as he moved his back side up against the side of my truck and pulled me up against him, with my feet between his feet. Hip to hip. Well more like his belt buckle to my naked belly. He wrapped his arms around my waist (mine somehow ended up around his neck) and bent to kiss me again. 

It was so...so.... I don't know, but my stomach felt funny. The juncture between my thighs started to feel swollen. The hair on the back of his neck was so soft. He kissed me, broke away, then swooped in again. He slowly made his way down my neck. His hands moved up my rib cage, with his thumbs just on the outskirts of my breasts. This kinda brought me back to reality. I pushed against his chest to give me some space from him, though his hands moved back to my hips so I couldn't move away completely. I looked at him, he looked at me.

I opened my mouth to say something, anything.....

"Hey," Bret jumped in softly, "It's OK. I do really have to go. BUT...I do want to see you again." He took my hand and led me over to his motorcycle. "Can I call you later?' He asked, kissing the palm of my hand.

"Yyyeeesss," I said, stealing one of his bandannas he had wrapped around his wrist, taking it and tying it around my head like he was wearing his.

He just smiled, put on his sunglasses and helmet and left. Left me standing there. Feeling bereft.



YYYYYYYYY



Meanwhile back at Karen and Diane's house............

Diane and her parents were in the kitchen cooking breakfast. It was usually a family affair except that Karen was out surfing.

"Diane, honey, when is your sister supposed to be back," Mrs Olsen (their mom) asked, cracking an egg into the bowl.

"I don't know Mom. I didn't even know she left, but she usually gets back between eight and ten. She usually leaves the beach when it starts to get busy," Diane replied as she flipped a pancake. Mr. Olsen was silently turning the bacon and sausage on an electric griddle, when there was a knock on the screen door........

Nikki had climbed the fence and was making his way towards Diane's back door, when he smelled FOOD! He and the guys had been smoking pot last night and the smell of food reminded him how hungry he was. Maybe she will invite him to eat he thought eagerly. His original plan was to see if she would come over and help him with his bass playing. Nikki knocked on the screen door....

Mr. Olsen came to the door and said, "What can I do for you?" He had said that slowly and pointedly, as he looked Nikki up and down taking in his crazy, wild spikey black hair, black clothes, and chains.

"Um, yes sir, I was looking for Diane. Is she here?" Nikki replied politely, not wanting to make a bad impression even though most people couldn't get past the clothes.

Mr. Olsen turned, "Diane, there is someone at the door for you," saying politely, but thinking of Nikki as a 'something', raising his eyebrows in question.

"It's OK daddy," Diane whispered as she walked past her dad, patting him on the arm. She opened the screen door and asked, "Nikki what are you doing here?"

"I came over to see if you would come help me practice," Nikki replied just as his stomach made an ungodly noise. He had the grace to look embarrassed.

Diane smiled and said, "Sure I can help you, but come in and have something to eat. We always make more than we can eat."

Nikki smiled, looking just like any young man would, having been offered free food. "Thanks!" 

Diane just shook her head in wonderment as he walked past her. "Nikki, these are my parents Mr and Mrs Olsen."

He shook hands with both parents saying, "Nice to meet you."

Mrs. Olsen said, "Nikki sit down, help yourself," as she placed platters of eggs, pancakes, and breakfast meats on the table, like she saw people like Nikki all the time. She was used to Diane's friends looking unusual.

"Thanks Mrs. Olsen. The food smells great."

“You're welcome," my mom said. "So Nikki, where do you live?" She asked, in typical mom fashion.

"Right behind you," Nikki said between mouthfuls of food.

Mr. Olsen looked at his daughter with eyebrows raised, worried for her. Diane looked at her dad and just shook her head slightly indicating to him not to worry. They would talk later. "Ya, mom. We met the other day. They have a band too. And Nikki plays bass just like me."

"That's nice. Maybe I should meet your mom sometime, welcome her to the neighborhood."

"Mom, they have been here.  We just never noticed."

Diane looked at Nikki. He looked to be almost done. Man he could eat. She would keep that in mind..you know...a way to a man's heart is through his stomach and all that. Maybe that will come in handy sometime.

"Nikki, you done?" Diane asked.

"Ya, we can go," He said.

"Cool. Let me just get my bass." She went to her room to get it and then she and Nikki left.

