Chapter 10: Taking Care of Business

Inglewood, California

March 17, 1999

It was a Wednesday evening and the traffic was insane. Jake and Laura were in the Ford F-150. It was just a hair over thirty miles from their Granada Hills house, where they had showered and gotten dressed after spending most of the day in the recording studio and then flying to Los Angeles, to the Forum in Inglewood, where Celia Valdez and her band were performing the last of three shows on this night. The trip took more than an hour and a half before Jake made it to the security checkpoint in the rear loading area of the arena.

“That was some fucked-up traffic,” he told his wife as he looked at his watch. It was now 6:05 PM, just fifty-five minutes before showtime. “We should have just landed at Santa Monica.”

“Then we wouldn’t have been able to shower and change,” Laura said lightly. She had taken a few hits of her pipe just before they had left Granada Hills and was still feeling pretty mellow despite the long trip. “We also wouldn’t have had a vehicle to drive.”

“We could have taken a limo,” Jake said, “and then showered and changed in the locker room while C and the band were playing.”

“Showering in a sports team’s locker room is disgusting,” Laura said. “I refuse to do it if I don’t have to. And besides, we would have had to take another limo all the way to Malibu after the show.”

“Yeah,” Jake said, “but then we could have done a little pre-gaming on the trip.”

Laura shook her head. “Very funny,” she said without much humor in her voice. “And let the limo driver know what’s up between the three of us. True, everyone who knows us is aware that we’re getting it on with Celia Valdez, including your mother (she shuddered a little in embarrassment as she did every time she pondered that particular piece of knowledge), so we should just let random people who don’t know us in on it as well?”

“Well ... I suppose you have a point there,” Jake allowed, pulling up to the booth where a uniformed Inglewood police officer was standing guard.

“Can I help you?” the officer asked when Jake rolled down the window.

“You can,” Jake replied politely. “We’re Jake and Laura Kingsley. We should be on your list.”

“Indeed, you are,” the officer said. “I was told to expect you and let you in.” He shined his flashlight into the car briefly and lit up their faces. “You certainly look like Jake and Laura Kingsley. I will need to see your IDs though.”

“Sure,” Jake said, pulling his wallet from his pants while Laura started digging in her purse. They both pulled out their California driver’s licenses and handed them to the officer. He perused them for a moment and then nodded. “Very good. Just drive on up to the loading dock and find a place to park. Tour security will meet you there. I’ll radio ahead that you’re coming.”

“Sounds good,” Jake said. “Thank you, officer.”

“It was very nice to meet you, Jake,” he said. “I’ve been a fan since the early Intemperance days.” He leaned down a little. “It’s an honor to meet you as well, Mrs. Kingsley. I’ve enjoyed the work you’ve done with Celia Valdez.”

“Thank you,” Laura said with a smile.

They drove on, coming to the loading dock. Here, all the trucks and buses for the tour were parked in a semi-haphazard manner. There was another security checkpoint at the man-door just adjacent to the loading dock. Two of Dan Baldovino’s tour security people were guarding the entrance and keeping the staircase area clear. Just to the right of the staircase, between the man-door and the main loading door itself, was a cluster of about thirty groupies that had gathered in one of the traditional staging areas, all of them hoping for selection to the backstage area after the show.

About two thirds of the groupies were females between the ages of eighteen and twenty-seven years of age, most wearing scanty clothing that showed off their assets. Of the one third that were males, all of them were homosexuals or at least strongly bisexual in favor of males. Called “twinks” by the security staff who were responsible for making the backstage selections, they were there hoping to be chosen by Charlie, who was known to be very much back in the twink game, or Eric, who typically made a request for a “nice” twink at least once a week. A few of the females were lesbians (or at least strongly bisexual in favor of women), but they did not have much hope for selection. Though there had been lots of rumors and media speculation about Celia’s dalliances with the softer sex over the past few years (and what an erotic fucking thought that was, all of them agreed), the groupie grapevine (which was nationwide, international, and considered to be at least ninety percent reliable by those who used it) was reporting that Celia had not engaged a single groupie, female or male, during the entire tour. If she was getting any sex at all, she was not getting it through the groupie network. Still, they showed up on the off-chance that the groupie grapevine was wrong. There was that ten percent uncertainty to factor in—or the possibility that tonight might be the night that Celia broke tradition.

