“There's the one show in a week where I'll sing back up. It'll be like old times.” Kyra shot her a hopeful grin.
“You guys all drive a hard bargain.” Taryn's spirits soared, thankful for everyone's pep talks. She wheeled around the couch to move closer to the group. Her phone rang, and Taryn pulled it from her pouch to check. Chris' number registered. No, she wouldn't take the call at the moment, so she silenced it and dropped the phone back in her pouch.
Another phone rang seconds later. Melody groaned. “I have a feeling Chris is trying to reach you, and now calling me because you're avoiding him.”
Taryn cringed. “Yeah, that was him. I'm not ready to talk to him yet.” Great. So if they didn't know, they would now.
“I'll text him and say something, otherwise he'll continue.” Melody silenced her phone, then tapped out something on the keyboard. “He knows I'm over here this morning.”
Taryn clapped a hand over her forehead. Wonderful. Not!
“There. I warned him in the nicest way possible to leave us alone for the moment.” Melody smirked, shoving her phone back in her purse. When she took a look at Taryn, her smile faded. “Are you ok?”
“No,” Taryn muttered. “I'm so pissed that I'm allowing this to ruin my day, let alone distracting me last night. Getting upset over a kiss is not my style.”
Blaine sighed. “We all kinda knew, but didn't want to say anything unless you did.”
Heat rushed to her cheeks. “I hate clumsiness, but in this case, I wish I could chalk it up to only that.”
“Well, I can tell you one thing. The girl who kissed him is known as the town … err, flirt. And that's putting it nicely,” Blaine replied.
“I can tell you without a hesitation that my brother likes you,” Melody added. “Trust me, I already socked him several times for last night. He swears it was her doing.”
Taryn fiddled with the sides of her chair. Could this subject end now? “This might be too much info, but I wonder why he'd want to be around me when it seems he's getting a lot of other, better offers.”
“Alice is so not a better offer, and there's no such thing as TMI with us,” Blaine said. “We have no holding back when it comes to conversations.”
“Especially Blaine,” Avery quipped.
“I have not been that bad lately! Randy's the one making the comments, especially in front of Andrew!” Blaine held her hands up in protest.
Kyra burst into giggles. “That was funny! I mean, I'm glad Andrew didn't hear it, but it's definitely something I didn't expect Randy to say so loud.”
“Yeah, he has a habit of calling it Blaine-Grant-Word-Vomit-Itis.” Blaine rolled her eyes.
Taryn glanced at Kyra, not even hiding a smile. “These three sound a lot like us back in the day.” Knowing and recognizing this helped to ease the nervousness about not fitting in.
“Okay, so back to the subject at hand. Don't ever feel like you can't say anything around us. We're like an open book.” Blaine tossed a TicTac into her mouth.
“I think we're our own worst critics,” Kyra said, her eyes on Taryn. “We wonder how someone could see things in us, but obviously there's something. I guess what I'm trying to say- and I'll always say it, is that you have a lot to offer, Taryn. You might not believe me, because I've been in your life for ten years, but it doesn't change the fact that it's true.”
“You of all people should know how I feel right now. Since getting back in touch, this is all my first step back into society. I've been a hermit.”
“I know, and I know it's because you feel like you're a different person. You are, but not for the reasons you're giving.”
“I say that no matter who did or didn't kiss the other last night, don't let either become your downfall.” Avery rubbed her hands together. “And that gives me a song idea. Who wants to write something together?”
“You're as bad as Kyra!” Taryn joked, wondering if she should have even said it. “I swear she makes songs about everything. But I can't help it. I'm curious. What do you have in mind?”
“I think we're going to create a fun song. Something dedicated to the ladies and all we endure.” Blaine clapped her hands. “I'm not a songwriter, you all know this, but I'm so in. Let's have a little songwriting revenge fun!”
*****
“Okay, this is torture. Just tell me how she is!” Chris grumbled to Melody on the phone about four hours later after he'd gotten a text from her to stop calling or messaging them. “I don't even feel like messing around today.”
