Slow Spinning Redemption

Saturday October 28, 2000
Berlin, Germany
7:40pm

He hits his drumsticks lightly against his thigh as he leans against the small lighted vanity that stands against the wall. He was focused on the rhythm he was tapping out, ready and anxious to go on stage. He was only distracted when he heard a loud feminine giggle coming from the couch in front of him, causing him to look up at the couple. It looked like the on again/off again couple of Jyrki and Rosalind were on again this week, which made sense, since Rosalind’s band was performing the same venue the next night.

“You know, we have twenty minutes if you two love birds want to disappear into the janitor’s closet again,” Jussi said sarcastically, causing Rosalind to grin up at him while she settled her legs over Jyrki’s leather clad ones.

“Jealous, Jus?” she teased.

“Of your fucked up relationship?” Jussi snorted. “No, I’m not.”

“Sexually frustrated then?”

“Always,” Jussi said with a smirk.

Rosalind shook her head, moving her legs off of her boyfriend and settling her elbows on her knees as she looked at Jussi, “You should get yourself a girl then.”

“No thanks, I like my bachelor lifestyle.”

“And the string of one-night stands and broken hearts you leave behind, no doubt.”

Jussi rolled his eyes “I’m not that bad. I am capable of having a relationship; I just prefer not to.”

“So, no nice girl for you that will follow you on tour, wait for you at home, please you in manners you can only dream about?”

Jussi laughed. “No, no. And as if I haven’t been pleasured in those ways before.”

“Then what do you want?” Rosalind asked.

“Nothing. I don’t want a relationship.”

“You’re young yet,” Rosalind said, waving a hand in dismissal at him.

“I’m four years older than you!”

“A baby!” Rosalind cooed, causing Jyrki to laugh along with Archzie, Bazie, and Timo-Timo, who had just started listening to the conversation. “Don’t you eventually want to be in a relationship again?”

Jussi shrugged. “If you and Jyrki are the poster children for a relationship, then no.”

“So we don’t have the perfect relationship,” Rosalind shrugged. “But at least we have something that works for us.”

“If what you guys have actually works for you, then you’re more fucked up then I originally thought.”

Rosalind laughed as she pushed herself off the couch and walked over to him, cupping his cheeks and closing her eyes.

Jussi looked over at a grinning Jyrki with a raised eyebrow. “What the hell is your girlfriend doing?”

“Probably using her psychic powers on you,” Jyrki said. Although he was grinning in amusement, he said it in all seriousness.

Rosalind grinned and pulled away, patting Jussi’s shoulder. “You, my friend, have a beautiful future awaiting you.”

“Fame and fortune?” Jussi teased.

“Mmm. A woman and babies. Just beautiful babies,” Rosalind laughed.

Jussi snorted. “Right.”

“You think I’m kidding. That’s cute,” Rosalind said with a kind, yet patronizing smile. “One of these days, Vuori, you’re going to meet your match, and I really hope you have the patience to handle and love her.”

Jussi raised an eyebrow on two counts: first- Rosalind’s predictions were vague fortune cookie ramblings that left everyone holding in their laughter in order to not hurt the Spaniard’s feelings. Secondly- very rarely did anyone call him by his last name, especially when it came to Rosalind. She was a fan of calling people by their given names and shortening them. He was ‘Jussi,’ ‘Jus,’ or on occasion, ‘sweetheart,’ but rarely did his last name come from her lips. Truthfully, in the two years he’d known her, he didn’t think she knew his last name. Rosalind was flighty like that.

“All right,” he said slowly, a smirk crossing his lips. “So, is this woman in my near future or far off?”

Rosalind shook her head. “As you obviously don’t believe me, I think I’ll let you suffer and find out yourself. Now,” she clapped her hands as she started to go towards the door, “I’m going to the bathroom…Jyrki?”

Jyrki shook his head, but got out off the couch, slapping Jussi’s shoulder with a grin. “Congratulations.”

“Thanks,” Jussi muttered before snapping his head up to grin at his friend. “Hey! See if you can fuck a name out of her.”

