Sad_Girl
Blue Crack Supplier
**Disclaimer : Although inspired in part by real personalities, none of the events depicted are based on reality or meant to represent the truth in any way, fashion or form. It’s only make believe.
The Promises we make Chapter 21
Larry was pacing the floor, his hands behind his head, grasping at his hair in frustration as if he would start pulling it out soon. His chest felt tight, it was nearly painful to simply breathe, and the anxiety in his gut demanded he keep moving.
“What’s the emergency?” Edge asked, appearing in the doorway with Bono and Adam close behind. Larry scowled at them in greeting, but they made themselves comfortable in his living room without pause. It didn’t matter that he had not called them, if one of the four needed help with something, it needed to be said explicitly if it was a secret.
“It’s not exactly an emergency, yet.” He said, running a hand over his face nervously. His cheeks were red with emotion and the vein in his temple bulged. “I… there was something at Simone’s…”
“Did she get that all settled with the police? What exactly happened?” Bono asked, having just heard about the apparent burglary that morning.
“They’re going over everything right now. I rented a truck and she’s just loading things up as she and the police go through them. Cat, Trine and Tessa are all over there helping. She’s just going to bring her things here once they’ve inventoried what is missing.”
“You’re moving in together? Was that something you wanted before you knew about the burglary?” Edge asked, more than a little surprised at what seemed to him to be a sudden decision.
“Hmm? Oh, yeah. We’d already talked about that in Florida. There’s no way she’d have remained there long, anyway. I don’t care how stubborn she is it would be bloody stupid for her to think she was going to raise my child like that when I have the means to provide everything they need.” He told them offhand, forgetting, as friends sometimes do, that just because he was used to an idea, that didn’t automatically mean the others were as well.
“Your child?” Bono asked, the three of them exchanging baffled looks.
“Oh. Shite. Um…” Larry raked his hand through his hair again, letting out a long breath and trying to organize his thoughts. “Yeah, we’re… planning on having a baby.” He explained as if he were telling them they were planning on buying a new car or something.
“Is she… I mean, Simone’s pregnant?” Bono asked, and Larry shook his head.
“Not yet. I don’t think so. Maybe. Fuck, I don’t know, listen that’s not why I called.” Larry said, obviously getting frustrated with his friends questions.
“Ok. Tell us what’s wrong.” Edge said, sitting on the arm of the couch beside Bono and waiting patiently for Larry to compose himself and explain.
“Ok, there was something at Simone’s which may have been stolen.” He started, leaning one hip up against the wall and crossing his arms over his chest. “Something that … may have been why they broke in at all. Or if they stumbled onto it and realized…” he covered his face again with one ring clad hand. This was obviously quite difficult for him to spit out.
“It may cause a lot of problems.” He said finally. “If they know what they have…”
“You don’t even know yet if they have whatever it is. So, why are you so nervous about it? What is it, in the first place, that you think was stolen?” Edge asked after a long moment of silence.
“It was some film, and a set of photographs.” Larry finally replied through his teeth. He kept his head downturned and his eyes on the floor as he spoke, his body language screaming that these were particularly sensitive photos.
“Photo’s of… you and Simone?” Adam asked, and Larry glared up at him.
“No!” he objected and Adam shrugged. It had seemed a natural enough assumption, in his mind. “Fuck. No, we…” he opened and closed his mouth in consternation, unable to express himself in words. “Not that. Just… they were. Remember the pictures in her portfolio?”
The others considered this question for a moment before nodding in affirmation that they did, indeed recall having looked at her portfolios. It took just a moment longer for it to occur to them what portfolio he was referring to. They had all admired her artistry with the nudes she had shot, but more or less forgotten about them. Until now.
“You …” Bono started to ask, but it was obvious in their minds that the answer was yes. Adam was actually the first to laugh, but he was quickly joined by both of the men seated on the couch beside him. Bono was actually doubled over at the waist, he was laughing so hard. Edge tried to hide his amusement behind his hand, but it was obvious nonetheless. Larry scowled at them all, turning to focus on Adam as the man used the pads of his thumbs to wipe the tears from his eyes.