“She's fine. Still pretty upset, but we've been spending the afternoon writing a song. All of us,” Melody warned. She seemed to enjoy making him squirm too much.
He groaned. “Great. A song with you, Avery, Blaine, Kyra, and Taryn?” Not that he'd say it out loud, at least right now, but Chris looked forward to hearing it, even if it meant a major jab at him over what happened last night.
“It was really, really fun! Oh man, some of the things said … not everything made it into a song, but we have some back up ideas,” Melody teased. “But Taryn says if you want to talk, she's available and will answer your call. We're leaving Kyra's now.”
“Does she blame me?” Damn, did he sound like an idiot. The anticipation of not knowing distracted him all day.
“Call her, Chris. Clear the air. I'm not getting in the middle of it.”
“Isn't that what you did earlier?”
“Umm no. It's called being a friend and wanting to know how she is. The only reason I texted you was because you called Taryn, then me, and I didn't want you to try calling anyone else after that. Taryn wasn't ready to talk to you. Since you called me next, I was the one to respond. When did you get to be such a weirdo about women?”
He stifled a laugh. Caught in the act by his own sister. Damn! “I was just thinking about that question myself, and I don't have an answer.” Several ideas and thoughts on why, yes, but no definitive answer. “I'm hanging up with you so I can call her. I'm half tempted to go down there and surprise her with flowers or something.”
“Not a bad idea. It would definitely surprise her.” Something in Melody's tone had Chris curious about the meaning behind it, but he decided against asking. His sister made herself clear about not wanting to get more in the middle of it.
“Bye Mel. Talk to you soon.” Chris grabbed his car keys, the decision made to head over and talk to Taryn in person. He stopped at the store and picked up flowers, even though he had no idea if Taryn even liked that sort of thing. It was the thought that counted, right?
Standing on the doorstep nearly a half hour later, Chris rang the doorbell and fidgeted, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. Holding the flower vase in one hand, he raked the other through his hair. Then he messed with buttons on his shirt, straightening it out.
Matt answered. “For me? You shouldn't have.” Matt chuckled, opening the door wider. “Kyra might wonder what's going on.”
“Might?” Kyra appeared behind Matt. “Oh! Chris. Hi.”
“Hi Matt. Hi Kyra. Is Taryn around?” Chris cleared his throat after his voice came out cracked.
Kyra's lips curved upwards in a smile. “Yeah, she is. Come on in.”
Chris glanced around as he entered the house.
“You look nervous,” Matt commented.
“A little. Right now, I'm making sure there aren't any traps set for me. I heard the ladies were cooking up something earlier, so I'm waiting for my life to flash before my eyes.”
Matt let out a laugh, and Kyra smirked. “I promise, we haven't set any death traps, but only because I never know who's going to knock on my door.” She winked. “Taryn! You've got company! Let me know if I need to roll out our plan!”
Chris exchanged a look with Matt, who held up his hands. “I know nothing about this. I've been working all day. Good luck.” Matt patted him on the shoulder and left the living room.
Hell. What in the world had been said about him today?
“Hi,” Taryn said soft
ly as she wheeled down the hallway and stopped right before entering the living room.
“All right, I have to ask. You aren't hiding any sort of weapon, are you?” Chris asked in jest. “Because ever since I walked in here, I have a feeling some sort of master plan has been devised.”
“You're welcome to do a search.” Taryn folded her arms over her chest, casting a grin his way. She eyed the flowers.
“Don't tempt me. I don't do well with surprises.” He held out the vase to her. “I don't know if you do the whole flowers thing, but I didn't let it stop me.”
“I think it's sweet! Just saying!” Kyra called from the other room.
“Quiet, Kyra!” Taryn called back, stifling a giggle.
“Don't worry. We're leaving. I'll keep the instigator away for a while,” Matt promised.
“You're supposed to be on our side!” Kyra protested.
“Someone has to stand up for the poor guy!” Matt and Kyra appeared in the doorway, both laughing.
