Zelmas on Tour

This is Part 3 of a sequel to the Vix's Licks series, picking up after the epic gig at the Magna Carta, and following Vix's band as they continue gigging and then embark on a European tour.

Best to read the Vix's Licks series, and Parts 1 and 2 of this one before this, to be familiar with the characters and background.

***

Roo stirred and turned over to face me. She gave me her usual ruffled morning smile then, obviously remembering the previous night, said 'Where's Mads?'

'She's gone back to her room to get ready for breakfast.'

'What time is it?'

'Nearly nine. You were sleeping like a baby.'

'Wow...no wonder I'm dying for a piss,' and she jumped up and tottered into the en-suite.

I lay smiling, and sniffed my fingers, which still smelled of Mads...

***

At breakfast, Mads seemed to be back to her sharp and sarky best. When she got up to get some more toast, Roo whispered to me 'Whatever we said to Mads last night must have had a positive effect, eh?' Yes, I thought... That and... other things. I brought my fingers to my lips again, but my morning shower had rinsed her away. Shame. I liked her essence.

Our train back to London was not until mid-afternoon so we lazed in the hotel lounge until midday, then called in at Drouthy's for a dram or two before heading to the station.

I was hoping for another encounter with tattoo girl, and sure enough, she was one of two punky girls serving behind the bar. Her eyes lit up when she saw us troop in, and she gave us a wickedly dazzling smile. 'Heey girrls, great to see you again. What can I getchye?'

We ordered drinks, and I said 'I think intros are in order, now that we are getting to know each other.' She sniggered... 'I'm Vix, this is Roo, and this is Mads, Jemma, and Nikki.'

'Oo, pleased to meet you. Do you five go everywhere together? Are you a band or somethin?'

'Funny you should say that. Yes we are. We're The Zelmas. We were at King Tut's last night, supporting The Delgados.'

She put her hands on her cheeks and slowly said, 'Oh, my, Go-od. Some people were in here last night near closing time. They'd been in King Tut's. They said you were greeat!'

'That's nice to hear,' I smiled at my bandmates, 'But you still haven't told us your name.'

'Oh sorry, I'm Kelly,' and she shyly, and rather formally, shook our hands.

We took our drinks and found a couple of comfy couches, but it wasn't long before she came fussing around, wiping tables (but only near us, I noticed). She really did seem fascinated by us. Her eyes were everywhere, quite obviously ogling us. I saw her sneakily walk behind the couch where Mads was sitting and pause to look straight down her cleavage, which was looking particularly fine, by the way.

She disappeared back behind the bar, but after a while Mads went to the loo and I noticed that Kelly followed. Oh jeez, I thought. What's going to happen now? But Mads returned in a couple of minutes, unmolested. So, it was my turn to go for a pee.

I sneaked in quietly and immediately heard a tell-tale little moan and gasp, followed by a hushed and breathy 'Fuuck.' She was obviously having a wank -- we really had got her hot under the collar!

I went into the adjacent cubicle and applied maximum pressure to finish my pee as quickly as possible, and I managed to emerge immediately behind her. She turned and gave a slightly embarrassed smile when she saw me. I was feeling mischievous, so I thought I'd make her squirm a little. 'Were you getting yourself off in there?' I asked bluntly.

She didn't squirm at all. Not even slightly. 'Yeah, so what? I get horny...'

'I wasn't judging. In fact, it's very much a "me" behaviour. I truly have lost count of the number of wanks I've had in ladies toilets.' She grinned and stepped up to the wash basins, but before she turned on the water I said, 'Wait, don't wash it off yet. Give me a taste.' Her eyes went wide but, without a murmur, she offered me her hand.

I kept eye contact with her as I lewdly sucked her salty residue from her fingers, and she groaned, 'Oh my Go-od, you're so fuckin BAD... Wanna come back to my place later? We could really have some fun.'

'Sorry babe, I've a train to catch. I might come back sometime though...'

'Be sure to look me up if you do,' she said, giving me a smouldering look. 'Oh fuck, I need another wank now...'

Roo gave me a slightly quizzical look when I returned to the sofa, but I acted all innocent and didn't share. We downed our drinks and, waving to Kelly, headed for the train.

As we rumbled southwards, I sat gazing out of the window and musing. This had already been an unusual and rather naughty day. I didn't really know what had got into me. First of all, I'd spent half an hour canoodling with Mads, while Roo slumbered beside us. We'd barely moved, to avoid waking her. We just lay there kissing and fingering each other in a very intimate and somehow very meaningful way, until we both had shivery, shuddery orgasms, trying very hard to be quiet, and then brought our hands up and... shared.