Chapter 9

Here we were backstage at the Metallica concert. The concert was amazing! Intense! We almost got trampled. The fans were insane. James and the guys practically killed themselves playing. James drank a lot on stage feeding off the intensity of the fans.



Diane, the girls, and Motley Crue managed to get backstage also, with James's help. There were all kinds of things....booze, drugs, sex. So, since Diane and the girls were underage, I felt the need to keep them safe or at least make sure they didn’t get hurt. I didn't like drinking, so I got to be the designated driver. I was just standing off to the side drinking a soda, not sure where to start, when James came up and gave me a huge bear hug.



"Hey," I said.



"So what did you think?" he asked, seemingly unsure of himself, like he was looking for approval, when he looked so confident on stage.



"James, that show was amazing. Your music seemed to invade my soul and take over. I couldn't help screaming and rocking out along with everyone else," I said excitedly.



"Thanks," James said looking relieved. "So, introduce me to the redhead. She is really hot."



"Sure. Her name is Michele and she is my best friend, so don't hurt her. Be nice," I said, poking him in the chest for emphasis.



"I will. I would never hurt you or your friends."



I tapped Michele on the shoulders to get her attention. She was sitting on Kurt's lap, with a drink, giggling at something he said.



"Hello," Michele said, standing up, eyeing James up and down.



"Michele, I want you to meet James Hetfield. He is a friend of mine. He taught me how to surf. He is the one who got us the tickets and the passes," I said, introducing them.



"Hey Baby," Michele said as she ran her fingers across his chest and down his bicep. James just smiled, growled, and picked her up, and flung her over his shoulder. Michele just giggled and kicked her feet playfully.



I was not sure what to do, as everyone seemed to be paired up. In all actuality, at least 3 girls to every guy and since I was looking forward to going out with Bret, I didn't really worry about it.



I was starting to get kinda board. Colleen and Sheree were with the group hanging with Kurt and Jason. Michelle and James were together. Anita was hanging with Lars. She loved talking about drums. Diane and Nikki and Laurie and Vince were making out, leaving Josie out of the loop.

"Josie, come sit over here with me," I called out. She came over and sat next to me. "Hey," I said, "I guess we are on our own."



"Ya. I liked the concert well enough, but I am not really into the guys themselves," she said with a sigh. "What about you?"



"I met a really cute guy at my work the other day, His name is Bret and he delivers stuff to my work. I may see him on sunday. That is why I am not real concerned about hooking up with anyone tonight."



"That's cool," Adri said.



"Oh Ya," I said, "I got a call from my friend Laura, I am not sure if you have met her before or not, but, she is coming into town next week. She works for a rock and roll group named Bon Jovi. She is a public relations person. She is going to try to get us into a record signing at Tower records."



"That would be awesome!" Josie said. "They are so cute!” I saw them on American Bandstand. They have a song called Runaway out. Man that would be totally cool to meet them."Josie sighed..."The guitarist is sssoooo cute."

*************************

Tommy was standing off to the side watching Anita talk to Lars. The more he watched, the more jealous he got. In his mind Anita was his. He saw her first. He was doing OK until Lars moved into kiss her. Since Anita and Lars had been standing, it made it easy for Tommy to push Anita aside and land a punch to Lars's face. Lars may have been shorter but he did not lack in ferocity. He ducked his head and ran into Tommy's stomach and the two of them went down. Lars managed a punch to Tommy's eye before Kurt, Jason, Nikki, and Vince got them apart. Anita came up and tried to apologize to Lars but he brushed her off and left the room. Anita, pissed that she missed a chance to talk to Lars more, grabbed Tommy and pulled him into the hallway......

"WHAT IN THE HELL DID YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING?" Anita yelled at Tommy.

"WHAT! He was kissing you. You're mine and I didn't want him kissing you," Tommy yelled back. Thinking in his mind he didn't do anything wrong.



"Where did you ever get an idea like that?"



"The other day when you came over. I thought we had hit it off."



"You don't own me Tommy. We hardly said two words. I have no idea where you thought we were a couple," Anita said. "I am so outta here," and with that Anita went in search of K, and to see if they could leave.



While all of that had been going on, James and Michele had managed to sneak off. They had found an empty room and made quick use of it. Michele and James were all over each other. They even managed to get into the room and shut the door without loosing lip contact. James, to his surprise and pleasure, found Michele was not wearing panties (easier for him) under her mini skirt. And she only had on a half bra under her t shirt (easy to remove). The little head slowly took over any reasoning the big head might have had left. James slid Michele's shirt up, pulled down her bra and took one nipple in his mouth, and with the other hand kneaded the other.