“Thanks, Matt. Glad to know someone has my back.” Chris shook his head. “Is this a 'mess with my friend and you get everyone's wrath' kind of thing?”
“Pretty much. Some things never change.” Kyra shrugged.
“How do you deal with this?” he asked Matt.
“I stay in their good graces,” came the simple, yet honest reply. “But to be fair, I've feared Kyra's wrath a few times.”
“Yes, but Kyra's wrath is to put you in a song. Mine involve drumsticks,” Taryn warned.
“We're going now, I promise. See you two later.” Kyra waved, then allowed Matt to drag her out the door.
When they were alone, Chris let out a nervous laugh. “So on a scale from one to ten, how much does everyone want to kill me?”
“Oh, it's been all over the place today.” Taryn touched one of the flower petals, running her thumb along it.
“Right now? What about right now?”
“Well, you brought flowers. I think it's at about a seven.”
“Seven? And ten is the highest?”
“Mmmhmm,” Taryn affirmed. She scooted forward and set the flowers on the coffee table. “Thank you. For the flowers.” She gestured. “Want to sit?”
He strode around the couch and lowered to sit, facing Taryn. “I have three things to say. One- you were phenomenal last night. Two, I'm so sorry about the way things went down and I hope you're okay. Well, that kinda makes it four, but I combined the two. The last one … I don't know exactly what you did or didn't see or even thought about that kiss-”
“That's none of my business.” Taryn cut him off, looking away.
“It is when I'm trying to start over because I'm interested in you,” he said softly.
That got her attention. “Chris-”
“Alice kissed me. I think it was an attempt to make me realize she was what I wanted, but she isn't. Not that she ever was, but the physical thing I was seeking with her isn't working any more. I think she got jealous of you.”
“Jealous of me?” Taryn's laugh came out bitter.
“Does it surprise you?”
“Hell yeah it does, and I don't like any of it, either. I've seen what jealousy does to people. It's why I'm in a wheelchair, because someone couldn't handle their feelings. I don't take to that lightly any more.”
That one quieted him down. What a perspective. Considering what caused the accident, he should have thought about that. “I really am sorry about the way things went last night.”
“I guess it is what it is. Consider yourself forgiven.” Taryn waved a hand in the air.
“I'll take it, but most of all, I want to know we're okay.” Forgiven, fine, but what did it mean for them as they moved forward?
“I don't even know what 'we' are, so sure. We're okay.”
He knelt in front of her, taking her hands in his. “I want you to mean it, Taryn. I want to be okay.”
She studied him. Her lips opened slightly, and he had to fight the urge not to claim her lips in a kiss. Not the best move right now, but damn, did she ever tempt him.
“Are you that worried about the plan Kyra and I have to roll out?” She cracked a smile, breaking the ice.
Chris let out a laugh. “Smartass. What was the plan?”
“Like I'd tell you.” She quirked up a brow. “Maybe you'll always be on your guard now.”
“I just might have to, although I have been ever since moving here to be close to Melody. I don't mess with those girls if I don't have to. And now with you and Kyra included, I might be a little fearful.” Chris trailed a finger along her jaw. “Seriously, Taryn, I don't want to hurt you, intentionally or unintentionally. I don't want to be that guy.”
She kept her gaze locked in on him. “For the most part, I know that.”
“The most part?”
“My head and heart aren't always in agreement,” she admitted. “Not when there are doubts plaguing me constantly.”
“Then I'm going to work really hard to fix that. I want to be somebody to you, and I prefer it to be somebody who makes you smile instead of cry.”
Her lips curved up in a smile. “I want you to be that somebody, too.”
Right there, he knew he had something to work with. Her words meant that she wanted something, and even if he went through a thousand screw ups until he got it right, Chris wanted to see where things went with Taryn. Slow, fast, steady, friends ... whatever it took. Pressing a kiss to her hand, then rubbing his thumb over the spot, he stared into her eyes. “Then I'm going to show you I can be that somebody,” he promised.
