The Byron Journals by Daniel Ducrou Read Free Book Online

mate.’
    â€˜Thanks.’
    â€˜I know the first time’s always the hardest, and I wasn’t sure you had it in you.’
    Heidi drained her glass of water and sighed. ‘It sounded brilliant.’
    â€˜And wait till you see my photos,’ Jade added. ‘I captured all of it. The fight, the jam, the crowd. Everything!’ Andrew looked between them. ‘That was the most fun I think I’ve ever had playing music! You guys are just…I don’t know…this is crazy…I feel like Byron’s got me under some kind of spell or something—I feel like anything’s possible.’
    Heidi smiled and Tim continued counting the money. The tension between them seemed to have gone.
    Heidi dragged him into her room and before he knew it, they were going for it on the bed, still sweaty from the show. She was really loud—panting and sighing, so he got into it too—throwing in the odd grunt and groan. And then he came too early and she bit down hard on his shoulder and slapped his face.
    He reared away. ‘What the hell was that for?’
    â€˜For being selfish.’
    â€˜What?’
    â€˜Don’t you dare come before me!’
    A trickle of blood ran down his shoulder. He was still hard but, although it was painful, too sensitive, he pushed inside her, determined. She started moaning and he began to feel so good about satisfying her that the pain and discomfort fell away. He kept going until she seized him in a violent clasp, her eyes closed. She didn’t breathe or make a sound, then she cried out and fell back onto the mattress, laughing, her legs trembling. Lying beside her now, he propped himself up on an elbow and studied her face, stunned by how happy it made him to see her satisfied. He was glad she’d bitten and slapped him, glad that she’d demanded her pleasure, and glad that he’d been able to give it to her.
    â€˜You’re amazing,’ he said, his fingertips grazing her belly. ‘Do you know that?’
    She rolled onto her side, still trying to catch her breath, her face flushed. ‘You still need a lot of work… but you’re not so bad.’
    They lay in silence. ‘Do we need to do anything about—’ ‘I already told you not to worry—I’m on the pill.’
    â€˜What about…’ He rolled onto his back. ‘I mean… Have you been with many other guys?’
    She smiled, her eyes closed. ‘Trust me. I’m fine.’

six
    Andrew slumped on the couch. ‘Let’s take a break.’
    He switched off the keyboard, retrieved his bag of weed from Heidi’s room and grabbed the scissors from the kitchen. As he dropped the bag onto the coffee table, Tim stopped playing his djembe.
    â€˜Not bad,’ he said, turning the bag over in his hand. He opened it and took a whiff.
    â€˜It’s better than not bad,’ Andrew replied. ‘It’s been Reikied.’ He waited for a laugh, but Tim just nodded, sealed the bag and threw it back onto the table.
    â€˜You don’t smoke, do you?’ Andrew asked.
    â€˜No, I sell.’
    Scissors in hand, Andrew sat down, chose a good-sized bud from the bag and started chopping up. ‘I used to sell a bit in school,’ he said, referring to the small G-bags he’d occasionally acquire for Benny. ‘But I never made any real money from it. How about you? Do you make much?’
    â€˜Not as much as some.’
    â€˜Like who?’
    He hesitated. ‘Some of the kids I grew up with in Nimbin.’
    â€˜Where’s Nimbin?’
    â€˜It’s in the hinterland, about an hour away. Dad and I moved there from Newcastle when I was ten, after my mum died. It’s a little hippy village where a lot of people buy and sell drugs on the street.’
    â€˜What about the police?’
    â€˜The cops know what’s going on—there’s a police station in the middle of town—but they