“Get out of my seat, Gavin.” She dropped her purse, creating a loud thud against the ground.
“Sit next to Mason.” He turned back to me.
“I don’t think so.” Desi put her hands on her hips. “I’m sitting next to my best friend for eight hours, not Mason.”
I stayed out of the argument, not wanting to piss off either of them.
Mason called from the back of the plane. “Dude, don’t make me sit next to Desi.”
“Hey!” Desi glared at him.
Gavin moved from his seat hesitantly. “Fine. But I’m sitting next to Pru on the ride back.”
He had no idea how mistaken he was. Desi shoved him down the aisle then took her rightful place on my right. She sighed then pulled off her hoodie. “Boys…”
“Yeah…”
She pulled out her Kindle and her iPod then placed them on her lap. “You know Gavin broke up with Brooke?”
“He did?” He’d been dating her for almost a year. But I had a strong suspicion he wasn’t completely happy with her. All the times he was friendly toward me, I thought he was just being nice. But maybe he wasn’t…
Desi nudged my arm. “You know why, right?”
I felt my eyes widen. “No.”
She laughed. “He’s so into you.”
“But nothing’s going to happen,” I said automatically. “Did he tell you that?”
“He doesn’t need to tell me anything.” She turned on her iPod and scrolled through the playlist.
“You could be totally wrong.”
“Pru, I’m not.”
“I don’t see him like that.”
“I don’t blame you. He’s a good-looking guy, but he’s like our brother. But you can’t spend so much time together and not expect some sort of bond to form.”
“Well, of course. You guys are my extended family. I can’t deny that. But it’s nothing romantic.”
“You should talk to him before it gets out of hand.”
I was annoyed Gavin assumed anything would happen between us. We were great friends and had a lot of laughs, but I never hinted at the possibility of a physical relationship with him. A part of me knew the attraction was going on, but the bigger part of me, the coward, just ignored it and hoped it would go away. Plus, he had a girlfriend. I thought that would discourage him from trying anything.
♫
When the plane landed in Los Angeles, the sweltering heat surprised me, even in May. The sun was bright and high in the sky. Capitol Records was beside the freeway, and the NBC Universal Comcast building was on the opposite side. And the traffic was not an exaggeration. After we got our rental car, we drove to the apartment on Lankershim Boulevard.
We splurged to get a nice place. It was $2200 per month, but we wanted prime real estate. It was a ten minute drive from Hollywood, Universal Studios was right across the street, and Millennium Pictures was just down the road. You couldn’t ask for a better location. Plus, the building was nice. We had an underground garage and plenty of space. We were told the apartments were soundproof, which was a necessity for us.
Desi and I brought our limited suitcases into the apartment. There were two bedrooms, a full kitchen, a ridiculously large bathroom, and a spacious living room. Our instruments took up the most space. I would have brought my piano if I could, but I had to settle on the keyboard, which wasn’t the same thing at all. The noise hurt my ears every time I played.
Gavin came to the door. “You like it?”
“Yeah,” Desi said. “It’s a good find.”
He nodded then locked his gaze with mine. “How about you?”
“It’s great.” I smiled then looked through one of my boxes.
He carried his belongings inside then placed them in the bedroom he’d share with Mason. I wasn’t looking forward to sleeping across the hall from him. But I was grateful Desi was there. She would be a good excuse in most situations.
Mason assembled his drum set with insane speed. Having to manage his own equipment at every show gave him plenty of practice. “We should decide on the lineup for the show tomorrow.”
I grabbed my bass then picked at the strings. It was still in tune even after the flight. I grabbed my pink pick, the one my brother gave me for my birthday, then sat on the couch. “How about Lover’s Edge?”
“Definitely,” Gavin said. He pulled out his acoustic guitar. “Betrayal in the Attic?”
“Yeah,” Mason said. “Tigress?”
Desi nodded. “And Ode to the Sun.”
Gavin strummed the strings while he looked at me. I felt his heated stare. “How about Come What May?”
“But that’s just Pru on the piano,” Desi said.
“But it’s beautiful,” Gavin argued.
“We aren’t performing to a mellow audience. We’re supposed to get them hyped up,” Desi said.
“Good point,” Mason said.
Gavin shrugged. “She could do it during intermission.”
“But then she doesn’t get a break,” Desi argued.
“I don’t like breaks anyway,” I said.
“Then do it if you want.” Desi pulled out her tambourines and guitar.
Gavin winked at me. “It looks like we’re settled.”
“I guess so.” I watched my hands move across the strings even though I didn’t need to. I knew my instruments better than anything else. I just wanted to avoid the look Gavin gave me. The more I processed what Desi said, the more I realized she was dead on about Gavin. Now I just had to man-up and clear the air.
Chapter Four
Cash Matthews
My driver dropped me off at the entrance to Loaded. It was a well-known bar on Hollywood Boulevard. People strutted up and down the strip, their feet hitting the stars below their feet. Most were tourists and easy to spot. They usually had a large camera around their neck. I ignored them and walked inside.
The tables were crowded with people, and the bar was overflowing. Whoever this band was, they must be good. That, or the happy hour was driving up the sales. I grabbed my drink and found Parker at a table. His arm was around his girlfriend’s shoulders. They’d been dating for a while, and he seemed happy with the arrangement. She was a model, skinny and superficial.
“Glad you could make it.” Parker clanked his beer against my Bulleit neat. “Didn’t think you’d show up.”