Sand & Clay Read online

  “Hello?” Aralia’s voice came through the speakers.

  “Hey girl, it’s me.” Caroline greeted her.

  Aralia had been one of her best friends since moving into the city. She was a bartender at a bar in Chelsea that was always packed, probably due to Aralia’s charming Italian wit and banter.

  “Hey, Caroline, how was your weekend?”

  “It was great, just went to the park and relaxed. Nothing super fun, just getting some rest and trying to catch up on sleep. Hey, listen I got three free concert tickets for Saturday night, want to go?” Caroline asked her.

  “Hell yeah, what concert? Can I bring Jackie?” Aralia responded.

  “Yeah, definitely, I was going to ask her too.” Caroline said.

  Jackie was Aralia’s cousin and roommate and the three of them had grown to be close friends and often spent Friday nights at the bar together or Sunday brunches enjoying gossip and girl talk.

  “Cool, I'll check with her to see if she's free on Saturday night, but I'm pretty sure she is. Which concert?” Aralia asked again.

  Caroline sighed and then told her, knowing her friend would overreact.

  “Front row tickets at Madison Square Garden for Logan Clay’s concert.” Caroline admitted, closing her eyes and praying that her friend wouldn’t inquire as to how she got the tickets. She was confused enough about the situation, so she certainly didn’t think she could explain it to someone else.

  “Aaaaaaaaaack!” Aralia screamed into the phone excitedly.

  Caroline heard a banging sound and some ruffled noise, assuming Aralia had dropped her phone in her eagerness.

  “Why didn’t you start with that, Caroline?! Holy crap, that's amazing, I've always loved him! I thought that show was all sold out, oh Jackie is definitely not going to say no to this. Okay what time are we meeting, I cannot wait. Ugh, I can’t believe that it's Monday and we still have to wait the rest of the week!” Aralia started rambling into the phone, not giving Caroline any chance to respond.

  “How about 6pm Saturday?” Caroline said when she finally found a second to squeeze into the conversation.

  “Yes, I'll meet you at your place. Holy shit, what am I going to wear? Gotta go, Caroline, I need to go shopping right this instant. I wish I had more time to find the best thing to wear! Come shopping with me!”

  “Tomorrow, maybe, I'm tired tonight. Think I am just going to stay in.” Caroline said.

  “Ugh, fine. I'll grab you from your job tomorrow or later in the week, we need to find something amazing to wear to this. Oh my god, front row, Logan Clay might see us! I wonder if I have any sexy underwear to throw on stage.” And with that Aralia hung up.

  Caroline rolled her eyes and turned off her phone. She knew the girls would be excited about this and so was she, but there was a knot of nervousness in her stomach that she couldn’t seem to push away either.

  Chapter Three

  Tuesday through Thursday at work went by really fast, it seemed that she didn’t even have one moment to stop, and she was glad to have the distraction. She had too much on her mind and didn’t want to think about any of it. Her work had kept her so busy she had forgotten to call Aralia back about shopping.

  Now it was Friday morning and Caroline was finishing her last touches of makeup before leaving for work. Admiring herself in the mirror, she smiled and then grabbed her bag and keys and took off for the elevator.

  “Hi Jeremy!” she said as she stepped off the elevator.

  “Miss Caroline, you are looking gorgeous this morning.” the doorman said to her as he opened the front door for her.

  “Thank you, Jer.” she smiled at him and waved as she hopped into her waiting cab.

  She only spent a few minutes at the Java Jolt this morning, taking her coffee to go. George asked her if she was excited about the concert and made her promise to tell him every detail on Monday. She agreed and told him she was pretty excited. She then dipped out of the store and hurried down the block to work to make sure she got there on time, Caroline was never late.

  Work was sluggish for Caroline today and she couldn’t help but drag her feet to match. Fridays were always like this at law offices. All the senior partners took off early for their vacation homes or weekend country houses and so it was a small crowd of paralegals and other administrators that were clearly bitter about having to pick up all the slack for the lawyers.

