In Your Honor

by Heidi Hutchinson

  “Lenny!” He yanked her backwards. If anything happened to her, Luke would kill him. “I think we're close enough.”

  Rebellion flashed in her eyes and for the tenth time that day, he wondered what he had been thinking when he'd agreed to spend the day with the craziest girl he knew. So much of Lenny reminded him of his younger sister, Greta. Except he could boss Greta around. Lenny, not so much.

  “C'mon, Harry,” her mouth pulled into a sideways grin, “how many all-girl death metal bands have you seen up close?”

  “None,” Harrison stuttered, wondering if he could persuade Lenny to turn back by offering her all the money in his bank account. “But we left everyone else behind and they really shouldn't miss... this...” He cringed as his face came in contact with a very sweaty, smelly, bare armpit.

  “Everyone else had plans,” Lenny reminded him, too excited for Harrison's comfort. “This is fun! When was the last time it was just you and me?”

  Never. It's never been you and me because I'm a pussy and I'm terrified of what you do for a living, let alone for fun. “God love you, Lenny,” he said with a shake of his head and a deep breath as he forged ahead into the crowd with her.

  ***

  “That doesn't go there.” Lucy tapped the bottom two lines that Blake had scribbled down on the piece of notebook paper they'd been poring over for the past two hours.

  “What do you mean? Where does it go then?” He frowned at the page, getting frustrated with himself. What had he missed?

  “It goes here.” She leaned forward and marked the spot she was talking about with a pencil dot. Her dark hair swung down, framing her face and making her look like a freaking angel. He had to deliberately look down at the paper in between them.

  “But if we put it there...” He grabbed her guitar from the couch behind him and started to experiment with what they had so far. Lucy moved next to him and softly sang the words they'd been writing all day.

  She was right. Moving those two lines changed the tone of the song and brought it back to their original intention.

  “You're a genius,” he muttered as he made the correction.

  She smiled. “I think you mean bossy.”

  He raised his eyes to hers and watched as she twirled her long hair around the pencil and pinned it back in a barely contained mess. He would never understand how girls could do that.

  He thought he'd done a pretty remarkable job of keeping his distance from Lucy during their writing sessions. In the beginning she'd been quiet and slightly nervous, but he stuck to the plan. He remained relaxed, he remained calm and like always, she followed his lead. Now, it was easy. Natural.

  “Why do you always sell yourself short?” he asked with sincerity. “You must know how good you are at this.”

  Her ears turned a light shade of pink and she rolled her eyes. “You're flying pretty fast and free with the compliments. It's good to us, but that doesn't mean it's any good in the real world.”

  Blake wasn't sure how to reply. Maybe it was because he'd been in the business longer, or maybe it was his unshakeable devotion to her, or perhaps it was his inability to let go of something that he truly believed. Whatever the case, he knew he needed to prove it to her.

  “Let's do it.”

  “Hum, what now?” Her eyes went wide, and he grimaced at his word choice.

  “I mean, let's do the song. Here, at the festival. They have a stage for open mic, we can sign up and see what the crowd thinks.”

  “I don't know, Blake.” Lucy was shaking her head slowly. “This is our first attempt at song writing together. Are you sure you want to open it up to public opinion so soon?”

  “Absolutely,” he nodded. “I'll play, you sing.”

  She wasn't having it, he could tell by the look on her face: a mixture of skepticism and amusement. He would have to try harder.

  “Or you can play and I'll sing?” He raised his eyebrows, daring her to at least disagree with that idea.

  “No, I'll sing it.”

  He jumped on those words. “Okay, so you'll sing.” He stood and folded the paper into his pocket.

  “Blake, are you serious?” She laughed, incredulous.

  He stood by the doorway of the bus and pretended to be waiting impatiently. “Let's go, wildflower. I don't have all day.”

  “You're impossible.” She scrambled to her feet, an excited smile spreading across her face.