"OOOooooo James," Michele purred, "you are making me so hot."



James reached down and slid his fingers down between her legs feeling how hot and wet she was. "You are so ready baby."



"I was born ready," Michele replied.



James was beyond any rational thought. He had Michele up against the door, so he bent his knees while at the same time bringing one of her legs up with one hand and guiding himself into her with the other. Michele had her arms around James's neck and he had one hand around her thigh still holding it up by his hip. He slowly pounded her. he took his other hand and cupped a breast in order to suck on one of her nipples, driving Michele crazy with pleasure. Michele in turn, feeling that she and James were close to climax, started clenching and unflinching her vaginal muscles. James growled out...Oh My God..between clenched teeth. "Oh James that feels so good," Michele whispered. All James could say was a slow...ffuuucckkkk. His speed picked up when the two of them finally came together.



Since the evidence of their time together was dripping down her thighs, she pulled off her shirt and cleaned herself up. Then she asked James, "let me have your shirt. I can't very well go out there like this."



James pulled his shirt over his head and handed it to her, saying, "I think you should give me something of yours in return...to remember you by." So Michele gave him her bra as a keepsake. As Michele was slipping the shirt over her head, she could hear people calling her name. She quickly took inventory of herself making sure she looked fairly OK. James asked, "Can I see you again sometime?"



"Sure. Just call K. She can reach me." The two of them left the room and caught up with everyone else.
I looked at Michele, as she entered the room and said, "You changed your shirt."



Michele smiled and said, "Ya. I spilled my drink and I asked James if he would be a gentleman and let me have his shirt. He said he wanted something in trade, so I gave him my bra and panties."  She hoped they bought that since she didn't want them to know she cane here panty-less.



"Michele, I have never noticed this side of you," I said, my tone indicating I didn't quite believe her story but I wasn't going to call her on it. I kinda bumped her with my elbow in jest. Michele just smiled a secret smile and kept her secret to herself.



Wow, I thought to myself. What a night. We all managed to get home with no further mishaps. I planned on sleeping in on Saturday.

Chapter 8

It was Thursday afternoon when I got a phone call.....................

"Hello?" I said.

"K, it's Candi! How are you?"

"Oh My God! Candi! I'm fine. How are you?" I asked excitedly. "How's college in New Jersey?"

"Good. It is awesome up here at Monmouth College," Candi said.

"When do you think you might come home for a visit? I miss you," I said

"I miss you too. Writing just isn't enough sometimes. But.....that's why I'm calling. I got an internship. I am studying public relations and I managed to get in with a recording studio and I am traveling with a rock group named Bon Jovi to California as part of their PR group. IT IS SO COOL!" Candi said excitedly.

"Wow!" I said in awe, "that's is so awesome. So when will you be out here?"

"I think we arrive in LAX next Friday. My parents are going to pick me up and I am going to stay with them."

"I will let everyone know. Do you think we could meet them?" I asked.

"I am trying to arrange that. They are doing an album signing at Tower Records and I am going to try to get you guys in before all the crowds, so I will let you know later."

"Sweet," I said. "So...you are really OK? Doing good?"

"Yes I am," Candi said. "K, I have to go now. I will call you later next week."

"OK. Bye Candi."

"Bye."

Candi hung up the phone. Jon came up behind her cupping her breasts and nuzzling her neck. "Are you dddoooonnneee," he whispered in her ear.

She turned in his arms, cupping his package and said, "Yes, Mr Impatient."

"Good. Come back to bed," He said seductively.

"JOOooooon! You want me aagggaaaiiinnn?" she asked in mock innocence.

"MMmmmmm HHHHmmmmm," Jon mumbled against her lips.

"Then.....you'll have to catch me!" She giggled, tickling him and then ran away laughing.

**********************************************************

It was a warm night, Thursday, and Diane had her bedroom window open for some air. She was sound asleep, as it was about 1am in the morning (Friday morning), when she felt a hand shake her shoulder. She opened her eyes and saw a figure of a man all in black and a huge amount of black hair. Di’ took a deep breath to scream when the guy put a hand over her mouth to keep her quiet.

