Marion's Story Ch. 04

Thanks again to my friend Em Kay (Marina Kelly) for all her help, couldn't have done it without her... she helped with the story and kept me on the straight and narrow and of course did all the editing so thanks Marina....

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The Lips were the new hot thing among the students, we were being air play on student radio which grew to local commercial stations in Lawrence and Kansas City and were even picked up on National radio, god damn we were getting noticed. Molly had gone mad as well; she took it upon herself to take control of our web page and Facebook page, set up a You tube channel and all together it was moving quickly, Moll's did an amazing job and she sure put some work into it, if she wasn't at work or school she was working on the Lips social media stuff.

Thankfully Mel loved the spotlight and carried all the radio interviews and lately there had been a few. She loved the limelight, with all the publicity she was now right in her element.

The huge crowds at our gigs meant the word spread around town quickly creating requests from not only local venues but all over the state as well. We played the Manhattan in Manhattan which I loved, then a show at the state university the biggest show we had played so far. McCain's auditorium was packed and it went off. With that no sooner out of the way and we were off to Junction City to play Coyotes salon before heading home. It was our little mini tour and it just about killed the band. Three days stuck together and I had to stay in drag the whole time. Jas thought it was funny but Mel was on a real power trip and made my life hell, even Cindy complained. I couldn't wait to get back home.

The reviews we got were incredible and of course it grew into more requests and Mel wanted to play them all. It forced my hand and it was decision time. Work or music I couldn't do both. Molly was pushing me towards the music and the reality of it was I was now making more from the music than I was from work, but the extra money was eaten up buying a car and getting some furniture for the apartment.

Of course, the more gigs we played the more time in costume I spent and it became harder and harder to go back to being plain boring old Marion. Mimi had this incredibly exciting life playing to hundreds of people and surrounded by adoring fans and beautiful women. It was becoming a much harder decision than I expected.

"Duke why not just go with the flow babe, you love the band and you guys are going to be huge after the battle of the bands, just look how popular you've become already."

"But Mel is driving me crazy she argues with me all the time, everything I do she finds fault with."

"Yeah, she can be hard work, but babe when you are on stage its electric you guys rock and your voices are made for each other. You should do a love song... a duet sort of thing."

"Love song..... Love to hate is what we do, I think she actually hates me."

"She absolutely does not...in fact if you ask me, she has the hots for you."

My baloney sandwich sprayed everywhere as I choked on her words. "Jesus Moll's you can be a bitch sometimes."

"Babe I am serious she can't take her eyes off you when you are on stage, I think it's one of those love hate things, you know you have to hate to love."

"I don't know what to do, if I throw in my job and the band breaks up we're all screwed."

"Babe just trust the universe you are a good person, it will work out."

We were deep in rehearsals for the battle of the bands and every day the tension built, Mel seemed on a mission to destroy everything we did. It was late, we had been rehearsing for hours and nothing I did was right and Mel was in the middle of cursing me out again when Cindy threw her drumsticks down and screamed. "That's it I have fucking had it with you two, I'm leaving!" And she did... she walked straight out the door and we heard her car scream away in a flurry of flying stones.

Jas stared at us and nodded. "You know what... I love you both but this isn't working, Cindy is right... To hell with it I'm leaving as well and I'm not coming back until you sort your shit out."

Mel and I were left staring at each other only the hum of the amps breaking the growing silence. She broke first and took off her guitar and walked over and fell back in a chair.

I turned off my amp unslung my guitar and did the same, flopping down beside her. "What is it about me that makes you so angry? Is it just because I am a guy? Is it because I am a guy in a dress? What the fuck have I done wrong?"

She put her head down in her hands staring at the floor. "It's everything, you are going out with my ex and you know what, I still have feelings for her. You waltz into the band and it's all her idea I think she did it just to piss me off. Then to top it off you are awesome and I can't compete with you."

I slipped out of my chair at her knees, grabbed her hands making her look at me. "Compete... Jesus Mel it isn't a competition, I don't want to push you out or take your place. This band is nothing without you, this band is you. If you feel that strongly then I will leave, it is your band, and by the way Molly loves you, she thinks the world of you, why do you think she follows you around?"

