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Satan’s Offspring started pumping music into the atmosphere again.  Melody, Nick and Rafe sat at the table and listened.  It would have been rude to talk, and it was way too loud anyway.  And their minds were whirling with thoughts that had nothing to do with the song they were hearing.

Melody thought Rafe looked like the cat that had swallowed the canary, and she wanted to wipe the smug smile off his face.  He had blindsided both her and Nick tonight.  He hadn’t told her who was playing.  Melody didn’t know if Rafe knew that she had a history with Jase Simons or not.  Rafe didn’t miss much, and she bet he did know.  But he had dropped her into this without a word.

Melody could see that Nick also had no idea what he was walking into.  He hadn’t even known she was going to be there…the look on his face when he saw her…playing guitar…  She recalled their most recent conversation and knew that they were going to have to find a way to talk about it.

Melody looked over at him.  Nick was staring at the stage, but his mind seemed far away.  He had really done it, she thought.  He had rocked their socks off.  She looked around the room.  There were a lot of impressed people here tonight.  The word was going to go out.  Melody looked back at Rafe.  Yes, he was a genius.  He was a conniving, controlling bastard, but he was a genius.

Melody reached over and gave Nick’s knee a reassuring squeeze.  He jumped and stared at her.  She mouthed the words, “Good job!”  Nick gave her a weak smile in return and swung his gaze back to the stage.

Nick couldn’t have told you one thing about what was happening on that stage.  His mind was spinning.  The adrenaline rush that always went with performing was surging through his body.  He would never get tired of applause, never!  And from this crowd!

That turned his mind to Rafe Ariando and thoughts of murder.  What the hell did Rafe think all the rehearsals were for?  So that Nick could be thrown up on a stage before a potentially hostile audience with only the guitar player knowing the song – the rest of them trying to muddle along?  They’d been good at it, no doubt about that, but that wasn’t the point.

And as he’d started to sing and looked out at the audience, he got more frightened with each face he recognized.  Rafe had put all Nick’s eggs in one basket tonight, that was for damn sure!

Nick had calmed down with the first ‘alias me’, when he looked into Melody’s eyes.  Then he got into it, and it was all about the music.  He was fine.  Damn fine!  He knew that.  He had rocked the house!  Yes, indeed!  Yes, indeed!

Melody squeezed his knee, and he jumped.  He smiled back at her ‘good job’ and turned back to the stage.  And wondered if there was something wrong with him because, even knowing what he knew about her, on that stage, when they were singing, their mouths so close, almost touching, he was lost in her…lost in her eyes, her mouth, her voice…lost.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When the next set break came, they still didn’t get a chance to talk.  Well-wishers dropped by the table to say ‘hi’ and to congratulate Nick and Melody on their performance and Nick on the writing of the song. 

“That song is gonna be huge.”

 “Sounds like a great album.”

 “Good luck with the tour.”

And over and over again “Great song, Man”. 

Nick basked in the glow.  “Thanks, Man,” he said over and over again. 

And not one of them said the word ‘Backstreet’.

Nick knew these people didn’t really hate the Backstreet Boys, just the idea of where they came from.  They respected their success – seventy million records is seventy million records, after all.  And they were five very likable guys, who had managed to spend ten years in the industry without making any enemies - other than their own management and record label!  They were starting to get respect for their songwriting abilities, especially Howie.  And Kevin had certainly proved that he could sing, dance and act at the same time.

They were all getting out there on their own now, but Nick had been first…and Nick had taken the biggest step away from the Backstreet image.  It had been a risk, and he had stumbled a bit in the beginning.  But things were going to be great now.  He hoped he would be accepted by the people he admired so much. 

But in the rock world, so often, it came down to one thing – could you play the instrument?  He looked over at Mel.  She could sure play the instrument, no doubt about that!  She had more respect from the people in this room than he would ever have, even if he sold another seventy million records.

P. Diddy Combs leaned over the table.  “Boy, you guys were sure generating some heat up there!”

Nick looked confused.  Was he talking about the music or…?  Diddy ran his tongue over his lips and raised his eyebrows twice.  Both Nick and Melody blushed.

“Well, hardly,” said Nick, with conviction.  “I mean…”

Everyone looked at him.  Yeah, what did he mean? 

Melody was embarrassed and tried to cover it up with humor.  “Yeah, no heat there.  I’m an old lady, remember!  I’ve been told more than once to keep my hands off the kid.  Right, Rafe?”  She gave a lascivious leer.

Rafe and Diddy laughed, and Diddy moved on, after dropping a kiss on Mel’s forehead.  Now Nick was really confused.  Why would Rafe tell her to keep her hands off the kid?  He looked at the dark-haired man who gave a slight shake of his head and narrowed his eyes in warning.  Maybe everybody didn’t know, thought Nick.  Maybe it was a secret on the East Coast.

“Hey Babe, you really rocked it.”

