Daylight

Joe’s POV

“Joseph! There you are, lad!”
Thus could be heard the booming voice of the Madmen’s manger, Peter Brand, by nearly everyone within a 1-km radius.

Pet and I started and fairly jumped apart; for some reason, when Peter reached us a minute later, she had her hands folded in her lap, and I was relaxin’ back casually in me seat. Nothin’ goin’ on here, sir.

“Been looking for you all over, lad!” Peter peered at us closely. “And you have your lady friend with you!” he said in apparent delight. “So sorry, my dear, I’ve forgot your name….”
My lady friend smiled most graciously at this arse. “It’s Petula, Peter. How’ve you been? Haven’t seen you much lately.”
He smiled widely. “Ah yes! Been very busy indeed, watching over these lads and their business matters.” Then he leant in, the smell of good Scotch on his breath. “I trust you’ve been keeping our Joe out of trouble?”
Pet nodded back. “Of course, whenever possible.”
“Good, good,” our manager nodded. He went silent then, looking back and forth between the two of us.
“Did you need something, Peter?” Pet finally ventured.
“Oh! Yes! Indeed!” the big man exclaimed. “Joseph, you’re the winner of the housing lottery this week. You’ve a hotel room booked for tomorrow night in…Tuscon…lovely city, I hear. Just wanted to let you know,” he winked, “in case you might have company.”
I didn't like the way he was fairly leering at Pet.
I forced a smile. “Thanks then, Peter, glad to hear it.”
He handed me an envelope with the reservation form in it. “Don’t lose this, m’boy. Well, my errand’s done. Have a good evening! Nice to see you again….”
He’d forgot Pet’s name already!
She rescued him. “…Petula. And thanks, Peter, we’ll see you later. Goodnight.”
He wandered off, presumably in search of another drink.

I shook me head, watching him go. Pet started her gigglin’ again.
“Now what?” I asked.
“He cracks me up,” she explained. “I mean, he’s your manager, and I have to believe he’s working in your best interest, but…he’s just so damn clueless sometimes.” Then she sobered a bit. “How long has Peter been with you guys?”
“From the first,” I replied, rememberin’ how Peter’d found us when we were still flailin’ away at the local pub. “He come up to us after a show, and told us we were bloody rough…but that he thought we had potential. Said he wanted to make us big. It was enough for us, y’know? And he’s been with us ever since.”
She smiled faintly. “That’s great.”
I could see in her pretty blue eyes what she was thinkin’. I pulled her close to me side, tryin’ to reassure her. “You’ll miss your manager, won’t you?” I asked.
Pet settled in under me arm. “Of course. She’s just…” she trailed off, her voice breakin’ just a bit. “Shoshi’s like a mom, but not, you know? No judging, no excuses…and she won’t take that shit from us either. She told us right off that she expected us to work hard to succeed, maybe even harder than we had in school. That it would be hard on us physically, mentally, and personally; but that she’d be there to help us through it.”
She sighed, and I realised a tear had fallen onto me shoulder. I decided not to mention it, and so I just brought me hand up and stroked her hair, very softly.
We sat in silence a few minutes.

Finally Pet whispered, “I’m so happy for her, I really am…” she carried on. “It’s just that I wish she could stay with us so she could be part of everything that we’ve finally gotten after all that hard work.”
I shifted round to face her. “She still is,” I reminded her. “She’s here for you now; she sees how well you ladies are doin’. The crowds get bigger every day, don’t they?” Pet nodded. “So, she’s a part of everythin’ that’s happenin’ to you now, and in future too. Right?”
Pet turned her face up to mine with a smile.
If you looked hard, you’d’ve seen she’d been cryin’: her face was flushed that gorgeous shade of pink I’d seen in the mornin’; her eyes had turned a brighter blue than normal; and her light brown lashes were stuck together in little clumps.
They make her eyes look like stars, I thought. I rubbed me thumb over the faint trace of tears on her cheek, just lookin’ at her.

Jesus Christ, but she was gorgeous. And that was it: I was lost.

Pet’s POV

Joe was looking at me very intently. It was getting almost embarrassing, in fact; but I couldn’t look away from him, either.

Again, randomly, I realized just how large Joe’s hands were. He had almost my whole face cradled in one hand, stroking my cheek with his thumb.

I looked closely at his eyes—goddamn, but they were beautiful—trying to decide what color to call them: gold? amber? caramel?
I closed my own eyes, turning my face away for a second, and shook my head, trying to shake this notion out of my brain. What the hell am I doing? I wondered.
Joe tilted his head to one side, apparently amused. “Summat wrong, luv?”
I shook my head at him now. “Uh, n-no, just thinking,” I stammered out.
He smiled. “What’re you thinkin’, then, that’d have you shakin’ yer head at nothin’?” he teased.
I shrugged. “It’s not important.” I moved in closer to him, smiling back and sliding my hands up his chest and and around his neck.
“What is, then?” Joe asked.
“Huh?”
“Important,” he clarified. “What’s important to you, Pet?”
Without another word I leaned up and kissed him. His body reacted briefly in surprise, but then he relaxed against me and just kissed me back. For once, I’d started something, which was a little weird for me, but I got over it pretty quickly. I ran my tongue along his mouth, making his lips open and deepening the kisses. It was amazing.
Joe moaned a little against my mouth, his hands now caressing my back, and I swear to God, sparks ran up my spine and out of my fingertips. I pulled him closer, weaving my fingers into his hair, tasting him again and again. It felt like I couldn’t get enough of him.

Finally, we broke apart, both breathing hard. I kissed Joe on the cheek one last time.
“That is,” I said breathlessly.
He rolled his eyes, which were glazed; he looked drunk. He blinked at me.
“Huh?”
I whispered into his ear, “That’s important to me.”
Joe laughed, holding me tightly. “Jay-sus, Pet, where’d you learn to do…what you just did?”
“I dunno,” I replied, smiling like an idiot. “Must’ve been somebody I know….”

Then I looked at the hotel reservation envelope lying on the bench next to Joe. I picked it up and waved it at him.
“So…” I teased him, “do you need a roommate?”
“Maybe….” he answered, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.
“Hey,” I interrupted, remembering, “what was it you wanted me to hear? You know, before Peter showed up?”
Joe’s face went blank. “Oh…wait…lemme think…” he mumbled. Then memory lit up his face before he looked back at me. “I…I wanna tell you, still….”
“Then tell me.”
“Not here,” he said, getting to his feet and extending a hand to me, “not now, luv. But tomorrow night, I promise, alright?”
Something in his tone was strange, almost…fearful. That can’t be right, I thought.
“Trust me,” he said reassuringly.
And I looked back in those warm brown…almost amber…eyes…
I don't know why but...I do trust you.

And I was lost.