Chapter 33
33
GAVIN
T he Blender magazine party was a sexy, splashy affair, with go-go dancers performing on a stage backed by a giant bronze Buddha statue. Oversized lanterns hung from the thirty-foot-high ceilings. Amber and blue lighting washed against the expansive brick walls. Alcohol was offered everywhere, including from a specially crafted J?germeister shot slide carved out of ice. The magazine’s latest edition featured Radiohead’s Thom Yorke, and versions of the cover were displayed throughout the space, both as hanging posters and embedded within ice carvings. Popular DJ Junior Senior had the crowded room on their feet, and the first floor was a mass of sweaty bodies.
Gavin thought he saw Conor talking to Carmen Electra, and briefly wondered if he’d have to jump into the fray if her man, Dave Navarro, took issue with it. Before he could sort out the odds of this, he heard his name being called.
It was easy to put the voice to the person, as Christian Hale stood taller than most. They greeted each other with a familiar hug.
“How the hell have you been, mate?” Christian asked, his hearty Australian accent a welcome sound. “And more importantly, why didn’t you invite me to the bloody wedding?”
Gavin laughed. Tabloids had been running with a story saying he and Sophie had secretly married in advance of her soon giving birth. “Ah, you know it hasn’t happened yet—not without you there, man. Listen,” he said and pulled Sophie closer to him, “meet my girl, Sophie. Sophie, this is my mentor, my great friend, Christian Hale.”
Gavin watched as Sophie smiled up at the singer of Australia’s most respected pop-punk band, Scandal. At 6’4” and with a white-blond crew cut and full-sleeve tattoos on his arms, Christian could be an imposing figure. But his smile was welcoming and boyish, belying his thirty years. It clearly set Sophie at ease.
“It’s nice to meet you,” Sophie said.
Christian surprised her by pulling her into a quick hug. “Bloody marvelous to meet you, love. I don’t know why I had to learn about you through the rags, though.” He gave Gavin a scowl.
“For fuck’s sake, Hale, I was going to tell you if you gave me a minute,” Gavin said with a laugh.
“Yeah, yeah. You’ve been busy winning awards and playing the festival circuit, I get it. Don’t forget that I knew you back in the day, mate.”
“Yeah, I know. Sophie, remember I told you we did a mini-tour opening for Scandal right after we got our album deal? Well, that’s when I met this bastard. He took me under his considerable wing and taught me a massive amount about the music industry?—”
“Look what it got me, too—now we’ll have to fucking support Rogue next tour. And we’d be lucky to get the gig!”
Gavin laughed before launching into more good-natured trash-talk. They went back and forth at each other, both men ignoring the women who tried to flirt with them as if Sophie wasn’t even there.
“I need to hit the jacks,” Gavin said after a while. “Be right back, darlin’.”
While Christian occupied Sophie with entreaties to visit him and his wife at their beachside home, Gavin sought out Conor. He found him standing at the base of a wide staircase, leaning on the railing as he surveyed the scene. Surprisingly, he had only a bottle of beer for company.
“Aye, Con,” Gavin said, “what’s going on?”
“Nothing. You?”
“Christian’s here. You should come over.”
“Yeah,” he said, and fell silent.
Gavin looked out at the crush of people, spotting Christina Aguilera despite her diminutive height. The crowd around her had expanded to give her space as she and a couple friends danced.
“I was a dick before,” Conor said.
“That’s cool,” Gavin said quickly, to put the matter to rest. He and Conor were not in the habit of fighting. Or apologizing to each other. He wanted to bury whatever had happened and move forward.
“It’s just … are you sure she’s it? I mean, you’ve barely begun this whole thing again with her. Are you sure you know?”
“I know it’s sudden. But I am absolutely sure.”
“And her?” Conor asked, gesturing to Sophie. She was looking up at Christian with a smile. “You know for sure she’s ready for it to be just you?”
Gavin nodded without hesitation. “I am. See, she’s only ever had me love her, if you take my meaning.”
Conor eyed his friend for a moment. “You’re joking me.”
“Almost too good to be true, aye? She’s still my pure girl.”
Conor shook his head and laughed. “But still, marriage? Why don’t you just live together?”
“Because I don’t want just that. I need her to be my wife. She’s … she’s my one. The one that makes everything bearable when I’m running empty, you know?”
Conor took this in before saying, “Guess it’s meant to be then.”
“Yeah.” Gavin exhaled, feeling his body relax. They could move on now and establish the new norm, one with Sophie in it. “So, I’ve gotta take a piss. Then I’m getting us both a shot, okay?”
“Bring the fucking bottle, why don’t you,” Conor returned with a smile.