“The only name he’ll be fucking out of me is his own,” Rosalind laughed, pulling Jyrki’s hand and dragging him out of the room. Laughter from the rest of the band followed them.

“So…what are you going to do with all those babies?” Timo-Timo teased.

“Fuck off,” Jussi laughed, moving his drumsticks to start thrumming them against his thigh again.

Thursday October 28, 2010
Helsinki, Finland
8:15 am

He woke with a groan, glad he had remembered to pull his curtains shut before rubbing a tried hand over his face and reaching for his phone that had been beeping for the last half hour. Blinking a couple times so his eyes could adjust and focus on the screen, he found himself grinning at the text he received. God bless Jyrki, who was reminding him that they had rehearsals in two hours, and to get his lazy ass out of bed. That was at least half an hour ago; he had an hour and-a-half to get ready and feed himself before getting to rehearsal.

Rolling out of bed, he stretched and gave a yawn. He scratched his chest as he padded his way to his bathroom, turning the taps on the shower to make sure he had hot water.

Showering quickly -mostly to get the dried gel out of his hair- he dried off and chucked his towel in the vicinity of his hamper before making his way back to his bedroom. Looking around his room, he pulled on a pair of jeans before kicking some shirts out of the way that he knew to be dirty, making a mental note to do laundry before going back on the road. He finally found the Misfits pirate shirt he was looking for, sticking half-in and half-out of his dresser drawer. He pulled that on over his head, knowing he’d be grateful for the light weight tee midway through rehearsals.

He stuffed his feet into a pair of combat boots, having seen the weather report on the phone and knowing Helsinki was in for some light rain, before making sure his wallet and phone were in his pockets. Making his way into his living room, he picked up his pea coat and newly acquired fedora. He left the apartment, locking up behind him as he slipped on his coat, and started walking down the stairs.

He made it out to the side walk and looked around, checking his mental map of the food that was around the area before remembering a little coffee shop two blocks down. The placed was also close enough to the rehearsal space that he wouldn’t have to bother with his car. Making sure he still had enough time, he started towards the coffee shop.

Though he loved traveling with the band, it was walks to coffee shops and take-out restaurants that made him wish for a nice home cooked meal, or that he could buy his own groceries to make said home cooked meal without the food going bad while he was out of town.

Maybe he would let Rosalind set him up on one of those blind dates she’d been pushing on him; she was good at matchmaking, and maybe he’d find a nice girl to settle down with as Rosalind had been hoping he’d do. He snorted at the thought. The day he let the Spaniard set up his dates would be the day Jyrki and said Spaniard actually married.

“So never,” he muttered to himself with a quiet laugh as he pushed open the door to the café. He made his way up to the counter, looking up at the menu to see what he wanted. He turned slightly at the sound of a familiar feminine laugh, and smiled when he saw the dark bundled hair that he knew belonged to Soya.

Jussi smirked to himself, as he remembered the last time he had seen Ville’s other half, she was hung over in her pajamas in the same coffee shop with Ville, her ward and her ward’s girlfriend. Placing his order and pointing out the table he’d be at to the waitress, he walked over to Soya with a grin, knowing Soya and the blonde she was sitting with hadn’t caught sight of him.

“Soya!” he greeted loudly, causing her and her friend to look up at him. “Fancy seeing you here again! How’s the head?” he chuckled, leaning down to kiss her cheek, noting the sliver band with a small diamond sitting on her ring finger. Definitely not Soya’s usual style of ring, he thought, and definitely new.

“Better, no thanks to you,” Soya teased as she accepted the kiss Jussi placed on her cheek with a smile, before he took the free seat next to her. Soya turned to the blonde and gestured to him as she started the introductions. “Isolde, this is-”

“Jussi Vuori,” the blonde finished, sticking out her hand. “You can’t be friends with Josef without knowing everything about The 69 Eyes. I’m Isolde Caspari.”

