Reason to Live

“She’s sleeping with your manager?” Marie asked, surprised.

“Yeah, apparently so,” I replied, trying to steal the olives from Bruce’s martini.

“That probably explains why Dave was so sure that Debbie should be the lead guitarist as well as the singer,” Bruce suggested, holding his glass far away from me.

“That, or maybe he thinks I’m unreliable because I’m three hours late every recording session,” I said with a smart-arsed grin.

He moved his face very close to mine. “Don’t pretend that you didn’t love every second that we shared this morning, because I know you did,” he said, then kissed me so perfectly.

“Umm. Yeah, so... guys?” Marie tried to get our attention. “Get off her Bruce! Damn, can’t I have a conversation with my friend? Why must you always make out with her when I’m trying to talk?” Marie stressed.

“Ok, ok. I can tell when I’m not wanted. I’ll go talk to Eric then. See ya Aud,” he kissed me goodbye.

“Bye,” I smiled and turned to Marie.

“I’m so fucking nervous,” Marie said to me. She looked it too.

“Why, honey what’s wrong?” I worried.

“Stephen King is going to be here! And he read my book!” she worried.

“I read your book, and It’s great! I cried it was that scary.”

“Really? You like it?”

“Marie, I love it! And I don’t usually read,” I said honestly. “Just calm down, it’s so unlike you to be this wound up.”

“Ok, you’re right,” she sighed heavily. “Let’s dance!” she yelled, grabbing my arm and pulling me into the crowd of party guests.

Two hours, and some vodka later, most people were going crazy, dancing and having a great time. Marie, of course having the most fun.
“I’m going to miss you!” she said with slurred words, hugging me tightly.

“Why?” Bruce asked confused.

“She’s going on tour with Aerosmith...Bruce, you are so dumb,” Marie giggled.

“Is she drunk again?” he asked me.

I bit my lip and nodded, still being hugged. “Yeah,” I whispered. “It’s not official, but we might be.”

“When?” he asked, sounding disappointed.

“I don’t know anything,” I said. “Might be next year.”

“That’s great,” he smiled.

“Eric! I LOVE you!” Marie screamed in a high pitched voice, running off towards him. I laughed.

“I’ll miss you so much more than her if you do leave,” Bruce said, kissing me.

“I dunno, Marie is my partner in crime. She’ll miss me,” I smiled. In the four months since Marie and I got to know each other in New York, we had become very close friends, which is interesting, given how we met.

“I guess I have to make the most of you,” Bruce smiled, then spanked me when he pulled me into his arms. I looked at him with shock, my mouth wide open as I smiled. He knew exactly how to drive me crazy.

As one would expect, there was a huge fuss when Stephen King arrived. He didn’t stay for long, but during the time he was there, I was lucky enough to meet him.
He approached Bruce and I, smiling. “Are you Marie Curtis?” he asked politely.

“No, sorry. I’m Audrey. That’s Marie,” I said, pointing to where Marie danced on a table to Van Halen’s “Running With The Devil.” Stephen King looked surprised.

“Bacon, babe. Now’s the time to get down,” Eric said, trying to save his girlfriend from embarrassment.

“Oh, I’ll get down with you!” she yelled raising an eyebrow and throwing herself at Eric. Catching her, he laughed “Seriously babe, Stephen King is here for you.”

“Oh my fucking KISS,” she gasped. I think I had to bury my face against Bruce’s chest to hide my laughter.

“It’s nice to meet you Miss Curtis,” Stephen King said , shaking Marie’s hand. There was a brief moment of silence before Marie rapidly pulled the A-class author into an overly friendly hug.

“I worship you man.... and please, call me Bacon,” she said, smiling so widely.

“Oh... thank you,” he replied awkwardly. “I just want to say that your book, “Epic”, is fantastic. I haven’t enjoyed a novel like that in a very long time. You should be proud.”

“Thank you,” she smiled, looking as if she was about to hug him again.
Apparently Marie asked Eric if it was appropriate if she gets her breasts signed. Apparently he said “no.”

Later in the night, after I kept my dirty little promise to Bruce, we returned from the bathroom, trying hard not to look too suss. Holding hands, Bruce and I sat next to Eric, grinning. Eric took one look at Bruce and smiled. “Your shirt’s inside out man.” We both blushed.

“I’m getting a drink, you two want anything?” Bruce asked.

“Nah,” Eric replied and I shook my head.

“Ok,” Bruce said, then took a few steps. He very quickly returned, pulling me into a kiss, then went to get his drink.

I licked my lips, smiling, just waiting for Eric to make a comment. He seemed distracted, watching Marie dance. I thought, drunkenness aside, she looked so beautiful that night. Judging by the awe-struck smile on Eric’s face, he thought so too.

“Why don’t you just go dance with her?” I asked.

He smiled. “Why don’t you just go fuck Bruce in the bathroom again?”

I laughed. “It’s obvious you want to dance with her. What’s stopping you? You’ve been her boyfriend for years,” I said, confused.

He smiled, almost shyly. “I enjoy watching her.”
I knew something was up, because Eric was unusually quiet and withdrawn from other people. Usually it would take a crowbar to separate him and Marie.
“Aud, you’re pretty much one of us now, so I guess I can tell you,” Eric said, turning to me. Bruce had told me I was beautiful at least seven times that day, but that had no impact on acceptance compared to Eric referring to me as one of them. A member of the KISS family.

“Tell me what?” I asked, unsure if I was to be scared or excited.

“I’m going to ask Marie to marry me,” Eric said.