37. First Avenue
37
FIRST AVENUE
O’CONNOR
In desperation, Mal took to texting me.
O’Connor take pity on the guy
All he does is stare at his phone all day, waiting for your reply
Mal was a nice man, but I felt no need to respond. The sooner Archer and I put our brief attraction behind us, the better it would be for all of us.
The conversations with Maggie Danforth Ellis and her friends had been very productive. I had not just one but three chapters written in the book about Archer’s childhood exploits. The summaries I’d sent to the publisher had been met with great excitement.
It’s Mal again. Sorry to bug you but he’s getting angry
Any chance you could just text him?
Oh, the baby had been denied his bottle? Pouting hadn’t worked, now he was going to have a temper tantrum. Fine. Not my problem. If he thought he was mad at me now, wait until he saw what was being released just before Christmas.
I got the last text from Mal on Friday.
Bella Southdown is here at First Avenue
Just thought you’d like to know
I did not like to know that. The text made blackness well up in my throat like bitter acid. But— remain calm. Remain calm. Bella Southdown was simply following behind me, looking for scraps. It wasn’t worth getting upset about.
I finished my chapter about teaching Archer to kiss and then decided that Mal didn’t deserve the silent treatment.
She’ll increase attention on you guys. It can only help to have her there. Have a great gig tonight. May the ghost of Prince inspire you
Mal texted me back immediately.
She’s seriously after Archer
Of course she was. Who could blame her? But if she thought she could tame that alley cat, she had another think coming.
I kept my focus on the book. Ninety minutes of steady work, followed by forty demanding minutes of yoga on my deck. By the end, I was sweaty and trembling and took a long shower.
And then there was nothing left to distract me. Showered, clean, dry, and sitting in my chair in my silent house, I lost my discipline and opened the Southdown’s Variety feed .
Her posts had no effect on me. None at all. I read them with professional detachment. Just checking out a competitor, that’s all.
I’m with Aftermath in Minneapolis. They’re playing at First Avenue tonight, where Prince filmed Purple Rain. Gonna be epic!
No quotes around the movie title? Seemed a little amateurish to me, but that was her style, after all.
Archer Armstrong is insanely hot. The band is doing their sound check now. I’ve been given a full-access press pass so I can watch
Big deal. Sound check for a three-man band. What, did they need an extra half hour to get the spotlight just right on Charlotte when she lay on the stage and licked her undercarriage?
Hot news! If you couldn’t get tickets to tonight’s Aftermath show at First Avenue, try again! By popular demand, they’ve been moved from the 7th St entrance to the Mainroom! See you at the show!
Oh, they were drawing more people than expected? Well, wasn’t that nice. I wondered what had helped that—what social media influencer had given them a boost when they would need it the most. Think it was pretty Bella Southdown, that Johnny-come-lately? I didn’t think so. But you enjoy the show, Bella.
Check out this pic of the only band member hotter than Archer Armstrong! That’s my selfie with Dog of the Hour, Charlotte. Gorgeous!
That was my dog she was wrapping herself around. Back off.
I studied Bella Southdown with more care. Black hair like silk. Straight and thick. Like a Disney princess. Big, liquid eyes. Impressive bosom under her fitted shirt. Archer ought to enjoy that. He was a breast man, and mine had never been enough to hold his attention. Well, mazel tov, honey. Enjoy him while you can because he’s not going to stick around.
Omg you guys! I can confirm that Archer Armstrong does NOT kiss with his teeth!
Grr.
Already kissing another social media influencer, Archer? Really? Do you think that’s wise? You kiss too many on the way up, and when you’re at the top, all you’ll have left is Barry Slesinger at The Scoop , and he doesn’t have nearly enough boobs to keep you happy. You slut.
Archer just said he wanted to show me the locker room, should I go??
I snapped my tablet shut. Her feed was blowing up, and I did not need to learn any more about Archer’s one-note seduction techniques—nor read the thousands of excited comments pouring in.
Fuck him.
Looked like the “Please text me back, O’Connor!” pout was good for about two whole days. I supposed I should’ve been flattered he’d pined for that long before getting over me.
Instead, I’d have the last laugh when my book hit the best-seller lists.
The question was, What to do now? A Friday night in LA, and at least one of my primary competitors was out of town. Way out of town. Time to dig up some dirt in the uncontested entertainment capital of the world.
Better still, time to be photographed kissing someone a lot more handsome than Mr. I Get Around Armstrong.
I snapped off a call to the Janes. “What invitations do I have for tonight? And more importantly, who am I going with?”