"SSsssshhhhh...Di’. It's me..Nikki," he whispered.

Diane managed to get an arm out from under the covers and punched Nikki in the arm, causing him to loose his balance and fall back on the floor.

"Ouch," he whispered strongly.

"Butthead, you scared the crap outta me," Diane whispered angrily. "What the hell are you doing in MY room in the MIDDLE of the night."

Nikki got up off the floor and moved towards the window and started to climb out, "Come outside with me for a minute," Nikki implored, holding his hand out for her to follow.

"I guess," Diane said and followed him out the window and around back to her patio. "NOW, tell me why you woke me up in the middle of the night," she whispered in frustration. She was always grumpy when she woke up.

Nikki pulled up a patio chair for Di’ to sit down on and pulled one up and sat down in front of her, facing her. " Di’, I'm sorry to wake you up, but I haven't been able to stop thinking about you. I haven't met a girl who didn't think I was weird and we seem to have things in common. I just wanted to tell you."

Diane, who was somewhat dark like Nikki, kinda goth like, watched Nikki rub his thumbs back and forth over the back of her hand that he had been holding while he speech-a-fied. "Dude. That's all fine and dandy, but try to make it before midnight next time."

Nikki laughed, "I will. Oh ya, I also wanted to ask if you wanted to go to the concert tomorrow. We have extra tickets."

"I will have to ask the girls. Anita is already going somewhere with my sister, but probably it will be me, Laurie and Josie," She said.

"Cool. That will make Vince happy," Nikki said.
Nikki leaned in, at the same time pulling her closer, and kissed her. They pulled apart looking in each others eyes, then kissed again. Nikki broke off first. "Well, I had better go before you think I am a complete perv," he said standing and walking towards the back fence.

"So, I guess you climbed the fence." Thinking to herself with a chuckle, maybe she should run barbed wire across the top.

"Yep. Thanks Di’ for not calling the cops or something."

"No prob. See you later." She watched Nikki until he was gone, then went back to bed.

Chapter 7

It was 9:30 and Colleen and I were both pooped from work. The manager walked out with us to my truck since he didn't like us girls walking by ourselves. I always parked close to a lamp post. As the three of us walked out I noticed a couple of motorcycles parked by my truck. The motorcycles were accompanied by two guys. My manager Mark asked, "Do you know those guys? if not we can go back in and call security."

I looked and then looked at Colleen, then said, "It looks like that delivery guy. And maybe he brought a friend." The three of us walked up and I said, "Hey, what are you doing here?"

They looked our way and the Blonde said, "I was about to brave the mall earlier when I saw you come out here on a break. So I thought I would clean up and come talk to you after work. I hope you don't think I am stalking you but I hate crowded places and thought out here was quieter."

"Well the thought did cross my mind."

The Blonde stepped forward to Mark (probably to assuage my fears) and held out his hand and said, "My name is Bret Michaels and this is my friend Bobby Dall."

"My name is Mark. I am the girls' manager. I just wanted to make sure they were safe."

"I don't blame you," Bret said. He turned to me and said, "HI, my name is Bret and this is Bobby."

I said, "My name is Karen, but everyone calls me K for short. And this is my friend Colleen." We all shook hands.

Mark asked, "Do you need me to stay or are you guys going to be ok?"

"We'll be ok Mark," Colleen said, "Thanks for walking us out."

"You're welcome. I'll see you guys later," Mark said as he left.

Colleen walked over to the motorcycles, admiring them and Bobby. She could tell Bret was totally into K and besides she liked the dark mysterious type. Bobby followed Colleen over to the bikes, waiting to see what she would do or say, as he didn't want to spook her. She was real pretty and he wanted to get to know her. She seemed interested as she kept glancing at him.

Colleen did indeed keep looking at Bobby. He had on tight leather pants and a leather coat that hung to his knees. She wanted to touch his hair. It looked dark brown in the dark, but it was reflecting the lights from the parking lot, making it look shiny and silky. God must have been reading her mind as a breeze came behind Bobby and blew his hair over his shoulder and strands of it brushed her cheek. She took the strands between her fingers and rubbed lightly, feeling how silky it truly was.

Bobby, seeing her smile and took that for a good sign, still not saying a word, which he didn't do much of anyway, took her hand, removed the strands of his hair from it and turned it palm up. He ran his fingertips slowly, gently, from her wrist to her fingertips, then placed a kiss on her palm. All the while keeping eye contact.

