Page 41 of Dirty Like Zane
Maybe I was, in thepast.
But people couldchange.
Grow. Mature. Motherfuckingevolve.
I had my flaws and I had a lot of them, but I’d come a long way since Maggie and Imet.
True, I was still an addict. I’d always be an addict. An addict who didn’tdrink.
An addict who smoked pot but probablyshouldn’t.
An addict who was probably borderline addicted to pussy. Difference was, these days, there was only one pussy Icraved.
I was just gonna have to prove to her that she was wrong aboutme.
I didn’t need any otherwoman.
I didn’t want any otherwoman.
No matter what Maggie Omura might think, I was not gonna touch another woman on thistour.
* * *
That night,after we rolled into San Fran, Dirty met up for a late dinner in the hotel restaurant. Dylan’s idea. Just the band and spouses, Maggie and Jude and somesecurity.
Ashley Player, lead singer of the Penny Pushers and Dylan’s best bro, who usually toured with us, was down in L.A. and had come up to meet us. He was trailing a couple of random bimbos when he arrived, but that was nothingnew.
Bimbos or not, Ash was always welcome at Dirty’stable.
I loved this guy. And I was glad that whatever shit had gone down between him and Dylan over Amber, it didn’t seem to fuck with their friendship. At least, not seriously. Maybe Ash wasn’t coming around as much as he used to, but he was stillaround.
I was one of the first people to give him a hug when he joined our table at the back of therestaurant.
It was a good night. Everyone was happy. Most everyone was drunk, but Maggie was sipping water and avoiding my eyes. She was sitting across the table from me, a couple of seats over, making forced-polite conversation with one of Ash’sgirls.
Every time I caught her looking at me, I eye-fucked hersteady.
After dinner, as soon as things started getting rowdy, she slippedaway.
I was standing up on the bar in my socked feet, with Ash, who was drunk off his ass, belting out a duet of “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around.” It was playing quietly over the restaurant’s sound system while the bartenders tried to convince us to climb down.You’re not supposed to be upthere.
Huh? Says fuckingwho?
I took off my boots. So maybe we broke a few glasses; send me the fucking bill. What was I gonna do, let Ash sing all by himself when he jumped up here and started singing Stevie Nicks’ parts? Nope. Not what a brother does. I got right the fuck up here and covered TomPetty.
By the time we hit the chorus, arms slung around each other, our whole group was on their way out the door but everyone had stopped. Matty and Katie started singing backup, Roni and one of Ash’s girls were dancing and we had most of the room singing along. Girls were starting to scream as they realized who the fuck we were. Dylan and Jesse were pissing themselves laughing, Amber was taking photos to commemorate the moment… and Maggie fuckingescapedwhen she thought no one waslooking.
But I saw her doit.
I jumped down from the bar and got my boots on, leaving Jude and Dylan to haul Ash down. He was still singing as everyone spilled out into the lobby and started rolling out, looking for someplace serious todrink.
I grabbed an elevator and caught up to Maggie at her hotel roomdoor.
She was just about to swipe the key card over the lock when I came up behind her. She looked up, startled, but she softened quick. Her shoulders dropped as she glanced past me atShady.
She let me inside without a word, if only to avoid Shady overhearing anything. But once I had her inside… I could already feel the wall comingdown.
I didn’t even have to touch her. I barely opened mymouth.