One thing that all of the groupies present at the loading dock had in common was their willingness to pay the price demanded for admission to the backstage area. Each and every one of them would gladly suck any penis presented to them for the privilege of being selected, and they would suck it until it spurted in their respective mouths. Such was the well-understood and long-established barter system between tour security and band followers.

The crowd of groupies got very excited when they recognized Jake and Laura approaching. Laura in particular had quite the reputation among the lesbian groupie crowd (the grapevine reported pretty consistently that, while she would not kiss you, she would go down on you if you were clean and got her motor running enough that she wanted to return the favor—and she loved to suck on nipples and run her tongue around body piercings as well—especially belly button and clitoral piercings). There were no reports on Jake as he had not been out on tour in years, but his mere presence in the backstage gave a lot of the female groupies hope. There was not a single one of them—even those who identified as strictly hetero—who would not gladly eat out Jake’s wife if it meant they got to fuck Jake as part of the deal.

Alas, none of this was to be. The moment they started making excited noises and calling Jake and Laura’s name, the moment they started surging in the direction of the couple, the two security guys (Jake recognized them as Mark and Chris) stepped forward and began to herd them back where they belonged.

“Stay where you are!” barked Mark. “If anyone gets within six feet of Jake or Laura, you are out of here.”

A collective “Awww” sounded from the crowd. It reminded Jake of Caydee after she was told she could not have something or do something she wanted to have or do.

Mark and Chris did not bother checking their IDs. They knew both of them quite well and had no suspicions that they might be imposters trying to sneak backstage (especially since they knew the couple were expected tonight and had been told on the radio just two minutes before that they had arrived). They simply opened the man-door and let the two of them inside. On a table just inside the doorway were two all-access passes. Chris handed them over while Mark put their names in the logbook.

“Thanks,” Jake said, putting the pass around his neck. “Where’s the band right now? In the waiting area?”

“That’s right,” Chris said. “Do you need an escort?”

“No,” said Jake, who had performed in or been a part of performances in this venue multiple times, “I think I can find my way.”

“Very good,” Chris said. He got on his radio and let the rest of the team know that Jake and Laura were in the house and heading for Celia’s position.

Jake and Laura were both dressed nicely in anticipation of the reunion. Jake was wearing dress slacks and a Pierre Cardin dress shirt. He had a four-hundred-dollar pair of shoes on his feet. He was freshly shaved and had on a dab of expensive cologne. Laura was wearing a white sleeveless blouse and a bright candy-apple red skirt that fell to just above her knees. Her legs were covered with black nylons and she had black, three-inch heels on her feet, making her look considerably taller than she actually was. It was an outfit that Celia had picked out for her on their shopping trip with Meghan in New York City (Laura still had very little fashion sense and relied on her friends to help her pick out cute clothes that matched). Her hair was down and flowing over her shoulders. Around her neck she wore the treble clef diamond pendent that Jake had given her the day he first professed his love for her. She, like her husband, was also freshly shaved everywhere that needed to be shaved and had dabbed some Chanel No. 5 on her lower neck and behind her ears. Both were highly anticipating the moment when their fancy clothes would be removed.

They walked quickly through the backstage area, moving through the boxes and equipment, greeting a few of the roadies as they went. Jake shook a few hands and Laura gave a few hugs. The locals—those lucky few who had managed to score backstage passes by means of radio station contests or connections with the band or crew—had not yet arrived for the requisite meet and greet. Jake led his wife through a doorway and down a flight of stairs to a small tunnel beneath the arena floor. They emerged in the waiting area, which was a walled-in enclosure located between the two dressing and locker rooms. Here, the band was waiting, all of them dressed in their stage clothes and ready to put on their final show before the two-week hiatus that was scheduled before they went back to the southern United States to make up the shows that had been postponed because of Celia’s emergency surgery.

Celia, who had been looking out for them, was the first to spot them when they entered the room. Her eyes lit up and she leapt to her feet, rushing over to them with a squeal of delight. She came to Laura first and pulled her into a hug, squeezing her tightly and then kissing her firmly on the mouth.