Chapter Fifteen
“What are you obsessing over now?” Taryn asked Kyra Wednesday afternoon after arriving home from work. She held back a laugh at the expression of horror on her friend's face.
“These promo photos they want to use for the Bare My Soul tour. Was the photographer smoking something that day? Ugh!” Kyra shoved the laptop away with a frustrated grunt.
“Let me see. You're your own worst critic.” Taryn wheeled closer and took a peek. Damn. For once, her friend wasn't freaking out over nothing. “It's not April Fools, so this can't be a joke.” It wasn't anything against Kyra herself, but the poses and the revealing part … just no.
“Matt's not gonna like this.” Kyra covered her face.
“Okay, hold on. Is it because you're worried what Matt thinks, or are you not comfortable with them?” Taryn questioned.
“Both, but since this song is kinda 'our song' … I don't know. Am I obsessing?” Kyra pulled one hand away from her face. “I hope they don't want to pull the same kind of thing with the photo for Baby Stetson.”
Taryn shuddered. “I hope not either, especially if I have to be in it. As for obsessing ... maybe. I think the angle is off. You're gorgeous, but they don't capture that essence in these photos. Speak your mind, girl, if you don't like them. If this isn't how you want to be portrayed, then make them change it.”
“In a way, kinda. I think they're trying to do a racy version of the grown up Kyra. But this … it's not me. But you know what? Enough about them for now. I haven't seen you much the past few days, so talk to me.”
“Blah blah blah?” Taryn cracked.
Kyra wasn't impressed. “Really?”
“I almost got bit today by a pissed off dog,” she replied.
“Ouch. Glad it didn't happen, but I'm looking for any details between you and Chris.”
“Ahh, now she gets to the point.” Taryn nodded with a smirk. “Just say that next time.”
“Fine. Give me all the details on you and Chris. I know he came over, he brought flowers, and you seem to be in a better mood since then. So, what's the deal?”
“The deal is, I don't know. He cleared the air, we've texted since then, but...” Taryn shrugged. “He did ask me yesterday if we could get together before he leaves.”
“For band related reasons?” Kyra's smile was knowing.
“Shut up.”
She gasped in mock horror. “What did I say?”
/> “It's what you didn't say. The look in your eyes. The way you're smiling.”
“Okay. I won't smile.” Kyra worked hard to stop, but it didn't turn out as well. “Stop looking at me like that!”
“You can't help it whether I look at you or not!” Taryn shot back, giggling.
“You might have a point. Hey, serious note. Do you want to go with me next week to look at tour buses? There's a place about three hours away.”
“Umm, sure. If it's during the week, I'll have to see about getting the time off though.”
“Easy peasy. I kinda have an in with your boss.” Kyra winked. “I know, I know. You're going to say something about that, but seriously. I'd push it to a weekend if I could, but my schedule is starting to get unpredictable. I figure the sooner we do this, the better. Completely up to you.”
“The earlier, the better. That way I can figure something out if there's no good options for me.”
“Cool. Road trip! Can't wait.” Kyra grinned.
Taryn's phone rang, and she reached for it.
“Ooooh! Wonder who that is,” Kyra whispered.
So did she, actually. Chris' number registered on the caller ID. “Hi.”
“So, you might be a little used to this by now, but I'm random. And today I'm being even more random by asking you to do something with me.”
“Considering you asked me the other day, it's not that random,” Taryn ignored Kyra's curious gaze.
“True, but here's the random part. I thought about just doing it and not telling you, but considering what it has to do with, I don't know how to go about it.”
What in the...? “You've got my interest piqued.” And apparently Kyra's, because she kept gesturing and mouthing things.
“Swimming. I want to take you swimming.”
A sharp breath escaped her. “Say that again?”
“Well, I think it was the night at the arcade. You mentioned you miss swimming. What if I took you? Worked with you?” His voice held so much hope and compassion, and it touched a deep, closed off part of her soul.
Offbeat (Love and Music In Texas Book 5) Page 14