Then, in the pub, just on impulse, I'd sucked Kelly's juicy fingers, fresh from being deep inside her horny pussy. What made me do that? Had the flavour of Mads' juice that morning simply given me a taste for it?

The fact is though, apart from the obvious common denominator of sucking juicy fingers, these were two very different experiences. Poles apart in fact. The first was driven by intense affection: Mutual fingering wouldn't be the first thing most people would think of as romantic, but it was. It was an affirmation of a deep and meaningful connection. The second was driven by lust, pure and simple. A primal, animalistic urge, and not meaningful at all.

I loved both of them, but was I being unfaithful to Roo? Maybe, in the very strictest sense, but not really. I didn't think so. Maybe I was lying to myself?

I looked at Mads and she immediately looked up from her phone and gave me a warm smile. I looked at Roo, and she made a kissy face with those gorgeous pouty lips of hers. My God, I was so blessed.

***

Back at home, Roo and I were sitting at the kitchen table, eating bowls of ice cream, when Dad came in, plonked himself down and said he wanted to talk to us 'about wages.' Ugh. I hate money talk.

'Who's wages?' I asked. Normally, I leave everything to do with money to him and Mum and - I know - I'm lucky enough to have been able to do that. I knew he'd been paying Joe, Ben, Marv etc when they were being roadies for us. I mean, I knew they weren't doing it out of the goodness of their hearts, but why he'd want to talk to us about it, I had no idea.

It wasn't about those wages though.

'The tour is not far away now,' he said. 'Have you spoken to Jemma and Nikki about what they are going to do about their jobs?' We both shook our heads. It was something we needed to do but had been avoiding. Dad humphed. 'You need to sort it. They'll need to take three months off. It might mean they'll lose their jobs. If they can't do it, I'll need to find another support act. Sorry Pet, but that's how it is.'

That hit me like a sledgehammer. Of course. It was crucial. Jem and Nik needed to face up to it, or we could lose the tour.

I cursed myself for a being a Dolly Daydream; I had been bumbling along with my head in the clouds. Not a care in the world. But now, reality was here to bite me on the arse.

'Listen,' said Dad. 'This tour will make plenty of money, but the upfront finance will be provided by Chootesville (Dad's management company) and all the mundane details will be sorted out by Jens (Dad's European tour manager). I've arranged with him to pay the wages of everyone on the tour, and that includes you and your band.'...Gulp.

He paused to let us absorb this news. 'Now, I don't know what Jemma and Nikki earn at the moment -- or how much session work you and Mads are getting, Roo -- but I'm pretty sure the tour will be more lucrative for all of you.' He grinned. 'Anyway, you need to confirm that you are all on board by the end of next week. OK?' We both nodded, a little stunned. I looked in my bowl. My ice cream had melted.

I called a rehearsal and a band meeting for the weekend, and we all gathered in the tuning room on the Friday night. As per my suggestion from some time ago, Mads had brought Nena with her, but Nena was making herself at home in the cottage while we had our band-business meeting.

Jemma and Nikki obviously knew decision time was coming, but when I told them about the wages their relief was obvious. They reacted quite differently though;

Jem puffed her cheeks out and said 'Bloody hell, that's fantastic. I didn't really have any issue with leaving work, but I did wonder what I was going to do for money.'

Nikki was quiet at first, but then she just quietly said 'Thank Jack for me, Vix. I didn't really want to leave my job, I've made good friends there, but I asked for three months off and they turned me down, so it was becoming inevitable. Still don't know what I'll do after the tour.'

I looked at her. 'You do realise that this is only the start for us, don't you Nik? First of all, besides the wages, there will be a share in tour proceeds coming to us, then there's the single release coming up, and albums after that...'

Roo jumped in with her infectious optimism. 'Yeh, we're gonna be BIG. Before you know it, we'll be selling out stadiums. We'll never have to worry about money again!' She grinned a grin that could light up a stadiium, never mind fill one.

This was just a bit of chimera from Roo and, in any case, I didn't really fancy getting THAT big, but it certainly had us all grinning and dreaming. Was stardom really beckoning?

Mads jumped up excitedly. 'Can I go and tell Nena?'

'Of course,' I laughed, and she flung her arm around my neck and kissed me so hard on the cheek I thought she was going to give me a love-bite (a hickey to Americans). She strode out in her rangy, purposeful way and headed for the cottage.