“Wow,” Laura said, a little breathlessly. “That’s some greeting.”

“I’m very happy to see you,” she said, giving her one more hug, one more kiss, and then releasing her. She looked her up and down for a moment. “You look great—and smell great too.”

“Good enough to eat?” Laura asked with a shine in her eyes.

Celia gave her a naughty little giggle in response and then turned to Jake. She embraced him just as enthusiastically, kissing him firmly on the mouth as well. She did not put her tongue in his mouth, but she did teasingly touch his upper lip with the tip of it, just for a second. “Mmmm,” she told him. “You smell good too, Jake.”

“Yes, I do,” Jake said with a smile.

She laughed. “Always modest,” she told him.

“That’s me,” he agreed.

The rest of the band (as well as Dan Baldovino, who was hanging out in here) cast knowing looks among themselves but no one made any remarks about Celia’s greeting of the Kingsleys and no one was scandalized. Everyone in the room knew about the three of them and had known about it pretty much since the beginning. They respected the fact that the three of them made no effort to hide their relationship.

Jake and Laura made the rounds, hugging and/or shaking hands with almost everyone (neither hugged Charlie or Miles or even shook their hands, both hugged Liz, Coop, and Little Stevie, and only Laura hugged Eric and Dan, though Jake shook both of their hands). After that, they both helped themselves to drinks from the bar. Jake grabbed a beer while Laura poured a glass of chardonnay. They then found seats next to Celia.

“How was the trip in?” Celia asked them.

“Miserable,” Jake said.

“Bumpy flight?” she asked, remembering the frightening turbulence they had encountered the night Laura went into labor and they had to make almost the same flight.

“No, the flight was great,” Laura said. “It was the traffic between the valley and here that was terrible.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah,” Jake said with a frown. “It took us almost as long to drive from Granada Hills to here as it did to fly from Coos Bay to Whiteman.”

“Well, I’m glad you took the time to do it,” she said, smiling at them. She lowered her voice. “Both of you look and smell absolutely delicious. I can’t wait to get my hands on you.”

“Why wait?” Laura asked with an impish smile. “Just cancel the show and we can go right now.”

Celia giggled. “If only it was that easy.”

“I don’t know,” Jake said. “If you went out there and explained to the crowd that you really need to get to Malibu so you can have hot, steamy reunion sex with the Kingsleys, I’m sure they’d understand.”

She chuckled. “All right,” she said. “I’ll do it.”

They had a laugh over this.

“Seriously, it is so good to see both of you,” Celia said.

“Sorry we couldn’t make it on the 15^th like we promised,” Laura said.

“Yeah,” Jake said, “we’re starting to push up against the deadlines so we really needed to keep working.”

“We were in the studio until lunch today,” Laura said. “And we’re going to fly back early on Saturday morning so we can put in a full day before the Sunday break.”

“You’re doing the six-day weeks now?” Celia asked, knowing that Jake only pushed his musicians and techs that hard when they were behind schedule.

“We had to,” Jake said. “Obie says the May 25^th deadline is set in stone. We can’t extend any further than that. With V-tach, we’re cruising pretty well. They’re already halfway through the overdubs. With me, however...” He sighed. “We’re still working on the basics. I want to be done with the basic tracks and working on overdubs by April 1st. And that includes the orchestral tracks by my mom’s kids.”

“Now you’re making me feel bad,” Celia said with a frown. “Maybe you should have just stayed up in Oregon and working instead of coming down here to see me. I could have caught a private flight up there tomorrow.”

“No way,” Jake said. “We promised you we would meet you in LA, and that’s what we’re doing.”

“We didn’t want to wait another day to be with you,” Laura said.

“That’s sweet,” Celia said, her smile returning.

“You’re important to us, love,” Laura told her, reaching over and squeezing her hand.

“Besides,” Jake said, “we have to be here anyway. We’re going to meet with Jill and Paulie tomorrow for a business meeting. Are you going to be up for attending?”

“That depends on what time and how much I’m ravished tonight,” she said.

“You are going to be ravished pretty thoroughly,” Laura said, giving another squeeze of Celia’s hand—a sensuous squeeze.

