Cole grinned, “I’ll clear my calendar for you.” His hazel eyes zeroed in on me, and the devilish grin on his lips set fire to my insides.
“Are you going to flirt all day, or are we going to play some music?” Abel snapped in an irritated voice, and I turned away from the bassist. After my morning with Ezra, how the hell was I now also turned on by Cole?
The next song we rehearsed quickly proved to be challenging. The bridge had a rapid arpeggio that I kept messing up, and I was getting increasingly frustrated.
Abel had spent the past half hour watching me like a hawk, which only added to my irritation. He hadn’t said anything, but that somehow made it even worse. I was sure he was judging me silently, probably trying to figure out how to fire me without the rest of the guys getting up in arms about it.
When it came time for lunch, I volunteered to pick it up with Silas. I needed a break to clear my head and let my fingers rest. Sometimes stopping and coming back to a difficult track was what it took to get through it.
“The studio is closed tomorrow,” Silas told me as we pulled up to a drive-through.
“How come?” I asked, pulling out the scrap of paper where we’d written down everyone’s orders.
“They’re doing some maintenance.”
I rattled off the order, and we moved to the other window. “Shit. I wanted to come in early tomorrow to keep practicing.”
Silas dug in his pocket before pulling out a credit card and handing it to me. “Here, put it on our expense account. If you want, you can come over, and I’ll help you work on it at my place. I had an extra bedroom soundproofed a few years back so that the neighbors wouldn’t complain about me playing at all hours of the night.”
I couldn’t very well pass up on some one-on-one coaching from Silas. He was a good and patient teacher, and every time he offered me feedback, it made me a better player.
“That would be awesome.” I glanced at him while waiting for the cashier to return the card. “I have a shift at the bar at six pm, but I can come in the early afternoon if that works for you.”
“Let’s plan for one pm?”
“That works great. Are you sure you want to spend your day off helping me?” I asked, not wanting him to feel like he owed me anything. “I can keep practicing on my own if you just want a day to chill.”
“I wouldn’t have offered if I didn’t want to do it,” he said, and I believed him. Silas seemed completely at ease with himself. There wasn’t one disingenuous bone in his body and I couldn’t help but admire that about him.
We returned to find Ezra bickering with Abel about some changes he wanted to make to the drum track. As soon as Cole saw us, he rolled his eyes and came over to help unpack the food. “This is what happens when you leave us on our own, Adeline,” he said, tearing into his sandwich.
Soon, Ezra and Abel joined us, and we proceeded to eat in heavy silence.
“Any plans for the weekend?” I asked, trying to lighten the surly mood in the room.
“I’m going up to LA to see my sister,” Cole said. “She’s pregnant, due in a few months.”
Abel watched him carefully. “You finally going to make up with her fiancé now that they’re having a kid together?”
Cole sniffed. “I’m going to try, although that asshole better be on his best behavior.”
“What’s the story?” I asked.
“Well, when we first met him on tour, years before him and my sister officially began dating, he was a strung-out man-whore. We’re a pretty open-minded bunch, but he took it to the next level.”
“He’s a musician?”
“Yeah. He used to play with Ritual Disruption. Despite being a musician myself, I’m still biased against my little sister dating one.”
I stopped chewing my turkey sandwich for a moment. Ritual Disruption used to be super famous before they broke up a few years ago. Yeah, I could see Cole’s point. I’m not sure I’d be too thrilled if Molly brought home a rocker boyfriend.
“Anyways, he’s reformed now,” Cole said with air quotes, “but I’m still not sure I can stand the thought of that piss stain being with my little sister.”
“Cole might have given him a bloody nose at one point,” Ezra added.
I grimaced, finding it hard to imagine Cole in a fight. He seemed so laidback most of the time. He must’ve been absolutely furious. “Well, best of luck with that. What about you, Ezra? Sticking around town?” I asked before taking another bite.
“Yeah, I’m going to chill around here. Maybe go pay a visit to my mom. What about you, Adeline?”