“It’s not that funny.” He grumbled, his handsome face twisted into a frown which reminded them of a pouting child. This, of course, made them laugh even harder.
“I didn’t call you so you could laugh at me.” He grumbled, pacing the floor anxiously as he waited for their hysteria to subside.
“Ok, ok. We’re sorry. You’re right, this could get ugly…” Adam said, trying to get serious and help his long time mate through a difficult time. Instead, his words came out sounding like an insult and sending Bono and Edge back into another fit of laughter.
“You know what? Piss off! Get out, just bloody get out if you’re just gonna laugh!” Larry said, gesturing violently toward the door. Bono and Edge managed to reign in their laughter somewhat, and Edge stood and approached Larry, resting a supportive hand on his shoulder.
“We’re sorry. Really. It’s just … not something we would ever have expected to have to worry about. I never would’ve thought you’d pose for something like that in the first place.” He said, and Larry’s dark expression told Edge he was less than satisfied.
“What I want to know is, what can we do about it?” He asked. “To keep them from being all over the internet or something?”
“I’ll call Paul and get in touch with a couple of the lawyers we keep on retainer.” Bono volunteered, but as he began to dial on his mobile, Larry snatched it out of his hand.
“Is there any way to avoid including more people in this? At least for now?” He pled, and the men all exchanged worried glances. They weren’t used to seeing Larry like this.
“I think it’s best if we talk to legal as soon as possible.” Adam told him, rising gracefully from his seat and moving toward the other room to use Larry’s phone in privacy. “I’ll speak in hypotheticals. They’ll never know.”
Larry sank down onto the couch, burying his face in his hands. He could only pray that Adam was right and they would never know. Hopefully, no one else would ever know about any of this.
*****************************************************************************
Simone watched as her meager belongings were carried from the house and logged into an inventory book before being loaded onto the truck. It had been a long morning, even without the worry of wondering where the photos were. Cat, Trine and Tessa had arrived within the first hour, offering to help, and Simone had been more grateful to see them than she could have imagined. She hadn’t realized just how close she had gotten to them, until she saw them again and immediately started to cry with relief.
Tessa had brought Edge’s cousin Laney along, as well, and Simone had liked her immediately. She had a calming presence about her, and an easy going attitude which helped make things go smoothly. Plus, she had a great many stories about the boys from their younger years which none of the girls had ever heard before.
Pauley was sound asleep on his bed, which they had dragged onto the lawn, earlier. Simone was wishing she could enjoy the adventure of the experience as he was doing, when she heard a shriek of shocked laughter emerge from inside the house. She dropped the notebook and ran in to find the women huddled together near the door to the cellar. The ravaged darkroom had been in the cellar, since there was no suitable room upstairs. This was one of the reasons why it was suspicious that the dark room would have been ransacked at all.
“What…?” Simone was about to ask what it was that had caused such a ruckus when she caught a glimpse of the pictures they were looking at. “Oh my God!” She shouted, pushing past Trine to grab the photos out of Laney’s hands and clasp them to her chest. “Thank you God!” she said, face turned upwards to the water stained ceiling, eyes closed.
“Afraid of losing those?” Laney teased.
“I wouldn’t want to lose them.” Trine quipped, earning a chuckle from the ladies around her.
“Where did you find these?” Simone asked, and Laney showed her the fire safe with a broken lock which had been in a pile of things that had been tossed carelessly to the floor. Simone immediately fell to her knees and sifted through the hastily discarded things to find the envelope of negatives that had produced the now infamous portraits.
“Oh, thank you! Thankyouthankyouthankyou!” She muttered checking to see if there were any missing from the envelope and seeing no sign that they had been tampered with. Whatever the thief had been after, it wasn’t the photos. The relief she felt was visible to everyone in the room as they watched her body relax and saw her smile for the first time all day.
