Chapter 20
Yr ?l-barti - The After Party
Lucy
I’m always one for going along with the belief that the music industry is glamorous.
For most parts, it is. Social media is carefully curated to show only the best of it all.
What you don’t get to see is how, at the end of the night, even a pop star gets crammed into the backseat of a Mercedes SUV along with his girlfriend and PA.
Cai isn’t even rewarded with extra leg room. I need more space, on account of the size of my backside, so he’s stuffed into the tiny gap Rhys’ seat leaves. Bryn’s in front of me, and I sit knee to hip with Bethan, our seatbelt receivers digging into my right butt cheek.
Bryn could have driven Cai to The Rectory.
He drew the short straw and ended up with the extra shift.
But no. Rhys, the hero bodyguard, wants to go all the way to Holmfirth, make sure Cai’s locked in tight, then drive back to Manchester.
And I’m too glued to Rhys to want to get on the tour bus to the party alone.
It takes us fifteen minutes to reach the inner ring road. Rhys and Cai bicker all the way.
‘But the bar’s a private hire,’ Cai whines. ‘Bryn’s amazing. He’ll make sure the bad guys stay out of the way. The party’ll be safe. And I only want to stay for half an hour. Please? With a cherry on top?’
Rhys’ fingers tighten on the steering wheel, the leather cracking under his grip.
‘Mate, the cops don’t know who hacked into the security system.
Luce saw some weirdo creeping around the corridors at the arena.
Nowhere’s bloody safe. We decided before we left Cardiff there’d be no partying. Not for you, anyway.’
Cai doesn’t let up. Bethan offers to order in Thai food and to make use of the home cinema at the house, but he doesn’t bite. He doesn’t want the high to end.
‘Os gwelwch yn dda, Rhys. Please?’ Cai leans as forward as his seat belt allows, poking his head through the front seats. His hair sticks up in all directions from tugging it. I get it. Topaz used to go nuts if there wasn’t an outlet for all his post-performance energy.
We stop at a set of red lights, and Rhys flops against the headrest. It must be hard for him – torn between keeping his best friend happy and safe.
Bryn intervenes, ‘I don’t mind coming to the party instead, Rhys, if it helps? Between us, we’ll be okay, right? Crew C’s there too.’
The car grows silent as we all lean forward, listening for Rhys’ response.
My interest is probably a lot more nefarious than everyone else’s.
It’s awful of me, but I don’t want my plans ruined.
He puffs out a breath. The light turns green, and he flicks his indicator on.
‘Fine. You can come for half an hour max, but I’ll be counting down the minutes.
And you’re to stick with me or Bryn the entire time.
You don’t take a piss without one of us watching. ’
Oh.
Sure, having Bethan and Cai with us will be fun.
It’ll be great to let our hair down. We’ve all worked hard over the past few weeks to get this tour in motion.
Well, aside from Bethan, although acting as emotional support to a pop star must be hard.
But it’s going to be harder to sneak away with Rhys now.
Especially with his threat for Cai to stay close.
His eyes flash in the rearview mirror and connect with mine. Silent understanding passes between us, and he grimaces. Same, Rhys.
The club sits at the end of the long road leading to the arena, making our trip to the ring road completely pointless. A taxi pulls away from the curb outside the building, and Rhys nabs the space before anyone else. He parks, then turns in his seat to glare at Cai. ‘Stay here. Don’t move.’
Bryn and I stay where we are too, not wanting to risk Rhys’ wrath.
He heads straight to the bouncer guarding the door, gesturing with his hands as he probably explains the situation.
The conversation rallies between the two of them.
Eventually, they must come to an agreement because the doorman drops his head to mumble into the walkie clipped to the lapel of his black jacket.
When Rhys returns to the car, he opens my door first.
The music stops as soon as we enter the bar.
‘Ladies and gentleman,’ the DJ calls. ‘Put your hands together for the man of the hour. The star, the artist: Cai!’
We’re not slipping in unnoticed then. He elaborates his announcement with air horns and whistles from his sound deck.
A rapturous round of applause fills the space, deafening me as everyone clamours for a piece of Cai.
They stop him to pose for photos, desperate to tell him how great the show was, and how pleased they are he invited them here.
Like he had any input on the guest list. That was all me, and my smile’s wide as I take it all in. I did good.
