More than Music

9

“I’ll use mine, I guess.” Even though I’d played Jared’s guitar last night, it seemed too intimate now, too much of a reminder of that embarrassing moment when he’d caught me. It was bad enough being alone with him in this studio again. “Where are the other guys?”

“They should be here soon. You can start warming up if you want.”

Warming up was a little too close to playing guitar, which was the entire reason I was in the studio, but that didn’t mean I was ready to do it. I hadn’t played in front of anyone but Julie and Carla in years. And Jared, but that had been an accident. Now he expected me to play again, and the thought made me want to run straight back to my car.

I picked up my guitar and started to tune it, mostly to give myself something to do. My hands shook while I adjusted the knobs, and I took deep breaths, trying to force myself to be calm. If I didn’t get control of my fingers soon, I’d never be able to play. I couldn’t decide if I was more worried about that or more hopeful.

Jared opened another case and pulled out a deep blue electric bass I hadn’t seen before. Soon the studio was filled with the sound of us plucking strings as we tuned our instruments. We stood only a few feet apart but didn’t speak, and an awkward cloud hung between us. Or maybe that was just me; Jared seemed oblivious to it.

“So you play bass?” A dumb question, but I had to say something to end the tension.

“Yeah, although it’s been a while.” His gaze swept across the studio. “I can play everything in here to some degree.”

“You can?” My voice sounded a little too eager. I cleared my throat and dropped my eyes to the frets on my guitar. “Were you a music major also?”

“Nope. Philosophy. Something my brother never lets me live down.”

“Philosophy?”

“Yep. And now I’m a bartender who writes angsty songs, which I’m pretty sure is what everyone does with a philosophy degree.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “The job market for professional philosophers does seem to have dried up these past few years.”

“Tell me about it.” He adjusted his mic and raised an eyebrow at me. “And what lofty plans do you have for your music degree?”

“I’m hoping to get into USC for graduate school. They have a degree in music scores for movies, TV, and video games.”

“Ah, joining the enemy,” he said, referring to the rivalry between UCLA and USC.

“Maybe. There are good programs at NYU and Berklee College of Music, too, but I’d rather stay in LA.”

He studied me for a moment, his bass momentarily forgotten. “So what’s your favorite movie score?”

“I don’t know. There are so many great ones.” I adjusted my glasses as I considered. “Pretty much everything by John Williams—he did Star Wars and Jurassic Park and Indiana Jones and about a million more. I also love the Lord of the Rings scores and The Dark Knight and, oh, the Tron Legacy score by Daft Punk is amazing, too…” There I went, babbling in front of him again. His eyes were probably glazing over by now. “Sorry. I could talk about this stuff for hours.”

In response, he started singing “The Imperial March” from Star Wars. “Dun dun dun…”

“That’s the ringtone on my phone,” I said with a laugh. “Wow, that probably makes me the biggest geek ever, huh?”

“Nah. I approve.” He gave me a smile that sent a rush of warmth from my face down to my toes and to everything in between. “Who do you think picked all the quotes for our wall?”

“That was you?” I glanced at the wall behind us with all the quotes by or about villains. I would have guessed Kyle had chosen them, not Jared.

Kyle and Hector arrived at that moment, interrupting us. They stopped just outside the open garage door and stared at me like I was a weed in their garden. Jared must not have told them I was joining the band.

“This is the new guitarist?” Hector asked.

Ouch. I knew I didn’t look the part, but it still hurt to hear it out loud.

“Maddie?” Kyle’s mouth dropped open, and his eyes swept over my guitar and back up to my face. “You play guitar?”

“Not really,” I said, and then realized that probably didn’t help matters, since I would be auditioning with them tomorrow. “I mean, I know how to play, but…”

Kyle turned to glare at his brother. “How did you know she played guitar?”

“Relax, it’s not what you think,” Jared said, which instantly made me flush. Great, they assumed I was one of Jared’s flings. But to my surprise, Jared didn’t reveal how he knew. “She told me last night at the party.”

Kyle’s eyes narrowed, like he found that hard to believe, but Hector cut him off. “Forget it. We all agreed—no more girls in the band. Not after what happened with Becca.”

“Hector’s right,” Kyle said. “Sorry, Maddie. It’s nothing against you.”

“We don’t have any other option,” Jared said. “Unless you can find someone who can play guitar or bass and knows our songs before tomorrow morning.”

“How do you know she can actually play?” Hector asked. “She probably just said that to get in your pants.”

“Hey—” I started to protest.

“She knows our songs?” Kyle asked and then tilted his head back to the ceiling. “Actually, that doesn’t surprise me. Maddie is some kind of musical genius. She can hear a piece one time and then play it back perfectly.”

“That’s a bit of an exaggeration,” I muttered, but no one was listening to me. Maybe I should leave and let them sort this out on their own. I glanced at my guitar case and wondered how quickly I could pack up and flee to my car.