Audrey's Awakening Pt. 06

"Believe me, Jo," I responded with a smile. "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. Audrey would never in a million years dress at home the way she's dressed here tonight."

Jo put her elbows on the table and leaned close to me, "I'm absolutely dying to know more about what's REALLY going on between you and your mother in law, Jessie. Are you fucking her?"

I laughed aloud, it was just so typical of Jo to just blurt out her thoughts and feelings without any kind of social filter. "Listen, Jo," I said, leaning closer and keeping my voice low as I mentally framed exactly how I might tactfully answer her question. "As a gentleman, all I'm ever going to say about it is that your previous assumption that Audrey and I seemed to be having a romantic evening...would be a correct assumption."

"I knew it," she said with a broad grin, smacking her palm onto the table for emphasis. "You ARE fucking her. You know...I could pretty much tell just by the way you two look at each other. So, how did all this happen?"

"Listen," I said, leaning close again. "If she's willing to open up and talk about our relationship, I'll let her be the one to do so."

Jo nodded with a smile, "I certainly respect your chivalrous, gentlemanly attitude toward her, I think she's a lucky woman."

I laughed and smiled at the compliment

Audrey returned and Jo excused herself to use the washroom as well. She watched Jo walk away and then turned to me with a smile. "Listen, Jessie," she said. "I can tell you and Jo are really attracted to one another. And I certainly don't blame you one bit, she gorgeous. I just want you to know that...well, if you thought you might want to act upon that attraction while we're here in Las Vegas...I would certainly understand."

"Hey, Woah," I interjected, sitting up straight and reaching over to take her hand in mine. "Believe me there is no-one I would rather be with right now than you."

Audrey smiled, pressing her lips together tightly, "Thank you," she said.

"I have to tell you though," I said, squeezing her hand affectionately. "Jo was more than a little curious about YOUR sexuality. She seems to sense that you've been flirting with her a little bit."

Audrey's cheeks flushed and she looked toward the restroom area as if to make sure Jo was not returning before speaking. "I think maybe I was a little bit," she said, leaning forward with a whisper. "And I have to say, after you told me about her being attracted to other women, its kind of excited me to be a little flirty with such a sexy woman."

I laughed softly, "Then, let me throw your own words back at you. If you feel at all inclined to act upon any attraction you feel for Jo, I will definitely understand."

Audrey blushed deeper, "Whew, what an intriguing thought," she said, comically fanning her face with her fingers. "I doubt I would ever, as you say, act upon that particular fantasy, but it sure is kind of fun and exciting to contemplate."

At that rather auspicious moment, Jo returned, "I should probably get going and let you two enjoy the rest of your evening," she said as she resumed her seat beside Audrey. "Any chance you two might be able to come back tomorrow night?"

Audrey looked at me and smiled, "I'd love to," she said, and I nodded in assent.

"Excellent," smiled Jo. "We can all talk more then. And I haven't forgotten about that long story you've promised me about this trip to Vegas either."

As Jo stood, Audrey suddenly looked almost sad and reached out to take hold of Jo's arm. "Listen, Jo...we're staying at the Bellagio, room 3310," she said, glancing at me for support. "It's still pretty early, why don't you come over and we'll order up some champagne from room service."

Jo looked from Audrey to me and smiled, "Seriously? I'd really like that," she said. "Just let me make a quick trip to my room to change first and then meet you there in...what, about a half an hour?"

"You certainly don't have to change clothes on my account," said Audrey, with a smile. "You look perfect just the way you are."

"As do you," smiled Jo, sitting once more and taking Audrey's hand in hers. "I have to get out of this particular dress though, it's purely stage wear. And, I hope you don't feel as though you have to change clothes on my account either, you are absolutely a dream in this dress."

Audrey blushed noticeably as Jo glanced down at her chest, "I've always had a bit of a thing for women's cleavage," said Jo. "And I especially love the way that dress shows yours off."

Audrey raised her eyes to Jo's and smiled demurely, "Thank you," she murmured.

With that, Jo stood once again, bending to kiss my cheek, "See you in a little while then," she said.

The waiter arrived with our check and Audrey gave him her credit card. The bill was signed, and we made our way, thankfully, back down to terra firma. We stepped into one of the ubiquitous cabs and were soon on our way back to the Bellagio.

