Streets of London Ch. 03

"Amy - are you aware of anyone being upstairs at all today?" he enquired.

She looked at him a bit puzzled, "Did she do something wrong? She said she'd left something from the other night and Geoff said she could go up and collect it."

Relieved that it wasn't Amy, Josh smiled, advising Amy of the panties that had been left - she made a joke of how Josh had such an effect on women, before she had to serve another punter. Finishing his pint, Josh pondered on Amy's joke, before he left the bar.

After his meal, Josh returned to his room above the pub; grabbing the panties, he took them to the room that he knew Geoff used and threw them on the bed. As he returned to his room, he picked up his guitar and started playing, running through some of his more familiar songs before starting to practice "Free Bird", the hardest song he had yet come across. He played it for two, maybe three hours, till he felt he had it down as good as he could get it. Once satisfied that his version was good enough to incorporate into the act, he messaged Shannon to tell her to learn the lyrics as they would be performing it the next night.

Pleased with his success, he made his way to the bar just in time for last orders. As he arrived at the bar, Amy rushed over to serve him; he ordered a pint for himself and told Amy to have one herself - as was customary, Amy charged for a drink and placed the money in the tips jar. Chatting to Amy just came so easy to Josh and he started to wonder whether he really needed to break Tom and Lucy up; after all, she had made her bed, maybe she deserved to lie in it. He started to consider abandoning his quest - life would be easier if he hooked up with Amy and she clearly was into him but just as his mind was wavering, a vision of Megan rising to her feet, her mouth dripping from Tom's cock played over his mind. There was no way he could let a bastard like Tom treat his Lucy like that and he finished his pint quickly, rushing back upstairs to his room. He took his phone out and reminded himself of the time of his appointment with the security company before turning in for the night.

The next day passed swiftly for Josh as he spent most of his time practicing for the night's gig. He had a reminder on his phone for the meeting in the afternoon and he made his way hastily to the office of the security firm. He sat down with one of the company's senior salesmen and discussed his needs. During the meeting, he was advised that what he was proposing was illegal and could get him a criminal record but they would happily supply him with the best miniature surveillance cameras as long as he took them on the basis that, if caught, he would state that the company didn't know what he wanted to use them for. Readily agreeing to this request, Josh was provided with three devices that he could easily install in Tom's office that not only took footage of what was happening but recorded sound as well. Leaving the office, Josh was ecstatic - in his pocket was all he needed to get the evidence he needed.

He returned to the pub and started setting up for the gig early, reserving Tom and Lucy's table and making sure there were enough seats for everyone, in case Courtney turned up. He checked the mikes as he always did, before he started playing some of his regular songs, getting lost in the music and not noticing people start to come through from the main bar. When he looked up, he realised he had an audience of about ten people, he smiled, "Umm - sorry - just practising - the gig doesn't start for," he looked at his watch, "about another hour yet."

"And I'm not paying you until the agreed start time," chimed in Geoff, who, to Josh's surprise, had been amongst his audience, "Listen Josh, we had calls from a couple of the other music rags as well as the local paper - you have a few critics coming tonight but, from what we just heard, you are ready for anything son."

"Really? What music journals? Who's coming? Why didn't you tell me before?", the questions poured from Josh's mouth as quickly as he could form them, "Tell me! Who's coming to the show?"

"Calm down lad - I didn't take notes - calls were taken and we said they could come - I thought you'd be pleased - Shannon sure is," responded Geoff, as he turned away and walked back to the bar.

Staring at his back as he departed, Josh started to fret. He always liked to be ahead of the game; always wanted to know in advance what he was facing and now, with less than an hour till the show was due to begin, this had been sprung on him. He started to ponder whether tonight was a good night to perform "Free Bird" for the first time - hell, he didn't even know how well Shannon had learned the lyrics!

He placed his guitar in its stand and walked through to the bar. Totally against his better judgment and his usual practice he asked Rhia for a pint of lager and downed it in less than a minute. Shaking his head, he walked back to the stage and sat down, wondering what he should do. His thoughts were interrupted by the sight of two gorgeous thighs staring him in the face. His eyes travelled up, taking in the thin waist and the firm, young breasts until they met Shannon's eyes.

