***
The audition was atSlate’s home studio two days later.
Bonnie walked in carrying her favorite guitar in its case, chin up, armor firmly in place.Benny, Mitty, Mercedes, and Vic were all there.The moment her eyes landed on Vic, the air shifted.He stared at her for a long moment that told her he didn’t know she was coming in, and then he gave her a small, quiet nod that made her stomach do stupid things.
She shut it down fast.Professional.Focused.
They ran her through three songs.Then three more.
She attacked every tune like she’d owned them forever.Her guitar work was sharp, emotional, and intuitive.When they asked her to layer backing vocals on the chorus of one of the new tracks, she nailed the harmony on the first try.Mercedes nodded approvingly from the control room.Benny’s grin got wider with every pass.
She killed it.
Of course she did.
When they wrapped, the band was buzzing.Benny was already talking about which tracks they wanted her on.Mercedes gave her a fist bump and a quiet “Welcome to the circus.”
But Bonnie’s eyes kept drifting to Vic.
She needed to do one more thing before she could let herself breathe.
***
Vic
“You gonna be cool with me if this works out, Vic?”Bonnie spoke from behind him in the hallway leading to the bathroom.“I nearly called but figured you wouldn’t let me pass through to this point unless you were down with the idea.”He shuffled around to look at her and sighed.Softly, Bonnie said, “Never thought he would spring me on you.”
He held his quiet for a moment, then told her, “Yeah, Bunny, I’m cool.”At the nickname, Bonnie sucked in a breath that sounded wounded and painful.“Sorry.I just...I’m...It’s okay, no worries.”
He absolutely wasn’t cool, but that must not have been clear because Bonnie said, “Right on.It’d be boss if you can do that.This means a lot, Vic.”
He grunted and stepped to the side, giving her a clear exit.
He stood in the hallway, waiting to see who’d been behind the door, listening.Benny stepped out a moment later.Their eyes met, and Vic could see the pain in Benny’s expression.Pain he was feeling on Vic’s behalf.He needed to reassure him before Benny spiraled.
“Know you heard.Need you to know this is cool, you doin’ this for Bonnie.She’s killer, and I couldn’t have picked better.”Vic swallowed hard, glancing away for a moment.“Small world, ya know?”Benny nodded, and Vic finished with “She’s a fit.”
“Yeah, she is.”They’d played for hours, and Vic hadn’t missed watching as Benny’s excitement grew higher and higher because Bonnie slid into place as if she’d always played with them.
She’d clearly done her homework to prepare, so she knew their songs, even knew their variations from watching online videos shot by fans.The only things tripping her up were the new layers added by Vic and Chase, but she’d found her way around those too.
“Fuckin’ kills, man.”Vic’s gaze was fixed on the toes of his boots.“Finding the one—” He paused, then continued.“—then finding out you aren’t hers.”
With that, he turned and padded up the hallway as the end door opened, the remaining sunlight bright and sharp after the dim interior.
***
Bonnie
She hung around until after the others finished packing up and leaving the studio, then caught Benny’s arm.
“Hey.Got a second?”
Benny nodded and followed her into the small side room off the studio.He closed the door behind them, looking curious.
“What’s up?”
Bonnie took a deep breath, heart hammering.“Before this goes any further...I need to tell you something.”