“Nothing missing?” Cat asked with a smirk, and Simone looked up at the younger woman, her cheeks flushing pink. She shook her head and smiled.
“I don’t care about anything else. I was just so scared that these were gone… he would never have forgiven me!” She confessed.
“So can we see the rest of them, or what?” Trine asked, holding her hand out, palm up.
“Trine!” Tessa gasped. “Of course not, they’re obviously private.”
“Oh come on, it’s not like we hadn’t already seen three of them before she came in.” Trine argued.
“I don’t have a problem with nudes, usually.” Simone started, still clasping the photos to her chest and holding tight to them. “But Larry would kill me. I still can’t believe I got him to let me take them in the first place.”
Trine rolled her eyes but smiled in understanding. She hadn’t really expected to be allowed to stare at the photos again. Still, it never hurt to ask, she thought.
“They’re really very nice pictures, anyway.” Laney told Simone with a gentle smile. “I was looking at your portfolio earlier, too. You have a lot of talent.”
“Thank you, it’s my passion.” She admitted, her heart sinking as she thought about the camera’s and filters, back drops and flashes which they had seen no sign of. That, most likely, had been the main score for the burglar in the first place. The equipment was possibly worth more than the house they were living in. It didn’t really matter, though. Not now. She could replace all of that, eventually. Keeping Larry’s trust and respect was far more important.
**********************************************************************************
As Simone stepped in the front door to his house, she realized suddenly, that it was no longer ‘his’ house. It was ‘theirs’. She lived here, now. It was slightly unsettling, but more than anything there was a feeling of contentment which seeped into her. For the first time in a long time, she wasn’t just at her house, where she lived. She was home.
Pauley rushed past her in a flash, dashing across the room to run circles around Larry and tell him all about the great adventure he’d had while his mother and the others had packed up their belongings. He was thrilled to be moving into the big house, to have a bedroom which would have fit both his bedroom and the living room of their old house within the space of it’s walls.
Larry smiled slightly at the boy, ruffling his hair and telling him he needed to slow down before he crashed into something. His stormy gray eyes swung up to meet Simone’s and she smiled triumphantly at him. She could see the hope in his expression and nodded, gesturing for him to follow her into the bathroom, where she locked everyone else out.
“Well?” Larry asked eagerly, and Simone produced a large manila envelope from behind her back. “Oh, thank God!” He sighed, embracing her. She couldn’t help but chuckle slightly, even though she understood his relief.
“I am so sorry about this. I guess I didn’t totally get the reasons you were nervous about this before. This whole ‘world famous rock star’ business is kind of new to me.” She told him, emptying the contents of the envelope into a trash can and using her cigarette lighter to catch the corner of the last photo on fire before tossing it in.
“Are you sure you want to do that?” Larry asked, eyeing the burning mess warily.
“I take pride in my photos, but those ones aren’t ones I really want to share, anyway.” She told him, setting the flaming trash can in the bath tub and turning the shower on. She turned back to smile devilishly at him, wrapping her arms around his neck. “I prefer to keep certain things all to myself.”
“Oh, yeah? Like what?” he grinned down at her, rubbing his body up against hers, his hands sliding up and down the length of her back. He leaned in to kiss her and she backed away playfully, chuckling at his mock irritation until he caught her off guard by pressing his mouth against her neck and forcing his breath out against her skin with a rude noise. She shrieked with laughter at the surprise tickling sensation, and within seconds they heard the doorknob jiggling.
“Mom? What’re you doing in there?” Pauley’s voice demanded through the door. Larry and Simone glanced at each other, both breaking down into a fit of laughter at the tone of the boy’s voice. They heard Tessa trying to coax him away from the door as they opened it.
“It’s ok, Tessa thanks.” Simone told her. “We’re not doing anything Pauley. Just being silly.”
“Eww.” Pauley covered his nose as he smelled the toxic smoke from the burnt photographs and negatives and Simone guided him back out to the living room, turning on the exhaust fan before she left the bathroom.