I felt her hand grip me tightly as she sniffled. "No, she only brought you in to rub it in my face."

"Bull crap, she brought me along because she thinks you're the best, she thought I could learn from you. If you hate me that much I'll leave."

"I don't want you to leave, we have climbed to this new height and I don't want to lose you, Jas was right the other day you are the reason we have all these new gigs, it's all you."

"Then what do you want?"

She fell forward in front of me and suddenly we were kissing our tongues locked into a duel to the death. My hands found her bouncing boobs and I mashed them as we kissed, her hands holding my head tightly. My mind spinning out of control, her moans filled my mouth and her passion filled my panties.

My hand fell from her boobs down between her legs and her jeans were stretched tight across her pussy but I could feel it convulsing as I mashed my hand against it rubbing the denim into her beaver, her clit throbbed I could feel its little bulge against my hand. "Oh fuck." was the only word she spoke to that point. "Jesus fucking Christ." Her hips thrust against my hand as hard as I ground my hand against her she pushed back rhythmically in time fucking my hand. Using my other hand, I ripped open her jeans and slid my hand down inside until my finger disappeared into her already wet open creamy slit. In one deep thrust I had three fingers deep in her and my thumb rubbing her clit. It was fast and furious as she bit my tongue and my lips kissing my face. "Oh fuck I am going to cum, fuck me I'm going to cum you devious bitch, you dirty fucking whore you're going to make me cum."

She had to grab my shoulders to hold herself up her body convulsed shaking and jerking like she was having an epileptic shock.

We rolled back to the floor as she recovered breathing erratically. "Jesus you bitch, you fucking bitch." She burst into tears clutching wildly at me, her fist banging on my back. "Why did you have to be so good, I wanted you to be terrible so I could laugh in Molly's face."

I just held her tight caressing her cheeks and tousling her hair. "It's going to be alright we can get through this Mel. I like you I don't want to fight."

"What about Molly? What happens now are you going to tell her?"

"Yes, I am going to tell her, I wouldn't be able to keep it secret I'm a terrible liar."

"She will hate me more than ever and I don't even know why she left me."

"She doesn't hate you dummy, she left you for the same reason she fucks around with my sister she is a callous bitch."

Shaking her head she grimaced tightly. "Why do you let her do it? Why put up with that shit?"

"To be honest I don't know, I love her she has me trapped in some sticky web, Jesus even April is besotted with her."

I kissed her and stood up wiping her smeared lipstick off my lips, strapped on my guitar flicked on my amp and cranked it up loud and started to play, it was just a riff I had going round in my head, nothing we had played before.

She rolled over on her back her arm draped across her face covering her eyes just listening until she couldn't control her urge she jumped up grabbed her guitar and danced right up to me, standing inches from my face and played, the moment she had the riff I ripped out a stinging solo and we played and played her eyes focused on mine and as we did I started to sing.

'I love you baby'

With questioning eyes she repeated the line.

I found another line. 'You're the best thing that ever happened to me'

A growing smile lit up her face and she repeated it back.

Then I found another. 'Don't walk away just let me be'

She smiled as she sang. 'You're the best thing that ever happened to me.'

I stared at her intensely. 'I love you baby, I love you baby.'

She repeated it and I joined in with a harmony.

After an hour we had a new song, a duet and what's more a love song and fucking Molly was right again.

We walked up to each other as we ran out of steam and kissed. "What do we do?" she sobbed.

"We trust the universe, we ride this god damned wave all the way to hell and back if we have to, but I promise I will never do anything to harm you, I will never put you down and I will love you, maybe not in the traditional sense but I will love you."

Back home when I walked in Molly called from the bedroom. "Where the hell have you been, rehearsals never go this long."

She walked out into the living area and she knew without me saying anything. "So, what happened? Did it come to blows or was it just yelling and screaming?"

"It was more hugging and kissing actually." I whispered guiltily.

She sucked in a deep breath reeling slightly. "Oh my god, did you do it?"