  He reached for her hand, and when she didn't even hesitate in taking it, he felt electricity travel up his arm as if the tattooed lightning there had come to life. He held on tightly and tugged her through the crowds, tents and booths, loving the sound of her giggle behind him.

  They came to the open mic stage, where Blake quickly found the man in charge and made sure that he and Lucy got added to the list.

  “Name?” the man asked, his sunburned face squinting at them from under long blonde lashes.

  “Randy Giles,” Blake replied, keeping his face straight and squeezing Lucy's hand when he heard her sharp intake of air.

  “Okay, Randy,” the man with the clipboard answered, making a note but not batting an eye, “you'll be up at 4:30.”

  Blake nodded his thanks and turned to Lucy, smiling widely. “Let's go practice our song.”

  She laughed loudly, and he couldn't help but think that this was one of the best days he'd had in a long time. He didn't release her hand until they were safely back on the bus.

  They went straight to work.

  ***

  Harrison feigned heat exhaustion halfway through Mordrid the Destroyer's set and convinced Lenny they needed to move to a less crowded, more shaded area. With iced tea.

  He stretched out on the cool grass and laced his fingers behind his head. They'd escaped with minor injuries. He had a rip in his shirt and a fat lip, while Lenny had gotten her hair pulled and a small scrape high on her cheek. Luke would probably still threaten him. Even if the whole thing had been his wife's idea.

  Lenny's phone buzzed and she pulled it out of her pocket. That was probably Luke now, asking for Harrison's location.

  “That's weird,” Lenny muttered from next to him, looking at the screen.

  “What?” Harrison asked curiously.

  “Shane just texted me. He wants Lucy's number.” She frowned over at Harrison.

  Harrison felt like he'd hit a concrete barrier traveling at a high velocity on the highway, Sway's warning ringing in his ears.

  “Why?” he asked tersely, his whole body tensing.

  Lenny shrugged. “I guess they really hit it off the other night.” He watched as she tapped out a reply, feeling like the worst friend in the world. He should throw himself at the phone and destroy it on the spot. But he didn't. He simply lay there.

  “Did you give it to him?” he asked, his throat sticky with the question.

  “Yeah,” Lenny shrugged, “I mean, I don't have a reason not to.”

  “Except that Blake is completely in love with her,” he spit out bitterly. This is the worst thing that could happen. Okay, maybe not the worst thing, but it came close. Blake was finally getting his act together, who knew what kind of shit storm this new development would create? Who cares what Blake said about not being territorial? They all knew Lucy was a weak point for him, and anything could set off that thermal detonator.

  “You think I shouldn't have given it to him?” Lenny looked down at her phone nervously. Lenny never looked nervous. Maybe she was feeling the same sort of dread he was.

  “I have no idea,” Harrison finally sighed. “I mean, they're supposed to be just friends, but...”

  “But they're crazy about—” Lenny started to finish but Harrison interrupted, sitting up swiftly.

  “Maybe that's it.” He raked his fingers through his hair. “Maybe they're just crazy. Not about each other. I mean, how hard is it to say, 'Hey, I love you, you love me, let's make this thing work'? I think they like the ache they bring each other. And I'm kinda tired of constantly dancing around th
e issue. Who cares that Blake got that stupid tattoo? Blake has lots of tattoos. I think the next time he goes on a binge, we need to throw him in dry-out for real. He's not crazy for her. He's just crazy!”

  It was more of a rant than Harrison was prone to, and he knew that Lenny was taken aback by her silence.

  “What tattoo?” she asked quietly. Harrison felt his stomach fill with ice. Oops.

  “Secret tattoo,” he said softly, closing his eyes. Lenny wasn't supposed to know about the tattoo, at least, not about the timing and message behind it.

  Lenny didn't say anything, so Harrison cracked open one eyelid carefully to see if she was still there. She was, staring thoughtfully across the open park full of people.

  “Yep, this is going to get ugly.” She sighed despairingly. “Maybe Shane's interest will get Blake's ass in line.”

  “Or maybe push him over it,” Harrison added.

  “Maybe Lucy doesn't like Shane back,” Lenny pointed out.

