“Lines of fire leading me home,” Jacob sings.
“Keep going,” Chaser says without picking up his head.
“Away from the storm.” Jacob’s mouth stays open, but no more words come out. His hands ball into fists, and he closes his eyes again. “Fuck.”
“It’ll come to you,” Garrett shouts.
“Hey! Where’d you guys go?” One of the girls bounces into the living room in her bra and underwear.
I’m brimming with the urge to shush her. Can’t you see they’re making magic?
“Oh cool!” the other girl shouts, running into the room and straight into her friend. The two of them grab hands and start jumping, laughing, and dancing around.
Garrett’s playing grinds to a stop. “Knock it off.” He jerks his head sideways. “Go wait in the bedroom if you’re going to be obnoxious.”
Chaser stops playing and wanders closer to me while fiddling with the tuning pegs at head of his guitar.
“I like it,” I whisper.
He cocks an eyebrow. “Yeah? It still needs the right words. But we’re moving in the right direction.”
“They’ll come to you guys.” I reach up and kiss his cheek. “When the timing’s right.”
“Why does she get to stay?” one of the girls whines, pointing at me.
Garrett slaps the complainer’s ass. “Chaser’s woman knows how to behave.”
Behave. What am I? An obedient dog? I don’t even bother acknowledging the exchange.
The girl scurries back to the bedroom. Not for the first time, it irritates me the shitty way the guys treat the girls who hang around worshiping them. I guess since none of the girls ever complain and they keep returning for more of the same, it’s not my business, but it sure doesn’t make me think much of Jacob and Garrett.
A bone-jarring thud slams against the door. I jump and turn.
Chaser reaches over and flings it open. “What?”
“Keep the fucking noise down, or I’ll call the cops.” The gruff, threatening voice sounds like our downstairs neighbor.
“Fuck off, old man!” Alvin shouts.
“We’re done for the day,” Jacob says. “I need to get my dick sucked anyway.”
The neighbor groans. Footsteps thunder away from the apartment while the guys laugh.
“Val said she wants to set us up with a rehearsal space.” Chaser slams the door. “Might be time to take her up on it.”
“Do you remember our first ‘rehearsal space?’” Alvin presses his hands against his stomach and shakes with laughter.
“The rats!” Garrett and Alvin shout at the same time.
“It was a storage unit,” Chaser explains to me. “But Jacob and I built loft beds so the four of us lived there for a while.”
“But how? Wasn’t that uncomfortable?”
“Alley was right outside whenever we needed to take a piss,” Garrett explains.
“That’s…lovely.”
“Tell her how you broke your loft bed.” Jacob slaps Chaser’s arm.
“Fuck off.”
“That was you.” Garrett points to Jacob. “Genius here had a three way and the support beam snapped. He almost crushed one of our pet rats.”
“Oh shit. You’re right.” Jacob laughs. “Me and Jack Daniels were tight back then. I forgot.”
“Back then? You’re like eighty-five percent Jack right this second.”
“Hey,” Chaser interrupts their banter. “Mallory got a callback today, we planned to go out and celebrate. Anyone up for it?”
“Fuck yeah.” Alvin pumps his fist in the air. “Good job, Mal.”
I chuckle at his enthusiasm over something so small. “It’s not that big of a deal.”
“Nope.” Alvin wags his finger in my direction. “You gotta celebrate every win out here, Mallory.”
“It’s true,” Chaser says.
Watching them work together felt like a celebration, but that seems sort of kiss-ass, so I keep the sentiment to myself.
“Val wants to meet with us tomorrow,” Alvin reminds everyone. “So we can’t be out too late.”
“That’s cool.”
I catch Chaser’s eye, but he doesn’t seem concerned about the meeting.
So I try to follow his lead. But my forced smile does little to quell my anxiety.
Chapter Ten
Chaser
“How’s it feel to be home?” Val asks when we’re all seated in her new office.
“Nice digs, Val.” Garrett bounces around in his chair. “Moving up in the world.” The fucker drank everyone under the table last night but somehow has more energy than all of us combined.
“We’re all moving up in the world.” She glances at each one of us. I swear she almost seems giddy, and it takes a lot to excite Val. “Shooting Fences has asked Kickstart to open three shows for them at the Coliseum when they start their new tour.”
“Holy shit!” Alvin jumps out of his seat.
“Are you fucking with us?” Jacob asks.
Shooting Fences. Now that’s a band my father respects. Old school rock-n-roll. I grew up listening to plenty of their albums at home and at the clubhouse.
Three shows. At the Coliseum. A place Alvin and I climbed the fence to sneak in and watch our favorite bands when we first moved to L.A.
“Are you serious?” I finally ask.
“Dead serious.”
“This is huge,” Jacob mutters. “Right in our backyard.”
“Are you up for it?” Val asks.