Mason patted my knee. “I’ve got her. Nothing’s going to happen.” After a moment, he added, “Well, on the drive, that is.”
I jerked my head to look at him. “What are you scheming?”
Mason wore a devilish smirk. “Not scheming. Just sensing an opportunity.”
At the end of the day, Molly could do a lot worse than Mason. He was a good guy, despite being a neat freak. I didn’t think it would work out between them—they were both too strong willed—but I wasn’t really going to try to stop anything from happening. After all, my sister was a smart girl, and I trusted her to make her own decisions.
A car honked outside the open garage door, and we stopped our conversation to see Liam and Elly get out of Elly’s car.
She was sporting a new buzzcut, while Liam looked a bit worn out—likely still recovering from the recently departed guests. We greeted each other warmly before grabbing the available seats scattered throughout the garage.
“So,” Elly drew out the O, her eyes giddy with excitement. “How’s it been working with Bleeding Moonlight? What dirty secrets of theirs can you spill?”
“Yeah, we haven’t heard nearly enough from you about that,” Mason agreed.
I tried to dismiss their curiosity. “Honestly, it’s a lot of work. We get in at nine and usually leave after seven. But I’m learning a ton from them, so I really can’t complain.”
“Yeah, yeah, obligatory boring stuff.” Elly rolled her eyes. “What are they like?”
I shifted in my seat. How could I describe them without giving away what they had begun to mean to me?
Still, I knew they wouldn’t drop it until I told them something. “They’re surprisingly normal, at least in the studio. It’s a job for them—more glamorous and fun than other jobs, but they don’t mess around.”
“Maybe not when they’re recording,” Mason shrugged. “I’m sure they let loose when they’re on tour.”
“Have they hinted about you working with them beyond the one album?” Elly asked.
“You’re seriously overestimating my abilities if you think they’d do that.”
“You’re being modest.” Elly waved me off. “You’re much better at playing than you are at spreading gossip. Seriously, there’s nothing juicy you can share?”
“Well, Cole’s sister is engaged to one of the guys from Ritual Disruption,” I offered, hoping this would be enough to satisfy her curiosity.
“Damn! Which one?” Mason asked.
“Not sure, Cole just mentioned it in passing.”
“Interesting. But they’re really just normal? No crazy quirks? No penchant for drama?” Elly pressed.
My mind immediately jumped to Abel, but I wasn’t going to gossip about the complicated lead singer. “All of them are incredibly talented, and they have a really strong bond with each other. They have a high bar for what we’re doing, so that can cause some tempers to rise, but I completely get it. If I were ever recording my own album, I’d want it to be perfect, too.”
“Sounds like you’re really getting along,” Liam said. Did he sound a little tense?
“Getting any ideas for your own songs?” Mason nudged, distracting me from Liam. This was my opening to steer the conversation to the main topic at hand.
“Even if I did, what good are they if I don’t have a band?” I asked, looking at all of them. “I’ve been thinking about Mason leaving and what that means for us. Look, I’m just going to put all my cards on the table with you guys.”
Liam shifted his feet, his expression growing serious as he waited for me to say my part.
“We just had the best show we’ve ever played. And I know that’s not just me being delusional—the guys from Bleeding Moonlight agreed. They loved our performance, our dynamic as a band, and they even thought our original was solid. I know we’re getting older and life is getting busy, but I think we should try to find a way to keep playing together. Mason already told me he’s willing to drive back here to practice every couple of weeks.”
“I don’t know, Ade,” Liam said, crossing his arms. The other two looked to him. As I suspected, at the end of the day the decision would be in Liam’s hands. If I convinced him, the others would get on board. “The show was a good way for us to end things with a bang. We were able to keep to a good practice schedule leading up to it, but that’s just not going to be possible anymore. I think we need to quit while we’re ahead.”
“I hear you,” I said in a conciliatory tone. “And I agree we’d have to work smarter if we keep going. But I really think we have created something special here, and stopping when things get a little tough feels… Well, it feels like giving up.”
I knew I’d said something wrong when Liam’s face darkened. “It’s not about things getting a little tough. It’s about us moving on with our lives. I have a kid on the way, and I’ll readily admit that if I have to choose between practicing with a hobby band and being a dad, it’s going to be the latter, all the way.”
Irritation prickled at me. “Why does it have to be either or? Why can’t it be both? Look, I have a world-class band telling me we have something good here. Doesn’t that assessment count for something? Shouldn’t that give us some confidence that maybe this can be more than a hobby band?”
