Forgive Me Ch. 2

  It was a stuffy half-hour drive to West Hollywood, but at least Ashley bothered to rent a limo for them. The guys spent the drive joking in the back. Ashley assured them all that this was only the first stop in a two-part evening. ‘The business part,’ he’d called it.

  They arrived at a place called the Soho House. It looked like a real uppity sort of place, and all but Ashley were nervous.

  “So…what the Hell are we supposed to expect out of this?” Christian asked.

  “Nothing too much,” Ashley said. “And I only had you dress fancy for the people that are there.” He winked at them. “Gotta keep my good name rolling.”

  “I thought you said this was dinner,” Andy shot at him.

  “Not to worry, not to worry!” Ashley said, putting his hands defensively in front of him. “We’re not really meant to eat here. That’s numero dos in my plan.” He smiled and held out the number two on his hand. Andy just rolled his eyes in response.

  Ashley led them inside and up an elevator. He spoke to one of the ‘attendants’ – he wasn’t quite a waiter, nor was he a bouncer – and led them in another room. Inside the room was a crowd full of almost fifty people. Posters for the “Legion of the Black” movie were hanging in frames around the walls, and tables were set up with fancy drinks four of the five brothers could never guess the names for.

  “Alright, so this is the ‘posh’ part of the evening,” Ashley said. “Something our manager planned last-minute that I decided to make fun.”

  “Wait, so you knew about this?” Jake asked.

  “Well, yeah, but I wanted it to be a surprise for you guys.” He smiled innocently, but the boys were having mixed feelings about the whole thing.

  Jinxx looked around. There were so many people in fancy clothes. He looked over at Andy, who actually looked underdressed compared to this crowd. He could tell Andy was nervous; he was doing that thing where he constantly rubbed the inside of his wrist.

  “Look, it’ll be quick,” Ashley assured them.

  “It better be, Ash,” Andy said, frantically looking for a familiar face that he wouldn’t find.

  “I promise. Just be cool, get through the screening, and we’ll go have some real fun.”

  Ashley grabbed a glass from the table, clinked a spoon against it, and the whole room fell under his command. He said a few words that Andy was too zoned out to notice, then everyone started filing into the Screening Room. Andy stood there, rubbing his wrist, until Jinxx grabbed him and gently urged him into the next room.

  Fifty red velvet seats were set in rows in front of an almost-wall-to-wall screen. Jinxx helped Andy inside and into his seat, front and center. All five of the brothers sat together: Andy in the middle, with CC and Ashley to his right, and Jinxx and Jake to his left.

  Andy had no memories of the movie starting, playing, or ending. It wasn’t until the lights were back on, and Jinxx was ushering him out that Andy remembered to breathe properly.

  Jinxx pulled him aside and looked at him carefully. “Andy, you okay?”

  “Y-yeah.” He had practically rubbed his wrist raw. Though his breathing was now even, he just couldn’t fully calm down.

  “Andy, what’s wrong? Just tell me…”

  “It’s nothing.” There was an edge to Andy’s voice Jinxx had only ever heard a few times. Whenever Andy got pissed at someone in the crowd that would flick him off, that’s where the edged voice was. And Andy had just used that on him.

  Jinxx looked down and slunk away to find Ashley. Andy waited by the door, and a few people came to greet and congratulate him. He smiled and made small talk, but he couldn’t really tell what was going on. It was like he was underwater, and no one needed to breathe except him, who kept forgetting how to anyway.

  They just keep talking, he thought. When will they ever go away?

  It felt like hours to him, but it was only a few minutes before people started leaving. Andy finally saw only himself and his brothers standing in the room. Jinxx stood next to Jake, still nervous to go back to Andy’s side.

  “Well,” Ashley said, dramatically clapping his hands together. “That wasn’t so bad.” A devilish grin spread across his face, and his brothers knew he was planning something that was actually ‘pure Ashley.’

  “So, where to, now?” Jake asked.

  “The fun part.” Ashley started heading into the hallway, and the others followed him to the elevator – Jinxx practically clinging to Jake, and Andy holding back about ten paces.

  “Boys,” the bassist said as the elevator bell dinged and opened to their floor. “Let me show you to one of the best night clubs around: Lure.”