It took almost three weeks in order to record the tracks for the album. Some days, they were in the studio for 14 hours, and Sindy’s fingers were sore and blistered. They were recording the last song today and waiting for Mason to sign off on the drum tracks so she and Lucas could get the melody done. Sindy had worried about Tessa’s voice holding up, but the girl rarely needed more than a few takes in order to get the vocal tracks in place, and she could lay down a bassline quicker than anyone.
“No good.” Mason took the headphones from his ears and shook his head. “Something sounded off.” He hurried to his kit and tightened the skin on his snare.
Three hours later, Mason, who turned out to be the biggest stickler of all, even worse than Tessa, finally finished the drum tracks.
Sindy wanted to get some sleep and finish tomorrow, but she couldn’t tell them she wanted to go home. She felt drained and her body felt lifeless, but she needed to find the stamina to finish the last song.
Once in the isolation booth, new life seeped into her pores as she played, energy manifesting out of nowhere. Rocking back and forth, her fingers wanted to add a few notes but she knew tonight wasn’t the time to improvise. She pulled back and exercised restraint, which was hard, especially when playing with someone as inspiring as Lucas. She didn’t want to overpower him or compete with him. Her rhythm supported his lead and complimented it.
At the end of the take, she looked at everyone on the other side of the isolation booth. Lucas had a huge smile on his face as he bent to speak into the microphone. “Sindy, I think that was the best you’ve ever played. You didn’t try to outdo me. You delivered, but you let me shine. That’s what a good rhythm guitarist does.”
Mason’s voice came through the speaker in the isolation booth next. “That’s a wrap. I don’t think you could do a better job if you tried. Let’s leave well enough alone.”
Sindy burst out of the booth. “Are you serious? I did that in one take?”
“Yeah.” Mason turned to Tessa. “That was technically sound, right? Do you want her to do it again?”
“Nope. That was tight. I’m really happy with it.”
Mason leaned back on the chair and smiled. “I think we have ourselves an album.”
Waking up next to Lucas, and knowing that they didn’t have to spend the day in the studio, felt like bliss. Sindy was burnt out. Standing around, holding the guitar and repeatedly manipulating her fingers into various chords left every muscle in her body fatigued and aching.
She looked at Lucas, still sleeping next to her. “Are you awake?”
He didn’t bother to open his eyes. “Mm-hmm.”
“No you’re not. Wake up. I want to talk about the tour next year. Is it going to be as grueling as the past two weeks?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“I can’t wait.” She rolled over and slung her arm across Lucas’ chest.
He stirred, life slowly coming into his limbs, and a tiny kiss landed on her forehead. Then the tip of her nose. Then her lips. “I love waking up next to you. I close on my apartment next week. Move in with me.”
She blinked. And then she forgot to blink again.
“We’re great together, Sindy. I knew it the moment we met.”
His memory obviously wasn’t working correctly. “We wanted to kill each other when we first met.”
“That was our passion for one another, directing itself into another outlet because we wouldn’t admit how attracted we were to each other.”
“Passion? I just thought you were an asshole.” She smiled and kissed him. It was a very tempting offer, but she wasn’t ready to give up her independence. “I waited a long time to move into my apartment. I have a lease. And I love my apartment. Let’s not rush into anything. OK?”
He smiled with his eyes, as if he had every intention of changing her answer.
“I mean it. So much is happening at once. My life has been a whirlwind since I met you. I need a minute to breathe.” She rolled back onto her pillow. “And sleep. I feel like I’ve been running a marathon for the last few months.”
Lucas kissed her shoulder. “We have a meeting downstairs in an hour.”
“With who?”
“Papi.”
“About what?”
“Just a normal band meeting.”