"I hope it's okay with you that I invited Jo up to our room," she said, taking my hand and looking into my eyes.

"Of course," I said, smiling at her. "I think she's great. I do hope you realize though, that Jo is rather likely to see your offer as a bit of a come-on, though."

"I have to admit," said Audrey. "I DO feel more than a little excited by the three of us being alone together." She bit her lip pensively, "I feel safer knowing you're with me though, I don't think I would have ever been brave enough to invite her on my own."

"I understand," I smiled, bending to kiss her lips passionately. She responded with a soft moan and her body pressed into mine.

As soon as we were back in our room, I phoned room service to order two bottles of champagne. "Get the good stuff," urged Audrey while I was ordering. "Ken's buying."

I quickly changed out of my blazer and slacks into my comfy jeans and a plain white V-neck t-shirt. Stepping from the bathroom, I was surprised to see that Audrey had not changed out of her sexy dress.

"Aren't you going to change?' I asked.

Audrey smiled tentatively and her cheeks flushed, "Um...well, I had thought that, since Jo had been so...complimentary, that maybe I would just keep it on for a while longer."

I smiled at her and stepped up to take her into my arms and kiss her warmly. "You little flirt," I teased. "I'm sure Jo will be happy to see you still wearing it." I kissed her again and, as her body sagged into mine, I moved my hands down to caress her buttocks, pulling her tightly to me as I felt myself becoming erect.

Audrey pushed me away and laughed playfully, "Let's not get carried away," she said with a teasing smile. "She could be here any minute."

We sat down on the sofa, sitting close together and holding hands. "Do you think I'm being silly for acting like this when I know Jo is attracted to me...and liking it? I mean, it's not that I'm trying to tease her, or anything, but I guess it really sort of excites me to even imagine being romantic with her, or any other woman for that matter. Do you think I'm a terrible person for feeling like this?

I frowned and shook my head, wondering which question I should answer first. "Not at all. First of all, I don't think you're terrible at all for liking to be admired in a sexual way. And, no, it's not a bad thing to tease Jo with your cleavage, I'm sure she will love it. Trust me, no-one is more appreciative of your cleavage than I am. So, let me thank you personally for not changing clothes."

Audrey smiled just as a knock on the door startled us and announced the arrival of the champagne. I opened the door and the porter wheeled in a small cart with two ice buckets filled with champagne bottles. Audrey signed and we wheeled the cart aside to wait for Jo.

"You know," said Audrey, as we both resumed our seats on the sofa. "Not to say anything disparaging about my daughter, but it certainly appears to my mind that someone like Jo might have been a much more suitable love-interest for you than Laura. You and Jo just seem to have so much more in common."

I nodded, thinking Audrey had just given voice to my very own thoughts. I still had very strong feelings for Laura, but even an unconditionally loving puppy will turn tail and run away if it keeps getting kicked whenever it tries to show affection. I had always been fond of Jo's stage persona, personality, and sense of humor, and playing with her on stage tonight had been an eye-opening experience for me because I had actually enjoyed making music with her. It had been fun, and that was something I found to be lacking lately when performing with my band.

I had often thought of what I might do once I finally decided to retire from the band and it had honestly never occurred to me how rewarding it could be to only work with one other musician and singer. It certainly gave me pause to ruminate about the possibilities.

"I think you're probably right, Mom," I said. "If nothing else, this weekend with you has really shown me how much I have really been missing in my marriage. How would you feel if I decided to make my separation with Laura a permanent thing?"

"Divorce?" Asked Audrey, her eyes widening.

I nodded, "I think so. I mean, that certainly seems the logical conclusion, don't you think? Sometimes I feel it's hopeless to even try anymore. Nothing I do ever seems to make a difference with Laura."

Audrey nodded, reaching over to take my hands in hers, "I certainly can't advise you one way or the other," she said. "But I will certainly support any decision you make. The last thing I would ever want to see happen..." she paused and bit her lip thoughtfully, "would be for our friendship to suffer because of it."

I nodded, "I couldn't agree more," I said, squeezing her hand affectionately.

"I love that you're living in my house, Jessie. It means so much to have you near. I...I've been thinking about Ken and wondering how I should handle things once he's home and we finally have a chance to talk things out."