Man, that is so romantic she thought. I must be crazy I have only know him for all of 3 minutes.

Meanwhile, I was with Bret (now I know his name), again, trying valiantly not to swallow my tongue or throw up from nerves.......

"Bret," I said, testing his name on my lips, "why did you come back?"

"After bumping into you earlier, I wanted to meet you and get to know you. It seemed we had a connection. I'm not wrong am I?" he asked, softly, seductively, looking down on me with those violet blue eyes.

I looked up at him and closed my eyes for a sec. I could feel his aura wrap around me. As my eyes opened, I said quietly, "No, you are not wrong."

Bret gave me a brilliant smile and asked, "Do you want to go out Friday night then?"

"Bret, I can't Friday. I am going to the Metallica concert. But I wouldn't mind a different night."

"Sure, that would be cool."

"So....you do deliveries?" I asked trying to make small talk.

"For now," Bret said. "We actually have a rock band, but we are just getting started. I do deliveries to pay bills."

"When do you play again?" I asked.

"I think we have a gig coming up soon. Would you and your friend be interested in coming and watching us play?"

"I would. I can't speak for Colleen," I said. I pulled out a pen and paper and wrote my phone number down. "When I am not working you can call me at home."

"Great," Bret said. "So...what do you do when you're not working?"

"Right now, it is just school, work, and surfing."

"Surfing? I have never met a girl who surfed. It always seemed like a guy sport."

"It is. But a lot of girls are getting into it. I've been surfing for about 2 years," I said, my nerves calming. I loved talking about surfing.

"Could I come watch you sometime?" Bret asked.

"Sure," I replied, "I am probably going out Sunday morning, so call me Saturday, and I will let you know."

"OK," Bret said, "We should probably let you girls get home."

"Ya, it is getting late for us. Colleen, you almost ready?" I called over at her.

"I'll be right there," she yelled back.

Colleen, also wanting to give Bobby her phone number, grabbed a pen outta her apron pocket and took hold of Bobby's arm, pushing up the sleeve and wrote her number on his arm. Bobby smiled and bent over and kissed Colleen. She took hold of his lapels to keep herself steady.

I was leaning up against my truck and Bret was standing real close in front of me. It was almost like we didn't need to say anything. Bret came up real close, put a hand on either side of me and leaned in to kiss me. His lips petal soft and warm. The wind was blowing his blonde hair all around my head, like it had a life of it's own...touching me and caressing me. His kiss became stronger for a sec then he stopped, looked down at me and said goodbye. I said goodbye back or at least I think I did as my mind was nothing but mush. Bret gave me this pouty lip thing then kissed me quickly one more time and moved off to his motorcycle and the guys left.

Colleen walked up and said, "K close your mouth, you look like a fish and unlock the door." 

I did as Colleen said and let us in the truck. As we drove home, I asked, "So how did it go with the other guy? What was his name....Bobby?"

"Good. We actually never spoke, but man can he kiss."

"Are you going out?" I asked.

"I don't know. We didn't even talk. But I wrote my phone number on his arm," Colleen said with a smile. "Did you and that Bret guy talk about anything?"

"He just said he wanted to take me out and get better acquainted. He said him and Bobby are in a rock band. He wanted to go out Friday night but I said I can't cause of the concert, but maybe another night."

"Cool. Maybe we can double date," Colleen replied.

I dropped her at her house and told her I would see her later. I fell asleep that night with dreams of Bret.

Chapter 6

Diane was out in the garage, practicing her bass guitar. Their band, Twilight had a practice today.

Laurie, walked into the garage and said, " Di’, what's up?"

"Not much," Diane mumbled with a pencil in her mouth, which she took out, continuing, "I got some tabs from one of the guitar magazines for an Ozzy song and I am trying to learn it"

"Cool," Holly said as she plugged her guitar into the amp. "So do you want to practice Ozzy till everyone gets here? Or do you want to work on new stuff?"

"We can practice Ozzy," Diane said as the two of them shared the same sheet music. About 15 minutes later Josie, who played rhythm guitar and keyboards, and Anita, Diane and Karen's cousin, who played drums, showed up.

Laurie said, "Glad you could make it."

Anita said, "I know we are late but traffic was bad," as she climbed behind her drum set.

They had been practicing for about an hour when they noticed Anita was having a hard time keeping a beat.

