Rubbed Raw - Omitted Scene 3 – Murphy’s Law

This is the original scene before I shortened it. (After scene in the park)

From there, we headed to the studio. It started raining when we got to the parkway. I was so glad Giovanni made me wear boots and jeans when we rode. He didn’t want to risk me getting road rash if I fell. The rain stung my hands. I couldn’t imagine how it would feel on bare legs. I kept clenching my fists, trying to stop the pain.

“Put your hands in my pockets!” Giovanni shouted to me. He had gloves on, so it wasn’t an issue for him.

I slid my hands into the pockets of his leather jacket, one at a time, afraid to let go at highway speed.  At least my jacket kept most of me dry. I hunkered down and let his body protect my neck, the only thing exposed at that point.

As soon as we arrived at the studio, Giovanni and I pulled our emergency change of clothes from his backpack I normally carried. He walked me to the main bathroom. “I’ll send Chris over here.”

“I’ll be fine walking around the studio alone.” I smiled. “I’ll call for Chris if I’m nervous, OK?”

He lifted my chin. “It’s amazing how much therapy is helping.” Suddenly he hugged me. “I’m sorry I’m smothering you, but we were supposed to be together that night. Sometimes I feel like…” He pulled my head to his chest and took a few deep breaths.

“Giovanni…” I tried to look up at him, but he wouldn’t allow it. “Let it go, please.”

After a minute, he pulled back, leaned down and gave me a quick kiss on the lips. Then he headed to the back bathroom. I closed myself in the restroom in front of me, locking the door. I was wet down to my underwear. After stripping and hanging my clothes as best I could, I rummaged through the bag.

“Shit! Where the fuck’re my panties?” I checked every pocket of the bag and frowned. “This is gonna be interesting.” Sliding the tiny black shorts on, I knew anyone who looked at my ass close enough would know I was going commando.

Minutes later, I looked at myself in the mirror. The shorts were riding up without panties in the way. I wished I had something other than a short tank top. A T-shirt might have covered my clearly defined ass cheeks. With a sigh, I grabbed the backpack and carried it in my hand into the hallway.

Crazy Mike stood a few feet from the bathroom talking on the phone. He was Gasoline’s head sound technician when on tour and one of three Michaels on the crew. He turned to me and smirked then watched me walk by. “Nice ass, guess you’re getting used to us, huh?” He hurried to get around me and stopped. Not putting a hand on me, he put his phone away then looked me over. “I’d be willing to be your backup when Giovanni’s not in the mood.”

My mouth dropped. He was as bold as Tommy. “Um, we’re not into that.” Nervously, I backed up.

“Hey, I won’t hurt you.” He stepped forward. “I was just offering my services. It’s up to you if you want them.”

My eyes darted from him to the hall beyond, silently hoping for someone to show their face. “I… I… I don’t… think… so.” I swallowed, trying to relax. His expression was not menacing and neither was his demeanor. I didn’t know him well enough to see he was harmless, for the most part.

“Crystal, you OK?” Chris walked towards us with a concerned look on his face. “Mike, do me a favor and step back.” He met my anxious gaze and put a hand out to me. “Crystal, do I need to get Chad or Giovanni? Crystal…”

I froze, unsure.

Then Crazy Mike backpedaled slowly. “I’m sorry if I scared you.”

Chris, next to me, softly asked, “Come on. Let’s go inside.”

I took his offered hand and berated myself for the fear as we walked to the studio’s main room. “I’m sorry.”

“Hey, don’t be sorry.” Chris stopped. “It takes time to get back to being yourself.” He gave me his brightest smile. “You’ve come so far.”

Chad appeared behind him, “Something wrong?”

“I’m fine,” I assured him and walked away from them both.

Not wanting to let my lapse set the mood for the day, I lifted my bass and put the strap over my head. Playing normally calmed me and helped me focus. Without plugging into the system, I closed my eyes and fingered the notes to “Don't Wanna Be Like You.” The intricate bassline was prominent as in a few of our other songs. We planned to record the song that day.