Nick looked up to say ‘thank you’ but realized the remark was not directed at him.  Melissa Etheridge was leaning over Mel, one hand squeezing her shoulder.

“Thanks, Liss,” said Melody.  “You play a bit of a mean guitar yourself.  Hi, Julie,” she added, acknowledging the woman over Melissa’s shoulder.

“Hey, Mel.  Good job!  You too, Kid!”  Julie nodded at Nick, who nodded back.

“Just wanted to say ‘hi’.  We gotta go,” said Melissa.  “Babysitters and all that.”

“Old married people, you know,” said Julie with a laugh.  They both kissed Melody and waved goodbye to Nick and Rafe.

Suddenly, Melody yawned.  “Oh my,” she said.  “Speaking of getting old.”

“Would you like to go with them?” asked Nick.

“Why?” asked Melody.  “They’re going home.”

“Um…that’s what I meant…would you like to go home…like back to the hotel…?”

Melody looked at her watch.  It was just past midnight.  “Oh, I think the old lady can stay up for one more drink.  But if you guys want to go on, do something else…go ahead.  I can find my way home.” 

Melody wondered if maybe she was cramping Nick’s style.  Maybe he wanted to pick up a girl. But wasn’t his supermodel supposed to be arriving tomorrow?  All of this was disconcerting Melody, and she didn’t know why.

“Hey Mel, nice to see you again.  Twice in two days!  Nick, good job.  Sounds like the album’s gonna be great.”

“Hey Mel, you look good.  Not as hot as last night, though!  Ha! Ha!”

“Good job, Nick.  Nice playing, Mel!  Little easier to play in tonight’s outfit than last night’s, I’ll bet!”

“You got a hit on your hands, Kid.  Way to go!  Hey, Mel!  Where are your heels tonight?”

“What happened last night?” asked Nick, when there was finally a pause in the parade of Mel-admirers. 

Melody looked over at Rafe.  You take this one, hot shot.  You set it all up.

Rafe stood up and pulled out his cell phone.  He said a few words into it, then disconnected.  “Okay, the car’s on the way.  Let’s go say goodbye to the birthday boy.  And keep smiling, both of you.  Remember, we’re just one big, happy family.”

Nick looked over at Mel, but she wouldn’t meet his gaze.  Something was up, and he was going to find out what it was.

Here I go again, thought Melody.  I’m pissed at Rafe.  Why didn’t he just tell Nick where we were last night?  Why make it into a big thing?  Because it was a big thing now, she knew.  The look on Nick’s face told her it was a big, big thing.  And when that limo door closed behind them, she had a feeling she’d find out just how big.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bobby stood on the curb, watching the lights of the limo fade into the darkness.  He could go home now.  He’d made enough off that guy to cover the whole night.  The guy had thrown in a generous tip at the end.  And, Bobby thought, he hadn’t even had to do anything too weird.  Just a straight-up blow job, which the guy stopped before he blew, and then a change of position.  Which Bobby didn’t mind it all.  He’d much rather take it up the ass than swallow it.

Yes, it was a pretty ordinary date.  The only slightly weird thing was that, as Bobby’s face was pressed into the soft, leather seats, the john made him say his name with every stroke.  “Nick, Nick, Nick.”

Still, a pretty easy night’s work.  Now he could maybe score a hit of something good and go home.

“Hey, Kid.”  Another car pulled up to the bench.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Okay, what the fuck is going on?” demanded Nick crossly, as soon as the car door closed.  “What was all that in there?  Why didn’t you tell me what to expect?  What happened last night?”  He turned to Mel.  “And why are you even here?  The other guys aren’t getting here until tomorrow…today…whatever…Saturday!”

Melody leaned back on the leather seat and folded her hands in her lap.  She was not going to say one damn word.  Go ahead, Rafe, you explain it.

“Now Nick, calm down, there’s nothing to be upset about.”  Rafe’s tone was mollifying, but slightly condescending.

Did he do it on purpose? Mel wondered.  Did he say things to push Nick’s buttons deliberately?  Because that sure as hell had.  Nick’s face was beet red, and Melody wasn’t sure she didn’t see steam coming out his ears.  Rafe couldn’t have pissed him off more if he’d called him Nicky.

Nick glared at Rafe for a full twenty seconds.  When he spoke next, his voice was icy.  Melody thought maybe she preferred the steam. 

“Okay, I’m calm.  But I want some answers.  We’ll take it one question at a time.  What happened last night?” 

Nick directed the question at Melody.  She was the one that everyone had mentioned.  She met his gaze but didn’t say anything.

Rafe finally answered.  “We went to the ‘Music for All’ thing.”

Nick pressed his lips together.  “The ‘Music for All’ thing?”

Rafe nodded.

“The cocktail party?” asked Nick.

Another nod.

“The one I wanted to go to and you said I couldn’t?”

“Uh huh, but Nick…”

Nick cut him off.  “But you went, Rafe.”  He turned to Melody.  “And you.”

