Chapter 3

Michelle gently disentangled herself from Mick and slipped out of bed. She grabbed the discarded robe and covered her nakedness. She then padded out into the lounge and retrieved her phone. Dialling Anna's number, she was rewarded when her friend picked it up almost instantaneously.

"Michelle?" her friend answered in a voice full of anxiety.

"Anna? Can you take notes for me this morning? I'm not going to be able to make lectures."

"Sure. Where are you? Y'still at Mick's?"

"Yeah. He's out cold. I don't expect he'll be up much before lunchtime."

"Michelle... um... I think we need to talk about this."

"Why? Really, everything is so right. He's such sweetie... really gentle and..."

"Look!" Anna interrupted, "I'm sure he's all you say. That's not the point. Don't you think he's too old for you?"

"Age difference hasn't be an issue..."

"For God's sake! You say that now, but what if you want to have kids? What then?"

"Kids? Hell, hold on a minute. We've just hooked up. Isn't that a little premature?"

"Michelle! I know you - you forget. I know when you're besotted with some guy. Remember that guy, Jason?"

"Anna? I was 11 years old and he was 15?"

"You used to watch him at the BMX track. You had the same goofy expression..."

"Anna? We were kids? I probably liked his shirt. I don't even remember what he looked like..."

"So? Maybe after a while you'll forget about Mick?"

"Not a chance! This is real, Anna! I don't give a shit about his age. I know it's right like I've ever known anything in my life."

"Oh, Anna, don't get hurt. I'm really worried about you. I don't think you've thought it through. I don't think you know what you're doing."

"Oh, be happy for me, Anna? For once, don't try to be my mother. I can look after myself."

"I thought you just wanted a little flirting. I didn't realise how serious you were. If I'd known, I'd..."

"Anna?" she replied, increasingly irritated, "Anna? Let's go out for dinner tonight, huh? Just you and me?"

"What about practice?"

"After that, then. Just the two of us? We can talk then. You're really misjudging Mick. I think he really loves me. He's just the greatest guy in the whole world."

"Oh, Michelle!" she sighed, "we talk tonight, yes? Men are all the same underneath. They only want one thing and when they get it..."

"Oh, and you're the expert?" Michelle bristled, "you, who never lets a guy lay a hand on you? 21, and you're still a virgin?"

"That's a cruel and unfair thing to say," Anna sniffed, "just because I make certain choices..."

"Fine, but that doesn't give you the right to judge..."

"I'm not judging... I... I, Michelle, I love you, I..."

"Oh, Anna, I love you too. It's just..."

"Michelle. You don't understand. I said, I love you, I..."

"Of course I understand, Anna. Why wouldn't I? We've been best friends for twelve years..."

"No, I..."

"Hey, gotta go. I think I hear Mick stirring. He likes a coffee first thing in the morning."

"Michelle? Uh, um, just take care, huh? See you tonight?"

"Sure. Bye!"

Michelle went back into the bedroom. Mick was still sleeping like a baby. She climbed back into bed and pulled his arm back over herself. Snuggling, she grinned with contentment.

Mick woke about 11. He checked the clock through blurry eyes, before leaning over towards Michelle. She was on her back, eyes closed and face relaxed in sleep.

"Hey?" he whispered, softly. He brushed the hair from her face, then blew in her ear. "Hey?"

"Whaa?" she drawled, "tthayou?"

"Yeah. It's 11, you've missed morning classes."

"Don't worry. Anna's taking notes for me."

"Oh. Want coffee?"

"I'll get it!" she sprang up so suddenly it almost tossed Mick out of bed on the other side. He watched her bare arse as she darted towards the kitchen - shapely, wobbling and womanly.

Michelle returned presently, while waiting for the coffee to brew. She was still naked and there was none of the self consciousness that accompanied the first time she took her clothes off in front of him. Michelle searched in her bag for a brush, and stood before him running it through her hair.

Mick watched her. Below her neck was a scallop of patchy, faintly red and brown skin ending abruptly at her tan line. She had freckles, there, to balance those across her face. Below the tan line her breasts appeared creamy and delicate, beautifully formed, and crowned with brown nipples.

Her white tummy bore testament to the fact she normally wore a one piece swimsuit. Her prominent pubis was dusted with strands of blond hair - proof she was a natural. No, her body had not undergone hours of cosmetic reshaping. It wasn't a magazine's ideal, but, to Mick, that just made her appear more sexy.

Last night their initial lovemaking had been broken by false starts and nervousness. Michelle seemed anxious to claim him - opening her legs and shuffling over urgently. She wriggled and butted back at him with every stroke - sometimes upsetting the rhythm Mick was trying to set.

She was anxious to know whether Mick was pleased - that it was as good for him as she insisted it was for her. He doubted, however, that she'd come. Her cries seemed forced and she seemed to have way too much energy after for someone who claimed to have had a 'sensational orgasm.

Mick had been relaxed about it all. Their fumblings had been a helluva lot nicer than some of his earliest efforts. He enjoyed her cuddling up afterwards and the whispered pillowtalk. It was good to have someone, he was fairly sure, wasn't going to say goodbye in the morning and not call.