"No not really we sort of made out but no we didn't do IT."

She laughed. "Well that sucks now she will feel let down."

"No actually I think we're good, we found a song and I think we are good, but I am giving up work so you better find us plenty of gigs."

"Babe we have gigs coming out our ass, I've been turning them down because I didn't want to throw fuel on the fire. I have three guaranteed gigs in Kansas City, the students want you back at the university, and there are gigs everywhere.

The following day I resigned from my job. I thought April would be pissed but in fact it was the opposite she was thrilled.

At the next rehearsal both Mel and I apologized, which ended in a group hug, when we played the new song there were smiles and gasps, Cindy and Jas both loved it. Everyone was so excited about it I sorted out a recording studio at school and we recorded it in one take.

If I do say so myself I did a pretty good job mixing and mastering it and we released it ourselves as a single. Talking to some of the arts students we found a couple pretty keen to produce a video for us. It took a couple of days but we had our first video and Molly released it on our YouTube channel and on Facebook and the likes kept clocking up. Two weeks later at our first gig back at the Bottleneck for a month and the fans were crying out for the new song. Mel and I stood face to face at one mic as we sang staring into each other's eyes.

As they say in the movies the crowd went wild. It was a ferocious night and the fans were keener than ever after the show we got swamped by drunk fans, usually there would be a dozen or so and they were normally pretty polite crowds made up of predominantly gay women who aren't usually so over the top but tonight we were overrun and had to be saved by the security.

On the drive home Moll's gave me a fair bit of stick about being so popular she was going to have to keep a closer eye on me. It was all good natured until we were almost home. "Well it certainly seems to have got cozy between you and Mel?"

Uncomfortable with her tone I mumbled. "Yeah guess we found some common ground."

She laughed. "Common ground my ass, come on no more bullshit, you did it didn't you?"

"No we didn't we kissed we talked but that's all."

"Like fuck.... She was staring into your eyes like a star struck lover.... Babes if something happened then tell me I won't be mad."

Sighing deeply, and mumbled. "Yeah OK... when we were making out, I may have fingered her to an orgasm."

'Ooooh you dirty little bitch, Jeez babe you are making things hard for yourself, you know what she is like."

Confused I winced. "What are you talking about.... What is she like?"

"Idiot now she's in love, didn't ya see the way she was staring into your eyes, Christ she's in love."

I was shocked by her challenging remark. "No.... that's ridiculous I didn't mean anything I was just being nice."

She shook her head in disbelief. "You are so god damned naïve; you will have to be careful if you aren't careful she will get hurt."

After that I felt like I was walking on eggshells around Mel, but things seemed to be going fine I was polite and kind to her. Molly and her even appeared more comfortable with each other. At least Moll's was wrong about this one.

Of course, the constant performing meant Mimi really took over within me. Not that I was fighting it I loved Mimi and I started to feel more comfortable even on days the band wasn't playing. If I didn't have classes I lounged around the apartment in something girly and casual or spent all day trying on different outfits and playing with makeup. Molly laughed at me for being such a girly girl but recently there seemed to be a little tension or distance growing between us. At first I put it down to the growing friendship Mel and I had developed but there were other things eating at me, like the amount of time she spent on the phone either talking or texting and if she was talking when I walked into the room she got up and walked out, something was going on and I didn't like it.

I tried to talk to her but she fobbed me off making light of any attempts to actually talk. As the divide grew I became overwhelmed, wondering if it was what happened between Mel and me, or maybe she was annoyed with the increasing time I spent as Mimi? Regardless of her repeated declarations of love it was hard not to feel responsible and I fell into a guilt lined hole wondering what was going on and what I could do to fix it.

With the Battle of the band's prelims upon us which were to be held at the Bottleneck. Jas pushed for us to wear costumes and she went to a lot of trouble buying separate outfits she decided that she was going to go with the shiny black leggings and a really bright pink top with sequins all over it. Mel was going to be the sexy nurse and her costume was like mine straight out of a stripper catalogue the shift style dress was so short it just about showed off her frilly knickers, white stockings and garters. Me... well I was going to be a sexy schoolgirl and again it was that short if I got a hard on everyone would know.

