The Devil's Tattoo (14 page)

CHAPTER
SEVENTEEN

ZOE

It took most of the next day until I could get Dee alone to talk
to him. We'd rocked up to sound check early and were hanging out with the venue
staff. We'd stopped in a coastal town on our way to Canberra for a show and the
place had that small town vibe. Wide, open streets, sandy beaches. The old pub
had been converted into a music venue in recent years and bands had started
passing through. It was the kind of place that saw us staying upstairs. And
when I say upstairs, I literally mean over the front bar that moonlighted as a
motel slash backpackers. It was the lap of luxury, end sarcasm.

"I took your advice," I said, cornering Dee in at the
tiny room we'd stashed our gear in backstage.

"Which bit of advice was that?" he asked, knowing full
well what I meant.

"
Dee
."

Leaning against the wall and crossing his arms, he regarded me for
a moment before saying, "How'd it go?"

"It went," I said slowly.

"See, I told you."

"Yeah," I sighed, thinking back to the compassionate
side Will had shown me while we were writing that song together.

"Are you into him? I mean, more than an attraction
thing?"

"I don't know," I answered truthfully. "I don't
know which is the real one."

"What do you mean?"

"There's the man-whore we've all come to know.
The arrogant a-hole.
Then there was this nice guy, who was
interested in what I had to say, you know?"

Dee could see how confused I was, and gestured for me to go over.
Without a second thought, I pressed into him, wrapping my arms around his
waist, taking comfort in his familiar form.

"Give it some time," he said. "The tour isn't the
be all and end all. It doesn't have to end when we go home."

He led me out into the pub, where Simone, Frank, Louie and Sticks
were hanging out.

"I'm going to get a drink," I said, before Dee could sit
me down.

Simone caught my eye and stood, "Me, too."

"What's up?" she asked, standing beside me. We
leant against the bar as a
middle aged
man with a wild
beard poured us our order. He raised an eyebrow at us, but didn't say anything.
I bet he could feel the boy issues looming in the air.

"Friend zone," I said.

"
Ooooohhhh
," she exclaimed,
morosely. She got it.

"I'm so confused."

"Aren't we all.
"

"Chris?"

She just shook her head.

"Don't give up," I said. "I want to see both of you
happy."

"And I want to see you happy."

"Yeah, well, we all can't get what we want."

The bartender leant towards us as he put our drinks down.
"But you can fight bloody hard for it, love."

Simone let out a loud laugh, her eyes crinkling in the corners.
"See? At least
he
gets it."

"Thanks," I smiled at him and handed over a twenty.
"Keep the change."

"Na," he said, handing back some coins. "The advice
is for free.
Lookin
' forward to the show tonight
girls. Have a good one, eh?"

"What was that all about?" Dee asked as we sat back
down.

"Secret girls business," I shot back with a small smile
at Simone.

He eyed the bar tender and said, "Somehow I don't think Big
Foot over there is a girl."

I snorted, almost choking on my drink. "Let it go, Dee. Let
it go."

After a round, people started moving off until it was only
me
and Simone left at the table. We were happy sitting there
in silence, just enjoying a little peace and quiet when she suddenly sat up
straight and hissed, "Incoming."

By her reaction, I knew exactly who it was.

Will slid into a seat next to me and said, "Hey." I
found my mind wandering to the way he said that simple word. It sounded like
hey, I want to undress you. I shifted in my seat and Simone caught my eye.

"Hey," she said. "I was just
gunna
go check a few things with Dean. Sorry to run off."

"
S'ok
," he replied.

I watched Simone as she walked off, not believing that she had
just bailed so blatantly, and when she turned back I mouthed the word
traitor
.
Her only response was to smile and wave.

"Want another?" Will asked, amusement rippling through
his voice.

"Nope," I said, looking back. "One's enough for
me."

Unfortunately, this seemed like the answer he was
looking for. With a grin he declared, "C'mon, I've got something to show
you."

To my surprise, he grabbed my hand and began to lead
me towards the stairs. I was so
dumbfounded,
I
would've let him take me anywhere. The feeling of his hand in mine was so
comforting, safe and mind numbingly
hot
, it was all I could think about.

"You okay?" he asked with a little laugh.
"You look terrified."

"Yeah."

"I'm not going to murder you," he said,
pointing to the roof where a security camera was positioned in the corner.
"They've got me on CCTV."

"Somehow I don't think it works."

He shook his head.

"Have you seen this place?" I exclaimed,
earning myself another laugh. "Glad to see my awkwardness is so amusing to
you."

Stopping on the landing, out of sight of the bar below, he asked,
"Why do you feel awkward?" The smile dropped from his face and I was
more than aware of the darkened corner he'd backed me into.

Determined not to jump him then and there, I took a
step away, my back hitting the wall. "It's a DNA thing."

He looked at me with such intensity, I wasn't sure
if he was going to kiss me or tell me off for telling lies, but a split second
later, the lopsided grin I'd come to know tugged at his lips and he grabbed my
hand again, pulling me up the last flight of stairs.

Dropping my hand to unlock the door to his room, I
suddenly felt disappointed. Groaning inwardly, I scolded my rambling
thoughts. I was trying to get to know the guy, not throw myself at him. I
stepped into the room, closing the door as he went to retrieve his
laptop from his bag.

"Before the band got going, I was studying
filmography," he said and the way his voice lit up, I knew it was
something special to him. "I want to make a film clip for one of our
songs, but haven't had the chance so far."

