Chapter 26

“Umm, yeah, Velvet’s my sister.” Billie smiled as Velvet linked her arm into one of Billie’s.

“Wow, that’s cool.” Shane nodded.

“Billie worked up in Seattle and is moving down here.” Velvet looked up at Billie. She played with part of raven dark hair of her sister, who rolled her eyes as if this was something Velvet always did. Shane laughed quietly and then stopped when Velvet looked over her shoulder, her smile fading.

Shane turned to see Andie standing in the doorway. Velvet cleared her throat. “Billie come and meet some of the ladies.”

Velvet pulled gently on Billie’s arm. “Ok, hey nice meeting you Shane.”

They stopped for Velvet to introduce Andie and Billie quickly, before stepping back into the house. Andie looked down for a moment while Shane swallowed hard taking in the sight of Andie’s body.

“Hi.” Andie said barely.

“Hey.” Shane said back. They stared at each other for a long time. Neither knowing what to say.

Andie let out a breath. “Say something, Shane.”

Shane didn’t even think before speaking. “Don’t go, please.”

Shane had taken a small step towards her and Andie smiled. “No.”

Shane looked down at her black converse shoes.

“But I didn’t want to leave without talking to you.” Andie whispered.

“I’m sorry.” The brunette looked up with tears in her eyes, noticing that Andie had moved closer to her.

“I know.” Andie started. “Why didn’t you at least call me and ask me? Why didn’t you even trust me?”

Shane ran her hand through her short hair. “I tried to call you and some girl answered. There were all these things..”

“Shane.” Andie’s voice stayed calm. ” I believe that, but why didn’t you trust me?”

She had moved close to Shane. She looked into Shane’s eyes, her own pleading for the truth.

“I have always been let down. All my life, I’ve learned never to fall and never let myself feel because if I did then I would be let down again. I fell for you Andie, completely and deeply. When that girl put that little sliver of doubt in my head, I thought Jesus Christ, it happened one more time. One more time.” Shane whispered the last thing to Andie who never took her eyes off of Shane.

A tear fell down Shane’s cheek and Andie moved to wipe the tear away, but stopped herself. She shook her head and stepped back. Shane reached out to grab Andie’s arm, pulling her closer. Andie looked at the blackened eye and small split in Shane’s lip. She growled to herself.

“Damn that Zo. I’m going to go kick her ass.” Andie turned to walk into the house, but Shane grabbed her arm to spin her back around.

“No, no. I deserved it.” Shane grinned.

Andie gasped. “Shane.”

Shane allowed the back of her hand to caress the side of her cheek. Andie closed her eyes at the touch of Shane’s hand. She opened her eyes and peered into the deep emerald green eyes. She saw something that she could only define as acceptance.

“Andie, I’ll give you all the time you need, but you..” Shane placed her hand on her chest. “You are in my soul, I’m yours. Promise me that you will come back.”

Andie stayed quiet and then spoke carefully. “When you can finally let go of the past, we will have a future. Then I will come back to you, I promise.”

Shane nodded and tried to fight back more tears without any luck. Andie caught them this time, wiping the tears away. She smiled softly as Shane took her hands from her cheeks. She brought them to her lips, kissing them tenderly. Andie took a deep breath to keep herself from crying, something she knew she would be doing throughout the evening. Shane dropped her hands.

“We should go in there and enjoy your party.” She nodded in the direction of the house. Andie smiled and turned to look through the open door on the deck. She watched as her friends all talked, laughing every now and then. Zo and Carmen were facing each other talking so close and then would kiss. Alice and Dana were looking at the art on the walls with Bette, while Tina and Velvet were filling up wine goblets. She then let the tall brunette lead her into the house, where they were greeted by all of the women that had become such an important thing in her life. They were like family to her.

Kit and Velvet cornered Andie as soon as she entered the dining room from the deck.