Chris and I came up with the lyrics before the Boston contest. I called him, bored, and we decided to take a trip to the river to people watch. It was something only he and I seemed interested in. We were sitting on a bench talking when several skateboarders flew by. Both of us kept our eyes on them, while they dodged joggers and cyclists. Then they veered off the path and took turns grinding across a bench about twenty feet away.

Their carefree actions, reminded us of how unique we had become as a band, not sticking to one type of sub-genre like we used to. After an hour of watching them, we went back to Chris’ place and wrote the first draft of the song. The lyrics were funny at first then we got serious and cleaned them up.

Minutes later, Giovanni stuck his head into the room I was in. “Hey, everything OK?”

I looked up and smiled. “Yeah, I just got nervous. Mike didn’t mean it.”

“Mean what?” He scowled then turned around. “One them touched you or something?”

I tugged on his arm. “No. We were talking.” Under no circumstances was I going to repeat what Crazy Mike said. “I guess I’m still kinda leery of the guys here.”

“Next time, I’m not leaving you alone.” He grabbed me and squeezed me tight.

I sighed, wanting him to let up some. “You can’t be there all the time.”

“I know. That’s where Chris comes in.”

“What if he’s busy?” I tilted my head to see him seemingly lost in thought.

He took a noisy breath. “I guess… then I’ll let Chad look after you. He feels just like me when it comes to your safety.” His hands slid down my body. “As long as he keeps his lips and hands to himself.” He growled and gently grasped my ass. “Oh shit, no panties.” His lips touched my ear. “You hoping for a quick fuck before we go?” His entire body relaxed then tensed. “God, you know how to get me hard.”

I closed my eyes as his stiffening cock pressed against my belly. After being watched that morning, I knew it turned him on. Would he be bold enough to lift me up right in the studio?

“Sorry I’m late.” Jon’s deep voice echoed. “You guys’re ready, right?”

Giovanni reluctantly let me go. “We’ll finish this later.”

Once we started playing, I thought of nothing but the music. We ran through the song once then listened to Jon’s suggestions. The song was broken down, adding in the ideas. Then we sped up the tempo as requested and played it again. It sounded even better.

After the last note, I watched Jon for his usual call for a break after several complete run-throughs. Sam and Vince, Gasoline’s top techs, appeared to be arguing with Jon up in the booth. I thought the song sounded great and the only thing left was background vocals.

            I came out the room I played and asked Chad, “Any idea what’s gong on?”

            He shrugged. “Damned if I know. I thought it was good.”

            “We gotta do that again.” Jon’s booming voice startled me.

            I looked up again then yelled, “What’s wrong with the last take?”

            “Not all the tracks recorded right,” Sam said over the mic.

            Phil got up from the couch and shouted. “Which ones are good?” He was an electrical genius, but hid it well.

            “Vocals and bass,” Sam replied as he came down the stairs. “Maybe something’s not plugged in?”

            Phil quickly started to check the drum set’s microphones. “Ah, fuck,” he grumbled. “This whole side is off. Did we blow a fuse?”

            “I’ll check.” Sam walked past us to the back room.

            Chris walked over to the table on the far wall and opened a bottle of water, looking bored. Vince had come down as well. He and another man, whose name I had forgotten, were checking cables with Phil. They called to each other a few times, trying different outlets.

            Then Sam shouted, “Chad, play something.”

            “Sure.” With a shrug, Chad slid his fingers over the frets before starting the solo from “Devil’s Boy.” He bobbed his head and swayed a bit, as he got lost in the music.

            I watched him with lust growing quickly. His talent always turned me on. Moreover, we had that song playing a few times while we fucked. When he was done, I finally realized I had been staring and hid my feelings as best I could. I had to squash them fast. He could never know how much I still wanted him.

            “How’s that?” Chad yelled, looking up at the control room.

            Jon and Crazy Mike leaned over a soundboard. Mike had headphones on. He nodded a few times then shook his head.

