Status: In Time
To Caress My Day
Chapter 126: Party Rock!
Twigs frowned inquisitively at the unfamiliar blonde woman greeting them from a distance while they enjoyed their drinks at The Box cabaret nightclub she used to perform at in Soho. She didn’t recognize the woman at all but was certain that Simone would because she had invited one of her band mates living in the UK out to meet them there tonight. Reaching out to place her hand over her roommate’s, Twigs gave her a light shake while her eyes remained locked on the young woman headed their way. “Hey, Simone, I think your friend might have finally arrived.”
“Hmm?” Simone responded with a frown, her mouth crowded with her drink as she turned halfway in her seat to spot the blonde. She smiled when she saw the very person she’d been waiting for return back into view for a second within the sea of people heading for their own seats. Swallowing the last of her drink, Simone gave her a wave back too. “Oh yeah, there she is!”
The closer the lady got to their table, the more nervous Twigs was feeling. She was a shy person and so meeting new people wasn’t always easiest thing to do. “Should I grab a waiter for her, so she could order a drink too?”
“Aww that would be sweet of you to do, darling!” Simone acknowledge graciously. “Thank you.”
“No problem.” Twigs reassured her as she searched the crowd around her for the closest waiter to glance her way, and then gestured for them to come by.
Simone stood up from her chair to greet her friend with a warm hug when she finally reached them. “Hey, girl! Glad to see you could make it tonight.”
“You’re welcome! Thanks for inviting me out, Simone.” The blonde lady replied before her eyes wandered to Twigs and she stuck her hand out to greet hers. “Hi, you must Simone’s roommate! My name is Lauren Bennet, it’s nice to finally meet you in person.”
Twigs held her hand out and shook Lauren’s warmly with a favorable smile. “It’s nice to meet you too! I’m Tahliah Barnett.”
“I know!” Lauren replied back as she took a seat between the two and gestured to Simone. “She’s told me all about you.”
“She did, did she?” Twigs eyes wandered to her friend with feigned suspicion. “And what didn’t you tell about me? Nothing embarrassing, I hope!”
Lauren objected with a shake of her head, banishing any inkling that she was told any information that would humiliate Twigs. “Oh no, not at all! She just told me you were her roommate and that you were a super talented musician working on your own EP this year.”
Simone shrugged sheepishly at her roommate. “I didn’t think that was too much information to share.”
Because she was not only her roommate but also one of her best friends, Twigs allowed her off the hook. Her EP wasn’t exactly public information, but neither was it top secret from everyone. Still, she didn’t want everyone to know just yet, not until its release in December at least. “No, it’s not really.” She turned her eyes to Lauren who was ordering herself a drink and rested her cheek on her hand in wait to learn more about her. When the waiter left, she got to probing. “So, Lauren, can you tell me a little about yourself?”
Lauren feigned shock as she looked between the two women. “What!? You mean Simone didn’t go on and on about me like she did you? Simone, I’m hurt!”
Simone threw up her hands dramatically, pretending to be overwhelmed by all their disapproving looks. “Oh c’mon, can I not get a break here!?”
Everyone at the table laughed before Lauren told them a little bit about herself. “Well, this isn’t my first time being in a girl’s band. I used to be in a seven girl’s band called Paradiso Girls back in 2007 and we were signed to Interscope Records but by the following year we dropped down to only five members. Fun fact: every single one of us ladies were from a different country, me being from England of course.”
“Oh my god, that’s awesome! Each member from a different country? Talk about diversity!” Twigs cheered before feeling a bit hesitate on asking her more about her former girl band. She wasn’t sure if the subject was still a sore spot for her since it was clear the Paradiso Girls were no longer a group. “Did you guys have any hits while you were together?”
“We had one good hit single called ‘Patron Tequila’ featuring Lil’ Jon and Eve that hit #3 on the Hot Dance Club Play Chart and #82 on the Canadian Hot 100 chart.” Lauren recalled as she swirled her straw in her drink, not at all having discomfort with talking about her past in the music industry. “But we ended up disbanding in 2010 because our second single we released ‘Who’s My Bitch’ was pretty unsuccessful. I guess we lost hope after that.”
“Damn, I’m sorry about that, girl.” Simone apologized, feeling bad that they hadn’t worked out in the end, but also kind of grateful because then they never would have met and became fast friends if they had. “What did you do after the breakup?”
“I went solo.” Lauren answered with a nod to them. “No more bands from then on out, it was just me.”