“Everything ok?” Edge asked, looking pointedly at Larry who nodded with a slight smile.
“You told them?” Simone whispered, seeing the relief on the men’s faces at this exchange.
“I needed advice.” He said, noticing the way Tessa looked at Edge and wondering if she somehow knew. Before he could even ask Simone, a voice from his past answered the unspoken question.
“Hey, don’t I know you?” It asked, and Larry turned to stare in surprise at the beautiful woman standing in his living room, hands on her hips in a cocky pose. “Yeah… weren’t you the centerfold in this months playgirl?” She teased. The shocked laughter which erupted from every single person in the room except for Simone and Pauley told Larry everything he needed to know. Pauley was the only person in the room who didn’t know about the photos.
“You aren’t old enough to buy those types of magazines.” Larry joked weakly, his face turning a deep crimson color. “Where the fuck did you come from anyway?” He asked, playfully but genuinely surprised to see Laney.
“Just now? I came from Simone’s. Before that, I was at Bono’s. Before that…” She started to trace back her locations, counting on her fingers as she thought.
“I forgot what a total smart ass you were.” Larry said, rolling his eyes.
“And I always thought you were such a grouch because you were compensating…” Laney started, but Simone interrupted, drawing everyone’s attention tot he fact that Pauley was in the room and watching the exchange with great interest.
“You’re not so big I couldn’t stuff you in a bass drum.” Larry threatened Laney who grinned at him defiantly, just as she always had wanted to do.
“It’s good to see you too.” She told him cheekily. “Though I hardly expected to see so much of you.”
“Ha ha. You’re a fuckin’ comedian now, are you?”
“Actually, I’m a doctor.” She told him, settling down casually on Bono’s lap as if it were the most natural place for her to be in the world. His bewilderment must’ve been clear on his face as Bono kissed her softly, tenderly, as people who’ve been together for ages would do.
“How long were we in Florida?” He asked sarcastically.
“Let’s get some dinner and see if we can catch you up on everything.” Adam suggested, and everyone agreed that this would be a good idea.
The Promises we make Chapter 21
Larry was pacing the floor, his hands behind his head, grasping at his hair in frustration as if he would start pulling it out soon. His chest felt tight, it was nearly painful to simply breathe, and the anxiety in his gut demanded he keep moving.
“What’s the emergency?” Edge asked, appearing in the doorway with Bono and Adam close behind. Larry scowled at them in greeting, but they made themselves comfortable in his living room without pause. It didn’t matter that he had not called them, if one of the four needed help with something, it needed to be said explicitly if it was a secret.
“It’s not exactly an emergency, yet.” He said, running a hand over his face nervously. His cheeks were red with emotion and the vein in his temple bulged. “I… there was something at Simone’s…”
“Did she get that all settled with the police? What exactly happened?” Bono asked, having just heard about the apparent burglary that morning.
“They’re going over everything right now. I rented a truck and she’s just loading things up as she and the police go through them. Cat, Trine and Tessa are all over there helping. She’s just going to bring her things here once they’ve inventoried what is missing.”
“You’re moving in together? Was that something you wanted before you knew about the burglary?” Edge asked, more than a little surprised at what seemed to him to be a sudden decision.
“Hmm? Oh, yeah. We’d already talked about that in Florida. There’s no way she’d have remained there long, anyway. I don’t care how stubborn she is it would be bloody stupid for her to think she was going to raise my child like that when I have the means to provide everything they need.” He told them offhand, forgetting, as friends sometimes do, that just because he was used to an idea, that didn’t automatically mean the others were as well.
“Your child?” Bono asked, the three of them exchanging baffled looks.
“Oh. Shite. Um…” Larry raked his hand through his hair again, letting out a long breath and trying to organize his thoughts. “Yeah, we’re… planning on having a baby.” He explained as if he were telling them they were planning on buying a new car or something.
“Is she… I mean, Simone’s pregnant?” Bono asked, and Larry shook his head.