"Okay."

"Don't sound so enthusiastic, Zoe," he
looked up at me. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he patted
the mattress beside him.

Perching delicately on the edge of the bed, I
was careful not to let our legs touch, fearing that tingling sensation. I
watched as he opened up a file that was full of videos and it didn't escape my
notice that one of the thumbnails was of me. Apprehension coursed
through my body and I wasn't sure what I was getting myself into.

"I made this for you," Will said quietly, watching my
reaction. "I mean, you can use it for the band or whatever, if you
want."

It was then I
realised
he'd been wandering about the crowd, backstage, photo shoots, everywhere, slyly
filming. I'd been so intent on ignoring him and my rising
attraction,
that
I hadn't noticed.

It was set to
Bombard
, one of our faster
songs. The one
we
closed our set with and the one that
saw me on top of the drum kit every night. As the video played, it was all me.
I mean, there were shots of the other guys, but ninety
five percent had to be me. It was then I
realised
that everyone had been right. I tried to brush it off, the fact that I was
attracted to him, but I didn't see it. Not until now.

"What do you think?" he asked, breaking
the spell.

I was silent for a moment, trying to think of
something coherent. "It's…"

"You don't like it." He said it with such
an air of 
disappointment,
my eyes flew to his
face.

"No," I shook my head. "It's just, I
didn't
realise
."

His eyes narrowed as if he was trying to work out
the meaning in my words. "That I was filming?"

I shook my head. "No."

"I didn't mean anything by it, I…"

"I love it," I said abruptly. I didn't
want to hear the end of that sentence. It stunk of friend zone and I
didn't know why it annoyed me so much. The thought of letting someone else in
after all this time scared the hell out of me.

"Good." The laptop snapped closed and he
put it on the bed behind us. God, now he had me alone again in a bedroom and
this time there was no guitar to separate us. My heart thudded in my
chest and I swore I was about to have a heart attack.

"So," he began. "I haven't actually
asked you, but are you enjoying the tour? I mean, other than me being an
ass."

It was so
unexpected,
I let
out a laugh, looking up at him. His eyes were on me and I suddenly felt naked.

"What?" he asked, the ghost of a smile
tugging at his lips.

"Nothing, it's
just… that wasn't what I was expecting you to say."

He chuckled, running a hand over the stubble on his
chin and I imagined what it would feel like to run my hand over his jaw. "What's
with you and Dee?"

"Dee?" I asked with a frown. Was he
jealous of Dee now? "I've known Dee since I was twelve. We're best
friends. He's my brother from another mother. Why?"

"It's hard to tell with you guys
sometimes."

"Hard to tell what?" I asked, but
suddenly
realised
what he meant. "Oh, we've
never been together. Not like that."

Will nodded, looking down at my
arm, seemly studying the tattoos that covered them.
"He's a good guy."

"He is."

"He looks out for you."

"He does."

As if he sensed the conversation getting too
serious, he asked, "How long have you actually been playing? Guitar, I
mean."

"About three years now." It's a
double edged
milestone.

"Really?" His eyebrows rose
in surprise.

"Yeah," I smiled, the tension falling
away. "When I decide I want to do something, I work at it until I've got
it."

"I can believe that," he
laughed.

"Oh, no you didn't," I cried,
understanding the tone in his voice. "You helped yourself with that
one. I had nothing to do with it."

"I deserved that," he agreed and the smile
that spread across his face made my insides tingle.

Will had me talking and laughing more than I had ever done in the
last two years. He was making me forget about everything but right here, right
now and I
was
glad to share it with him. Dee's words
echoed in my head. Give him a chance. Get to know him.

Before I could move away, Will slid his hand over mine and the
smile fell from my face. My heart thumped in my chest and I felt myself start
to soften towards him, despite my
deep rooted
fear.

"Your tattoos are beautiful," he said, trailing a finger
up my arm.

It was too close for comfort, so I shrunk back, but not before he
felt the scar that ran through the
centre
of the
dragons back.

"What's that?" he asked, not noticing my reaction.

"It's a Japanese water dragon," I said like he was mad,
hoping he'd let it go.

"You have a scar."

"It's just a scar," I shrugged.

He seemed to notice that I was uncomfortable and dropped it.
"Do you want to go back down for a drink? We've got a couple of hours to
kill yet."

"I'd like to stay in if it's all the same to you," I
said. "But don't let me stop you."

He watched me for a moment and seemed reluctant. "I'd like to
hang with you, if that's okay."

"I'm not exactly the life of the party."

He smiled and shook his head. "I don't want a party."

I wanted to ask what he really wanted, but that was a dangerous
question. I decided I was better off in the dark.

He shifted back onto the bed, his back against the
headboard and gestured for me to follow. 

"I'm not
gunna
bite," he said with a chuckle when I hesitated.

Feeling bold, I sat next to him, our
legs stretched out in front of us on the floral bedspread. He had on
his usual scuffed up combat boots, the laces undone. I really liked his boots.

Suddenly, his arm was around me, pulling me gently
against him, and I was overly aware of his body against mine. I could feel the
muscles down his side through the thin t-shirt he had on, his warmth spreading
through me. I didn't dare look up at him. I was too afraid of what I would
find. After he showed me that video, I knew he was attracted to me too. I could
feel it in the way he'd held my hand, the way his fingertips trailed up my
arm and even in the way he sat next to me now.