“Oh my,” she said, blushing a bit.

“We scheduled it for the afternoon with that thought in mind,” Jake said. “It’ll be at 2:30 at Paulie’s place. Obie will be there as well. We have some important shit we need to talk about.”

“Good shit or bad shit?” Celia asked.

“Good shit,” Jake said. “At least that’s what we’re hoping.”

“All right then,” she said. “I’ll be there, pleasantly sore pussy and all.”

“The meetings must go on,” Laura said with a smile.

The show started on time. Jake and Laura hung out in the backstage area once the locals left and watched it from there. As always, Jake was deeply moved by watching Celia and the band onstage performing a production that he had had a major part of putting together and producing, hearing them play songs that he had produced and arranged and played guitar on. They did it no differently than they had during the initial dress rehearsals or the New York performances, but it was still an amazing display of musical talent gathered to entertain an enthusiastic audience. The crowd cheered loudly and with genuine enthusiasm for the show they were witnessing. Yes, Celia was still in the news and there was still a great deal of official and unofficial speculation about what had happened to her back in November, but no one cared about that while they watched her. They cheered and screamed and danced and sang along and held up their lighters for her. And when the final encore was finished, they stood as one and gave Celia and the band a heartfelt standing ovation that lasted for several minutes beyond the band taking their final bows and trotting off the stage.

After the show, Jake, Laura, and all the band members retreated back to the waiting area between the locker rooms. As they sat down to cool off, Jake had to sit between Celia and Laura to keep his wife from actually attacking the singer. She had developed a bit of a fetish about having sex with lovers who were drenched in sweat after a grueling performance onstage and the sight and smell of Celia in this condition was definitely having an effect on her.

“I’d better go take my shower before I get jumped,” Celia said after chugging two bottles of Gatorade and a glass of wine.

“Do you need someone to wash your back?” Laura asked her sweetly.

“Maybe later,” Celia said. She then stood and headed for the shower. Liz, who had just taken a few bonghits (and who still enjoyed watching naked Celia under the shower spray despite the fact that she was strictly hetero) quickly got up to join her.

The only females of the band emerged back into the waiting area about twenty minutes later. Celia was now dressed in a pair of jeans and a button-up blouse. Her hair was damp and she smelled fresh and clean and absolutely delicious to Jake’s nose.

“Let me just grab a quick bite to eat and then we can get out of here,” she told her lovers in a quiet voice.

“Make it really quick,” Laura said, her eyes shining with lust now. She had most assuredly missed the softer things in life.

Celia chowed down a hamburger and some French fries and washed it down with a bottle of beer. Jake and Laura joined her in this simple meal. It only took them about ten minutes to eat. Once their paper plates were in the communal garbage, Celia stood up and addressed the rest of her band members, none of whom had even taken their showers yet except for Liz.

“All right, everyone,” she said. “Jake and Laura are going to give me a ride home now.”

Everyone chuckled knowingly at these words, even Eric.

“All right, all right,” she said, shaking her head. “Keep your dirty minds to yourselves if you please. Anyway, I want everyone to get lots of rest and relaxation during this break. Don’t play any music, don’t think about music, hell, don’t even listen to music if you don’t have to. Recharge your bodies, recharge your souls, spend some of that money you’ve earned, and I’ll see everyone at Burbank Airport at 8 AM on March 31^st so we can fly to Jacksonville and start knocking out the shows that were postponed.”

“Any word on if the tour is going to be extended beyond that?” asked Little Stevie.

“Yeah,” added Liz. “Are we gonna do Canada and Europe this time around? Or is this going to be it?”

Celia looked over at Jake to provide the answer for this. “Well...” he said, “the fact of the matter is that we just don’t know if the tour is going to be extended at this particular point in time. National has put some feelers out to us about hitting the Canadian cities over the summer and then maybe doing South America during the northern hemisphere autumn and winter. As you can imagine, Celia is kind of popular down there.”

“That would be badass!” said Coop.

“I don’t know,” said Charlie, doubt in his voice. “I hear they have all kinds of weird germs and parasitic worms down there in those jungles.”

“We won’t be playing in the fuckin’ jungles,” said Coop. “They have actual cities and shit down there ... uh ... don’t they, C?”