“Not yet. I don’t think so. Maybe. Fuck, I don’t know, listen that’s not why I called.” Larry said, obviously getting frustrated with his friends questions.
“Ok. Tell us what’s wrong.” Edge said, sitting on the arm of the couch beside Bono and waiting patiently for Larry to compose himself and explain.
“Ok, there was something at Simone’s which may have been stolen.” He started, leaning one hip up against the wall and crossing his arms over his chest. “Something that … may have been why they broke in at all. Or if they stumbled onto it and realized…” he covered his face again with one ring clad hand. This was obviously quite difficult for him to spit out.
“It may cause a lot of problems.” He said finally. “If they know what they have…”
“You don’t even know yet if they have whatever it is. So, why are you so nervous about it? What is it, in the first place, that you think was stolen?” Edge asked after a long moment of silence.
“It was some film, and a set of photographs.” Larry finally replied through his teeth. He kept his head downturned and his eyes on the floor as he spoke, his body language screaming that these were particularly sensitive photos.
“Photo’s of… you and Simone?” Adam asked, and Larry glared up at him.
“No!” he objected and Adam shrugged. It had seemed a natural enough assumption, in his mind. “Fuck. No, we…” he opened and closed his mouth in consternation, unable to express himself in words. “Not that. Just… they were. Remember the pictures in her portfolio?”
The others considered this question for a moment before nodding in affirmation that they did, indeed recall having looked at her portfolios. It took just a moment longer for it to occur to them what portfolio he was referring to. They had all admired her artistry with the nudes she had shot, but more or less forgotten about them. Until now.
“You …” Bono started to ask, but it was obvious in their minds that the answer was yes. Adam was actually the first to laugh, but he was quickly joined by both of the men seated on the couch beside him. Bono was actually doubled over at the waist, he was laughing so hard. Edge tried to hide his amusement behind his hand, but it was obvious nonetheless. Larry scowled at them all, turning to focus on Adam as the man used the pads of his thumbs to wipe the tears from his eyes.
“It’s not that funny.” He grumbled, his handsome face twisted into a frown which reminded them of a pouting child. This, of course, made them laugh even harder.
“I didn’t call you so you could laugh at me.” He grumbled, pacing the floor anxiously as he waited for their hysteria to subside.
“Ok, ok. We’re sorry. You’re right, this could get ugly…” Adam said, trying to get serious and help his long time mate through a difficult time. Instead, his words came out sounding like an insult and sending Bono and Edge back into another fit of laughter.
“You know what? Piss off! Get out, just bloody get out if you’re just gonna laugh!” Larry said, gesturing violently toward the door. Bono and Edge managed to reign in their laughter somewhat, and Edge stood and approached Larry, resting a supportive hand on his shoulder.
“We’re sorry. Really. It’s just … not something we would ever have expected to have to worry about. I never would’ve thought you’d pose for something like that in the first place.” He said, and Larry’s dark expression told Edge he was less than satisfied.
“What I want to know is, what can we do about it?” He asked. “To keep them from being all over the internet or something?”
“I’ll call Paul and get in touch with a couple of the lawyers we keep on retainer.” Bono volunteered, but as he began to dial on his mobile, Larry snatched it out of his hand.
“Is there any way to avoid including more people in this? At least for now?” He pled, and the men all exchanged worried glances. They weren’t used to seeing Larry like this.
“I think it’s best if we talk to legal as soon as possible.” Adam told him, rising gracefully from his seat and moving toward the other room to use Larry’s phone in privacy. “I’ll speak in hypotheticals. They’ll never know.”
Larry sank down onto the couch, burying his face in his hands. He could only pray that Adam was right and they would never know. Hopefully, no one else would ever know about any of this.
*****************************************************************************
Simone watched as her meager belongings were carried from the house and logged into an inventory book before being loaded onto the truck. It had been a long morning, even without the worry of wondering where the photos were. Cat, Trine and Tessa had arrived within the first hour, offering to help, and Simone had been more grateful to see them than she could have imagined. She hadn’t realized just how close she had gotten to them, until she saw them again and immediately started to cry with relief.