"Hold up! Hold up! Stop!" Diane yelled, trying to get everyone's attention. All the instruments sounding funny as they stopped at different times.

"What!" Laurie said.

"Anita," Diane asked, "What's wrong? Your tempo was off there at the end?"

"Damned if I know. I keep hearing some kind of noise and I can't concentrate. I keep starting to play that beat," Anita said with frustration.

Josie said, "Hey! Quiet. Listen." Josie started to walk out of the garage and into the backyard.

Laurie said, "I hear it now. It sounds like another band practicing."

The further they got to the end of the yard the louder the noise got. Diane stood on some junk that was stacked along the back fence and looked over the fence. She looked back at the girls and said, "Man they sound good."

Anita climbed up, listening, and then said, "Wow. Whoever the drummer is, they're good."

"Hey, let's go around the block and see if we can meet whoever that is," said Laurie.

So they went back to the garage so Diane could lock it, so their stuff wouldn't get stolen, and they walked around the block. "Maybe it is the new neighbors. Some new people moved in about a month ago. I never really paid much attention," Diane said. 

The four of them strode up the driveway of the house in question, the music getting louder.  There, they saw four guys playing hard core in the garage. The girls stood there listening through a whole song before the guys saw them standing there. 

The guy on the drums saw them first and got up, walked past the others, slapping each on an arm to get their attention, the way guys do, and they walked towards us, like they were all that and a bag of chips. The drummer was real tall and skinny with tattoos and scraggily brown hair and he walked up to Anita (probably because she was the oldest and the tallest), eyeing her up and down, and said, "Hhheellloooo Ladies,"Skinny Guy said, "My name is Tommy Lee."

Anita replied. "Good for you," with some sarcasm, thinking he wasn't completely unfortunate, but wasn't going to play easy for him. He seemed a bit conceited at the moment.

"OOoooo, spunky! I like my women with some spunk," Tommy said, if possible moving closer just by shifting his feet.

Anita rolled her eyes and said, "I am not your woman." She started towards the garage and said over her shoulder, "Dude, let me see your drums."

Tommy, thinking, she may not be my woman yet, but followed her like a puppy as she made her way to his drums.

Anita saw he had a double bass pedal, which she didn't have, and she asked excitedly, "Tommy, let me try this out, please? Let me see your stix."

Tommy said, "Sure. Do you play drums?"

"Ya, I do," Anita said distractedly, over the noise, as she tested the double bass pedal. "Actually that's why we are here. We have a band and we were practicing and heard you guys and came to investigate." Anita then ripped into a drum solo, thinking this is so cool. I gotta get me one of these. Tommy thinking she's good. Not as good as me, but maybe this is a way to her heart.

Meanwhile.....

The rest of them kinda stared at each other in that awkward guy/girl silence. Laurie and Josie struck up a conversation with the Blonde and Diane started talking to the dark headed guy.
"My name is Diane, but my friends call me Di’ for short," I said, holding out my hand to shake his.

Which he did saying, "My name is Nikki. Nice to meet you. So why are you here? Where did you come from?"

"I live behind you. My band was practicing also. We heard you guys and walked around the block to see what all the noise was.”

"So, you live behind me. Cool," Nikki said, thinking...girls close by.

"Ya. I haven't heard you guys before. Did you just move in? Or did you just start your band?"

"No. My family's been here. We used to play at Tommy's but his neighbors said the noise was too much and we had to find someplace else to play. Tommy can get pretty crazy on the drums." Nikki looked over at Tommy and Anita and said, "Seems like your drummer is pretty good, too"

"Thanks, I think so too. That's my cousin Anita."

Nikki asked, "Who are the other girls? Vince seems to be macking on them. He loves girls. He is such a dog." He finished with a chuckle.

"The brunette with the feathered hair is Laurie. She plays lead guitar. And the other girl with the straight brunette hair is Josie. She plays rhythm guitar and keyboards," Di’ said.

"And what do you play?" Nikki asked.

"I play bass," Diane replied.

"Wow. So do I, though I am not real good at it," Nikki said.

"Maybe you can come over to my house sometime and we can practice together," Diane said, hopefully.

"That would be great," Nikki said.

The girls staid a little bit longer before saying goodbye to the guys. As they were walking down the sidewalk, Laurie said, "That Vince guy asked Josie and I out."