Jussi frowned at her as he shook her hand, taking her in. Her short blonde hair fell in large loose curls a bit past her shoulders, with a black streak that was tucked behind her ear. Bright blue, wide eyes stared at him in amusement, and large, naturally red pouty lips were covered in some type of gloss. She looked familiar; her face was one that he knew he’d seen before, but he couldn’t quite place it, so he gave her body a quick scan.

She was wearing an ivory button down blouse and a pair of black loose pants held by suspenders, which did nothing for her figure. He couldn’t tell if she was stick thin like one of the models he saw in Rosalind’s fashion magazines she usually left lying around his apartment or tour bus, or if she had curves that he preferred on women. Her legs were long and her feet were in a pair black bootie heels. “You look familiar,” he finally said, his scan not taking more than a couple of seconds as he met her eyes again.

“I get that a lot,” Isolde said with a shrug, taking her hand back. “I worked and lived in Hels for about a year before moving.”

“What kind of work?” Jussi asked, before he and Isolde looked up at the waitress as she placed their coffee and food in front of them and refilled Soya’s cup, causing them to thank her.

“Yes, Jussi, you can join us,” Soya teased lightly. Jussi just grinned, knowing Soya was much too polite to send him away. Instead he sent his friend a wink before taking a drink of his coffee and looking back at Isolde as she spoke.

“When I lived here I only modeled, but I’m mostly a photographer now. Although, I still model every once in a while.”

Jussi nodded slowly. It made sense, and would explain why she seemed so familiar. “I must have seen something you did then.”

He watched as she gave a shrug. A tiny smile appearing on those red shiny lips, giving Jussi the impression that she held some type of secret. “Probably.”

Jussi looked at her again, still bothered that he couldn’t quite place her. She seemed too familiar for him to remember her from some ad piece or catalog, and much too beautiful to only work ads as well. She had to have done some type of fashion editorials or big campaign for him to remember her. Or nudes. Jussi blinked as the word ran through his mind and scanned her once more. Nudes.

She looked like one of the models he remembered having found attractive in one of his adult magazines from a couple years back. But that particular model had tattoos. “You have any tattoos?”

Isolde looked up at surprised at the question before looking back at Soya questioningly. Soya shrugged in confusion causing Isolde to look back at him. “Um…a few,” she admitted. “But they get Photoshopped out during my shoots, so you probably haven’t seen them.”

Jussi nodded again, though he was getting more doubtful as he stared at her. “Yeah, probably.”

He watched as she shook her head, her blonde curls bouncing with the motion and sliding to the side as she bent down to grab a tape recorder from her messenger bag. Setting it on the table, she resumed the conversation she’d been having with Soya before he’d joined them. “Is it all right if I record our conversation Soya? I’ll edit it when I write the article, and like I told you- before it gets published, I’ll send you a copy so you can trash it before I even publish it.”

Jussi tuned them out as he did another scan of Isolde and tried to remember the tattoos that the model had had. He peeked down at her crossed legs, knowing there was a fairy on one of those ankles from what he remembered, and smirked when he thought of the ankh on the inside of the model’s thigh.

He looked back to the table, looking at her covered wrist that was holding a pen as she prepared to write notes. If she was the model who he was thinking of, she would have another Egyptian symbol there. And sure enough, he saw the black ink peeking out from her sleeve.

His eyes skimmed her again. He knew exactly where he’d seen her, and he could confirm if only he could get a peek of her bare back. Though even if she weren’t the model he was thinking of, he wouldn’t have minded a night with the woman. So picking up a spare pen Isolde left on the table, he scribbled on scrap of paper and folded it in his hand, before giving Isolde one more scan.

“Take off your shirt,” Jussi interrupted, his voice demanding.

“Jussi!” Soya exclaimed, hitting his arm. Jussi winced and rubbed the spot she’d hit him.

Isolde laughed, turning off her recorder. “It’s fine, Soya. Believe it or not, I get that a lot too.” She turned to him, and though she wore a smirk on her lips, her eyes were annoyed. “Yes, I posed nude for Erotiikan Maailma. Showing you my tits isn’t going to help with you remembering where you saw my face.”

