Chapter 9

Arriving at Len's place I noticed number of fans milling around were a little thinner than the quantity that hung around my place. Then again, Lennon wasn't one of the star players in his band. Lily and Cody were the 'faces' of XrAid and from what Lennon had disclosed to me, he preferred it that way. Nevertheless, the guy still had a decent following; it was more that his fans knew and respected his privacy.

Still, when I saw those fans present watching us I thanked God for the tinted windows we had and sat back in my seat while Jed, my minder, negotiated the large steel gates with the CCTV cameras that had been firmly trained on our car.

Jed could hardly be heard for the screams of hysterical fans as they slapped their palms on the windows of the car, some peering in with their faces cupped around the glass in the hopes of seeing who was inside.

At the beginning of my music career I'd found the noise the fans made when they rushed a car a threatening experience, but after a couple of years I became accustomed to their enthusiastic attention and learned to have confidence in the transport and Jed, who ferried me around.

Eventually the gates retracted and two security guys with German Shepherd dogs stood guard across the open space, the dogs behaving menacingly and barking loudly, as our car drove over the metal grid with spikes which stopped ram-raiders from rushing in behind us. Lennon took his safety and the security of his property seriously.

Shrugging out of my leather jacket, I dumped it on the seat next to me as the car pulled up in front of his modest private property. He had another house nearby, but as that one was his old family home, he had to leave and bought a slightly more rural one that gave him better security.

"Well, well, well. Aren't you a sight for sore eyes?" Lennon asked and grinned when he pulled the door open wide and immediately strode toward me.

"Good to see you, dude. Ugly as ever, I see," I joked as he pulled me into his chest. His firm strong arms surrounded me until we stood chest to chest in a full-on hug.

"Never had you down as the envious type, Rick. After all this time I'm still learning things about you," he kidded back, and squeezed me tightly again before he let me go. The genuine warmth in his firm hug made me glow inside like I belonged. He'd grown to be an extremely important person in my trusted circle of friends and it had always given me a good feeling to be around him. As soon as he'd hugged me again, his genuine warmth had reminded me again of the importance I placed on him.

Releasing me from his hold, Lennon kept his arm around my shoulder and led me inside. His bandmates Shawn and Cody sat by the breakfast bar, beers in hand. "Look what the cat dragged in," Lennon crowed with a grin.

"Cat? You're the one with his arm around his shoulder, dude," Cody said, gesturing his beer at me by way of acknowledgement. Shawn slid off his barstool and came striding toward me.

"Great to see you, Rick. It's been a while, huh?" He offered me his hand and I took it, shaking it firmly before he pulled it into his chest and bumped shoulders with me. Stepping back, he glanced at Lennon, "Are you getting Rick a beer?"

Lennon was already thinking ahead and had swiped a Stella Artois from the fridge and was opening it. "It's Rick. Of course, I'm getting beer. Got some Russian Vodka in the freezer, Rick. I'm sure it won't be there by the time you leave," he added. A slow smile spread on his lips and it meant a lot that he knew I loved Vodka almost as much as my whiskey.

Apart from the guys in my band, I didn't socialize with many people. Trust didn't come easy and although I'd built up a network of thousands of acquaintances over the years, The guys in XrAid, Crakt Soundzz; and Gibson's band, M3rCy were the closest people to me that weren't related. My tribe.

"Ah, you made it," Lily stated with raised eyebrows while she wandered in dressed in a little black and white polka dot bikini that drew my eyes instantly to the fabulous scripted tattoo around her thigh."Hello, Rick. Up here. My face is above my shoulders," she declared in an amused but mocking tone.

Alfie came up behind her, dripping wet, fresh from the pool, and wrapped a towel around her shoulders. "Cover up, honey, there are too many letches around here for my liking," he muttered eyeing first Cody, then narrowing his eyes toward me. Poor Cody averted his eyes. Mine noted this briefly before my glanced back down and stayed firmly on her legs.

Cody was the lovesick guy who had struggled with his feelings for Lily since the first time he saw her. He'd confessed this to me one night on tour when we were drunk. Despite this he'd always respected who she had chosen to be with, and settled for a close supporting friend role. Pity he only came second best there too, with my niece Mya's, husband Jack, fulfilling the primary role as Lily's closest male friend, since Jack and Lily had been joined at the hip as kids.

Lily turned into Alfie's arms, accepted the towel, and stared adoringly up into his eyes. Alfie's forehead dropped to touch hers and they shared a moment that was both hot from a voyeuristic point of view and too intimate for us as onlookers to be present. From the way Alfie looked at her I'd half expected him to throw her over his shoulder and stalk to the nearest bedroom.

"Back off, Alfie. Next thing you'll be fucking her on the table before we've all had dinner," I muttered and put my beer bottle to my lips.

"You sound frustrated, Rick. Dry spell?" Alfie retorted and chuckled as he pulled his forehead from Lily's and smoothed her hair down. Lily buried her face in Alfie's neck, momentarily embarrassed by the conversation.

"Nah, I get more pussy than you could handle; just taming that dick of yours so as we all get to eat on time," I responded with a smirk.

"Like I'd let Alfie in my panties while you all watched," Lily mumbled wrapping the towel sarong-style around her body and wandering toward Lennon's bedroom.

"If you need a hand drying that pretty little rack back there..." I called after her.

"You're a fucking dog, dude," Shawn said, shaking his head with a small smile before he took a swig of beer.

"Glad someone else sees what I see. That's my wife you're talking about," Alfie grumbled, grabbing a bottle of beer from the fridge.

Lennon subtly changed the subject and asked me some questions about things that were said at the press conference. It was clear Cody had indeed brought him up to speed, and we sat discussing more arrangements for the festival until Lily came back appropriately dressed in jeans and a heavy sweater, as the gate buzzer went off.