Rolling her eyes when I just shrugged, Cass pointed at the door.
"He's got enough skanks to help him here, Al," she said, loud enough for pouty-lips to hear. "He doesn't need us, okay? Can we just go? Before I catch crabs from one of these parasites?"
Jon, unsuccessfully, stifled a laugh from the bar.
I glanced over as he was choking on the seltzer water he inhaled up his nose.
Then I looked after Jaden, but he was talking to the band's manager, Randy. I watched as Randy introduced him to a heavy-set guy wearing a club t-shirt who was probably the sound guy. They shook hands, then the sound guy laughed at something Jaden said.
"Are you really going to hover, Allie?" Cass said. "Because if he wants to get his ego...or his dick...rubbed by skanks, he's going to do it whether you're here or not."
I gave her a hard look.
But at least she'd said that quieter, where no one but the three of us heard it.
"You know what would help?" she added, her eyes holding a faint apology. "Leaving. Having fun. Seriously, Allie...it's the only thing that will make you feel better."
I glanced at the other end of the bar, halfway across the room. Pouty lips was giggling with a few of her friends, and flirting with the bartender on the other end, where he was stocking one of the wells.
But Cass was right. I knew she was right. Either I make a scene and demand that the groupies bail, en masse, or I leave now with Jon and Cass, while I was still in a reasonably good mood. The last thing I wanted to do was to get angry for real and start sniping passive-aggressively at Jaden for letting her hang around.
Not sure if I should interrupt Jaden's business conversation, I nodded at his drummer, Corey, instead. Corey's face lit up when he saw me. He paused next to me, adjusting his arms and hands around a cymbal stand and a loop of cords he was carrying towards the stage.
"Do you guys need help?" I asked him.
Corey thought for a minute. "I don't think so." He glanced behind him, where the bass player and the other guitarist were carrying more pieces of Corey's drum kit. "Did you ask Jaden? He's kind of in charge of all that."
"Jaden's ah...busy," I said lamely. "If you don't think you need us, then just tell Jaden we're taking off for the day, okay? Cass and Jon are getting antsy. I promised them sights. Big Apple tour, you know? While you guys do the rock star thing..."