Tessa had brought Edge’s cousin Laney along, as well, and Simone had liked her immediately. She had a calming presence about her, and an easy going attitude which helped make things go smoothly. Plus, she had a great many stories about the boys from their younger years which none of the girls had ever heard before.
Pauley was sound asleep on his bed, which they had dragged onto the lawn, earlier. Simone was wishing she could enjoy the adventure of the experience as he was doing, when she heard a shriek of shocked laughter emerge from inside the house. She dropped the notebook and ran in to find the women huddled together near the door to the cellar. The ravaged darkroom had been in the cellar, since there was no suitable room upstairs. This was one of the reasons why it was suspicious that the dark room would have been ransacked at all.
“What…?” Simone was about to ask what it was that had caused such a ruckus when she caught a glimpse of the pictures they were looking at. “Oh my God!” She shouted, pushing past Trine to grab the photos out of Laney’s hands and clasp them to her chest. “Thank you God!” she said, face turned upwards to the water stained ceiling, eyes closed.
“Afraid of losing those?” Laney teased.
“I wouldn’t want to lose them.” Trine quipped, earning a chuckle from the ladies around her.
“Where did you find these?” Simone asked, and Laney showed her the fire safe with a broken lock which had been in a pile of things that had been tossed carelessly to the floor. Simone immediately fell to her knees and sifted through the hastily discarded things to find the envelope of negatives that had produced the now infamous portraits.
“Oh, thank you! Thankyouthankyouthankyou!” She muttered checking to see if there were any missing from the envelope and seeing no sign that they had been tampered with. Whatever the thief had been after, it wasn’t the photos. The relief she felt was visible to everyone in the room as they watched her body relax and saw her smile for the first time all day.
“Nothing missing?” Cat asked with a smirk, and Simone looked up at the younger woman, her cheeks flushing pink. She shook her head and smiled.
“I don’t care about anything else. I was just so scared that these were gone… he would never have forgiven me!” She confessed.
“So can we see the rest of them, or what?” Trine asked, holding her hand out, palm up.
“Trine!” Tessa gasped. “Of course not, they’re obviously private.”
“Oh come on, it’s not like we hadn’t already seen three of them before she came in.” Trine argued.
“I don’t have a problem with nudes, usually.” Simone started, still clasping the photos to her chest and holding tight to them. “But Larry would kill me. I still can’t believe I got him to let me take them in the first place.”
Trine rolled her eyes but smiled in understanding. She hadn’t really expected to be allowed to stare at the photos again. Still, it never hurt to ask, she thought.
“They’re really very nice pictures, anyway.” Laney told Simone with a gentle smile. “I was looking at your portfolio earlier, too. You have a lot of talent.”
“Thank you, it’s my passion.” She admitted, her heart sinking as she thought about the camera’s and filters, back drops and flashes which they had seen no sign of. That, most likely, had been the main score for the burglar in the first place. The equipment was possibly worth more than the house they were living in. It didn’t really matter, though. Not now. She could replace all of that, eventually. Keeping Larry’s trust and respect was far more important.
**********************************************************************************
As Simone stepped in the front door to his house, she realized suddenly, that it was no longer ‘his’ house. It was ‘theirs’. She lived here, now. It was slightly unsettling, but more than anything there was a feeling of contentment which seeped into her. For the first time in a long time, she wasn’t just at her house, where she lived. She was home.
Pauley rushed past her in a flash, dashing across the room to run circles around Larry and tell him all about the great adventure he’d had while his mother and the others had packed up their belongings. He was thrilled to be moving into the big house, to have a bedroom which would have fit both his bedroom and the living room of their old house within the space of it’s walls.
Larry smiled slightly at the boy, ruffling his hair and telling him he needed to slow down before he crashed into something. His stormy gray eyes swung up to meet Simone’s and she smiled triumphantly at him. She could see the hope in his expression and nodded, gesturing for him to follow her into the bathroom, where she locked everyone else out.