  Luckily for Caroline, the ever bubbly Aralia came prancing through her office doors around 3pm to take her out. Caroline looked around to check that none of the senior bosses were around to see her leave early, then she quickly cleaned up her desk and followed Aralia out and down to the New York City streets.

  “So where are we going?” Caroline asked her once they were walking down the city block, wallets ready to be used and abused.

  “Let’s hit 5th Avenue, pick out a few things at different places and then compare them back at your place. Jackie said she already had something perfect to wear so she is just going to meet us tomorrow for the concert. You don’t even know how excited she was when I told her we were going to a Logan Clay concert! And front row? She nearly peed herself like an overly excitable puppy.” Aralia laughed.

  “Hey, you were just as bad when I told you over the phone.” Caroline quipped back at her, defending Jackie.

  “Got me there.” Aralia admitted and the two girls laughed as they headed out towards 5th Avenue.

  ~**~

  “What about this one?” Caroline was standing half naked in the large dressing room with a partially clad Aralia and a giant stack of dresses and outfits. She was holding a gold sequined short dress up in front of her and holding it around her waist to give an example of what it would look like on her.

  “Are you kidding? With your pale skin, you might as well just turn into a sparkling ice sculpture.” Aralia teased her. Caroline pouted and tossed the dress into the reject pile. Aralia pulled on a blue strapless dress that stopped just below her bottom and then some thigh high black boots. She stood in front of the mirror and tossed her hair, admiring herself.

  “This is the one. What do you think, Caroline?” Aralia asked.

  “You look awesome, Aralia. My blue dangling earrings would go so great with that outfit, do you want to borrow them? I can bring them with me tomorrow.” Caroline offered.

  “The ones you wore to 80’s night at the bar a few weeks ago? Hell yeah, I could rock those in this outfit. Damn, I look good.” She smiled confidently at herself in the mirror.

  Caroline was jealous of her, she wished she felt that confident in everything she did and wore. She knew she was beautiful but she couldn’t help but feel a little bit insecure sometimes when she was standing next to this Italian bombshell with her insane curves.

  “Try these, Caroline.” Aralia tossed a few garments at her.

  Caroline caught them and held them up, it was a pair of skinny leg leather pants and an oversized, off the shoulder green top that made her hazel eyes turn green in the mirror. She pulled on the clothes and looked in the mirror standing on her tip toes, to pretend she was in heels and looked at herself. She had to admit, she looked pretty sexy in this outfit. The pants highlighted her long legs and the shirt was casual and comfortable but also showed hints of skin and her shoulder. Showing just enough to make you want to see more.

  Aralia gave her a thumbs up in the mirror behind her and then went back to rustling around in the pile of clothes. Unable to find what she was looking for, she poked her head out of the dressing room and called the sales lady over.

  "Could you please bring an assortment of strappy black high heels?" She asked the woman politely.

  It only took a few minutes before the sales woman brought about five or six different kinds for them. Aralia glanced through them and picked out her favorite two.

  “Here, try these two on with that outfit.” Aralia practically commanded.

  Caroline knew not to argue with her when it came to clothes, Aralia had the best fashion sense
of anyone she had ever known. Caroline tried on the first pair but the back dug into her heel so she quickly disregarded it. Caroline wanted to look good, but she didn’t want to suffer all night for it.

  She pulled on the second pair and strapped them up. They were a shiny black strappy sandals that brought her up about four inches and really accentuated the angle of her legs and her bottom in the leather pants.

  “Hell yeah, Caroline, you have to get those. That outfit is perfect!” Aralia said.

  Aralia put her clothes back on and handed the sales lady her dress and boots. Caroline admired herself in the mirror a few more moments. She couldn’t help but wonder what Logan would think when he saw her, if he saw her that is.

  Caroline couldn’t believe herself but she actually wanted him to find her attractive. It was silly for her to get her hopes up, Logan Clay was a famous rock star, he wasn’t even going to give her a second thought.

  “Come on, Caroline, give the sales woman that outfit so she can ring it up.” Aralia said, snapping Caroline out of her thoughts.

