The crowd was roaring as Jim played his final solo, his hair slick and black, his shirt long discarded, his abdomen still taut after all these years. Penny tried to stop herself thinking of the solitary night they'd spent together all those years ago, when she was little more than a groupie following him back to his hotel room. She tried not to think of that moment when they were kissing on the balcony, both soaked with tequila and laughing, wrestling together, before he dragged her back into the room and into his bed.
Something had passed between them that night, something that stuck. Perhaps it was her smell that made him remember her, or the way her hair slid across his chest. Or was it the way she cried when he made her come? Whatever it was, he'd kept in touch for ten years, sending her sexy, funny emails while he toured the world with his rock band. And she kept responding, kept up her flirtations in cyberspace, even though in the interim, she'd managed to find herself a career in publishing, a husband and a baby.
Jim had been little more than a nice memory; a fantasy figure from her distant past to withdraw to when she needed some escape from the banal domestics in her life. Yet here he was, finally playing in her city. Her husband and child were tucked away at home and she stood on the side of the stage, in a satin dress that cooled and caressed her. Her hair was soft against her shoulders, she felt sassy and strong in her high leather boots, and she knew she looked good.
Jim had been attentive all evening, bringing her drinks and introducing her to the other musicians at the concert, many of them people she'd idolized for years. He'd told her how beautiful she looked and touched her often, smoothing her hair, resting his hand in the curve of her lower back, watching with a hungry intensity the way her mouth moved when she talked.
There was something dangerous about him, something reckless and powerful. She couldn't help feeling aroused by him, with his gravelly voice, rough shaven face and sweat soaked body. He spotted her backstage and ran his hands over her satiny back,
"Oh God, you're so sleek and cool." he said, spinning her around and planting a playful kiss on her lips, "I guess I must smell like a whore house huh?"
"Kind of," she teased, "But I like it."
"You kill me baby, what am I gonna do with you? It's so good to see you again. Come back for a night-cap. Just a little one. I'll be good, I promise."
"Yeah sure, you've got 'good boy' written all over you haven't you? No, I can't. I just know I'm asking for trouble. I should go home."
"There's no way I am letting you walk away from me now."
"Look Jim. I'm walking away. Watch me." She kissed him lightly on the lips and turned away, but he grabbed her hand and pulled her back to him.