I nodded, "And like you just said, I will support any decision you make about him. And I will stay with you for as long as you want or need me to."

She leaned in and kissed me, letting her lips linger lightly. "I guess time will tell," she said, smiling as she looked into my eyes. I returned her kiss and felt her respond, opening her mouth to find my tongue with her own.

At that rather inauspicious moment, we heard a soft knock on the door. I pulled away and Audrey and I both smiled as I stood and made my way to the door.

"Hey," smiled, Jo as I pulled the door open wide and motioned her inside. She entered, taking my breath away in her stiletto heels and a pair of skintight, low-rise shorts that actually bared a portion of her lower butt cheeks and a very short pullover jersey that bared her midriff, revealing her toned abdominal muscles.

"Oh...I LIKE this," she exclaimed, looking around the suite appreciatively. "This is absolutely gorgeous."

She embraced me, kissing my cheek and turning as Audrey appeared. She embraced Audrey affectionately as well and we all moved into the living area.

"Holy shit," exclaimed Jo, hurrying across the room to step up to the floor-to-ceiling windows. "This is astonishing," she gasped breathlessly. "Absolutely incredible." She turned away from the window with a huge smile on her face and held out her arms, "Someday, when I grow up, I want to live like you guys."

I popped the cork on the first champagne bottle and filled the supplied champagne flutes, setting the glasses down on the serving tray. Rather than sit side by side on the sofa, Audrey suggested we move the coffee table and put the sofa cushions onto the floor. Moments later, we were situated comfortably on the sofa cushions facing one another and I passed out the champagne flutes.

"What shall we drink to?" Smiled Jo as she raised her glass.

"How about...Here's to Jo and Danny, hands down the best two-piece band I've ever heard." I said with a broad smile.

Jo's smile faded, "Oh," she said, glancing almost furtively from me to Audrey. "I'm not sure that's the best thing to toast right now." She shrugged almost guiltily and looked at each of us in turn. "To be completely honest about it, Danny and I have only one more week here in Vegas and then...well, then Danny and I are through. He's enrolled in UCLA for a degree in accounting and is calling it quits for music."

"What?" Exclaimed Audrey, her mouth open in surprise. "What are you going to do? You're going to keep playing music, I hope."

Jo shrugged, "Honestly, Audrey, I don't know. I'd dearly love to keep playing, and I've been keeping my eye out for a new partner, but at the moment, musicians looking for two-piece work are few and far between. I'm really kind of between a rock and a hard place too. The rent for my apartment in LA is astronomical and so are the payments for the new panel van I just bought to haul our equipment around." She sighed heavily, "I'll probably have to move back up to Seattle to live with my folks for a few months until I get back on my feet."

"It's a shame you and Jessie can't work together," smiled Audrey, reaching out to place her hand on Jo's. "You two sounded absolutely amazing tonight."

Jo laughed and raised her glass to Audrey, "Now THERE'S a toast I can get behind," she said. "From your lips to God's ears. I thought we sounded great too.

And, If I thought for one second that anyone even HALF as good as Jessie was available, I'd scarf him up in a heartbeat."

"Maybe you should talk to him about it," said Audrey. "He's forever moping around the house and complaining about being on the road and being away from home for so long at a time, maybe he'd enjoy working with someone like you and keeping closer to home."

I cleared my throat, "You guys know I can HEAR you, right?"

The women laughed aloud. "Seriously though," continued Audrey with growing enthusiasm. "When I was on the dance floor tonight and you two played that Santana song, everyone around me was talking about how fantastic you and Jo sounded together. I think you two would be a huge hit everywhere you played."

I nodded, surprised how Audrey had seemingly intuited my inner thoughts on the matter. Jo and I HAD sounded remarkably good together, and it had occurred to me while we were playing how much fun I was having. There was always a fair amount of stress and strain playing in a band with four other egocentric entities and often I found myself just going through the motions on stage and not really enjoying the experience. Add to that, our upcoming nine-month tour across Canada was about as appealing as a root canal.

Jo smiled and shrugged, "I noticed it too," she said. "When Jessie was on stage with me it changed the energy level in the entire room. You could just feel it rolling off the stage."

"Yeah," I smiled and nodded, "I felt it too. And I was actually having fun playing again. Not that it's not fun playing in the band," I added quickly, "but being out of town for so many months a year is definitely no fun at all. It probably went a long way toward ruining my marriage too."