'That's the last we'll see of her until the morning,' said Roo, pithily. Lucky Nena, I thought.

'Well, I'm off home to celebrate,' said Jemma. 'Might even take Trent out to eat.' She grinned.

'Great Idea. I might do the same,' said Nikki... adding sheepishly, 'With Sam, obviously.' We all laughed. Gotta love Nikki

'Join us, Nik,' said Jemma. 'Let's make a foursome.'

They jumped up, Kissed Roo and me, and started dialling their boyfriends' numbers as they headed off, shouting 'See you tomorrow.'

Roo and I looked at each other and she sniggered. 'A foursome, eh? Fancy a twosome?' Of course I did. I got up as if to go up to my room, but she grabbed my hand and gave me her most sultry look. 'Let's do it here, babe. I want you to queen me right here on this sofa.'

A thrilling wave of excitement swept over me. I thought about the time I'd spied on Lindi doing exactly that to Caro and my juice machine virtually sprang into action. I went straight into domme mode and I pushed her down with one hand as I unbuttoned my jeans with the other...

***

Our gig at The Garage, opening for Wet Leg, was looming, but we had a lot of confidence in our set by now, so the fear and trepidation was pretty much absent. We shuffled the setlist a bit but we stuck to the tried and tested Hazy Shade as our opener since it seemed so popular. Our "booby" cover of the ZZ Top song was really a one-off... Unless we supported Orchid Bliss again, of course.

Wet Leg is basically two women, Rhian and Hester. They have a touring band, made up of three guys, but they seem to be employees, with Rhian and Hester owning the name and doing all the writing.

Their music is quirky and catchy, and they already have a number 1 album and a Brit Award behind them, despite only being formed in 2019, so they are headed for big things. They were only playing The Garage because it was booked before their rocketship ascent really took off. We planned to chase them.

I especially like their zany and faintly risqué lyrics, e.g. 'Is your muffin buttered? Would you like us to assign someone to butter your muffin?' They sounded like my kinda girls.

Incidentally, the two of them have been said to have been in a "casual relationship" in the past, and when Rhian was recently asked in an interview whether she was attached, she said 'Yes, I have a very good-looking girlfriend.' She didn't say whether that was Hester, but she's known for saying things off the cuff and tongue in cheek.

And what about that whacky name? They say it was chosen at random, but they are from the Isle of Wight, where it was an old epithet for someone from the mainland, who presumably had a wet leg from disembarking from a small boat. I was looking forward to meeting them and sharing their stage.

We made similar arrangements with Joe, Ben and Marv, for transporting our gear, setting up, and sound check, but we realised this might be the last time we'd be able to do this. If the European tour was as successful as we hoped, we would surely have to employ our own crew for subsequent gigs. I was nearly 22 now, after all. I couldn't keep sponging off Mum and Dad forever.

Like Scotland, we just left all the gear logistics and transport to the crew and we all made our way to Highbury on the day of the gig and met up in The Lamb, like the last time we went to The Garage. Wow, that Darkness gig seemed a world away now. This time, we were going to be on stage.

The group that gathered in The Lamb this time was a little bigger: As well as we five Zelmas, there was also Nena, Trent, Sam, Joe, Ben, and Marv, plus Olivia and Ellie, who I'd invited because they were keen to see us again. I was brimming with happiness, being surrounded by all my friends like this, and I squeezed Roo's arm excitedly as the pre-gig buzz transported me to Cloud 9.

Marv was being mother hen again; 'Only one drink girls, then we have to go and do soundcheck.' Bless him. He's brilliant.

So, as Mother Marv dictated, after one little drink, the gang of us set off to walk down to the venue. Outside, there was a advertising poster on the wall with "Wet Leg" in their wobbly font, and underneath, in only slightly smaller letters, "The Zelmas." Wow... I got Roo to take a picture of it with me in front with a goofy grin and a double thumbs up.

We got Olivia, Ellie, Trent and Sam in as guests, since doors didn't open for another hour, then set about organising ourselves for soundcheck. Jemma plugged in and then, as is her style, started playing the intro to Muse's "Plug-in Baby," complete with opening feedback and, oh my God, it was so good, even Matt Bellamy himself would have been proud of it. It brought people from every corner of the building to see who the fuck this guitarist was, including Rhian, Hester and their band.

They came and stood in front of the stage and Jemma stopped as soon as she saw them. Rhian said 'Fuckin hell. Are you our support?' we nodded, and she walked off, shaking her head. I noticed her lurking when we were doing the check though. I think perhaps she was a little worried.