  “This is an awful lot of maybes,” Harrison said, unconvinced.

  She grimaced and looked away again.

  “You know Shane better than me, is he a bad guy? Is there anything Lucy won't like about him?”

  Lenny thought for a long time, too long for Harrison's comfort.

  “No, he's a really good guy now. She's probably going to like him a lot.”

  Harrison groaned and closed his eyes again. “What are we going to do?”

  “Nothing,” Lenny said calmly. “We'll be good friends and let them figure this out on their own.”

  ***

  The words to the song came from inside her head. That gorgeous, always tousled, mess of a head. She spoke in poetry. Her words tumbling out effortlessly and compelling him to put them in order, in a melody, in a tune. Giving order to her chaos, translation to her heart's encryption.

  And she did the same for him.

  As they went over the song again and again, it was difficult for Blake not to get wrapped up in the moment. Not to pretend she was singing the words to him even though it felt that real. She wrote and sang with such passion and truth, he could get lost in her. He had before.

  They had run wild when they were kids, nothing stopping them. He could almost feel the same hot sun beating down on them as they rode his old Harley out to the lake. Her thighs pressed against him, her arms snug at his waist, her face buried in his neck.

  She had loved him. Truly. Without restraint or apology.

  He had been an idiot.

  “Are you listening to me?” Lucy waved in front of his face, a small smile playing on her lips.

  “Sorry.” He shook off the old memory. “I wasn't paying attention.”

  “You okay?” She frowned softly, and he wasn't sure how to reply.

  Was he okay? No. He'd ruined her life and his own in the process, and he wasn't sure if it was too late to fix it. And yes, he was with her now and they were friends and that was... okay.

  “If you don't want to do this, we don't have to.” She misread his hesitation and he cracked a smile.

  “No way. This is going to be awesome. Let's go over it again.”

  She gave him a look of disbelief and he returned it with an impish grin, deciding to change the subject slightly.

  “You're not wearing that on stage, are you?”

  She looked down at her jeans and orange tank top. “What's wrong with this?”

  “You look a little like a hobo.” He pursed his lips, trying to not smile.

  She shrugged. “I can live with that.”

  He laughed at her blasé attitude and readjusted the guitar. “It's your call, just trying to be helpful.”

  ***

  Blake cracked his knuckles in anticipation. They were next up. Lucy stood calmly to his left, cool as ever. He had sent out a mass text to both bands, Lenny, Kendra and Carl to come and see this. So far he hadn't been able to spot any of them, but that didn't mean they weren't there. He was sure Kendra was lurking somewhere nearby.

  “Next up... Randy Giles!” The MC introduced them and Blake smirked at the snicker that went through the crowd.

  He took his position on the stool off to the side as Lucy stood in front of the mic. She hadn't changed her clothes and he was proud of his stubborn little hobo. It didn't matter, she was still breathtaking.

  He waited for her cue before he began the simple song they had finished up that afternoon.

  For some reason, the song seemed even more powerful when played in front of a crowd of people. Blake felt adrenaline start to course through his veins, and he hoped that Lucy could feel it too.

  It was a fun little song. Clever and quirky with enough snark in it to make full use of Lucy's soft drawl. She sold it too. She had been great during practice, but she was always better live. She had her dad's gift of showmanship and she played the crowd like Blake played that worn-out guitar resting on his lap: expertly. She made the whole thing seem effortless, like telling a story at the supper table. To the casual observer this did not look like an open mic opportunity, it looked like a ringer. And for all intents and purposes, it was. Blake knew she was great, he was trying to convince her. With the way she was strutting across that stage, he had to believe she knew, in her core, that she had a gift.

  When the song was finished, she turned to give him a heart-stopping grin. Her happiness was always one of his favorite things. Especially when he had been able to contribute to it.

  He stood beside her and they bowed before quickly leaving the stage.

  Luke and Lenny were waiting for them off to the side to congratulate them and Blake felt his chest fill with pride. He had wanted to share this part of her with his friends for so long... and it was finally happening. Maybe mistakes could be righted after all.