  She obliged and got back into her original outfit and handed the clothes to the sales woman. A few minutes later, the two friends were walking out the glass doors of the store, both with several shopping bags hanging from each arm.

  The sun had already set at this point and the girls decided to part ways and get some rest before the concert tomorrow. Caroline gave Aralia a hug and then headed home with her new clothes and an eagerness in the pit of her stomach that she couldn’t seem to keep down.

  Chapter Four

  The next morning, Caroline slept in, soaking in the luxury of her plush king sized bed. She lay there for awhile after she woke up and her mind drifted to the concert tonight. She had to admit, she was becoming more excited by the minute.

  There was no denying it anymore, she wanted to see Logan again. She knew that it was definitely one-sided and that these tickets were probably just him being nice, rather than an attempt to see her again. But she didn’t care, she was determined to enjoy the evening anyways.

  Worst case scenario she would get to listen to some great music and watch a sexy rocker dance on stage, it was going to be a fun night. She smiled as she remembered how Aralia had picked out three pairs of lace underwear from the store yesterday that she planned on throwing at Logan on stage. Caroline was not that adventuresome but loved living vicariously through Aralia sometimes.

  Aralia was a bartender but she came from a wealthy family and had the same upper class lifestyle as Caroline. She was just a wild spirit and enjoyed bartending to socialize, make her famous drinks which she considered to be an art form, and she loved being the life of the party.

  She dropped out of college, which her parents never let her hear the end of, but Caroline couldn’t help be a little jealous of Aralia’s strong will and ability to enjoy every moment until she had squeezed the very last drop out of it. Aside from throwing her underwear on stage, Caroline hoped that Aralia didn’t draw too much attention to them tonight.

  Caroline watched the clock tick by and decided it was about time that she got up to start her day so she began busying herself with household chores. After an hour or so, she grabbed her sketchbook and headed out to the park to spend the afternoon drawing and relaxing her nerves before tonight.

  ~**~

  Aralia knocked on Caroline’s door at precisely six o’clock which was really saying something because Aralia was always late. She had her own concept of time and usually just showed up whenever she felt like it.

  “Ta da! How do I look?” Aralia said spinning in a circle in her blue dress and thigh high boots.

  Caroline chuckled. “Just as good as you did yesterday when I saw it on you.” She stated.

  “Yes, but I grow more gorgeous by the day, darling, didn’t you know?” Aralia pranced into the apartment, surprisingly agile for someone wearing thigh high boots. Caroline rolled her eyes at her and then picked up some earrings she had laid out on a side table.

  “Here are the blue earrings I was talking about.” she handed them to Aralia. Aralia quickly scooped them up and stood in front of the hall mirror, putting them on. She admired herself and Caroline finished putting on the last touches of makeup and pulling on her heels.

  “All right, I am ready to go. Where is Jackie?” Caroline said putting her wallet from her purse into a sparkling silver clutch.

  “She is going to meet us at the South entrance.” Aralia said, heading to the door. The two girls left the condo and took the elevator down to the lobby. As the doors opened, the doorman waved at the two of them.

  “Oh my goodness, you ladies look pretty spectacular. Fun night planned?” Jeremy asked them as he held the glass door open for them.

  “Isn’t every night fun?” Aralia said to him and winked as she flounced out the door.

  Caroline smiled at him and waved and the two girls got into a waiting town car that Aralia had ordered to take them to Madison Square Garden for the night. The concert didn’t start for another two hours but the women wanted to get there early in order to enjoy some time at a nearby bar beforehand. About twenty minutes of New York City traffic later, the town car pulled up to the curb and the two girls paid and hopped out. Jackie was waiting there for them and squealed when she saw them, rushing towards them with arms wide. She was wearing a sparkling silver sleeveless top with bright pink skinny pants and then clear platform heels that Caroline couldn’t help but think looked like they had just walked off a strip club stage.

  “Jackie!” Aralia hugged her and then Caroline moved in between them to hug Jackie too.