Audrey reached over and caressed my arm affectionately.

"Well," said Jo, taking a big swallow of champagne. "If you EVER get tired of doing the band thing, please look me up. Danny and I were actually booked up solid for the whole of next year...in and around the LA area and Las Vegas. I haven't canceled anything yet; I'm still hoping I'll find another partner to work with."

"Really?" I asked, my interest piqued. "You have that much work?"

Jo nodded enthusiastically, "Oh, yeah. The Stratosphere wants us for 12 weeks a year guaranteed, and I have at least two lounges in LA that Danny and I have played ten or twelve times a year as well. And pretty decent money too."

My ears perked up at the mention of money. One of my primary reasons for continuing with the band was purely mercenary, I needed the money. "I've always wondered what kind of money Duos made," I said.

Jo smiled, "Hey, listen, I don't even shave my legs for anything less than fifteen hundred a week. Most of the local lounges around LA pay at least that much and usually a little more, fifteen to seventeen fifty. After expenses and agent commission, Danny and I usually take home about six hundred and fifty to seven hundred dollars a week."

My eyes widened, holy shit. And to think I had been happy with the paltry five hundred a week that was my usual wage in the band.

"But, here in Vegas," Jo continued. "We usually never work for less than twenty-two hundred."

I did my best not to choke on my champagne. Bands typically made more money, usually along the lines of three thousand a week, but their expenses were very high and with five members in the band, the net per person was seemingly much less than what a two-piece makes. In that one defining moment, I had a complete epiphany, as if a bolt of lightning had struck me, and I made up my mind to jump with both feet into a new career change.

"Okay, okay," I said, raising my hands as if surrendering. "You got me, Jo. I'm in. All I want to know is...Where's the beer and when do I get paid. Just tell me where to sign, and when you want me to start."

Both women gaped at me open-mouthed. Jo's smile faded almost immediately and, as she stared at me, her eyes welled, and a tear fell onto her cheek. "Don't you dare," she said, her voice little more than a hiss. "Don't you dare tease me like that, Jessie. Not about something this important to me, because it's NOT fucking funny; I'm really scared about my future right now."

Audrey instinctively moved closer to Jo and wrapped her arms around her, scowling at me. Jo pressed her lips together and lay her head on Audrey's shoulder.

I suddenly realized I had expressed my intention entirely too lightly and with too much humor. "Listen, Jo," I began, leaning forward to look directly into her eyes as she wiped the tears from her cheeks. "Believe me, I'm being very serious. I don't expect you to make any kind of snap decision tonight...or even this weekend. But, if you are absolutely serious about wanting me to work with you, then I'm telling you right here and now that I would be honored to be your partner."

Audrey's jaw dropped, as did Jo's. Her eyes widened and she sat up straight as Audrey released her. "If you really want me, Jo," I continued. "I'll call my manager tomorrow and let him know he'll have to find another guitar player for the Canada tour."

"You're serious?" Said Jo, her eyes wide with astonishment.

"Just think about it, okay?" I said, smiling at her. "Just let me know one way or another before I have to make the trip to Canada."

Jo's lips curled into a smile, and then her smile widened and made it all the way up to her eyes. "I've thought about it long and hard, Jessie, for about a nano-second." She slid over to me and wrapped her arms around my neck, kissing my cheek and then again on my lips. "Let's do this, Jessie, and I'll be the happiest girl in the world."

I leaned in and kissed her lightly on her lips, "I'm all yours, Jo. We just need to book some rehearsal time before your next gig, and I'll get my stuff out of the band truck."

"My God," she beamed, turning to smile at Audrey who was also wiping moisture from her eyes. "I can't believe this is really happening."

"Then, let's drink to the brand-new band. What are you going to call yourselves?" Said Audrey, as she raised her glass.

We all raised our glasses and sipped. "I have a name I've always wanted to use," said Jo. "I've always liked the name 'Nightingale'. What do you think?"

"Nightingale it is," I smiled, raising my glass once more and we all toasted the new name.

"Whew," said Jo with a shake of her head. "I think I need to visit the little girl's room." We pointed the way and, as she rose to her knees, all the while looking down at Audrey's chest. "God, I love that dress on you," she said.