  ***

  “But you guys only started writing together this week,” Sway pouted from his corner on the blue bus. Lucy had not been able to figure out why he was upset by the whole thing. His mood seemed to swing from happy to jealous rather sporadically.

  “It's like I told you, she's got a gift.” Blake winked up at her from his place on the floor at her feet and she smiled.

  “Couldn't have done it without you.” She nudged him with her foot and he leaned his head back, resting his back against her leg and his head on her knee. It was a small gesture but one that felt good. Right.

  They were on the blue bus with Sway, Harrison and Mike discussing her tiny little solo performance. They had been there to see it, along with Luke and Lenny. But Taylor, Chad and Stuart had been at a different show. That was fine with Lucy, she hadn't planned on telling anyone anyway, so it was a surprise to have a group of people waiting for her at the end. She had intended it to be an adventure that she only shared with Blake. But this was nice too.

  She definitely hadn't expected the outpouring of praise for the stupid little song she'd sung. But they seemed to really dig it. Silly rock stars. Didn't they know who they were?

  “It's just, Blake and I have been writing stuff for months,” Sway bemoaned, “and he hasn't wanted to perform any of it live. He keeps saying it's not ready.”

  “Wait a minute,” Mike leaned forward from the couch, “you guys have been writing stuff? How come we didn't know anything about it?”

  “Um,” Sway swallowed nervously and looked all around the cabin.

  “It was for something else, not DBS,” Blake finally sighed.

  “You guys have an independent thing going?” Harrison asked, brown eyes wide. Lucy liked Harrison's honest disposition and she usually found herself wanting to spend more time with him but not being able to find a reason to. Tonight, however, he kept averting his eyes and keeping his remarks short and precise. It was weird.

  “Kind of, just some ideas really. We don't even have a whole song yet.” Blake glared at Sway, who rolled his eyes in response.

  “Speak for yourself, I have a love song that will make any girl weep,” the blond said smugly, and crossed his arms over his chest.

  “L
ove song? How in the world are you writing a love song?” Mike asked skeptically. “What sort of inspiration are you drawing from?”

  “I have love in my life,” Sway objected. When the room gaped at him he clarified, “I have potential love... I might be in love... some day... I think she is a lovely person...” His voice trailed off and Lucy bit her lip to keep from smiling.

  “I thought she dumped you for a stunt man,” Harrison said, echoing the thoughts of the rest of the guys.

  “Apparently that was a misunderstanding,” Blake explained, despite his friend's warning glare. “She was trying to make him jealous and it backfired.”

  “Dude!” Sway's eyes were round as he stared hard at Blake. “I told you that in confidence.”

  “Ugh, I hate it when girls do that,” Harrison said disgustedly. He glanced at Lucy nervously. “Sorry, Lucy, no offense.”

  “None taken. My gender is capable of some pretty stupid things.” She had seen some doozies in her life. She hadn't attempted many of the classic manipulation tactics; they pretty much always failed because she was so terrible at lying. Eventually, she stopped trying to keep up with the psychological warfare that the girls she grew up with seemed to make into a profession.

  “Oh really? Anything you wanna get off your chest?” Harrison asked curiously, his face searching hers. What was he looking for?

  “Oh geez, I have the worst memory.” She patted Blake's shoulder. “Can you think of one?” She knew the potential was there for him to humiliate her in front of all these people, but they had had such a good day together that she hoped that wouldn't happen.

  He sighed and tapped his chin as he thought for a few minutes, and then he started laughing. “Oh yeah, there was that one time when you told me to call in sick to work because you wanted to hang out. And Mazy Mulroney told you that if I chose work over you then obviously I didn't love you and I never would.”

  “Yeah,” Lucy chuckled, “and then Mazy called you that night assuming we had broken up—”

  “Because she had driven through the parking lot like twenty-five times!”

  “And she asked you out.” Lucy shook her head. “Ah, seventeen sucked.”