Jussi chuckled, picking up his coffee and taking a drink. “Wasn’t your tits I was interested in seeing, though from what I remember, you had quite the pair.”

“Jussi!” Soya groaned, covering her face as she blushed.

“You have a very unique tattoo on you,” Jussi smirked, continuing over Soya’s embarrassment, watching as Isolde smirked back.

“An Ankh isn’t very unique,” Isolde told him. “And no, I didn’t get it because of your stupid little band.”

He somehow held in the wince, but couldn’t help the amusement that followed right after the comment. “‘Stupid little band’,” Jussi repeated with a grin. “Right.”

Isolde rolled her eyes. “I don’t have to explain why I have an Ankh on me.”

“And in such an intimate place too,” Jussi teased.

“Jus!” Soya admonished.

“It’s fine,” Isolde said to Soya, never taking her eyes off Jussi. “You know, you may think that this whole charm thing you’re trying is making me weak at the knees, but all I really want to do is kick you where it hurts. I posed nude once; if you liked the shoot so much, go look at it in the sticky magazine you probably have stashed underneath your mattress like the sixteen year-old you’re acting like.”

Jussi chuckled, liking the woman more and more. Coming up with a half-assed plan, he turned to Soya. “Are you cooking tonight?”

Soya blinked, “What?”

“Are you cooking tonight?” he repeated, enjoying her confusion. “I’ve been eating out all week. I wouldn’t mind a home cooked meal.”

“Are you inviting yourself to dinner? Because I won’t be in my flat tonight, I’ll be over at Ville’s.”

“How long have you been there, by the way?” Jussi asked with a raised eyebrow. He really needed them to move in together within the next couple of weeks so, that he could win the pool their group of friends had going. Really, Jussi was surprised Ville and Soya hadn’t just jumped in and moved in together by now, especially if the ring Soya wore on her ring finger meant they’d gone and gotten engaged.

“At Ville’s?” Soya asked slowly. “I don’t know…past two nights I think. Jus, are you okay?”

“Fine,” Jussi shrugged, wondering how he could convince Soya to get everyone together so that he could see more of Isolde. “Just thinking how the guys and I have a gig tomorrow. Then you and Ville are off to Berlin and Spain for a week, and when you come back we’re starting our acoustic tour, so we won’t see each other.”

“Aw, Jus, are you going to miss us?” Soya teased pinching his cheek.

Jussi chuckled lightly, moving his face away from her pinching fingers. “I think it’d be nice if we all got together for the night.”

“All? As in…?” Soya prompted.

“You know, everyone.” Jussi shrugged.

Soya laughed. “Jussi, sweetie, as much as I love the idea, you have to take that up with Ville. Everyone isn’t going to fit in my flat, and Ville’s the one with the large yard.”

Jussi nodded, wondering how he could convince his hermit of a friend to have a get-together at his home. “I’ll give him a call.” He looked back at Isolde, who was watching both of them, amused. “How about if you come?”

Isolde blinked. “Me?”

“Soya’s told us that you’re going to take pictures of her and Ville,” he said, gesturing to the tape recorder and camera bag that lay on the floor.

“I am,” Isolde said slowly.

“You’re not going to get anything better of them unless they’re candid,” Jussi pointed out. “Bring your camera.”

“Jus, you still have to talk to Ville before you start making plans,” Soya reminded.

“He’ll say yes,” Jussi assured, though he still had no idea how he’d convince Ville to say ‘yes’.

“Yes, after you nag him to death,” Soya laughed.

Jussi turned back to Isolde. “You’ll probably even get some information about these two from all of us that they won’t tell you.” He pushed his empty plate away before standing up. “But that’s up to you. Soya I have to go, rehearsals and all that shit.”

Soya nodded as he kissed her cheek. “All right, and if Ville says no, leave it alone Jus.”

“I know,” Jussi said with a roll of his eyes, before picking up Isolde’s hand, kissing the back of it with a smirk and slipping the piece of paper into her hand. “It was a pleasure meeting you Isolde. I have to say, you’re even more beautiful clothed than you are naked.”

