171 - Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

“Can I get you another?” the bartender dangled the empty bottle at Cliff.

“Thanks, man. I’m good.” Cliff waved him off. If he drank another bottle of water, he would literally float away. After a long day of shopping with the Bobbsey Twins, he was sure it would exhaust them and stay in for the night. It was close to six when they arrived back at the hotel. He helped them into the suite with all their bags. That’s when Ariana told him they would have dinner in the room and that they wouldn’t be needing him anymore for the night. Dr. Cummings, or Doc as he called her, had texted them while they were on their way back and had already placed the order. Once the food was delivered, Cliff said his goodnights and told them he would be right across the hall if they needed anything.

 

Turns out he was wrong. Two hours after leaving them to enjoy their dinner, his phone rang. Change of plans. Refueled and recharged, the trio this time, had decided they wanted to venture back out. It was the doctor's first time to London and the dynamic duo saw fit to show her around London Town and all its twinkling lights. Another hour later, he was dressed and once again ushering them back across the lobby and into the waiting car. Mostly, they remained in the car as they drove around the city, hitting all the more notable tourist spots. That was until Mama Bear needed to use a restroom.

 

“There. Right there.” Ari pointed to an empty parking space. “Stop here and I can run across to that restaurant.”

 

“That’s a bar.” Nicole replied.

 

“So, I’m pretty sure they have bathrooms.” 

 

Ari pushed open the door and climbed out before Cliff could help her. Shifting her weight from one leg to another, she straightened her jeans and adjusted her oversized sized shirt around her waist. “Anybody else?” 

 

“Might as well.” Cara, then Nicole, stepped out of the car along with her. Looking both ways, the three took off without Cliff. Quickly, he rattled off instructions to the driver to keep his phone on and not to move, then he briskly jogged after them. 

 

Opening the door, a sea of bodies and the sound of live music met her. Standing on her tippy toes, Ari tried to scan the room for the resemblance of a sign that pointed her in the right direction, but had no luck. She couldn’t see over the crowd. “Hey, which way do I go?” she yelled over the noise to Cliff.

 

Doing a quick survey, he found what she needed and took hold of her hand. Just as Moses parted the Red Sea, so did the crowd, as Mt. Cliff made his way toward the back of the bar. Looking back over her shoulder as her friends closely followed, she shrugged. She was thinking having him around would come in handy. When they arrived at the door marked Lassies, she placed a gentle palm to his chest when he started to push it open. “Cliff, we got it from here?”

 

“But?”

 

“No one here knows who I am. And besides, I got my posse with me. If we’re not out in ten minutes, you can storm the beaches. Not a minute sooner.” She tapped his stone hard chest and disappeared into the restroom.

 

Okay, so maybe he was being a little overly protective, but she was carrying precious cargo and this being a bar, he didn’t want to see anything happen. To either of them. Leaning his back against the wall, he crossed his arms in front of him and waited for them to exit. 

 

 “That's fine with me. You drink, I’ll watch.” he overheard Ariana say as they emerged.

 

“We’re staying?” he asked.

 

“The girls want a nightcap. Is that okay?”  

 

Did she actually just ask him that?   

 

Never before has a client ever asked. They were usually telling him where and what he was doing next. His job was to protect and there were times and certain situations which were not conducive to his client to be in, but they never heeded warnings. It was nice to be asked for a change, not that he would ever tell her, no it wasn’t, he would merely suggest it.  

 

They stood in an alcove that suggested their two options. Left, which was the direction they came from or right. Holding up the customary hand signal telling them to wait a second, he headed left first. This place was enormous. He counted at least five, maybe six floors when they came in. In the center of the first floor stood a bar and some sort of tree looking thing. From what he could tell, this floor was the busiest and no clear passage upwards. Turning around, he headed back down the corridor, passing them in the process. There he could see a staircase leading up to the other levels, as well as a separate room of some sorts off of the main one. Signaling for them to come this way, he showed them their options.  

 

The thought of climbing those stairs did not appeal to any of them, so they opted for the little room off in the corner, in hopes it would be less crowded. To their surprise, when they reached it, it was not as small as they thought. It was the about half the size of the main bar area. A small square stage with some sort of deejay set up sat off in the far-right corner. There was a huge flat screen hanging on the wall above the stage. The left side or the front of the room was a wall of windows overlooking Piccadilly Square with an additional exit that led to the street. Rectangular, high-top tables adorned the window, and smaller square ones filled up the center of the room. 

 

“Welcome. Will it be just the four of you tonight.?” a dark-haired man holding a tray of drinks asked as he passed by.

 

“Yes.” Ariana reply.

 

“Alright. You can sit wherever you’d like. I’ll just grab a couple of menus and be over to take your drink order.” 

 

“Thank you. High top, okay?” Ariana asked. They all nodded as she headed to the closest available one, but Cliff shook his head and pointed to one on the opposite side of the door. It was the ideal spot. He could sit with his back against the window and have an unobstructed view of the entire room.  

 

“How ‘bout you ladies, another round?” Their server placed the empty shot glasses on his tray, along with the water bottle.

 

“I’m game. You up for another Nicole?” Cara asked.  

 

“Sure. What the hell.” What started out as a just pee stop had turned into hours of drinking and singing. It just so happened to be karaoke night and one of the funniest girl’s night out Ariana had had in a long time. And she was sober. Cara and Nicole, on the other hand, not so much.

