AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“One line.”
“Yep. Sometimes it’s the title, sometimes it’s the first line, sometimes it’s part of the chorus, and sometimes it’s just one word that will set the mood of the song. Ah, an example is I was at Ash’s house last summer, it was a Sunday, and it was the part of the day where the golden light was just coming out. I was watching him and Avery laugh over something they were cooking together, Whiskey was circling them for fallen scraps, and everything about them in that moment, the light, the love . . . it was so effortless, and I thought to myself, ‘All Sunday afternoons should be like this.’”
“Sunday afternoon,” I say, voice just barely above a whisper.
“Yep.” He gives me a small smile.
“For me it’s the intro. I’ll get a feeling that will be a theme of sorts, and from there I start working on a killer intro. Cora is good at the tune. She can take the words and the vibe of the song and write the music in a way that invokes the feeling we’re trying to convey. Avery, she’s just good at both. Jam sessions with the three of us are a lot of fun. Actually, they’re probably my favorite.”
“I did see the studio at your house across the lake when Juliet and I stayed there last year.”
“Yeah, I always played downstairs whenever I was there, away from my parents. Then when Avery started coming with me, little by little the room turned into something more. My parents didn’t care, they were just glad we were using the house. My brother works all the time, and since he got married and started his family, he hasn’t been able to make it there as much.”
“Hmm,” he responds.
“What’s this song called that you’re working on?”
“Smokey’s.” He smirks, making his lips look delicious.
Ugh. I seriously have a problem. Why does just looking at him make my mouth water?
“Like the bar?” I ask, trying not to give away just how far off track my mind keeps wandering.
“Yep.” His smile grows. “Although the setting is the bar, it’s more about having that one place, that go-to place for misery, fun, escape, comfort, friendship, you know.” He shrugs one shoulder, and I think it already sounds amazing.
“I look forward to hearing it,” I tell him, and his gaze turns thoughtful, almost nervous.
“Do you want to go there tonight? I hear they’re open this week. We can go out or we can stay here. I’m up for either.”
I know he’s not officially asking me out on a date, but to me it kind of feels like it, and my heart soars. New Year’s Eve at Smokey’s with Clay? I can’t think of a better way to ring in the new year. Well, maybe one way, but seeing as he’s just starting to come back to me, something tells me he’s not quite ready for me to strip his clothes off and have my way with him.
Shame, though. I already know it would be amazing. Together we are amazing, but at this point I’ll just take whatever he’s offering, especially if it’s the lowering of the wall.
“I say, yes. Let’s go out.”
16
CLAY
Arriving at Smokey’s with Emma feels surreal. After all, this is where it all started for Ash and me with our career, and as for Emma and me, this is where we met.
The parking lot is full by the time we arrive, and there’s a line out front with a guy checking an iPad. In all the years we’ve been coming here, I’ve never once seen a line. It’s strange, but good for them.
“I wonder who they have playing tonight,” Emma says as we stare at the crowd standing in the cold before us.
“I don’t know.”
When the idea to come here popped into my mind, I thought it was brilliant. Having Emma in my house messes with my psyche. Little by little, things of hers are being left lying around. It’s not that I mind; it’s that I think I like it too much. I constantly have to remind myself of what we are and what we aren’t, and it sucks. And don’t get me started on the way she looks in my house. When she’s in the kitchen, sprawled out on the couch, or playing with Moose on the floor, they’re all images I don’t want, because if I allowed myself to, it would be easy to imagine more.
Then again, as I glance over at her in my truck, my stomach turns at the thought of someone else imagining her in any way. She’s killing me right now, having traded in the tight yoga pants and loose sweater for skintight black jeans, a sparkly silver top, and high-heeled boots. Her hair is pulled back into a sleek ponytail and her lips are a fire engine red. Every guy in this place is going to be staring at her, not that I can blame them. She’s beautiful.
“Do you want to go back home?” I ask, and her head whips in my direction. She’s tossed her coat into the back seat so she doesn’t have to carry it, but there’s no way she’ll be able to stand outside in that line for long without freezing.
“No way. We can do it. I can do it.” She sounds confident, although I’m not so sure.
“Okay. If the line doesn’t move fast enough, we can always go somewhere else,” I tell her, trying to think of somewhere that might be fun. Maybe Route 11?
“It’ll be fine. Besides, I’ll be warm next to you.” She grins mischievously, meanwhile my tongue grows heavy and my words get stuck in my throat.