“Yes,” said Celia patiently. “We have a city or two down there.”

“I hear they grow some very nice ganja down there,” said Miles. “And that it’s only a wee amount to purchase it.”

“No way it’s gonna be better than California bud,” Little Stevie said righteously. He, like Coop and Miles, took his ganja very seriously.

“In any case,” Jake said, “we have not been presented with any actual offers yet. C and I and Pauline are going to be meeting tomorrow afternoon to discuss all of this in detail. We’ll keep you updated as we develop the information. None of you are contractually obligated to tour beyond what you’ve already signed up for, so we’ll have to discuss and negotiate with all of you as well before we can greenlight anything beyond the last date in Austin on May 20^th.”

“Sign my ass up for it!” said Coop. “There ain’t nothing like some good South American pussy!”

Jake chuckled a little. “All right then,” he said. “On that note, I think we’ll be leaving now.”

It took a moment but then everyone had another laugh. Coop had not meant his remark to be that funny, but once everyone realized that two people in the room would be scoring themselves some good South American pussy on this very night, the humor came forth.

Two minutes later, they were out the door, Jake carrying Celia’s travel bag for her. The groupies had departed from the staging area near the man-door. One of them had been chosen to entertain Charlie for the night, one for Eric, and the rest had been sent away, disappointed but understanding. Both of these male groupies were in the process of paying their price for admission just beyond the backstage entrance.

It was a beautiful night. The stars were shining brightly and there was no moon in the sky. It was just past 11:15 PM when they reached Jake’s pickup and he threw Celia’s bag into the bed.

“You want shotgun, love?” Laura asked as Jake unlocked the driver’s door. “You got those long legs of yours.”

“No,” Celia said with a smile. “I want to sit in the back seat.”

“Oh ... okay,” Laura said with a shrug. “It’s a long ride though. Almost an hour. Won’t you get cramped?”

“I might,” she said, reaching over and touching Laura’s face gently. “I want you to sit back there with me.”

Laura looked at her sharply, her eyes widening a little. “You do?”

“I do,” Celia said, stepping a little closer, making her caress a little sexier. “I think I’d like to do a little snogging with you on the trip home.”

“Snogging?” Jake asked.

“That’s what the British call making out,” Celia said. “You don’t mind if Teach and I make out a little on the drive, do you, Jake? That is, after all, what back seats are for, right?”

Laura’s eyes were shining quite brightly now. “That sounds like a wonderful idea,” she said. “Let’s snog!”

“You’re going to start without me?” Jake asked, torn between the fear of missing out and the sheer eroticism of the thought of the two women making out in the back seat while he drove.

“Just a little warmup exercise for the main event,” Celia said. “After all, I have not touched a human being in passion in months now, fucking months! I crossed the line several weeks ago. I want to put my hands on Teach’s body and feel her tongue in my mouth right now, not an hour from now. Is there anything wrong with that?”

“Not at all,” Laura said, ripping open the back door and climbing inside. “Let’s do it!”

“Let’s do it,” Celia said, climbing in after her. She shut the door behind them.

“Well ... all right,” Jake said to the empty parking lot. “I guess you two can do that then.”

They had already started by the time Jake climbed into the driver’s seat and put the key in the ignition. Laura was sitting in the seat directly behind him while Celia was in the passenger side seat. Their respective heads, shoulders, and arms had met in the middle, however. They were holding each other tightly, their mouths together, their tongues sliding in and out of each other’s mouths and twirling around.

Jake watched them for a few moments, feeling blood rushing south. Finally, they broke their kiss long enough to stare at him impatiently.

“Drive, sweetie,” Laura told him.

“That’s right,” added Celia. “The sooner you get me home, the sooner you get to join in.”

He reluctantly took his eyeballs off them, fastened his seatbelt, and dropped the truck into gear. He began to drive, slowly making his way out of the parking lot and through the sparse traffic to Manchester Avenue. He almost missed the left turn light here because he was watching the action behind him in the rear-view mirror instead of keeping his eyes forward. The honk of an annoyed driver behind him finally served to get him moving again. He made the turn toward the 405.