"Fuck, cowboy - what a night this is going to be - Noami Sandersford! Who'd have thought she'd come to listen to us! And not only her but Greg Gefferson as well! We're on our way Joshy boy - the big time is just around the corner - we are gonna make megabucks once we get noticed!"

"Umm - I don't know Shannon - don't you think it's all a bit of a rush? I mean two weeks ago no-one had reviewed us and now we've got the top two critics in the business coming to listen! I'm not sure about "Free Bird" - how about we switch back to our original playlist?"

"What!! No way! Free Bird is a massive number - do it well and we are on our way! You wouldn't have told me to learn the lyrics unless you were sure you could play it - don't do this to me, Josh - don't you dare blow our big chance!" Shannon glared at him before turning to go to the bar to get herself a glass of wine.

Staring after her, Josh started strumming the opening chords to Free Bird, checking that he still remembered how to play it. He hadn't got very far into it when Shannon came storming back into the room. "No, no, no, no," she shouted, "Don't go giving the punters a preview of our show stopper - what the fuck are you thinking!"

Shocked, Josh stopped playing. "I just wanted to practice - fuck Shannon, I'm as nervous as hell. I don't want to blow this, that's why I need to practice."

"Calm down Joshy - you have never hit a bum note in any of our performances - well, at least none I've heard - you're good - we're good - just go with the flow, we can make it big with one good show tonight," she bent down and kissed his cheek, "We're good together baby."

A wave of emotions washed over Josh as she spoke and kissed his cheek; he knew, deep down, he still fancied her - who wouldn't, he said to himself - but she wasn't right for him - too volatile, too wayward, he could never trust her to be faithful.

He paced the room for a few minutes, his guts churning inside of him as he contemplated the possibilities that could arise from good reviews tonight. He went about his usual pre-gig checks when people started to enter the room; checking the mikes, checking, yet again, that his guitar was tuned and then going to the bar to get his glass of water.

When he saw Sally arrive, Josh remembered her interest in Shannon. He found Shannon at the bar, chatting to a couple of guys and wondered whether they were the critics; he knew she would try to find them and sweet talk them if she could. Pulling her aside, he decided to take the bull by the horns, "Look Shan - I know a woman who is interested in you - she's asked me to find out whether you're straight or bi."

Almost choking on her drink, Shannon looked wide-eyed at Josh, "What the fuck? Are you my pimp now? I'll do my own sourcing of sexual partners and I don't need any help from you! If this person wants to know whether I'll screw them or not, they need to grow some balls and come and ask me!"

Raising his hands in mock surrender, Josh made his way into the back room. He approached Sally to explain to her what had just happened and apologised for not being able to give her a definitive answer. As he made his way towards the stage, he noticed Courtney sitting at the reserved table.

"Hi - thanks for coming," he said, "I hope you enjoy."

Just then Tom, Lucy, Megan and Ryan arrived - Megan dressed sexily as was her way, with Tom paying her a lot of attention. They joined Courtney at the table and Tom went off to get a round in.

Making her way to the stage, Shannon nudged him, "Come on big boy - let's make this a night to remember," she gave him one of her lewd smiles as she said that. And then she whispered, "So - who is it then - that pretty girl with Tom and Lucy? If it's her, I could well be tempted."

"No - not her," responded Tom, "It's the brown-haired woman with the pony tail at the back table - the one in the dogtooth dress."

"Oh - a bit old for my tastes - maybe if I ever develop a mother fetish," as soon as she said that, she started to laugh, "Come on Joshy - let's get Streets out of the way, so I can begin to enjoy myself."

They played their first set without a hitch; a series of regular numbers that they mixed up to vary the weeks' performances. At the interval, as was customary, Josh joined Tom and Lucy's table, where a pint awaited him, while Shannon mingled with the crowd. She joined them after about ten minutes.

"Tight bunch tonight," she moaned, "only got an extra £15," she took hold of a glass of wine, without checking if it was, indeed, for her and gulped about half the contents down.

"Did you speak to the critics at all?" enquired Josh, glancing nervously at where the small group of journalists were standing, chatting amongst themselves.

