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I stroke her back, and she snuggles closer. Yeah, she's definitely out for the night.
I stand up, climb the stairs holding her to me, and then when we reach her ocean-themed bedroom, I gently lower her into her Little Mermaid bed.
Anna goes gaga over anything that has to do with water. That's why we call herLittle Sea Bug.
I brush her curly bangs away from her forehead and eyes —gotta tell Jar that she needs a trim— and she grins in her sleep.
I pull the comforter up and around her and kiss her warm, pink cheek as I turn on her nightlight system. It's a cute little blue projector that slowly spins on itself as it casts aquatic fauna shapes all around the four walls in colorful but muted patterns. My brother told me it also fills the room with the calming sound of the ocean, which I'm sure she loves very much.
* * *
I should be studying right now.
I've been telling this to myself for the last hour and a half. Still, my eyes stay glued to the screen of my laptop as I peruse the internet, shamefully devouring article after article onBurning 21.
I sigh. I swear it's like I can’t get enough of trying to find info about Carson, even if I know that most of the gossip I'm reading is BS.
I should be focusing on the big book on criminal profiling that's even now being used as a prop to hold my laptop over my crisscrossed legs. I need to snap out of this. I can't mess up my master's degree over a crush on some rock star that's going to leave as soon as he gets what he wants, whatever that may be.
Though Penny said she's got a very good idea of what that is, I don't want to go there. I'm distracted enough as it is.
I click yet another link, frustrated with myself but unable to stop my misbehaving finger nonetheless as I fall deeper and deeper into the Google rabbit hole.
I see another photo of Carson and gulp, my heart racing.
It's a recent close-up shot of him standing on some huge indoor stage in Berlin. There's a mike stand in front of him, and his bandmates are on either side of him. One of his powerful, tattooed arms is bracing a silver and black electric guitar. I squint, counting the numbers of strings. Four, not six. An electric bass, then, not a guitar. I couldn't have been able to tell the difference last week, but I must have been obsessing over this even worse than I thought because now I'm freaking learning tech stuff on music, apparently.
I study the pic almost unblinkingly.
Damn, this man photographs really —really— well.
He's wearing jeans, combat boots, and a simple black tee stretched tight across his chest. An entire arena of fans surrounds him and his bandmates, arms stretched over their heads, palms open in an infinite wave under the stroboscopic lights and zigzagging colored laser beams.
His incredible aqua-green peepers peek from enviably thick dark lashes as he frowns in concentration. The hand that's not on the strings running up the neck of the bass is gripping the longer strands of hair that otherwise would be falling low on his forehead to push them back and away. I've seen him do this exact thing a dozen times since we first met. I would say he is in need of a trim, just like my niece does, if the cut —buzzed bristle-short on the back and long on the front— didn't look so damn sexy on him, but it does and, according to the million and one articles raving about hisRock-god-hotnessstatus that I've read, it pairs well with his dark full beard, too.
I can't help but agree.
Almost of their own volition, my eyes scan the article.
“With a croon that's a mix between Freddy Mercury and Sting, 36-year-old frontman, co-songwriter, co-founder, and lead singer of Burning 21 Absolute-pitch-gifted Carson Gabriel continues to dazzle the world. Gabriel's spoken voice is a baritone, and he's able to span the four octaves range from the lowest note to the highest timbre, with his register going from a throaty growl to a vibrant tenor and up to a highly-pitched crystal-clear coloratura when performing in upper reaches.
A multi-instrumentalist at heart, just like his bandmates Richard Fordham and Sylvester Tenner, he brings a unique sound to the glam, alternative, and electronic rock scenes.
From piano to harmonica to electronic keyboards, Carson plays it all on the global tour named after their latest album 'Eight Years Here,' but strings remain his strongest suit, with bass being at the center of his iconic sessions, while guitar virtuoso bandmate Rick goes neck-to-neck with the best of them with his eclectic and energetic layered playing-style over the flawless, outstanding 'all fat and no flash' acoustic slamming of leftie-drummer and master percussionist Tenner that brings down the arena with his solos and highly-recognizable grooves in the certified-diamond song 'Leave no one behind.'
The prolific, LA-based award-winning band already has five albums under the belt and was founded in New York City in 2009 and raised to international fame in 2014 with the billboard-topping single 'Let Me Go'. The Burning 21 trio currently enjoys worldwide popularity and critical acclaim for both their in-studio work and their exhilarating on-stage performances and is slated to start working this fall on yet another soundtrack for James Cameron's upcoming science fiction action film that promises to leave fans breathless.”
I click the page closed. Damn, so many technical words and slang that I don't understand.
Leave it to me to fall for a man that does the one thing, the nuances of which I could never fully grasp.
I sigh.
I quickly type:
'Musicians with Absolute Pitch'
in the search bar to see if I can learn what that thing about him means, at least.