“Did you have any luck by yourself?” Twigs asked curiously.
“Well, actually before we Paradiso Girls went on our little ‘hiatus’ I guess you can say, I was featured on a couple of tracks from huge celebrities in the industry.” Lauren recalled before suddenly slapping her hand on the table in sudden remembrance. “Oh my god, I can’t believe I forgot those two songs!”
“What were they?” Simone asked her eagerly. “Maybe we might know them.”
“Um, one was in 2009 on a remix of Will-I-Am’s song ‘I Got it From My Mama’, I believe.” Lauren began to list, her eyes drawn to the ceiling in deep thought as she began to count on her fingers. “And the second one was in 2010 on Cee-lo Green’s song ‘Love Gun’ off of his album Lady Killer.”
“Holy shit, girl! You serious?” Simone exclaimed in awe before lightly smacking her on her arm in playful jealousy.
Twigs was also highly impressed. “Those are huge names in this industry!”
Lauren shrugged kind of cockily. “I know. But anyway, back to my solo career.”
“Oh yeah, right.” Twigs replied before sipping from her glass. “And how was it being a solo artist?”
“Well…” Lauren paused for suspense, an excited smile on her face as her eyes drifted between the two ladies. “In 2011, as in just last year in case you’re not keeping track of the year, I was featured on the ‘Party Rock Anthem’ of LMFAO!”
“Fuck you, bitch!” Simone playfully cried out with genuine jealousy. “You fucking lying!”
Lauren shook her head with a grin. “Hell no, I’m not! I was featured on a song that sold 5 million digital downloads in the US and was #1 for six weeks straight!”
“That’s incredible!” Twigs raved with excitement. “How did you feel when you got the news?”
“It was genuinely an out of this world experience because…” Lauren trailed off with a small shake of her head. “That was my first #1 single on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.”
“Congratulations, beautiful!” Simone announced, raising her glass in the air and prompting the others to do so too. “You deserved all that success and more, honey!”
“Thank you, babe!” Lauren nodded before sipping on her drink. “Last year, I released a single written for me called ‘I Wish I Wish’ and modeled for a cosmetic company called ViolentLips. And because I know the founder of the PussyCat dolls, I sometimes work with her on stuff like their fitness DVDs. That’s actually how I got an audition for this current band, it was through her.”
“That’s insane.” Simone said with envy though her heart was truly happy for her friend’s past successes. “You done more than me and Twigs put together.
Twigs couldn’t agree more.
“Hmm?” Simone responded with a frown, her mouth crowded with her drink as she turned halfway in her seat to spot the blonde. She smiled when she saw the very person she’d been waiting for return back into view for a second within the sea of people heading for their own seats. Swallowing the last of her drink, Simone gave her a wave back too. “Oh yeah, there she is!”
The closer the lady got to their table, the more nervous Twigs was feeling. She was a shy person and so meeting new people wasn’t always easiest thing to do. “Should I grab a waiter for her, so she could order a drink too?”
“Aww that would be sweet of you to do, darling!” Simone acknowledge graciously. “Thank you.”
“No problem.” Twigs reassured her as she searched the crowd around her for the closest waiter to glance her way, and then gestured for them to come by.
Simone stood up from her chair to greet her friend with a warm hug when she finally reached them. “Hey, girl! Glad to see you could make it tonight.”
“You’re welcome! Thanks for inviting me out, Simone.” The blonde lady replied before her eyes wandered to Twigs and she stuck her hand out to greet hers. “Hi, you must Simone’s roommate! My name is Lauren Bennet, it’s nice to finally meet you in person.”
Twigs held her hand out and shook Lauren’s warmly with a favorable smile. “It’s nice to meet you too! I’m Tahliah Barnett.”
“I know!” Lauren replied back as she took a seat between the two and gestured to Simone. “She’s told me all about you.”
“She did, did she?” Twigs eyes wandered to her friend with feigned suspicion. “And what didn’t you tell about me? Nothing embarrassing, I hope!”
Lauren objected with a shake of her head, banishing any inkling that she was told any information that would humiliate Twigs. “Oh no, not at all! She just told me you were her roommate and that you were a super talented musician working on your own EP this year.”
Simone shrugged sheepishly at her roommate. “I didn’t think that was too much information to share.”