With that said, he sent her a wink, sauntering out of the café, not being able to hold his grin in as he stuffed his hands into his pockets and pulled out his phone. Finding Ville’s number he dialed and hoped his friend was up.

“Hei Jussi.” Ville greeted after the fourth ring.

“Hei. I didn’t wake you did I?”

“No, Soya took care of that before she left,” Ville laughed. “I’m having breakfast with my brother.”

“Ah, sorry to interrupt.”

“You’re not,” Ville assured. “What’s up?”

“I just ran into your girlfriend and her friend.”

“Uh…Isolde?” Ville said after a minute. “Yeah, she wants to take pictures and interview us. Soya was meeting with her, why? Is everything okay?”

“Everything’s fine,” Jussi assured quickly, knowing that if he even hinted at Soya being hurt or offended by the blonde, Ville would feel the need to protect her. “I was just thinking… We’re all going our separate ways in the next couple of days, and we’re not going to see each other again until nearly Christmas...”

There was quiet on the other end, causing Jussi to check the connection of his phone and make sure he hadn’t accidentally disconnected. He hadn’t. He was about to call Ville’s name when Ville started speaking again.

“You do realize that we’ve gone longer amounts of time without seeing each other, right?”

“Yeah,” Jussi said slowly. “But it’d be nice to get together, hang out for a while. Especially at your place, since it’s bigger and will fit more people.”

“Who said anything about my place?”

“Well, Soya mentioned she was staying at your place and how it’s a bit larger than any of our flats.”

“Linde lives out in the fucking countryside; go have your get together there.”

“Well, you live here in town, and like you said, Linde lives in the country. It’s easier to get to your place.”

“How many people, Jus?”

“I don’t know, 10-15?” Jussi said quickly, talking over Ville’s groan. “I was just thinking that that Isolde chick could get better pictures of you and Soya in your natural habitat rather than posed.”

“I haven’t agreed to take any pictures with Isolde- posed or candid- so I’m guessing this get together has ulterior motives. What are they?” Ville laughed.

Jussi smirked. Ville knew him well. “Soya promised to cook?”

“Doubtful as Soya barely cooks for the three of us most days. I doubt she’d agree to cook for 10 to 15 people.”

“Well, I don’t think Isolde’s met Soya’s friends. It’d be rude not to introduce Soya’s friend to the rest of us.”

Ville laughed. “Your true reason is showing, Jussi.”

Jussi groaned. “I just want to talk to her a bit more.”

“…Or sleep with her,” Ville added.

“And,” Jussi said ignoring Ville’s input, “As she’s friends with Soya, your place is a bit more neutral.”

“So you want to get everyone together on the off chance that she’ll take interest in you and sleep with you?”

“ ‘On the off chance’? What the fuck are you talking about? She’s already interested in me.”

“Mmhmm,” Ville chuckled.

“And I would like to repeat the part where I said I just want to get to know her.”

“Get the know the inside of her pants maybe,” Ville snorted.

Jussi laughed as he pushed open the door to the building that held the band’s rehearsal space. “So, is that a yes?”

“You’re lucky I set up the backyard for dinner last night and Jesse and I haven’t taken anything down.”

“You had dinner outside in this weather?” Jussi asked with a raised eyebrow.

“It’s called romance.”

“Or just plain stupid,” Jussi teased.

“You can have your stupid party, Jussi.”

“Thank you.”

“No sex in my bed, though.”

“I promise nothing,” Jussi laughed. “How’s seven or eight?”

“Yeah, I’ll call the guys see who wants to come. I have to go now though; Jesse’s starting to bitch.”

“All right, see you tonight.”

“Yeah.”

Jussi hung up his phone and stuffed it back in his pocket as he climbed the stairs and pushed open the door to the actual rehearsal space with a grin, causing Jyrki to look up at him.

“What’s that grin for?” Jyrki asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Cancel your plans tonight. We’re going to Ville’s for dinner.”