old fashioned • dj&ts

xxv. second class citizen

Eddie and Alexis were on top of the world the entire night, talking about where they wanted to live after the tour and planning a housewarming/wedding party where everyone can celebrate without having to worry about playing a show the same night. He was about to go on stage as a married man, playing for his family with his dad's ring on his finger and his wife in the wings. He thought this show would be the best he's ever played, and it was. When the moment came for him to join Daisy on stage for their encore, his night came crashing to a halt. Billy took his one big moment; the moment he's been telling his family about for weeks.

Warren handed him a beer as he watched Billy walk back on stage, and Alexis was quick to notice how deflated he looked.

"Why don't we go?" Alexis asked, holding his hand. He looked at her and nodded, turning his back to the stage and leaving before the show was over. He tried to forget his anger towards Billy and focus on his night with Alexis, but everything Billy had ever done to hurt him started to consume his thoughts. Alexis knelt next to him on the bed and held his hands. "I'm sorry Billy took your song. That was really selfish of him, especially today."

"Yeah," Eddie scoffed, looking down.

"We're in the honeymoon suite of the fanciest hotel in Pittsburgh with a bottle of whiskey, wine, and a bathtub that can fit ten people. I promise, Billy will be the last thing on your mind tonight," Alexis told him, placing her hand under his chin and kissing him. "If it helps, not one single thing about him even compares to you. You're a better player, a better singer, a better person. You'll be a better husband and a better father..."

"Is it bad that this is turning me on?" Eddie asked. Alexis laughed, shaking her head.

"I'm sure you're better in bed, too."

"Fuck, I love you," he said breathlessly, kissing her roughly. After they resolved that tension, they spent a good portion of the night drinking in the bathtub. The hotel gave them soap, flowers and candles to make it look romantic, but they felt silly surrounded by it all. They've shared a lot of romantic moments, but never like this.

"I know we talked about having kids, but I don't think we should for a few years," Alexis told him. "We're twenty-three, we still have so much life ahead of us. I like not having responsibilities."

"I'm glad you said that because I agree," Eddie laughed. "I'm not ready to leave this part of our lives behind yet. I want to keep making music and travel the world, whether it's with the band or with you. Now that I know you sing, maybe we can write something together."

"I'm not a performer like you are."

"Then we'll sell it to Billy and Daisy and use the money to go to Paris," Eddie smiled. "Are you ready for Chicago?"

"Fuck, I forgot that's in two days," Alexis whined, putting her head in her hands. "I can't say no to Daisy, she makes it so hard."

"You two are like fucking soulmates, I actually get jealous of her sometimes."

You have no idea, Alexis thought to herself.

"I love you both so much, but she's not you," Alexis reassured him. "You'd be screwed, though, if I was romantically attracted to her."

"Are you sexually attracted to her?" Eddie asked, intending for his question to come off as a joke.

"Have you met Daisy Jones?" Alexis laughed, noticing his facial expression change in a way she didn't like. "Don't get any ideas."

"They're already in my head," he shrugged. "There's no getting them out now."

Alexis stuck to her promise and Eddie didn't think about Billy Dunne one time that night. He thought about Daisy a lot, though. Something about the idea of her and Alexis together was captivating.

"You're still thinking about it, aren't you?" Alexis asked the next morning. Eddie nodded. "If I kissed her in front of you, would you let it go?"

"Don't fuck with me, I'd donate a lung to see that," Eddie exaggerated. When he brought up the mere idea of Daisy and Alexis kissing to the rest of the band on the jet that afternoon, he started to bet on the possibility.

"I think they'd do it," Karen agreed.

"No way," Graham argued. "They're close, but I don't think they're that close."

"You don't think they'd kiss if we asked them to?" Eddie asked. "Even just for fun?"

"Are you trying to bet on your wife cheating on you with another woman?" Karen asked, laughing at the thought as she looked at the two girls chatting a few tables away from them. "You're disgusting."

"I don't think it's cheating," Eddie defended.

"How is it different than her kissing another man?"

"Oh, Karen," Warren shook his head. "It's very different. It's hot."

"Vile, all of you," Karen told them. "What are you willing to bet?"

"If you ask them to kiss in front of all of us before the show tonight, I'll bet a hundred bucks they don't do it," Warren challenged. Graham agreed, doubling the bet.

"I'll bet a hundred bucks they do," Eddie added, Karen doubling his bet.

"Do they think we can't hear them?" Daisy asked. "We should do it before they can ask, imagine their fucking faces. It's not like we haven't done it before."

"Eddie doesn't even know that," Alexis laughed. "I basically told him that I think you're hot and now he can't get the idea of us together out of his head."

"Good," Daisy smiled, sitting back in her seat. "Now you'll both think about me when you kiss."