Because she was not only her roommate but also one of her best friends, Twigs allowed her off the hook. Her EP wasn’t exactly public information, but neither was it top secret from everyone. Still, she didn’t want everyone to know just yet, not until its release in December at least. “No, it’s not really.” She turned her eyes to Lauren who was ordering herself a drink and rested her cheek on her hand in wait to learn more about her. When the waiter left, she got to probing. “So, Lauren, can you tell me a little about yourself?”
Lauren feigned shock as she looked between the two women. “What!? You mean Simone didn’t go on and on about me like she did you? Simone, I’m hurt!”
Simone threw up her hands dramatically, pretending to be overwhelmed by all their disapproving looks. “Oh c’mon, can I not get a break here!?”
Everyone at the table laughed before Lauren told them a little bit about herself. “Well, this isn’t my first time being in a girl’s band. I used to be in a seven girl’s band called Paradiso Girls back in 2007 and we were signed to Interscope Records but by the following year we dropped down to only five members. Fun fact: every single one of us ladies were from a different country, me being from England of course.”
“Oh my god, that’s awesome! Each member from a different country? Talk about diversity!” Twigs cheered before feeling a bit hesitate on asking her more about her former girl band. She wasn’t sure if the subject was still a sore spot for her since it was clear the Paradiso Girls were no longer a group. “Did you guys have any hits while you were together?”
“We had one good hit single called ‘Patron Tequila’ featuring Lil’ Jon and Eve that hit #3 on the Hot Dance Club Play Chart and #82 on the Canadian Hot 100 chart.” Lauren recalled as she swirled her straw in her drink, not at all having discomfort with talking about her past in the music industry. “But we ended up disbanding in 2010 because our second single we released ‘Who’s My Bitch’ was pretty unsuccessful. I guess we lost hope after that.”
“Damn, I’m sorry about that, girl.” Simone apologized, feeling bad that they hadn’t worked out in the end, but also kind of grateful because then they never would have met and became fast friends if they had. “What did you do after the breakup?”
“I went solo.” Lauren answered with a nod to them. “No more bands from then on out, it was just me.”
“Did you have any luck by yourself?” Twigs asked curiously.
“Well, actually before we Paradiso Girls went on our little ‘hiatus’ I guess you can say, I was featured on a couple of tracks from huge celebrities in the industry.” Lauren recalled before suddenly slapping her hand on the table in sudden remembrance. “Oh my god, I can’t believe I forgot those two songs!”
“What were they?” Simone asked her eagerly. “Maybe we might know them.”
“Um, one was in 2009 on a remix of Will-I-Am’s song ‘I Got it From My Mama’, I believe.” Lauren began to list, her eyes drawn to the ceiling in deep thought as she began to count on her fingers. “And the second one was in 2010 on Cee-lo Green’s song ‘Love Gun’ off of his album Lady Killer.”
“Holy shit, girl! You serious?” Simone exclaimed in awe before lightly smacking her on her arm in playful jealousy.
Twigs was also highly impressed. “Those are huge names in this industry!”
Lauren shrugged kind of cockily. “I know. But anyway, back to my solo career.”
“Oh yeah, right.” Twigs replied before sipping from her glass. “And how was it being a solo artist?”
“Well…” Lauren paused for suspense, an excited smile on her face as her eyes drifted between the two ladies. “In 2011, as in just last year in case you’re not keeping track of the year, I was featured on the ‘Party Rock Anthem’ of LMFAO!”
“Fuck you, bitch!” Simone playfully cried out with genuine jealousy. “You fucking lying!”
Lauren shook her head with a grin. “Hell no, I’m not! I was featured on a song that sold 5 million digital downloads in the US and was #1 for six weeks straight!”
“That’s incredible!” Twigs raved with excitement. “How did you feel when you got the news?”
“It was genuinely an out of this world experience because…” Lauren trailed off with a small shake of her head. “That was my first #1 single on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.”
“Congratulations, beautiful!” Simone announced, raising her glass in the air and prompting the others to do so too. “You deserved all that success and more, honey!”
“Thank you, babe!” Lauren nodded before sipping on her drink. “Last year, I released a single written for me called ‘I Wish I Wish’ and modeled for a cosmetic company called ViolentLips. And because I know the founder of the PussyCat dolls, I sometimes work with her on stuff like their fitness DVDs. That’s actually how I got an audition for this current band, it was through her.”
“That’s insane.” Simone said with envy though her heart was truly happy for her friend’s past successes. “You done more than me and Twigs put together.
Twigs couldn’t agree more.