“All right, girl, we have a surprise for you.” Kit said taking her hand and Velvet taking the other. She walked with them, leaving Shane behind, to one of the sled sofas. Andie grinned immediately when she gazed over two large framed pictures. One of them was a photo of the first time the Prozac’s played at the Planet. Andie was singing into the microphone, while Zo leaned with her back against Andie playing her guitar. Samson was close behind them, with Darius standing up behind his drums. Andie laughed softly and then stared at the next picture frame. This one was of a time that Zo and Andie had performed at Velvet’s. Both women were sitting on stools singing in the picture.

“We are going to place them in the Planet and Velvet’s. So when you make it big, we can lie and say you started at our clubs.” Velvet smiled and squeezed Andie’s hand.

Alice walked up to Andie with a small box wrapped in purple paper. She handed it to Andie.

“This is from me.” She said quietly and patted on the seat next to her.

They both sat on the other sofa. Her friends had gathered in the room together. Each holding something in their hands wrapped in the same purple paper. Andie tore the paper of the small box that Alice had given to her. She then opened a small white box and saw a pair of keys on a key chain. Along with the keys was a tiny black box.

“They are keys to my apartment. If you ever lose them you just clap your hands.” Alice clapped her hands and a beep came from the keys. Andie laughed.

“I think you might need these more than me, Allie.” She said between laughs.

“Don’t worry, I got one, too. Since I don’t have you around to find my keys for me, trollop.” Alice grumbled.

Andie opened each of the presents from the women. She laughed with almost every gift. Dana had given her a tennis racket catalog, to prove that there really were several different types of them. Jenny gave her an umbrella for the Seattle weather. Tina gave Andie a special lamp.

“It’s a sun lamp, I heard it helps to have one of these so you don’t get depressed from the gloomy weather.” Tina said.

Bette gave her the exact same flower arrangement that she had given Andie on her first performance at the Planet. Plus, special blends of coffee from the Planet. Carmen gave her a CD that Zo had helped make. On it were the songs, Rawhide, Peach, and the original versions of songs that the Prozac’s had covered. Such as, Our Lips are Sealed by the Go Go’s, Weak as I am by K’s Choice, and Drain the Blood by the Distillers.

When it came time for Zo to give her gift she plopped down beside Andie and handed her the present. Andie opened it to find a large photo album. Inside were a few picture of when the Prozac’s had first started, a picture of Dana and Alice sitting on sinks in the Planet’s bathroom. A photo of Brody with her band lounging in their tour bus was included in the album. Carmen was messing with her turntables in one picture. Tina and Velvet were sitting at the table in the back row of Velvet’s. There were several pictures of Dana’s Slim Daddy henna tattoo and Zo’s marked up body from Vegas. Bette was standing on a bed at Sing in Bed in another picture.

“We all came up with the pictures.” Zo said watching Andie flip through the album. She came across Alice’s article on the Prozac’s and the Planet. Then a few pictures of Shane in Vegas and leaning against her truck. She smiled when she saw a picture of Shane and her together at the Planet, they were holding hands in the photo and looked happy.

Andie flipped to the last page and saw that it was dedicated to Rae, with pictures of her sister. Along with the photos of Rae was a picture of Zo and Andie, when they sang the tribute to Rae. Andie ran her fingers over one of the photos of Rae and then looked up at her friends. She smiled and felt a tear spring from the corner of one her gray eyes.

“Thank you so much. I love all of the presents, you guys.” Andie said sincerely, meeting each pair of eyes in the room. The women all held a glass of wine in their hands.

“To your quick return.” Bette moved her glass in a toast to Andie along with the other women.

Shane sipped her wine and then sat down the glass on an end table. Andie watched her as she looked around uncomfortably. The ladies had scattered around the house. Velvet was in a corner introducing Jenny to Billie. Jenny seemed shy as Billie’s gaze fell over the small woman’s body.

Andie’s eyes remained on Shane, who soon turned and looked back at her. She dropped her head and moved to Andie. She handed Andie an envelope and stepped back once, watching as Andie opened it. She smiled as she read the words.

