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"Anyway," Kelly continued, trying to guide the conversation back onto steady ground. "I promised Tommy I wouldn't ever tell anyone, not even my mad-for-you housemates. They'd be heartbroken, but they'd learn to live with it, and they'd still buy your music. They love that above all, so even if they think their chances with you are dashed, they'd be there at the next gig, and the one after."
Jay was really struggling to control his smile. "You really like Tommy," he said with a wistful look. "You've gone to a lot of trouble to get in touch with him."
She pursed her lips, unable to deny it, but unwilling to agree. Her motivation was to get one more night of pleasure, and payback. She couldn't let herself forget that. "Let's just say we have unfinished business."
"His name is Tommy Sampson," Clayton said, surprising her and capturing her attention. "He works for me through an agent. We can give you the contact details of the agent, that's your best bet."
"Cheers, that would be great."
Jay reached inside his jacket pocket and pulled out a notepad. He scribbled on it, tore the page out, and handed it over to her
"Thanks, oh, one more thing." She reached into her backpack and pulled out the CD she had brought with her. "Could you please sign this for my friend, Jojo? I came to the gig on her ticket, she was having her leg pinned back together at the time. She broke it skiing."
Jay smiled. "You really were after an autograph?"
Clayton looked from one of them to the other, his expression growing sheepish. He reached out and took the CD. "Sorry," he said. "This business does strange things to your head." He took Jay's pen. "For Jojo, yes?"
Kelly nodded. "It's okay, I understand. You have to be careful. I went about it the wrong way, but it was a spur-of-the-moment thing."
He handed back the signed CD.
Jay watched with a half smile. "What are you planning to do about Tommy? I'm curious. I noticed he never made it to the party that night" He lifted one eyebrow.
"That's true," Clayton commented, laughing softly and looking at her speculatively.
It was good to see him in better humor. For a while there he'd looked like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. "We had a lot of fun together." She shrugged. "Life is short, so I thought I'd go for a repeat performance." She smiled.
Jay chuckled. "I like your style. In fact, I'll help you get in touch with him, if you like."
"I wanted it to be a surprise," she said, remembering the tentative plan she had put together.
"We can work with that, it will go more smoothly if I give you an intro to his agent. Call it an apology for throwing you out."
She didn't need an apology, throwing her out had been the best thing that had ever happened to her. Something she'd said had touched them, though, she could see that. She put out her hand. "Okay," she agreed.
He shook it.
The cab had drawn to a halt. The driver slid open the glass panel and was waiting for payment.
"I was going to grab a beer while Clayton does an interview. Why don't you join me, and we'll figure something out."
She beamed. "It's a deal."
* * * *
Tommy glanced through the shop and out of the window at the busy street outside. He was working, in a public place, but he was getting a hard-on just thinking about Kelly. He had tried to empty his mind, staring out of the window to focus himself on anything other than filthy thoughts of what he'd like to do to her.
Cars flashed by, interspersed with double-decker red buses. The street was full, the lunchtime rush in full flow. Inside, soft ambient music made the shop feel more tranquil, and it was that that kept making his mind wander. Had to be. He gave in, letting her image drop back into his mind as he watched over the shop.
Being there was giving him a chance to think everything through rationally. By the middle of the week curiosity and regret had been slowly driving him insane, and he'd decided the only option was to try to track her down, impossible though that might be.
"How's it going?"
The voice pulled him back to the moment and Tommy took the selection of goods that the man, a regular customer, passed over to him—a hard drive, two cables and a CD stack. "Good, thanks. Carol and the baby are fine and Jim couldn't be happier. Parenthood suits him."
He flicked the mouse on the computer with one hand and put the purchases through the till with the other. He'd been doing Internet searches for women called Kelly all day, while he ran the South London computer parts and repair shop he part owned with Carol and Jim.
He chatted with the customer awhile and after the man had gone, he checked the email account for mail orders, before returning to his hunt through the references to Kellys in London. It was a bit like looking for a needle in a haystack, but he was compelled to try. He hadn't been able to get her out of his head since the moment he'd left her in the hotel room. His conscience kept pricking him, reminding him she was a groupie who hadn't even been interested in him, but he couldn't let it go.