Cindy wasn't saved either she got to be the sexy maid. As we tried them on Jas got all excited, Mel not so much, Cindy just laughed it all off but I was as nervous as all hell. It was hard enough to be on stage dressed as a woman but this was a whole new level of embarrassment.

Molly came in as we were trying them on and like Jas she got all excited and started taking photo after photo and stuck them straight up on Instagram and Facebook, I realized it was to force my hand. With the very public announcement there was no way I could back out and it annoyed me that she totally ignored my reservations.

There were six bands performing on the night and we were going to be the last band. I think that was the Bottlenecks idea we had such a good relationship with them.

This was difficult for me because I knew so many of the musicians playing in the different bands from school, but nobody knew that Mimi was Marion. It was strange talking to a couple of them as they kept giving me inquiring stares. A couple of times I thought I had been busted.

The first bands were pretty good without being exceptional, that sounds mean, but they were mostly playing covers and weren't that original with their compositions The band before us I had seen rehearsing at school and were pretty good, they had chosen a good mix of covers, chosen to suit the audience and they threw in a couple of originals and they weren't that bad, really good actually and the crowd got into their performance which made us nervous.

Finally, our turn came and we had a group hug before taking the stage. We were starting with our signature song but we had changed it up starting with a long drawn out guitar strum leaving the note hanging in the air Mel hummed a harmony and Jas joined with a held harmonic note on the bass and as the note rang out Cindy and Mel came in together with the rhythm and I played the held note over the top.

It was different to usual but the crowd cheered loudly and the bouncing started as we got into the song properly the mosh pit was alive and bursting as they danced and moved as one.

As I stared down into the mosh pit, I swore angrily there front and center was April dancing arm in arm with Molly. The anger manifested itself in a vicious guitar solo that I rode out and Mel seeing my face screwed tightly in a twisted mask came up and danced in front of me our guitars touching as she encouraged me to keep going. Jas in her skin-tight glittery leggings came and joined the fun and they lifted me out of the dark angry hole. The short set was amazing and the crowd kept bouncing and dancing wildly as we drove them into a frenzy.

As we came together after our final song the crowd shouted for an encore and started stomping their feet louder and louder clapping as one as they screamed. "More."

The organizer took the stage and led us off but the crowd kept screaming and stomping then the empty can throwing started and the MC started to get nervous. All the bands were told there would be no encores but this was getting out of hand. The MC darted off the stage for a quick exchange with the other organizers and as the stage filled with empty cans the MC rushed back on stage and he called us back and the stomping got louder and the whistling cheering exploded until we flew into our most up-tempo numbers, we ended up playing another half a dozen songs before the crowd had their fill and we were allowed to get off stage.

It wasn't really a contest if they hadn't announced us as the winners there would have been a lynching.

After the noise died down and the announcements were made we crowded together in the green room and knocked back a few beers celebrating our triumph the other bands had all drifted away and April and Molly walked in hand in hand, the room went silent Moll's wasn't winning any friends with her blatant behavior. April let go her hand and said hi to the others before giving me a huge hug. "Little bro you were amazing." She turned to the others and repeated her statement. "Actually, you were all fantastic I can't believe how good you were."

Molly went around hugging everyone. "Fuck guys c'mon show some joy you were god damned hot tonight. Jeez those costumes... holy shit they're sexy as hell."

There was some muttering from the others... they saw it coming as well as me. I watched and it was like slow motion, the axe was falling and I couldn't stop it. Moll's leaned in close for a hug and whispered. "Babes April and I are going OK?"

What could I say without making a fool of myself? I snapped caustically, "Yeah whatever."

She didn't look happy with my offhand remark but she turned and walked out with April hand in hand. Jas jumped into my lap as the door shut behind them to give me a hug and Mel leaned over and did the same. "She is being a bitch, I am so sorry Mim's fuck I can't believe the audacity to walk in with somebody else on her arm like that, you need to kick her to touch." Jas growled.