Hold me, even though I know you’re leaving
And
Show me all the reasons you would stay
It’s just enough to feel your breath on mine
To hold my soul and ease my mind
You’ve gotta hold me and show me love
Give me just one part of you to cling to
And
Keep me every where you roam
It’s just enough that you steal my heart and run
Oh please don’t go, let me have you just one moment more.
All I need all I want is just one moment more.
You’ve gotta hold me and keep me love
Tell me that someday you’ll be returning.
And
Maybe I’ll believe
It’s just enough to see a shooting star to know you’re never really far.
It’s just enough to see a shooting start to know you’re never really gone.
Oh please don’t go, let me have you just one moment more.
All I need all I want is just one moment more.
You’ve gotta hold me and maybe I’ll believe.
So hold me even though I know you’re leaving.

Andie’s mouth opened partly and she peered up at Shane. “Did you write this yourself?”

Shane took a breath. “Yes.”

“I love it, Shane.” Andie’s eyes sparkled with sadness when she looked at Shane.

“Good luck, Andie.” Shane’s raspy voice said, before leaning forward to place a kiss on Andie’s forehead. She walked backwards a few steps then twisted around, leaving the house.

Shane walked quickly to her truck. She had opened the door when she heard her name being called. Andie ran down the stairs of Velvet’s and out to Shane’s truck. She stopped and watched Andie standing before her breathing hard.

“Shane.” Andie said.

She said nothing else and ran closer to Shane, wrapping her arms around the brunette. Shane immediately pulled Andie closer, breathing in her scent. Andie pulled back and pressed her lips against Shane’s. Their kiss was desperate and deep, tongues dancing against each other. Shane broke the kiss and pressed her forehead to Andie’s.

“Come home with me, just for tonight.” Andie whispered.

Shane nodded slowly. “Get in.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Zo looked out the window and watched as Andie got into Shane’s truck. The haunting voice of Amy Lee filled her head with the song My Immortal. Carmen walked beside Zo and watched the truck drive away. She slid her arms around Zo’s waist, whose head fell sadly. Carmen understood Zo’s sadness because she would be parting with someone who was not only the closest thing to a sister, but also someone who was connected to her past. All of it would mean closure on the chapter of Rae for Zo. Carmen pulled Zo closer to her and felt the small girl shaking. They stayed in front of the window, with Zo placing her head onto Carmen’s shoulder.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shane and Andie were facing each other in front of Andie’s bed. Shane ran her fingertips over the flesh of Andie’s arms down to her wrists, taking them into her hands and coaxing the arms into the air. Shane let go of the wrists to push up the hem of the shirt Andie was wearing up and off, tossing it onto the bed. She then squatted and hooked her fingers into the skirt, letting her hands trail down the bare skin as she pulled the skirt off. Andie stepped out of the skirt and looked down at Shane. She was unlacing each boot on Andie’s feet and taking them off. Shane peered up at the woman standing before her in sheer black boi shorts with baby blue lace trim and a matching bra. She stood up slowly while Andie took off her bra letting her full breasts spring free. A gasp was caught in Shane’s throat and she quickly took off her own clothing as Andie slipped the boi shorts off and sat on the edge of the bed. Both completely naked and wanting to memorize every inch of each other’s bodies.

Shane finally bent down to kiss Andie softly, touching her cheek lovingly. She soon pushed Andie onto the bed and pressed her body tight against Andie’s.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Andie stroked the top of Shane’s head as the woman slept. They had made love throughout the night and the first morning’s light was beginning to peek out. Andie moved carefully from underneath Shane. She walked quietly out of the room and found her phone. She dialed Zo’s number.

Zo woke up to her ringing phone. She looked at the clock that read 6:15 am.

“Hello?” Zo groaned.

“Hey.” Andie said quietly. “Will you and Alice meet me in a half an hour at the Planet?”

Zo stretched. “Yeah.”

“Good, bring those presents, please.” Andie said watching Shane sleep and then hung up.

Zo rolled over trying to wake up and then called Alice. Zo yawned while waiting for Alice to pick up.