The crowd swarming him is nothing like the tussle for his attention at The Record Store. He’s flanked by Rhys, Bethan, and Bryn, in a room full of vetted friends and colleagues’ families. Cai’s safe and free to enjoy the attention, so he laps it up.
A gap appears along the bar, so I abandon the group to slip into it. Arriving with the man of the hour doesn’t get you served straight away, though, and it takes a while for me to get the barman’s attention.
‘Get us a Coke, will you?’ Rhys’ sing-song Welsh accent in my ear makes me forget the rest of the order. And how to speak.
‘S-sure.’ Keeping to one-syllable responses is probably for the best right now. If I attempt a full sentence, too much will spill from my mouth. Now is not the time or the place. His night off has been cancelled.
The woman standing next to me takes her order, and Rhys slides around me, pressing his whole length to my side. His gaze doesn’t drop to me, though. It's fixed on Cai as he chats with Bryn, Bethan and a woman with frizzy hair wearing a tour top.
‘So,’ Rhys asks, ‘what’d you think of the show?’
I finally place our order, then lean my weight into him while I wait for our drinks. His eyes remain on Cai but a smile grows.
‘I enjoyed it. Makes such a difference watching it from the wings than being stuck in the control centre. I could feel the energy from Cai and the crowd. I was only allowed close to the stage at the end of Topaz’s shows, and only for the purpose of doing my job. Never for fun.’
‘Such a shame. It’s really more…intimate.’
Another glance shows me I have all his attention now. His eyes drop to my lips, his tongue darts out to wet his own. I’m so close to throwing caution to the wind, to pushing up on my tiptoes to finally get what I’ve been looking forward to all day. I bite the inside of my cheek.
Fuck it.
I steady myself with a hand on his hip, fingers linking into his pocket. I pull him closer, crane up and…
An elbow jabs into me as someone wiry pushes past me, reaching for the beer that arrives at the same time he does.
‘How’d you know which drink I wanted?’ Cai asks, after taking a long draw.
I puff my fringe out of my face, turn towards him and hope the darkness of the bar hides how hot my face feels.
‘It’s my job to know.’ Good recovery. They won’t be able to tell that I was about to snog the face off the bodyguard.
‘Beth, I had to take a guess on what cocktail you wanted. Raspberry mojito?’
‘Yes. Perfect!’ She clinks her glass to mine then I take a long sip. Behind me, Rhys sighs, but I don’t respond. He squeezes my elbow then puts space between us, circling the group to get to his best mate.
‘Well, thanks,’ Cai says. ‘Seriously, I couldn’t have done any of this without your help. Gethin too. Where’s he gone?’
‘He’s coming later,’ I reply. ‘He wanted to tie things up at the venue first. Check the get out is running smoothly.’
‘He’s such a control freak,’ Rhys chips in.
I’m about to argue that he’s not. That he engineered a successful UK tour that, despite early indicative numbers, has now sold out. That the guy deserves to do what he wants. But the first beats of a new song strike up, and Bethan and Cai squeal at the same time.
‘No, absolutely not,’ Rhys warns Cai. ‘No dancing.’
‘But this is my favourite song ever.’ Cai pouts at him.
Bethan gives him a consoling kiss then shoves her glass into his hand. ‘Sorry, babe. Guess Lucy’s my date tonight.’
At least her boundless energy is infectious.
My feet might ache from being on them all day and our dancing earlier, but it’s me who twists my fingers into hers.
Rhys plucks my glass from my other hand before I pull her into the throng of partygoers on the dancefloor.
It doesn’t take long until we’re lost in the music.
It’s easier like this, surrounded by hordes moving in time with us.
Nobody can see me now, or judge how I’m dancing.
She slides her hands to my hips to rock in time with me, her touch completely different to Rhys’ earlier.
His was gentler, enough pressure to know he’s there.
Hers is a grab, like she’s holding on for her life as the crowd presses in on us.
My heart races. I’m sweaty and I’m hot. I’m having the best time of my life.
I try my best to keep my eyes on her, attempting to stay in the moment, but my gaze soon strays, scouring across the sea of people and to the bar, desperate for a glimpse of Rhys. I want to know if he’s watching me again.
No. Stop thinking about him. This moment is far too good to ruin it with my head in the clouds. I’ll stick with the redhead in front of me and enjoy my night.