            Jon looked annoyed. “It’s choppy. Sam, you find anything, yet?”

            “No. It all looks good. Giovanni, play something.” Then Sam disappeared again.

            Giovanni began the intro to “Where I Wanna Be,” another new song. It used every drum and cymbal in his arsenal. His eyes closed for a few seconds while he pounded the bass drums in perfect sequence.

            “OK, OK.” Mike called down to us. “Let me play it back.” He donned the headphones again for about thirty seconds then shook his head. “Hit the right bass a few times.”

            I sighed and sat on a stool, also bored.

            Chris was soon at my side. “You wanna take a walk? Looks like it’s gonna be a while.”

            “Where’d you wanna go?”

            He smirked, “To get a beer.”

            I glared at him.

            “I’m kidding. I don’t drink before five unless there’s a good reason. Hmm… maybe…”

            Smacking his arm, I scowled, feigning annoyance.

            “You know I’m teasing?”

            “Yeah,” I looked up. Chad and Giovanni were talking, while Phil, Vince and Sam were checking every connection in the place. “Doesn’t look like they need us anyway.”

            Chris walked over to the drumset and said a few words to Giovanni before coming back to me.When Chris and I stepped outside, I smiled at the sunshine. We had left the rain behind in New Jersey. Chris put a hand on my back as we walked down the stairs, then let go when we hit the sidewalk. We walked for two blocks, not talking, just looking around the busy street. New York City was so different from the town we lived in.

            “Did you see that chick?” Chris was almost laughing as he steered me around some commuters rushing by us. “Her skirt’s so short I swear I saw camel toe.”

            I laughed along with him, knowing exactly which woman he meant. “I could see her nipples through her white top.”

            “Hooker?”

            “Nah, stripper.”

Suddenly he pulled me close to him by the waist. “Come here.”

If he were Tommy, I would assume he was trying to cop a feel. However, he wasn’t. I glanced around and saw a large group of male teenagers coming towards us. As we passed them, they all looked me up and down. I wished I had more clothes on.

Chris leaned his head down and whispered. “I saw them lift a woman’s skirt up ahead and I didn’t want them touching you.” Then he let me go.

“Thanks.”

We wandered around, checked out a few clothing stores then went into Macy’s on 34^th Street. That store blew both of our minds. Since neither of us had seen it before, we looked like gawking tourists. It must have been a funny sight.

On one of the upper floors, we sat on a few beds. Chris lay back as I watched the few couples around us do the same. “Hey, we need one of these in the vans for the tour. This is comfy.” He stretched out and grinned. “I’d get a lot more girls with this at my disposal every night.”

It wasn’t a bad idea. “Would all the equipment fit with that much floor space lost?”

“I can ask Mark to help me measure and see.” He sat up. “Wouldn’t it be better to sleep on a mattress than a sleeping bag?”

I sighed, wondering how many fights there would be over who used it for the night, even if we got two. “True.” With six of us and two beds, it could be a daily argument. “You and Phil would probably get the most use out of them.” I gave him a shy smile.

“From what I heard, you and Giovanni’d be rocking his van for hours every day.” He stood up and winked. “Phil said you two really go at each other.”

My face heated up instantly. “I’m gonna kill him,” I muttered. Then my phone chimed. I pulled it out and unlocked the screen. “Hey, they got it. They want us back.”

By the time we walked back into the studio, the last lost drum track was recorded. Giovanni walked right to me. “Where did you guys go?”

“For a walk,” I leaned into his embrace and smiled, “Heard you guys got things working again.”

Giovanni chuckled. “Yeah, after Sam knocked out the power then a fuse. Phil fixed it though. He told me what it was, but I have no idea what he said, something about a voltage spike or short tripping a breaker. Whatever, as long as everything’s on track again.”

            “Alright, everybody get in front of a mike.” Jon called down to us. “I want group background vocals on this one.” He waited until we were all in place. “OK all at once….” Then the lights went out. “What the fuck now?” Jon’s voice was muffled, but he must have shouted to be heard on the floor.