Then it was about two in the morning and he woke with a start. Michelle appeared to be asleep and he couldn't help grabbing a little feel. After running his hand lightly over her breasts, he reached down and cupped her shapely arse - at the point wear it curves down to the parting between her legs.

Michelle stirred and wriggled against his questing hand. When she turned over, her mouth was open and face flushed with arousal. She kissed him fiercely and searched for his cock. Mick stroked her vagina and found it moist and hot.

Then he had an idea. He got her on all fours and took her that way. One hand caressed her left breast while the other reached down to give her more stimulation.

This time her cries were not forced. She was as noisy as any lover he could remember - howling and crying as Mick brought her to a very loud, and real, orgasm.

They lay cuddling long afterwards - her hand playing with his hair. She was quiet and reflective as her breathing slowed. Eventually, she whispered something.

"Huh?" Mick asked, not hearing.

"I don't care what anyone says," she said, "I don't even care what you think. I just want to tell you that..." She paused for breath, as if recharging her courage. "I just want to tell you that I love you so badly it hurts. I don't expect you to say anything. In fact, please don't. I absolutely know in my heart that this is so right. You're so fucking wonderful, Mick..." Her voice tailed off to be replaced by gentle sobbing. "You are so right for me," she added when she'd collected herself once again.

Mick chose not to reply. She turned over, eventually, and he spooned her once more. Once again, before sleep, he could sense her crying - her back trembling with emotion against his chest.

To be honest, he didn't know what he could say. Should he've told he loved her as well? Was that the truth, anyway? Did he really know how he felt? In the end, did it really matter anyhow? It was obvious to him he could fall in love with this young woman. But love, he knew, was built on much stronger foundations than good sex. The test was out of the bedroom. Could they form a true partnership? If that didn't happen, Mick just couldn't see it working for long.

His thoughts drifted inevitably back to Sabby, his love of a lifetime, who abandoned him 25 years ago. 'Sabby' was his pet name for her - she was called Sabra - she was dark, buxom, and infinitely sexy. They'd wrestle half the night and into the morning - furiously coupling at practically every opportunity.

Sabra was his soulmate and she ripped his heart out, pure and simple. That someone who loved him, and accepted his love, could so callously abandon him with not even a scribbled note or a phone message, was as bad as life could get. Mick went on a bender - one that didn't end until his bandmates and friends put a stop to it. Freddie had taken him to rehab to dry out and flush the tons of chemicals he'd saturated his body with. They told him it had been a 'grief process, ' but he never wanted that shit to ever happen to him again.

Michelle had professed love for him as well. She wanted to be his soulmate, but would he ever let her get that close? Could he ever survive the pain of parting? Never again, he thought, he won't let it happen again.

"Penny for them, honey?" she asked, sweetly.

"Uh, ah, just thinking. You look beautiful!" That was a shrewd thing to say, he thought, and was rewarded by a happy smile, a soft look, and a cup of coffee in bed.

Band practice that evening was remarkable because of the tension in the air. Michelle was on a high and appeared to be floating a little above the Earth. Freddie's son had turned up and hovered around Karen. It was obvious that his attention wasn't entirely unwelcome. Anna, however, was in a sulk the minute she arrived.

Mick saw that the dynamics had shifted. The girls' partnership was readjusting itself, he thought, and needed time to work through.

When Anna complained she couldn't focus because, 'of you two making eyes at each other all the time, ' Mick decided to wrap early. He and Michelle said goodnight with a quick kiss and grope behind the amps and that set Anna off in a big way.

With a furious kick she propelled the monitor clean off the stage. She then unleashed a fusilade of Russian that rendered everyone to gaping spectators.

"Anna?" Michelle called at her fleeing friend.

"What you want, huh?" she snapped back, losing the flow of English and reverting to a heavy accent, "what you do with him all the time? I see you, you no shame. You say you my friend but you lie, you always lie."

"Lie?" Michelle recoiled, "what? I've always been honest with you."

"You haven't, you never," Anna continued to harangue, "you don't love me. You want to be with him. He will never be here for you, unnerstand? He musician, he has whores, he doesn't have women..."

Anna stalked the hall up and down, unleashing broadside after broadside in both Russian and English. Eventually, she broke down, squatted on the floor and howled like a baby.

Mick was completely lost. Freddie looked on in a similar state and Karen and Freddie junior quietly left by the side entrance.

"It's all right, Mick," Michelle told him, "she sometimes goes like this. She has demons, some awful memories of back in Russia. I'll take her home, give you a call later?"

"Sure, babe."

"Maybe I'll come back after? I'd like to."

"Sure, if you like. Just let me know how she is?"

"I will. Don't worry," she smiled, "she's had these blowouts before. She's as soft as a lamb after."

Several hours later she did call. Her voice was strained with fatigue and she apologised she couldn't come over that night.

"How's Anna?" he asked.

"Zonked out in bed," she said, "she has these pills she takes that lays her right out. I think I should stay with her tonight."

"Of course you should."