She needn't have been. Our set went down really well, especially our new "Cream Song," but Wet Leg were the new sensation and they weren't really in any danger of being upstaged. They kicked off with "Wet Dream," which showcased both sides of Rhian's voice. Her upper register, which sounded a bit like me, and the lower, which sounded a bit like Mads. An interesting combination.

Their set was surprisingly short - only 15 songs including reprising "Chaise Longue" as an encore -- and it was over in a flash. They left the stage, and I was left wanting more, which is a good sign I guess.

I always find that strange anti-climax at the end of a gig a bit weird, when the hedonistic tumult of the music is over and the hubbub dies down. Normally, if there's no post-gig party, I'm out of there and back to the pub, but we didn't feel like that on this occasion. We retired to the bar area, which was still busy, but subdued and intimate. Rhian and Hester were in there, fielding questions and compliments, and we got our share of that too, but soon there was just the Wet Leg girls, Mads and Nena, Roo, and me, sat in a circle chatting as the crowd melted away.

Rhian is definitely the talker. Hester is a real shrinking violet, with a voice that is almost inaudible in a crowd. We gave each other lots of gushy compliments, and we chatted about our next gigs. I talked about the upcoming tour with The Chootes, and how much Dad had helped us.

'Jack Standen's your DAD?' Rhian exclaimed. 'Wow, that must be a huge advantage.' Dammit, that nepo-baby thing... She must have seen the look of vexation cross my face, because she quickly said, 'No, no, no, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying an UNFAIR advantage. You were brilliant tonight. You really deserve to make it, just on merit. Need to get writing some more songs, though. Demand will soon outstrip supply if our experience is anything to go by.' Hester was nodding vigorously.

We nattered on, talking about how they came up with their unique style and their zany, and sometimes bawdy lyrics, and then they made their excuses and got up. We said rather formal goodbyes and off they went.

'Another for the road girls?' I said, and headed to the bar where, to my great delight I encountered Olivia and Ellie.

'Vix!' Olivia shouted, 'I thought you'd gone,' and she clasped me in one of her, oh-so-thrilling hugs. I stood next to them at the bar and ordered drinks, and she suddenly took my hand and looked at me very earnestly. 'I'm so proud of you, sweetie. I know I didn't do any of this, but the way you've flourished since... well, you know...it does my heart good. Seeing you with your friends, and your girlfriend, and what a great musician you are, and, and what an awesome young woman you've become, it, it brings a tear to my eye.'

I noticed Ellie was smirking indulgently in the background. Olivia was definitely more than a little tipsy, but that didn't diminish what she said to me, and it brought a tear to my eye too. In fact, more than one. I hugged her again and croaked, 'Thank you.'

She was wrong, actually. She did do some of it.

When I returned, misty eyed, to my friends, Roo said 'You OK, jo?'

'Yeh. Olivia was at the bar,' I smiled, shakily. 'She said nice things to me...' Roo took my hand and kissed it, and Mads, and Nena smiled at each other.

The place was emptying by the time we finished our drinks, and we looked around for Jem, Nik and the others but they must've already gone. The stage was almost cleared, but Joe and Ben were still there, wrapping up cables. I went up and surprised them by kissing them both on the cheek, saying 'Thanks guys.'

'Och, hen, there's no need to thank us, said Ben. 'It's a pleasure, Vixie,' and he grinned a little bashfully.

Nena, ever the efficient and organised, had booked us two taxis, and Roo and I were soon in the back of ours, heading back to Old Windsor. I looked at her, and there were so many things I wanted to say that I couldn't choose and I ended up saying nothing. I just squeezed her hand and smiled.

She was obviously exhausted and she was soon snoozing, leaning against me in the darkness as we rolled out of the still-busy city. I loved the scent of her, that earthy combination of her very very faint perfume, and a hint of sweet stage sweat. I turned and kissed the top of her head.

***

'Hey, how'd it go, Spark?' Dad was in the kitchen buttering toast, the smell of which had lured me downstairs, leaving Roo sleeping as soundly as only she can. My dad is an absolute toast-monster. I've never seen anyone eat so many slices in one sitting. I remember once, we were in a café at breakfast time and he noticed that toast was on the menu at 50p a slice or something, so he ordered 10. When the waitress delivered the order, a voice from the kitchen said 'Ten? Is he serious?' Mum and I sat and daintily ate scrambled eggs on two slices of toast each, while he munched his way through TEN. He's a monster.