“He made me.”  Melody quickly slipped in her defence.

“He made you?”  Sarcasm dripped from Nick’s voice.  “You didn’t want to…but he made you?”

“I didn’t even know about it.  He told me on the plane.”

“On the plane?”

Oh shit, thought Melody.  Why didn’t I stick to the plan to keep my mouth shut?  That was a good plan.  Why didn’t I stick to it?

“You two came together?”

Melody tried again.  “I didn’t make the arrangements.  Murray did.”

They both looked at Rafe.  They knew who gave Murray his orders.

“Are you two finished now?” Rafe asked.  “Can I explain?”

Like we’re a couple of squabbling kids, thought the other two.

Rafe explained patiently that he had asked Melody to go to the party with him so that she could spread the word about Nick.  She knew a lot of people there, and they all wanted to know what she was up to.  It was a perfect opportunity to talk him up, and Rafe wasn’t going to let it go by.  But they couldn’t do it if Nick was there.

“Well, why didn’t you just say so?” demanded Nick.

“Spontaneous is better,” said Rafe, who had never done a spontaneous thing in his life.

Nick turned back to Melody.  “And you just happened to have a spontaneous hot dress in your luggage?  With heels?”

“Is there some reason I shouldn’t?”  she demanded hotly.

“I didn’t think you people did cocktail parties.”

“Who’s ‘you people’?”  What the hell?

Nick paused and took a breath.  “Um…I don’t know…rockers…”

Melody was thoroughly confused now.  First he was mad because he was missing a party full of rockers, and now he didn’t think rockers did cocktail parties!!

Nick grasped at straws.  “All our clothes have been sent on to Europe.  All I have with me are clothes for the weekend.  If you didn’t know you were going to this party, how did you know to bring a dress?”

“Stop trying to make me the bad guy,” yelled Melody.

“I bought her the dress,” said Rafe, quietly.

“You took her shopping!?”  Nick couldn’t picture that – Rafe Ariando cooling his heels outside a dressing room while Ms. Jones made up her mind about a dress.

“I hate shopping,” said Melody, weakly.

“I had it sent over.”  Rafe waved a hand through the air.  “I have a service.  I gave the sizes, and they sent some over.  I picked one out.”  No big deal, said his tone of voice.  I do it all the time.

The car pulled up in front of the hotel.  Rafe pushed the intercom button.  “Once around the park.”

As the car pulled away from the curb, Nick began again.  “Okay, let’s see if I’ve got this straight.  Rafe, you decide you need Mel to go to this party to…what was it?...talk me up, right?  So you arrange for her to fly in with you, and you provide her with a hot, little outfit and off the two of you go, spreading the good word on Nick.”

Rafe nodded.

Nick turned to Mel.  “And you didn’t know anything about this?”

Mel shook her head.  No, I didn’t.

Nick turned back to Rafe.  “Because you wanted it to be spontaneous?  Unrehearsed?”

Rafe nodded again.

Nick pursed his lips.  He had his hands folded in front of him, in a prayer position.  He has beautiful hands, thought Mel, hoping the worst was over.

“Okay, let’s talk about tonight then, since we’re on the subject of spontaneous and unrehearsed.”  Nick dashed Melody’s hope of a quick and peaceful resolution.  “You told me to meet you at the club at eleven.”

Rafe nodded.

“Did you know it was a private party?” 

Nod.

“Did you know all those industry people would be there?” 

Another nod.

“Did you know that Mel would be asked to play?” 

A half nod/half shrug.  It was a possibility.

“Did you think I might be asked to sing?” 

Another nod/shrug.  Also a possibility.

“Then why the fuck didn’t you warn me?”  Nick screamed it so loudly that Melody jumped.  Nick turned on her.  “Did you know anything about this?”

Melody shook her head.  I know nothing.  She much preferred the role of ‘innocent dupe’ to ‘co-conspirator’.

Rafe stepped in.  “I didn’t warn you, Nick, because I wanted it to be…”

“Yeah, yeah, spontaneous.  I get it.  But what if I’d blown it?  What if it hadn’t been any good?  Did you see those people there?  I could have sunk my whole fucking career!”

“But you didn’t blow it,” said Rafe, mildly.  “You knocked them on their ass.”

“That’s not the point.”

“That is exactly the point.  If I had let you prepare in any way, it would have shown.  It would have looked like a set-up.  You wouldn’t have fooled that crowd.  But it was obvious you weren’t expecting it.  Hell, the smartest words out of your mouth tonight were ‘my voice isn’t warmed up’.”

“You took a big fucking risk with my career,” said Nick.  His lips were pinched and white.

“That’s my job.  That’s what I get paid for.  And it worked out perfectly.  So where’s the problem?  Jesus, didn’t you hear that applause?”

“But I could’ve…” Nick’s voice was weakening, his anger fading.

“Yeah, if you’d been on your own,” admitted Rafe.  “But you weren’t…”  He nodded over at Mel.  “…you had her.”