"They are too high and mighty," she replied, "I tried to get them onside before the gig but they brushed me off like a fly - they think so bloody much of themselves."

"Let's do Free Bird as our first number of the second set - see if we can grab their attention a bit more," suggested Josh.

"Anything you say, Joshy - just let me undo another button," as she turned her back on the audience and undid a button on her blouse, exposing even more of her cleavage.

When she was ready, Josh began playing - keeping his nerves in check as he performed this difficult number for the first time in public in front of two of the most influential critics in the industry. With the guitar intro being quite long, the critics eyes were focussed on Josh as he played; Josh couldn't help but notice most of the other men in the room were watching Shannon as she danced sensually to the music.

He breathed a sigh of relief as the number ended, with a burst of applause coming from the audience. They then played their way through the rest of the second part of their act; a mixture of regular and new numbers that they were comfortable with. Once they finished, Noami wandered across to the stage.

"Well done, young man - I was a bit surprised when you started playing Free Bird but you did it justice. It's not an easy number, I know, but you did very well. I'm impressed - and Shannon is like a breath of fresh air - I haven't seen anyone that sassy in a good few years."

"Well, I'm glad you can recognise good talent when you see it," piped in Shannon, "I'll be expecting a top review from you then!" With that she left the stage to speak to the other journalists who were still stood where they had been watching.

Rising to his feet and putting his guitar away, Josh thanked Noami for her kind words and apologised for Shannon's brashness.

"No need to apologise young man, I'm used to all sorts in this business. You and her seem like salt and pepper - very different characters - in my experience that is needed in a good band - if you are too alike you have the same thoughts, ideas and tend to clash a lot. Being different is a good thing." Shaking his hand, Noami went back to the group of journalists where Shannon was holding court, charming the guys and answering all of their questions.

Making his way to Lucy's table, Josh sat down and a pint was placed in front of him.

"There you go Josh, you deserve that," said Courtney, smiling as she manoeuvred the glass in front of him, "You were amazing - I really wasn't expecting you to be that good."

"Thanks Courtney," he smiled at her as he spoke, and then took a long draught from his glass, emptying almost half of the contents. "Fuck, I needed that," he said as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

The conversation centred around the evenings performance with his "friends" asking him about what the music critic had said. They were delighted with the news that it seemed he and Shannon were going to get good reviews and they drank to his and Shannon's future success.

Whilst drinking and chatting, Josh kept watching Tom and Megan but nothing seemed to be happening between them and he eventually gave up his detective work and enjoyed the last hour of opening time with the group.

When the pub was closing, he said goodnight to his friends as they departed. He hadn't realised that Courtney had hung back until she approached him.

"We don't have to spend the night alone Josh," she whispered, "No strings but I don't want to go back to my lonely bed when I could be curled up with you."

He looked into her eyes; somehow, they seemed sexier, more tantalising than they had in the office. Her perfume was intoxicating, drawing him in. He kissed her neck and nibbled at her ear.

"I live here - above the pub - if you mean it Courtney - especially the no-strings bit - then I would love to take you up to my bed," he looked into her eyes and moved his lips to hers, kissing her lightly, tenderly as his hands moved to her waist and pulled her towards him.

"Don't mind me," stated Tom, as he walked past them, "Just forgot my umbrella." He picked it up from under the table they had been sitting at and winked at Josh as he made his way out.

Leading Courtney to the bar, Josh asked for a bottle of champagne to take up with them, with Rhia handing him two glasses. "If you think you can handle both of us, I'd love to join you," she said with a wink.

Josh looked at her, his mouth agape. "Umm - no - no - I'm not sure Courtney signed up for a threesome," he mumbled as he took Courtney's hand and lead her up to his room.

"Excuse the mess," he stated, "typical bachelor pad, I guess." He ushered her in the room and locked the door behind them.

"Oooh, keeping me prisoner are we?" enquired Courtney, as she removed her jacket and kicked off her heels.

Blushing, Josh explained that anyone could enter the room from outside unless the room was locked. He looked at Courtney, wondering whether this was a good idea or whether he was just complicating his life further.