“Alice?” she said.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Andie was now dressed leaning over the counter, writing on a piece of paper. When she was done, she moved to her room silently. Shane was lying on her stomach, the comforter and sheets only covering her from the waist down. Andie stood by the bed, staring at the woman in her bed. She placed the piece of paper on the pillow next to Shane and walked out of the room. She pulled on one of her bags, turning to look at Shane once more. Andie let the tears fall freely before walking to the apartment door and soon out of the apartment completely.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Why is it, we can never meet at a normal time of day?” Alice growled.

Zo yawned and shrugged taking a drink of her coffee. “Because that would make too much sense.”

They saw Andie walk into the Planet and to their table.

“Hi ladies.” Andie said sitting down.

“Hey, you want to order something?” Zo asked.

“No I don’t have time.” Andie said breathlessly.

Zo and Alice looked at each other and then back to Andie. “We brought the gifts.” Alice said handing a bag to Andie. She took it and smiled.

“You guys, I’ve decided to leave this morning instead of tonight. My flight leaves in two hours.” Andie spoke quickly.

“What? Why?” Alice squealed.

“What the fuck? We have that show tonight. You know the one, where I worked my ass off to be ready for.” Zo leaned forward.

“Yes, I know. I’m sorry, Zo, but I know you can do the show without me.” Andie looked into Zo’s eyes.

“No! I can’t!” The small woman said angrily.

“Yes you can. You know all the words and how they are supposed to sound. Please Zo.” Andie said calmly.

Zo stared back into Andie’s eyes and saw the urgency in them. She knew something was wrong. She looked over at Alice whose mouth was just open in shock. They all sat trying to come up with something to say. Alice closed her mouth and ran her hand through her hair, while Zo looked down at her coffee cup. Andie stood up and took the bag of gifts with her.

“Don’t hate me, Zo. I have to get a cab.” Andie forced a smile.

Zo stood up and grabbed Andie’s arm. “I would never hate you, just make me understand.”

“I can’t even make myself understand. It’s everything wrapped into one. Shane, the band, usI have to go.” Andie started shaking.

Alice said quickly. “No! No! Let me take you. Zo can come with us. We can make sense of this on the way.”

Andie nodded still locking eyes with Zo, who stepped back.

“No. I think I’ll stay here.” Zo whispered and bowed her head.

Andie put her bag down in one of the chairs, before she could turn back around; Zo grabbed her and pulled her into a hug. She buried her face into Andie’s shoulder. Andie smiled softly and petted the back of Zo’s head and felt her heart sink when she heard the soft sobs come from the small girl. Andie closed her eyes tightly trying to remain strong for her friend. When they released the hug, both were crying. Andie took Zo’s hand and placed the keys to her apartment in her palm. Zo squeezed the cold metal tightly in her hand.

“I love you, Zo.” Andie could barely speak.

Zo wiped her eyes and glanced at Alice who had tears strolling down her face.

“I love you, too.” Zo cried and then hugged Andie again. “I’ll see you soon.”

Andie nodded and picked the bag up again. Alice and Andie left the Planet. Zo watched as they walked past one of the windows. She waved at Andie before they walked out of sight. Zo sighed to herself and pulled up the hood on her hoodie, along with a pair of her sunglasses. She sat down and rolled the coffee cup between her hands.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shane groaned and rolled onto her back. She was trying to remember where she was. She sat up quickly when she realized that she was at Andie’s. Shane looked at the other side of the bed and saw the piece of paper that lay on the pillow. She refused to read it and wrapped the gray sheet around her as she got out of the bed.

She searched around the apartment for Andie, her bare feet slapping against the wooden floor. After checking the restroom, kitchen and dining room, she looked at the door. Shane noticed the bags that were sitting close to the door the night before were now gone. Her shoulders sank as she slowly made her way back to the bedroom. She kneeled on the bed and picked up the piece of paper that seemed to weigh three tons in her hands. The words that Shane had written for Andie echoed in her mind, only they were being sung by Andie. She let the tears make their way out of her eyes as she read the short note.

Batman,

I will keep my promise. Please keep yours.
I love you.

Robin

Shane dropped the paper. She lay down onto the bed and grabbed the pillow that Andie had slept on. She pulled it close to her as she sobbed herself to sleep.