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“I guess it’s the mindset that if I’m right in the middle of the action, I’m hard to miss,” I admitted. “I don’t know how else to put it, really.”
“I’m sure with your talent, you stand out from the rest of the crowd easily,” Kim encouraged.
I gave her a soft smile. “I don’t know about that. If I had been that good, I would probably have gotten a record label or something.”
“I hear those are hard to come by,” Andrew said, clearly hoping to make me feel better. “I’m sure there are some great musicians out there who never get a record deal.”
“Like me?” I joked.
“Oh, now, I don’t mean that!” he said, but both Kim and I laughed. I glanced at Gavin, and he didn’t even have a smile on his face.
What an asshole. Why is he even here? I thought.
“I don’t know if you know this,” Kim said, “But Gavin has an affinity for music as well, don’t you?”
She’d directed the question to Gavin, clearly wanting to get him to engage with the rest of the conversation.
He merely shrugged. “I don’t know of anyone on the planet who doesn’t like music in some form.”
“You know that’s not what I mean,” she said with a laugh. “You play.”
“I do,” he said.
“Really?” I asked, making a small attempt at offering him an olive branch.
“Yes.”
There was silence in the air for a moment. It seemed like it would only be natural for him to follow up on what he’d said with more detail about what he played and for how long. But he remained silent, taking a sip of wine, and ignoring me.
“Do you play more than the guitar?” Andrew asked me, directing the attention back in my direction.
“Forgive him for blowing over Gavin,” Kim said. “But we’ve known him for a while now, and we’re all interested in getting to know you. I told you Andrew wanted to learn more about the new tenant, so he’s going to keep asking you questions.”
“You’re not on trial here,” Andrew laughed, and both Kim and I joined in once more.
“It’s okay,” I said. “I get it, and you’re my first friends here, so I don’t mind at all telling you about myself. Though I do want to hear more about you, too. I want to get to know you guys as much as you want to know me. It’s only fair.”
I almost specified that it was the two of them, in particular, I wanted to know, leaving Gavin painfully out of the mix. But I wasn’t able to make myself be so blatantly rude right in front of him. He was already being an asshole, and I didn’t want to stoop to the same level myself.
I continued without missing a beat.
“No, I only play the guitar. I enjoy singing, but my voice is more suited to being backup rather than lead, though I enjoy writing my own music.”
“That’s a lot of talent right there,” Andrew commented. “Being able to think up a new tune and put it on paper. I don’t know, that’s above and beyond anything most people would be able to pull off.”
“It’s just one of those things that if you’re into it and you know what you’re doing, it’s not as hard as it seems. I draw inspiration from a lot of things, and just put it all together when it starts to flow in my mind. If that makes sense,” I said.
“It does to me,” Kim said. “And if everyone’s finished with their food, I was thinking it would be nice to hear Gavin play us a little something. If you don’t mind, that is.”
“Me?” Gavin asked in surprise.
“Yes you,” Kim giggled.
I got the impression the two of them were pretty good friends with the way she teased him, and the way he complied with her requests.
“What do you want me to play?” he asked.
“What is there to play?” I chimed in.