As he pondered whether he had made the right decision, she walked towards him and grabbed the sides of his t-shirt, pulling it over his head and revealing his bare torso. Her mouth moved to his smooth chest and she traced her tongue over his pecs, sucking on first one nipple and then the other.

"You want me to undress or would you rather do it?" she asked, huskily.

Groaning, Josh started to undo the buttons on her blouse, popping them open at quite a rate as he suddenly felt the need for coupling, for sex, for the touch and taste of a woman's body. He pulled the sleeves down her arms and tossed the satin rag to the floor, lowering his head and burying his face in the valley between her bra-covered breasts. He kissed and licked hungrily as her hands undid his belt, then the button on his jeans before she slid his zip down and placed her hand on the bulge in his boxers.

"Oh fuck," she moaned, "someone's ready to come out and play."

She lowered herself to her knees, pulling his boxers down as she did. As soon as his cock sprang free, it was engulfed by her mouth. Her tongue lapping at his peehole, as her hands encircled him and grabbed his arse cheeks.

"Fuck, you don't waste any time do you?" he moaned, as he ran his fingers through her hair, "Better slow down though, if you don't want me to cum instantly."

"We've got all night honey," she purred, "I love to see how many times I can make a man cum - my record is six so far - reckon you can beat that?"

"Good job I've got no plans for tomorrow," he muttered, "reckon I'll need the day in bed to recover."

"if you're staying in bed I might just stay with you," she smiled at him before taking the head of his cock back into her mouth, her eyes staring into his.

Josh stumbled to the bed and lay down on his back. "Get stripped Courtney - then you can carry on where you left off - but let me eat your pussy at the same time; the one who lasts longest gets to choose what position we do it in the first time."

Hastily removing her skirt, Courtney was about to undo her suspenders when Josh intervened.

"Can you take your knickers off and leave them on?" he enquired.

"I guess - if you want," she replied, undoing the suspenders to slide her black lace knickers down, before doing the suspenders up again. She playfully kicked the knickers at his face as she reached behind herself to undo her bra, freeing her gorgeous breasts to his gaze. He caught the panties in mid-air, holding them to his nose and inhaling deeply before wrapping them around his cock.

"You can use those to stroke me with," he suggested as she mounted the bed, placing her legs either side of his head and lowering her pussy to his mouth. He grabbed her hips and pulled her hard against his mouth, his tongue flicking over her slit several times before she had managed to position her mouth on his cock.

"No fair," she complained, "you got a head start." Her mouth now taking the head of his cock in and licking and sucking on the engorged nob. One hand went to his shaft and started to stroke the base with her lacy panties while the other cupped and massaged his balls. Feeling close to cumming already, Josh tried to think about boring things like his duties at the office as he redoubled his efforts on her pussy, finding her clit and licking and sucking it.

Her hips started to buck and Josh took that as a positive sign, continuing to lick and suck hard on her sensitive button as he pushed two fingers into her wet love tunnel. Knowing that she would cum soon if he continued, Courtney moved her hand from his balls and slid them along his perineum, locating his anus she pushed a finger in hard. Rewarded instantly with a hot stream of cum in her mouth, Courtney continued to suck until he had finished shooting his load.

Taking her mouth from his cock, she started to laugh "I won - I won," she cried out as she turned her face to look at him, opening her mouth to show a load of his cum before she closed and swallowed.

"You cow, that was cheating," he moaned.

"I don't recall there being any rules laid down," she retorted, "just that the one who lasts longest gets to choose position - I want you to fuck me doggy style."

As she said that, Josh laughed, "That's what I would have chosen anyway," he stated, "but I'll need a while to recover. Champagne?"

"Sure," she said, wiggling her arse over his face, "right after you finish your job and make me cum."

"Oh, right - yeah, sorry," he said, pulling her pussy against his mouth again and resuming sucking her clit as he finger fucked her. She was more active now - now that she wasn't trying to avoid cumming - grinding her pussy over his face and encouraging him to go faster and deeper with his fingers.

"Add another one," she commanded, "I can easily take three - I've been fisted before - fuck me with your hand Josh - fill me with your hand and pump it inside me."