To Caress My Day

One early morning while Twigs was getting ready to head to a last-minute video gig in need of some extra cash, Simone came racing into the living room hollering with joy. The piercing note nearly ceased Twigs heart from beating as she awkwardly spun around with wide eyes to witness her roommate dancing in a circle in the hallway with her arms waving side to side in the air. “HOLY SHIT, WHAT HAPPENED?! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU SCREAMING FOR!?”

Simone quit dancing immediately to face her with eyes radiant with exhilaration, and smile that could illuminate up the darkest of rooms as her long dreads swing about her everywhere. “I’m screaming because I just got off the phone with Mrs. Athelson!”

“Mrs. Athelson?” Twigs repeated in confusion, her brows furrowed in thought as she tried to recall the name somewhere in her mind but came up with nothing in the end. “Who’s that again?”

“The woman I auditioned for back in October, remember?” Simone prodded, her smile fading for only a second. “She’s the one who saw my cover videos on YouTube and wanted me to come down to California for the tryouts.”

“Of course!” Twigs proclaimed in finality now that she remembered. “Oh my god, how could I forget?”

“I don't know, but anyway she just called me to tell me I was chosen to be a part of a girl’s group called GRL!” Simone squealed before screaming with excitement all over again.

“OH MY GOD! YOU FUCKING DID IT, SIMONE, YOU DID IT!” Twigs quickly followed in example by rushing over to shriek with excitement too, dropping her bag in the process. Simone screamed too, and together they both reached out to grasp each other’s hand and screamed in unison. They continued this silly act before Twigs finally stopped screeching to say. “WAIT! We must celebrate this! But…shit, I have a video gig I gotta be at right now.”

Simone waved a dismissive hand, her joyful mood now impenetrable from anything negative that could come her way today. “Honey its fine. We can celebrate later then when you’re back.”

“Oh, alright.” Twigs begrudgingly agreed, still feeling bad that they couldn’t spend the day celebrating Simone’s dream practically coming true.

“Here, let me walk you downstairs to the front door.” Simone offered, walking by her to grab her set of keys from the bowl by the door. “I gotta go see my parents anyway and tell them the good news.”

“Aw, you’re too sweet.” Twigs teased as she walked over to the front door of the apartment and opened it for her roommate. After she stepped out, Twigs followed, and together they walked down a few floors to the front of the building before going their separate ways.

_______________________________________________________________________

Later on that night, Twigs and Simone celebrated her success at a place she’d never though she’d see again. They were in the London’s cabaret circuit at Soho’s nightclub The Box on the lower east side. Twigs couldn’t believe Simone dragged her back here but instead of fighting against her roommate’s wishes, she decided to bite down on her objections and allow the night to be about Simone’s accomplishment. But of course, that didn’t mean they weren’t gonna sit in the back of the place. Simone couldn’t help but laugh at Twig's slight paranoia at the idea of being recognized there, and after a few minutes after finding their chairs, she leaned over the table and whispered. “So, do you miss being here sometimes?”

“Not really.” Twigs shrugged, her brown eyes wandering the club scene. The place looked like an old times theater and was a rather seedy place what with the sickening and degrading performances executed there. Celebrities and even members of the Royal family favored this particular club, but tonight it didn’t seem like any attended. The box puts on the most sexually explicit shows in town that astounded everybody but unfortunately for the public the reporters couldn't seem to get any information about what exactly went on in there. If they only knew just how hardcore the pornographic performances really were, Twigs thought to herself.

“Does Seth even know you used to work here back in the day?” Simone asked her as their waiter came by and took their order of drinks.

Twigs immediately shook her head, her eyes wide. “God, I hope not!”

Simone’s eyes widen in surprise. “Seriously? He doesn’t know yet?”

Frowning to herself, Twigs began to feel a bit edgy about Seth not knowing she used to work here. Was that wrong of her not to have informed him? “Well…I mean I didn’t think he needed to know since I quit working here earlier this year before I even met him.” Feeling uneasy, Twigs lifted her eyes to Simone for advice. “Do you think I should tell him?”

Simone shrugged it off. “I don’t know. I mean you don’t want him to hear you were working in a seedy ass place like this, but at the same time you weren’t exactly part of the more hardcore sex acts much less popped one of your titties out. You just went up onstage in a long backless blue dress with your hair parted to the side in one of those 40s pin up styles singing Screamin Jay Hawkin’s ‘I Put A Spell on You’.”

Twigs nodded in agreement. Yes, this place made be way over NC-17 ratings, but she hadn’t ever participated in the more sexual acts, just her own decent one. “You’re right, that is all I did! Nothing more and nothing less than that.”

“You’re damn right!” Simone supported. “I mean, c’mon, the worse you probably did was near the end of your performance you’d walk up to a couple and sing the last words to your song to the man and then conclude your performance by kneeling before his woman and kissing her on the back of her hand. That's harmless enough.”

“Exactly!” Twigs agreed with a grin. “I didn’t rub up on some guy’s leg or have my ass against their groin at any time while I was working here.”

“True, but that’s exactly what you do now as a video girl.” Simone pointed out to her teasingly.

Twigs reached out and playfully smacked Simone’s arm with a laugh. “You bitch!”

“What!? It’s true!” Simone laughed before the waiter interrupted with their drinks. As they sipped on their refreshments, she decided to bring up some significant information to her roommate. “Oh, by the way, since I’m part of a girl’s group now that already went through three members to find me, they’re flying me out to Los Angeles at the end of this week. Did you want to come with me and see your man while I'm over there?”

Twigs quickly calculated just how much money she had on her at the moment that she could spare on a expedition to see her boyfriend. “Hmm…I think I have enough money to tag along.”

“Good.” Simone nodded. “If not, you can always ask Seth to buy you a ticket anyway. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind.”

“No!” Twigs objected passionately at the idea. “I can do it without him. I don't need his money!”

Hearing her anger, Simone raised her hands in a sign of peace. “Okay okay. Calm the hell down, I was only saying.”

Twigs decided to change the subject to cool her sudden irritability. “So, have you spoke to any of your bandmates yet?”

Simone waved her hand in a sign of 'kind of'. “In a way. I’ve met them through face time while you were at your video gig and have kept in constant contact with them ever since then. So far I’ve only met one face to face while I did a bit of grocery shopping after I shared the good new with my parents but that’s because she’s a UK girl like us, so it was easier to meet up with her than the others.”

“Oh yeah?” Twigs was intrigued. “What’s her name?”

“Lauren Bennett.” Simone answered before pulling out her phone and scanning it. “Also, I forgot to mention that I invited her out with us to celebrate me getting into the band but she wasn’t sure at the time if she’d have to time to meet up with us, so I took that as a no.”

“Oh, that's a bummer.” Twigs gave her a nod before noticing a blonde woman making their way toward their table over Simone’s shoulder, waving a friendly hand directly at them.