“Well?” Larry asked eagerly, and Simone produced a large manila envelope from behind her back. “Oh, thank God!” He sighed, embracing her. She couldn’t help but chuckle slightly, even though she understood his relief.
“I am so sorry about this. I guess I didn’t totally get the reasons you were nervous about this before. This whole ‘world famous rock star’ business is kind of new to me.” She told him, emptying the contents of the envelope into a trash can and using her cigarette lighter to catch the corner of the last photo on fire before tossing it in.
“Are you sure you want to do that?” Larry asked, eyeing the burning mess warily.
“I take pride in my photos, but those ones aren’t ones I really want to share, anyway.” She told him, setting the flaming trash can in the bath tub and turning the shower on. She turned back to smile devilishly at him, wrapping her arms around his neck. “I prefer to keep certain things all to myself.”
“Oh, yeah? Like what?” he grinned down at her, rubbing his body up against hers, his hands sliding up and down the length of her back. He leaned in to kiss her and she backed away playfully, chuckling at his mock irritation until he caught her off guard by pressing his mouth against her neck and forcing his breath out against her skin with a rude noise. She shrieked with laughter at the surprise tickling sensation, and within seconds they heard the doorknob jiggling.
“Mom? What’re you doing in there?” Pauley’s voice demanded through the door. Larry and Simone glanced at each other, both breaking down into a fit of laughter at the tone of the boy’s voice. They heard Tessa trying to coax him away from the door as they opened it.
“It’s ok, Tessa thanks.” Simone told her. “We’re not doing anything Pauley. Just being silly.”
“Eww.” Pauley covered his nose as he smelled the toxic smoke from the burnt photographs and negatives and Simone guided him back out to the living room, turning on the exhaust fan before she left the bathroom.
“Everything ok?” Edge asked, looking pointedly at Larry who nodded with a slight smile.
“You told them?” Simone whispered, seeing the relief on the men’s faces at this exchange.
“I needed advice.” He said, noticing the way Tessa looked at Edge and wondering if she somehow knew. Before he could even ask Simone, a voice from his past answered the unspoken question.
“Hey, don’t I know you?” It asked, and Larry turned to stare in surprise at the beautiful woman standing in his living room, hands on her hips in a cocky pose. “Yeah… weren’t you the centerfold in this months playgirl?” She teased. The shocked laughter which erupted from every single person in the room except for Simone and Pauley told Larry everything he needed to know. Pauley was the only person in the room who didn’t know about the photos.
“You aren’t old enough to buy those types of magazines.” Larry joked weakly, his face turning a deep crimson color. “Where the fuck did you come from anyway?” He asked, playfully but genuinely surprised to see Laney.
“Just now? I came from Simone’s. Before that, I was at Bono’s. Before that…” She started to trace back her locations, counting on her fingers as she thought.
“I forgot what a total smart ass you were.” Larry said, rolling his eyes.
“And I always thought you were such a grouch because you were compensating…” Laney started, but Simone interrupted, drawing everyone’s attention tot he fact that Pauley was in the room and watching the exchange with great interest.
“You’re not so big I couldn’t stuff you in a bass drum.” Larry threatened Laney who grinned at him defiantly, just as she always had wanted to do.
“It’s good to see you too.” She told him cheekily. “Though I hardly expected to see so much of you.”
“Ha ha. You’re a fuckin’ comedian now, are you?”
“Actually, I’m a doctor.” She told him, settling down casually on Bono’s lap as if it were the most natural place for her to be in the world. His bewilderment must’ve been clear on his face as Bono kissed her softly, tenderly, as people who’ve been together for ages would do.
“How long were we in Florida?” He asked sarcastically.
“Let’s get some dinner and see if we can catch you up on everything.” Adam suggested, and everyone agreed that this would be a good idea.
You are amazing SAD Girl...thank you
Oh well. 
GOD...there's no more pics....arg!!!!!!!!!!
but you still never know what a girl would do for Larry!!!!!