In all, the drive to Celia’s Malibu home took fifty-seven minutes. The sound of wet kissing from behind him gradually progressed to soft moans, occasional giggles, and sounds of heavy breathing. Jake had to turn on the defroster when the windows started to steam up. He took frequent glances in the rear-view mirror to catch a look of what was going on but peeks where all he got as it was dark back there and the field of view was quite limited. At one point he did see that Celia’s blouse had been opened, but this glimpse was only fleeting. It was followed by Celia moaning and softly speaking the words: “Si ... suck them, Teach. Use your tongue on them.”

They’re killing me up here, Jake thought to himself desperately, fighting to keep his eyes on the road. His penis was now a rigid pole in his pants and he had to keep shifting constantly to readjust it.

Just as Interstate 10 gave way to the Pacific Coast Highway in Santa Monica, he heard the sound of a zipper being pulled down. The sound of wet kissing had returned but moans began to issue from Celia’s mouth and her breathing began to pick up. “Mmmm, yesss, yesss... si!” she moaned, her words muffled by the fact that her mouth was still in contact with Laura’s. “Touch me! Please touch me!”

Soon, Celia was panting loudly. Jake had been with her enough times to recognize that this was the sound she made when she was rapidly heading for an orgasm. As it intensified, Jake risked a look over his right shoulder as they came out of a long, sweeping curve on the PCH and entered a relatively straight stretch. It was dark back there, and there were no street lights on this section of the PCH, but he could plainly see that Laura’s right hand was down the front of Celia’s jeans and her fingers were manipulating aggressively while her lips kissed, sucked, and bit on the side of Celia’s neck. It was a starkly erotic sight and he had to force himself to put his eyes back on the road before he drove into the Pacific Ocean.

Killing me, he thought again as he continued to motor along and Celia began to pant out the throes of orgasm. Absolutely killing me.

By the time they made it into the garage of Celia’s house, Laura’s blouse and her front-loading bra had been opened as well and a hole had been torn open in the crotch of her black nylons. Celia’s fingers had wormed under the crotch of Laura’s red panties and were sliding in and out of her wet and swollen vagina.

“No!” Laura cried out when she heard the engine stop. “I’m almost there!”

“You two have moved a bit beyond snogging back there,” Jake admonished. “Come on. Let’s go inside.”

“Finish me off first!” Laura cried.

“I’ll finish you off inside,” Celia told her.

“Here!” Laura insisted. “Now!”

“I’ll use my mouth on you if you just go to the stairway,” Celia told her.

“All right!” Laura said immediately. “Deal!” She had always been a sucker for having her pussy eaten, especially by a woman.

“Hey!” Jake protested. “What about me? You two deliberately tortured me the entire trip!”

“That was kind of mean of us, wasn’t it?” Celia asked with a giggle.

“You have no idea,” Jake said dramatically.

“All right,” Celia said. “Here’s the plan. Let’s go to the stairs between the garage and the master level. I’ll finish off Teach with my mouth, and then...”

“I get you from behind?” Jake suggested, looking down at her open pants and her smooth expanse of belly. The garage lights were shining brightly on them now and he could see her belly button and the small incision scar just below it. Just below that, her could see the skin of her pubic area. It looked incredibly appetizing.

“No,” Celia said. “You’re too much on edge right now. Liable to go off very quickly. When you fuck me, I want it to last. Teach and I will finish you off for the first round ... using our mouths.”

“Oooh, that sounds hot,” said Laura with a naughty smile. “I trust you want me to accept the offering.”

“If you don’t mind,” Celia said. She enjoyed putting Jake’s member in her mouth and sucking on it, but she did not enjoy having semen shot into her mouth. Laura, on the other hand, did.

“Deal!” Laura said.

“Uh ... well,” Jake said, “I ... uh ... find that an acceptable offer.”

They piled out of the car and made their way to the first stairway. There, Laura sat on one of the risers and spread her legs widely. Celia went a few stairs down from her and then turned around and pondered the view. She used her hands to rip Laura’s nylons open further and then pulled the crotch of her panties to the side. She lowered her head and went to work while Jake watched from behind, cuddling his wife from the rear, his hands reaching up to fondle her exposed breasts. She came very quickly and very powerfully.