 

♱ ♱ ♱ ♱ ♱ ♱ ♱ ♱ ♱ ♱

 

“Okay, Elmer Fudd. Put this on.” Matt pulled out Jon’s infamous ratty old hat. “We don’t need you to be recognized.”

 

“If you don’t tell me where we are going, I’m not getting out of the fucking car.”

 

“Have I ever steered you wrong? Put the damn hat on.”  

 

Normally, Jon would have put his foot down, but he knew Matt must have had a good enough reason for doing what he was doing. If anything, it was just one of the many pranks they played to break up the monotony of being on the road. They were probably just headed to the hotel for a late night, early morning meal with the band already there waiting for them. 
After the show, they jumped in the waiting cars and headed straight for the airport. It was an off day tomorrow, and they didn’t want to waste it hanging around another country, when they were only an hour's flight back to London. He could just text Ari to see what was going on, but then again, if she was in on it, she wouldn’t tell him or she could be sleeping and he didn’t want to risk waking her. As the car rolled to a stop, Jon looked out the window and then back at his brother.  

 

“Waxy O’Connor’s. It’s two fucking a.m. and you want me to go into a bar?”

 

“Put the fucking hat on and get out of the car.”  

 

Matt tossed the hat at him and stepped out of the car and waited for him on the curb. When Jon followed suit, they proceed through the smaller door on the left. Stepping inside, Matt slapped a firm hand on Cliff’s shoulder. Slipping around the other side of the table, Matt took the same seat opposite Cliff as not to draw attention. They still had a decent crowd for this hour, and they didn’t need any unwanted attention.  

 

When he texted Cliff earlier to check on things and he told them where they were, he couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see his sister-in-law singing or his brother’s face when he saw. Still befuddled, Cliff pointed Jon’s attention to the stage. Three colored spotlights bled into one focal point. Ariana. Her usually untamed curls were just a little wilder, no doubt caused by a night of dancing around under those lights. The oversized shirt with the words ‘be a fruit loop in a world full of cheerios’ she’d come to love and spoke volumes of just who she truly was hung off her shoulder revealing not just her olive skin but the top swell of her white cotton clad bosom.  

 

It wasn’t until the second verse that she caught his eye and, just like a pro, she kept going, minus the big grin on her face. During the guitar and drum solo, she thrashed her head around in beat to the music and when the bridge came, her head shot up in true Crash-a-tude fashion and with perfectly played dramatics, sighs and moans included, she looked straight across the room and she sang it to him.

 

You’re the right kind of sinner to release my inner fantasy

The invincible winner and you know that you were born to be

 

You’re a heartbreaker, dream maker, love taker

Don’t you mess around with me

 

You’re a heartbreaker, dream maker, love taker

Don’t you mess around with me

 

You’re a heartbreaker, dream maker, love taker

Don’t you mess around with me

You’re a heartbreaker, dream maker, love taker

Heartbreaker

 

The three were in fits of giggles by the time they reached the table. Slipping between his legs, she curled her arms around his neck.  

 

“What are you doing here?”

 

“I can ask you the same thing.” He kissed her lips.

 

“I had to pee.” she shrugged coyly.

 

“Four hours ago, Lucy.” Nicole slurred.

 

“Lucy? Did we miss something?” Matt took a sip of his jack and coke.

 

“Luuuucy. Ettttthelllll and Doc.” Nicole reached across the table and pointed to each of them as she said their new nicknames. “Mt. Cliff gave them to us.”

 

“See, I tried to warn ya Cliff, these two are dangerous together. You’re lucky this one here isn’t drinking.” He gave his wife’s ass a gentle squeeze.

 

“Be nice.” she turned and took a seat on one of his thighs. “Seriously, though, why are you here? I figured you’d be back at the hotel sleeping by now.”

 

“Well, a little birdy told me I had to come here, so here I am.”

 

“Can I get anyone another drink?” the young man who’d been their server all night approached the table.

 

“Another jack and coke.” Matt answered.

 

“Ladies. Another round?”

 

“Hell, yeah. Why not?” Cara and Nicole said in unison.

 

“More waters for you two?” Ari and Cliff nodded. “And you, sir, what can I get you?”

 

“Pinot Grigio, please.”  

 

While the server finished clearing the empties from the table, Ari tucked her head in the crook of Jon’s neck, so no one could hear and whispered ‘pussy’.

 

With each round of drinks, and there were many, things got a little crazier, a little raunchier. With Matt and Cara, it was expected, but this was the first time Jon and Ari witnessed Nicole letting her hair down some. Frankly, they were fine with it. Yes, she was an employee and there as a professional, but so were Dean, and Rew, and Matt for that matter. Life on the road can take its toll if you don’t let go now and then.  

 

She and Matt were getting awfully friendly and in the middle of a hilarious, very personal debate about liking it rough and taking it up the Hershey highway when Jon caught Ari fighting back a yawn. 

 

"Tired, Crash?"

 

"Yeah. All of sudden."

 

"Let's go." he leaned over to Cliff. “We're heading out."

 

"Got it, boss. Want me to have the driver meet us out front?"

 

"Nah. We'll take the car I came in and let them have that one."

 

Tapping her thigh with his hand, Ari stood so he could climb off the stool. 

 

"Behave kids, we're outta here. Matty, take care of this." Jon waved his hands over the empty glasses. 

 

"Sure thing, Bro. Please, please tell me we aren't hitting the gym today."

 

"Nah. I’ll text you when we are up."

 

Ariana hugged and kissed Cara first, then turned to Nicole.  

 

“Watch it girl, Bongiovi men are lethal.” She whispered before pulling away.