Hollywood Waltz (Jerod's First Tale - Part 2)

I need to start learning about the people in this town. Who might be allies/friends? Who might be enemies? Who might be a rival?

Marigold Racket, she's evil but retired. That puts her in the potential friend or ally category. Or it should but I have a feeling that some of her family work in the warehouse. Don't count on her support if family gets involved.

Man gets hungry after a good workout. With Tania's promotion and mine, we can afford to stop by the cheap diner for food.  Not great but better than my cooking. One of us needs to work on this cooking thing. Probably me, I'm sure that Tania will appreciate it.

Oh, did I mention my promotion yet? I'm now a cutpurse and working during the day. Annoying in a way, it's going to eat into my ability to bar hop if I have to be at work when the bars start opening up.

Tania and I decided to get some band practice in.We used the instruments in Red Rendezvous again. We still can't afford a drum kit for me.

We are definitely getting better. But one guitar and drums does not make a band.

So we asked a couple of other people to join us.

Tatianna Solez plays a mean bass. She also gives out some mega tough vibes, I better be ready to run interference if she bullies Tania. Nobody can mess with my roomie but me.

Another random find was MJ Rose. She's decent on the keyboards, about the same as I am on the drums. The four of us jammed together for quite some time. Eventually though, we did have to take a break.

I wanted to chat with MJ because she's cute. Very cute.

She was headed downstairs after the session, it took me a few moments to catch up. I did finally get her to stop so we could have a chat.

"Hey gorgeous, where's the fire?"

"What?"

"Don't be in such a rush to leave. I wanted to get to know you. You're wicked on that keyboard."

"Thanks but there are better players out there."

"In this one horse town? I don't think so. Tania and I have a band, wanna join up?"

"Really? Sounds like fun. Do you have any gigs?"

"Not yet. We need a bass player and then we'll need to prove our worth. At least it will be fun to jam out until someone notices us."

"I'm in."

"Great. Just one more question."

"Yes?"

"What's your sign, cutie?" Damn, she blushed. Don't all the guys hit on her?

"Aquarius."

"Oh baby, I'm Aries, we are just meant to be together." She blushed again and went for the bar. Cute and shy, what possibilities.


The other thing I wanted to ask her was about joining me in a hot tub but there aren't any in town. Damn, all these cute woman and not a single hot tub to skinny dip in.

Since band practice was over, it was time to party down.

"Tania, wanna dance?"

"Sure, why not Shrimpy." Damn, I wish she wouldn't call me that. Makes me want to ... I don't know but she'd notice that I'm not the nicest guy in town.

Pretty good on the dance floor. I'd say we're a hot couple but with that flamethrower there, who wouldn't be?

I tried one of the bar drinks. Interesting colour. Wonder what's in it?

Heh, MJ can't look my direction without blushing again. Very cute, she is at the top of my to-do list.

I indulged in some table dancing.

Hey, ladies of Twinbrook. You know you want a piece of this action. Step right up and let me show you a good time.

Damnit, where are they? I know I'm smokin'. 

It turned out that Tania had idiotically already invited Amy Bull into the band. No idea what was going on in that cute little head.

It was up to me to be the bad guy and kick Amy out. That way we can get Tatianna in and have a proper band.

"Amy, how come you failed to turn up when Tania called a practice session?"

"I had work."

"Work? When you are in the band, the band has to come first. We'll never get gigs if 'work' gets in your way. You are out!" Short and to the point, a clean break.

Pity that Amy won't like me after this because I'd like to get her into a hot tub. After finding out her sign. She's cute.

Damn, I wonder where the hell I'm going to get a hot tub. We are a long way from buying one ourselves and there are so many foxy chicks in this town. They deserve a piece of my action.

Maybe I can find a rich old biddy to buy one. I'd make the sacrifice of skinny dipping with *anyone* if that means I can get girls into a hot tub when I want.

Mary Baker, not friend but not foe. Not interesting either.

I see that Tania is chatting with Amy. Amy doesn't hate her. Damn having to be the bad guy in this case.

Hmm, Sinbad Rotter. He's evil and one of my coworkers. Potential rival in the making, I have to keep a close eye on this one. Of course, if he's interested in stealing, we might end up being best pals. Thieves are not my rivals.

After a highly successful night, Tania and I headed for home.

This is weird. I don't find Tania attractive in the least. Sure, she is cute but there's just no real connection that I can feel.

And yet she's irresistible to me. One flirt and I want her in bed, again.

"Hey baby, let me relieve some of your tension."

"Shrimpy, you do that so well."

"I can do even more if you want to hop into bed with me."

She gave me a kiss that stole my breath away and lead me to her bed.

Yes, seriously she took me straight to her bed.

Tania isn't my soul mate but she's a damn fine fuck buddy. We do have a lot of fun and relieve a lot of tension in bed. Roomies with benefits.

My favourite hobby is painting. The only problem is that I'm not good enough to make any money at it all.

Is it a waste of time to keep trying?

Tania really is a dedicated musician, even if she is a goody goody. Only a few hours before she is supposed to turn up to work and she's out trying for tips.

Unfortunately, this town is stuffed with tightwads. No one dropped a coin in her case. Not one lousy coin.

I will fix that when I'm Emperor. 

Back at the gym, my coworkers have mentioned that fitness is a vital part of the job.

Damn, working out is hard. Really hard, I just hope the results will be worth the effort.

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Bonus pics

Hey Dee, look at the family I found in my bin! Definitely yours though it's been so long since I've seen them that I can't remember much about the North at all. Star Matlock isn't yours but the rest are.

Couldn't work out a good reason Jerod would want you to see his backside in a shower but I certainly think some of you would like it. Note to self, room too small, must make bigger for a better angle.

Twallan's woohooer rates Tania and Jerod at 1 on a scale of 1 to 10. Truly, no attraction at all. But seriously, every time they flirt, they want to woohoo. No idea what's up with that.