"You're so understanding, Mick. Y'know? Her insecurities are hiding just below the surface. She maintains her poise with self-control but, I think, sometimes it just becomes too much and she just blows out. Please don't judge her. I don't think we can know what went on over there in Russia, so we can't judge. She didn't mean the things she said about you, y'know. It was just her way of clearing."

"Never gave it a second thought, babe. I've been cussed out a lot worse over the years."

"I'm sure you have," she managed a tired giggle, "gotta go. I love you."

"Yeah, babe, I know. Bye."

"Seeya."

Mick lay in bed thinking. To his mind, Anna sounded a helluva lot like a jealous lover. Nothing else he knew about her would suggest she had lesbian tendencies, however, and he concluded she probably felt her and Michelle's friendship was under threat. Then again, there was a lot he didn't know about the social dynamics among a group of women. He wondered whether they had a course on it up at the University? He wished he'd paid more attention to this stuff when he was younger. Not for the first time, the women of his band had rendered him into impotence.

Mick was jolted awake by the phone by his ear. It was barely 9 am and he wondered for a second what inconsiderate arsehole would be phoning him at this hour. He then thought about Michelle and wondered whether something had happened. He grabbed for the phone, dropped it, before finally retrieving it from the floor.

"Yeah?" he said.

"Mick, I'm sorry!" It was Terry. She sounded in a panic, "do you know where my son is? He didn't come home last night."

"Terry, ah, Terry? He's 18! That's what they do."

"But he's got classes? He doesn't do this - doesn't not call."

"You tried ringing him?"

"His phone's turned off."

"Ah, Terry? I remember he left with Karen last night. Probably fetched up with her?"

"With Karen? That's what Freddie said. He said he'd turn off his phone because..."

"Well, really, Terry. Imagine you're just getting real friendly with a woman and your mum calls? You any idea how traumatic that could be for an 18 year old?"

"Look, I know I must sound like an interferring, protective mother."

"Interferring? You?"

"Don't get smart, Mick, I'm not in the mood. He just doesn't do this kinda thing."

"So, maybe he's growing up? Y'know? At 18 he can do pretty much what he likes."

"Not while he's under my roof. We have rules, here, and even Freddie calls when..."

"Look, Terry. He's a teenager. He's not supposed to be considerate nor follow rules if he doesn't want. That's part of the prescription. He's not supposed to check in with his mum nor tell her what he's been up to for the past week. Teenagers sometimes slip classes and go surfing. Sometimes they get drunk and wake up in a ditch. They suddenly call you from the Lakes District saying they're with someone called Frances and not to worry. Teenagers do all this stuff and it's perfectly natural. You just hope against all hope you inculcated him with enough good sense not to get arrested."

"Mick, you're not supposed to say that to a mother, for Christ's sake. What do you know about Karen? What does anybody know? She could be on drugs for all we know?"

"Terry? You're going over the top. So what if she does a little blow or wake up to a doobie? You got a short memory or what?"

"No I don't and I remember what it was like in the seventies. Maybe I'm being hysterical but I'll be what I damn well please! I've got a bad feeling about this and it's got nothing to do with him being a teenager. You forget I was one also. I've slipped out a few windows in my time but I was always back for breakfast."

"Look!" Mick sighed, "I'll give Michelle a call and see if she knows where Karen lives. If we track him down I'll let you know, okay?"

"Thanks, Mick. If he turns up here, I'll call."

"Good! Bye."

Michelle was sleepy when Mick called. Blearily she explained that Anna was still out cold and they'd probably skip Uni the whole day. "But," she explained, "we just have the one lecture in the afternoon and neither of us like it very much. We're thinking of dropping out of the course."

"You always do everything together? Even dropping out of classes?"

"Um, yeah, pretty much!" she laughed, "kinda like twin sisters I guess."

"You share boyfriends?" he teased.

"Not funny, Mick! You guys always think about that. You bring sex into everything!"

"Speaking of which, y'seen Karen? Apparently Freddie junior didn't come home last night and Terry thinks he's with Karen."

"I'm not sure where she lives, Mick. She always drives home. She's got this little hatchback... red, I think, or maybe darker. I'm not sure, now."

"Hmm, so what? We drive around looking for a little hatchback, maybe coloured red?"

"Hey, I'm sorry. Why would I care what car she drives? Only guys give a shit about such things."

"It's ok, babe. I think Terry's overreacting, anyhow. She maybe needs to give the poor guy a little space or risk smothering him."

"I've got her number!" Michelle ventured, "I'll give her a call and get back to you?"

A few minutes later Michelle rang back to say that Karen's phone, too, had been turned off. She did say, however, that she thought she could find out where she lives through mutual acquaintances.

"What about classes? Y'know what she takes? Maybe you could check the time of her next lecture..."

"Um, Mick? I don't even know what degree course she's taking. We've never talked about it. It's always been about the band."

"Strange! I kinda thought you girls gossip all the time?"

"Not us, honey. Karen pretty much keeps herself to herself."

"Hey, maybe we could do lunch? Say, about two?"

"Two? Y'got a strange idea of mealtimes," she laughed, "ok, can I bring Anna? I know you maybe wanted..."

"No, fine!" Mick replied, "bring her along. She might change her mind that I'm some sort of predator looking to steal her little sweetheart..."