"But I said no," Josie said, "They are all just a little too creepy."

"So what did you say Laurie?" Di’ asked.

"I said maybe. I am not sure my parents will let me go since he is older than me."

"Well, if you really want to go, maybe I can get that Nikki guy to go and we can all go together."

"Maybe. I'll have to ask my parents," Laurie said.

Chapter 5

It was Wednesday and Colleen and I were working in the back. The restaurant had just gotten a delivery and we were put in charge of putting it away in the stockroom, as it was unloaded from the truck. The delivery guys were stacking it inside the door and Colleen and I were were putting away. I had just put some containers of ketchup away, turned around and bumped into a solid chest of muscle. Two strong hands reached out and grabbed my upper arms to steady me so I didn't fall on my ass.

"Oh, excuse me. I'm sorry, I didn't see you there," I said, my eyes focused on his belt buckle (as I had been looking at the bottom shelf), my hands braced against his chest. I could see the outline of his abs underneath the tight t shirt he was wearing. 

I looked up as he said, "Hey, no prob. No damage done." 

Realizing my hands were still on his chest I jerked them away, putting my fingertips to my lips as I gazed into the most incredible blue/violet colored eyes I had ever seen! Lashes a mile long. I stupidly thought my fingers would keep me from choking on my own tongue, which I almost did, as I tried to say something. "Oh....uuummm...sorry," I said again as I backed up out of his grip. 

He had this wicked smirk on his face, like he was used to girls practically swooning at his feet from his awesome good looks.

Man I felt like such a dork. Here I was , Karen, comfortable with guys and able to hold my own on any wave, standing here about ready to pass out just because an amazingly good looking guy is standing in front of me. And he was too. Long blonde hair, tied back with a bandanna, tight jeans encasing strong powerful thighs.

Colleen's yelling interrupted my thoughts, "Karen! Are you going to help me with this? Or am I doing this all by myself?"

With one last small smile, I ducked my head and left the stockroom. I walked quickly over to Colleen and said in an excited whisper, "Colleen, look at the delivery guy. He is so cute. I mean look, but don't look like you're looking." As Colleen looked up she saw the guy as he came out of the stockroom, heading towards the back door. I looked at the same time she did, as he looked over at us. We looked like deer caught in the headlights. He smiled an all knowing smile, waved, and shut the door.

Colleen grabbed hold of my hand and said, "K, your hand is shaking and you are pale as a ghost. What is wrong? Is it that guy? You never have a problem with guys. I almost envy you sometimes that you can talk to any guy."

"Colleen, I don't know. I acted like such a dork in front of him," I said, rolling my eyes in emphasis. With my eyes on the back door I gave myself a mental shake and said, "It must have been because he was so good looking, like a movie star. I'm sure I would act like that in front of any movie star. Oh well, we probably won't see him again anyway." I sighed and said, "Oh well, back to work." Colleen and I finished putting away the supplies.

Chapter 4

Later on that day found the three of us in a clothing store at the mall, giggling our asses off.

"Ooooo, check out his green neon mini skirt," Sheree said holding it up to her.

Michele and I giggled and said, "That is ssooo short!"

"And what is with all this neon?" I asked. "Is this a new trend or something?" I thought the whole neon thing icky. Gimmy a good pair of denim anything and a t shirt any day.

"Hey guys, let's go. I want to go over to the book store. I want to see if they have any new surf magazines," I said heading back out to the mall, hoping they would follow me. My ulterior motive was to check out the heavy metal magazines and see what it was all about so I didn't seem too ignorant of it. As we got to the magazine rack at the store I moved slowly from the outdoor stuff to the music side. Now that I look at the covers, they look a lot like what Diane reads. Then......I saw one with James on the front! I couldn't believe it! The headline said 'METALLICA'. I picked up the magazine and started looking for the article. Sheree and Michele were in front of the fashion section, so I had to call out.....

"Hey guys, come over here a sec."

Michele and Sheree moved over and said, "What's up?"

"Um, what do you guys think of heavy metal music?" I asked. I had heard it but I wasn't really into any music since I didn't really have time to 'get into it'.

Sheree said, "I don't know. I guess it's OK. I like the Go's Go's myself. Top 40 stuff."

Michele, quiet, didn't answer right away. I looked up and she seemed a little embarrassed or something. She was blushing slightly.

"Michele?" I inquired.