  “Caroline! I can’t believe that you got us these tickets, this is going to be AMAZING! How did you ever manage front row? Logan Clay, oh my goodness, he could have me any day of the week!” Jackie said, jumping up and down practically like a young school girl fanning over her favorite celebrity. Caroline laughed at her.

  “Just good luck, I guess. Come on let's get to the bar.” Caroline ushered the girls two doors down to a local pub where the girls parked themselves at the main bar. The bartender slid some coasters in front of them and turned on the charm.

  “Hi there, ladies, I am Wade. What can I get you to drink tonight?” he asked, particularly focusing his attention on Aralia and her enormous assets.

  “Gin and tonic for me, handsome.” Aralia shot back, not missing a beat, as she leaned forward and gave him a flirty smile.

  “I’ll have a beer, whatever is on draft.” Jackie said to him and he nodded at her, but his eyes never left Aralia.

  “Jack and ginger for me.” Caroline told him. Jackie turned to look at her with a puzzled look on her face.

  “What happened to Misses Light Weight who always orders a vodka cranberry, hold the vodka?” Jackie teased her. Aralia looked at Caroline suspiciously. Caroline blushed.

  “Just felt like mixing it up a little.” she said, smiling deviously. The truth was that she really needed a little liquid courage before seeing Logan tonight. Her stomach was in knots, like butterflies crashing around into each other. Her cheeks turned even more red when she was thinking about him and that fact did not escape her girlfriends. Aralia squinted her eyes at Caroline studying her for a second, then took a big gulp of her gin and tonic and banged it down on the bar.

  “Alright, fess up. What’s going on here?” Aralia said to Caroline, her hands on her hips. Jackie turned and faced her as well.

  “What are you talking about?” Caroline innocently tried to dodge the inquiry, but both of the girls had picked up the scent now and were not going to let it go.

  “There is definitely something that you are not telling us, Caroline, what is going on with this concert tonight?” Jackie echoed Aralia’s accusation. Caroline sighed, took a few gulps of her drink, almost finishing it, then turned to the girls.

  “Okay, I got the tickets from Logan.” Caroline said, blushing again. She turned back to her drink and finished it off and lifted her finger to signal the bartender for a refill.
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br />   “What do you mean you got them from Logan? Logan Clay?” Aralia squeaked.

  “Logan Clay, musician, hottie hunk, cover of every magazine, Logan Clay?” Jackie asked in disbelief.

  “Yes, we met on Monday at the Java Jolt and he gave me the tickets. We didn’t really get along that well. He was quite full of himself, I wasn’t very impressed.” Caroline explained.

  “Oh well, sorry your golden helmet is too heavy, Miss Priss.” Aralia rolled her eyes and laughed at Caroline. Jackie didn’t say anything because her jaw had practically hit the bar in shock. Caroline grinned guiltily and snatched up her second drink that the bartender had just dropped off, taking another long gulp. The girls continued to tease her for the next hour but Caroline kept a lid on her true feelings of attraction for Logan. She didn’t even know how she felt, so she really didn’t want to embarrass herself by talking about her silly romantic fantasy. The women enjoyed a few more drinks before deciding it was time to head over to the concert.

  Chapter Five

  The concert hall was packed full when they arrived, shoulder to shoulder, with practically no room to move. When the women first entered the arena and showed the usher their tickets, they were surprised not to have to fight through the crowds because the usher escorted them instead behind some red velvet ropes and to a separate hallway that headed down the length of the auditorium.

  They walked to the end of the hallway and then took a right through some plush golden curtains which led them out to the front row by the stage. He showed the women their seats which were literally front and center, Caroline got nervous because there was no way that Logan would miss her now. She ran her hands through her hair, tossing it and hoping that it looked okay. She pulled on her blouse, rearranging it several times until she found a way that looked the best, or at least not the worst.

  The crowd was already extremely loud, but the moment the lights dimmed and spotlights tagged the stage, the crowd began to roar. Aralia and Jackie jumped up and waved their arms in the air, screaming along with the crowd and so Caroline followed suit but stood there rather awkwardly swaying side to side instead.