Page 119 of Burning Bridges Duet

“Is your girlfriend standing us up?” she asks, a hint of irritation in her voice, and I roll my eyes.

“Relax, Cara. It’s only been five minutes,” I reply. Just then, my phone buzzes with a text from Liv.

Liv

Outside, sorry for the delay.

“She’s here,” I tell Cara before heading up the stairs from the basement, which doubles as our band room.

Tom, Brian, and Cara are roommates who share a rental house. They asked me to move in, but there’s no way I’m giving up my room at Jaxon’s house to live with those smelly dudes. I already see enough of them as it is.

Liv is parked in the driveway, leaning against her car.

“Hey, baby,” I say, and she greets me with a smile. I pull her into a kiss, tempted to deepen it, but I don’t want to ruffle Cara’s feathers. She can be a real bitch when she’s irritated. “Thanks for coming,” I say as we part from the kiss.

“Sure, I’m excited,” she replies, her grin widening. She opens the trunk of her car and retrieves a large backpack.

“What’s that?” I ask, my curiosity piqued.

“Equipment,” she responds simply.

Okay then. We head down to the basement, and I introduce Liv to Tom, Brian, and Cara. She smiles and waves.

“Hey, guys. Don’t mind me fangirling over here. You were unbelievably good at the bar last month. I wish I had taken a video to listen to afterwards,” she says, and in just three sentences, Liv manages to win them over. I don’t know how she does it, but there’s just no way not to like this girl.

“Thanks, Liv,” Cara says with a chuckle. “Wait until you hear the music we really play. All those mainstream covers are getting us gigs, but we’re only good when we play rock songs.”

“Oh, I can’t wait,” Liv says, beaming. She places her backpack in front of her and unzips it, revealing a collection of expensive-looking cameras, microphones, a gimbal, a tripod, and other filming equipment.

“Where did you get all this?” I ask, a little shocked.

“I bought it,” she says with a shrug. “That’s why I’m a little late. I had to charge the batteries first, but we can start now.”

“You didn’t have to go through all this trouble, Liv. I thought you were just going to do a video on your phone,” I say. I can’t believe she bought all this just to film us.

“Don’t insult me, Ryder. I’m a professional, and I seem to remember you saying that money shouldn’t be a problem for me,” she teases.

I grimace. Yeah, I did say that.

“What, you a gold digger, Davies?” Cara asks, chuckling behind me.

“Shut up,” I tell her, feeling embarrassed as I watch Liv expertly assemble the equipment. Once she’s done setting up, she explains her plan to us.

“I hope it’s okay that you guys have to play the song a few times. First, I’m just going to listen so I can assess what setup I need to use for the takes, then I’ll start filming. We’ll do the whole song from the beginning, and after that, I’ll get some detail shots of you guys playing the instruments and singing.”

We’re all impressed by her professionalism and stare at her for a moment. She starts to squirm.

“Uh, yeah, okay… You guys can start,” she says, and I chuckle before pecking her on the lips.

“You heard the lady,” I tell the band, and we get into our positions.

“I never would’ve thought Davies would get a girlfriend,” Tom whispers loudly to Bill.

“Can’t blame him. Look at her,” he says. I grin and look at Liv, who’s ducking her head, blushing and focusing on the camera.

“Ready, baby?” I ask her, and she gives me a thumbs-up.

We get into position and start playing a Written by Wolves song called “Forever & Always.” It’s right up our alley, showcasing our skills, and while not a mainstream cover, it sets us apart from the hundreds of other bands out there. Plus, it’s just a damn good song.