"OK, promise you won't laugh?" She asked looking at the two of us.

"No, I won't laugh."

Michele looked at us both in the eye with this gleam in her eye and said in a strong whisper, "I LOVE HEAVY METAL MUSIC!"

I looked at her, then at the magazine cover. I turned it around and showed it to her and asked, "What about them?" pointing to the band on the front cover.

Michele's eyes got as wide as saucers. "I love them. I have a couple of their albums. I would give anything to see them in concert next week instead of going to the school dance."

"What would you say if I told you that I know this guy (pointing to James) and that I have secured front row tickets and back stage passes?"

Chapter 3

I had been on the water for about a half an hour when I saw a new person paddle out. There were only a few surfers on the water, all people I knew. As the person got closer, I saw it was a guy. Even closer, I saw he was a really good looking guy. Young, but seriously well built. It was all I could do not to stare. He had long, dark blonde hair, strong face with a mustache, and big guns. He had on a sleeveless wet suit and his biceps were incredible. Man he was a big guy.


I decided I should catch a wave before I embarrass myself, but just as I was about to stand up on my board, as I caught the wave, I heard a loud "HEY STICK!" Damn. I was trying to keep my mind on my surfing so I didn't fall, while at the same time racking my brain for who that guy could be. I decided to ride into shore and wait for the guy who called me that name. I was going to give him the benefit of the doubt that he was a friend before I or any of my friends kick his ass for calling me a name.


I stood on the beach, my board stuck in the sand next to me. I unzipped the top part of my suit and took it off, letting it hang at my waist as I watched him surf. His style seemed so familiar. The name ‘Stick’ repeated over and over in my mind. Then it came. The V8 moment. Oh My God! It was my friend James Hetfield. He was a couple of years older than me but he used to live by us and he was the one who taught me how to surf.


He finally came up on shore. He stuck his board in the wet sand just beyond the water line and stood there, smiling, showing these big beautiful teeth, underneath his mustache. He acted like he totally expected me to know who he was. Of course I did now. I smiled and ran, taking a flying leap into his arms. Thank God, he had grown or I would have knocked him to the ground.


Laughingly I said, "JAMES!" as he swung me around, to keep from falling. My happiness to see him stemmed from him and I being very close. He was my best friend for awhile and he totally put up with all my surfing questions. His patience was amazing.


He held me at arms length and said with a smirk, "I guess you are a lumpy stick now." His eyes skimming my body, mostly my chest.


I squeezed a bicep and said, "You're pretty lumpy yourself." mentally noting a more noticeable lump.


"So what are you doing here? How did you find me?" I fired off quickly, as the two of us walked back to my board.


"Whoa. One question at a time. I found you by that crappy, little blue truck."


"Hey," I said with pretend indigence, "that truck may look like crap, but it runs good."


James chuckled.


"SSooooo, what brings you back here?" I asked. And as an afterthought, "Where have you been. You never told me where you were going when you left."


His faced hardened for a second, then his smile came back. I'll be lucky if he tells me anything,” I thought. He had always been a closed person. It was always hard to get him to talk about his feelings.


James continued. "I went up north. I've been in San Francisco." He sighed, then continued, "There is so much to tell. I met up with a guy named Lars and we started a heavy metal band, and we've been touring for awhile."


"That is awesome James," I said. "So do you want to tell me about that look on your face and that sigh?"


"No, It's cool," He said, evasively.


"OK. You can always tell me later."


"K, do you want to come to see our concert?" James asked. "I can get you backstage passes and front row tickets."


"Sure. I would love to come see you play. Can I bring some friends?"


"Um, probably. How many?"


"Five, including me."


"I can do that. Do you still live in the same place?"


"I do. You should come for dinner tonight. My parents would love to see you again."


"No, but thanks. I actually have to be in L.A. later at the record studio. I just came out here for a bit of relaxation and to see if you still remembered all I taught you," James said smiling. "I'll send the tickets and the passes to your place. The concert is at the L.A. Forum next Friday night."


I thought that is the night of the dance. Man I am going to the concert. Now I just have to get Sheila and Anne to go. We had finally made it back to my truck. James helped me put my board in the back. "James do you need a ride anywhere?"


"No, I have a car, but thanks anyway." James came up and gave me a hug and said goodbye.


I watched as he drove away. I had an unsure feeling of what role he was going to play in my life. I didn't even know the name of his band.