“Okay.”
“Seriously…glad you decided to do this.”
“Me, too.”
He felt renewed vigor and spent the rest of the night sending Val everything she’d need. He sent her their schedule first, dates and locations, and asked her to let him know if all those dates would work for her. Then he emailed her a file with attachments of all their song lyrics, Ethan’s included. He was glad he’d made his friend give him copies of those when the guy was still writing. He’d wanted to make sure he learned the words himself, just in case Ethan ever crapped out. So he had the files, and it was simply a matter of attaching them to an email. He apologized for not having electronic music sheets to go with them.
But then he sent a few more emails to her, the next ones containing sound recordings of all the songs they’d ever made. Some were crappy and rough and others were of higher quality. None of them were mixed and mastered—they were all live recordings of some type, so he hoped Val was okay with it. He wanted her to memorize the notes, not appreciate the beauty of the songs—she already loved the songs, so the music files were educational only.
He went to bed that night feeling more hopeful than he had in a while.
When he checked his email the next morning, she hadn’t responded, so he wondered if he’d maybe sent them to the wrong email address. He hadn’t heard from her by lunch, so during his break at work, he sent her a text, asking if she’d gotten the emails. She texted back, letting him know she’d check her email when she got home from work that night.
And, that night, he did have an email from her. She was concerned about their one Thursday night concert in Denver and she also said she’d be going back to school late August and so she probably couldn’t do any dates after that.
Brad was hoping that maybe once she got a taste, she’d want to work her school schedule around the band too. He believed she would, but he wasn’t going to say a thing about it—not yet, anyway. She did say she thought all the other dates were “doable,” and she said she’d start working on learning the songs right away.
He was glad to read that, because her first show was in a week. They could modify their set list if they had to in order to accommodate songs she felt comfortable singing, but he hoped she could learn most of the songs and feel good enough about them to perform live. He knew she’d do fine once she learned the songs, because he’d seen her perform. In fact, he’d seen her perform songs she wasn’t confident about yet was able to pull off, so knowing the songs really well would make her just about perfect, he thought.
Val sent the occasional text, updating him on her progress. She also sent texts here and there, voicing small concerns, and he’d text her back, trying to reassure her. One of the last ones she sent, she asked if they would pick her up on the way to the concerts or if she needed to invest in a vehicle. She also said she didn’t know exactly where any of the places were or how to get there. She was starting to panic, it sounded like.
So, instead of texting her back yet again, he called her up on Saturday. He would be better able to gauge her state of mind by the tone of her voice instead of a dry text or email.
“Are you as worried as your emails sound?”
She laughed. “No. Actually, I’m really starting to get into this.” Good. He was glad to hear it. “Who’s your tattoo artist?”
He smiled. “Seriously?”
“I wish. No…my parents would kill me.”
He tried not to sound lascivious, but he couldn’t help himself. “If you got one on your ass, they’d never know.” He’d love to see that.
“Yeah…right.”
Time to change the subject back to business. “So…the Thursday night show in July. It’s not till eight that night, and I could maybe make sure we’re one of the later bands. What time do you get off work?”
“It depends…but usually between four and six. I could let them know what’s happening to see if they could let me go earlier that day.”
“It doesn’t take long to set up. How long from Winchester to Denver?”
“If you’re not driving through rush hour, two and a half to three hours. Downtown?”
“Not sure. Not a problem, though, because if you got done at work by five and it took three hours and we played a little later, we’d be okay. Pushing it and not able to set up a merch table, but it would be doable.”
“You know what would be easier? You guys just do that show without me.”
“Fuck no, Val. If you’re part of the band now, you’re part of the band. If you can’t make it, we don’t do the show.”
“But no pressure.”
He laughed. “The other dates work, though?”
“Yep.”
“How are you feeling about the songs?”
She gave him a hard on then, choosing to sing a song he’d written over a year ago, a song called “Take You Down.” Her voice sounded sweet and hot, and then when she got to the chorus, she did a kind of growl, kind of an imitation of how Brad had sung the song, and he wanted to jump through the phone and lay one on her. God, it was sexy as hell, and he couldn’t wait to see her take over the stage.
He didn’t want her to feel self-conscious, though, so he instead just said, “Nice.”
“Thanks. So…I’m learning the songs, but I’d feel a lot better rehearsing with you guys a little before we play our first show. Could we maybe Skype some night next week?”
“What are you doing Friday?”
“Working.” Duh.
Well, yeah, but “After that…”
“Nothing.”
“So why can’t we do a rehearsal Friday night? Maybe even Saturday?”
“Where?”
He gave it some thought. “Good question. My garage is always free. Would you be able to drive here?”
“I don’t know. My parents might not have a car they’d want me to borrow for that long a trip. I’m hoping to save enough for a car this summer, but until then…”
“You’re off work around five?”
“Ish…”
“Five-ish. Nice. Maybe I could pick you up and bring you back here. It might be kinda late. We might not feel like rehearsing that night, but maybe Saturday late morning, early afternoon, before we hit the road to go to Denver. Would that work for you?”
“Yeah. I think so.”
“Then plan on it. I think you’ll start feeling one-hundred percent better once you’ve had some time to practice with us. You know as well as I do that there’s a huge difference between singing with a recording and doing it live.”
“Yeah. Just knowing we’ll be practicing together is good. I feel better already.”
“All right. See you Friday.”
The days flew. Knowing he’d see Valerie again soon made him feel light and happy and free. He felt silly thinking it, but it was true. He told the guys they’d be practicing before the show so Val felt comfortable performing. Brad told them he’d be picking Val up Friday, and Zane offered to go with him to keep him company. He said he was getting keyed up for the show, and he hoped hanging with Brad would help calm his nerves.
That was cool with Brad. He got the feeling Val would still feel awkward if it was just the two of them. Their close encounter had really freaked her out. So maybe it was better that Ethan volunteered to let Val stay at his house…unless, of course, she hated that idea. She might. She wasn’t happy with Ethan. If she didn’t want to stay at his house, she could stay at Brad’s.
He and Zane had a good trip going to Winchester. Brad had asked for the afternoon off from work so they could get her early evening. They didn’t talk much, instead enjoying playing a lot of music and jamming out. When they got to Val’s house, both guys walked to the door, and Val threw the door open within seconds. She’d been eager to be picked up. Brad took her suitcase from her and carried it to his car. “What the hell do you have in here? Bricks?”
She giggled. “I was afraid of needing something and not having it, so I probably did overpack it.”<
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He grinned at her. “I’m pretty sure you did, but I think that’s okay. Us guys never take enough shit, so maybe it’ll balance out.” He put her suitcase in the trunk and then held the door for her. Zane offered to sit in the back so she could sit shotgun, but she said the back was fine. Then she could “kind of” sit next to both of them.
Once they were on the road, Brad said, “Taco Bell on our way through Colorado Springs.” He looked back at Val. “No arguing. My treat. I’m fuckin’ starving.”
They talked some about what had happened with their week. Brad could tell that, in spite of her complaints, Val liked caring for the little girls she babysat. He couldn’t even pretend to like his job, but he had a couple of funny stories to share. And Zane told them about his fight with his dad’s lawnmower the past week.
They went to Taco Bell, used the facilities, and got two bags of food before returning to the road.
After they finished eating, Zane shut off the CD player and turned in the seat. “So, Val, can you give me a sample of what you’ve learned so far?”
Brad glanced at her through the rearview mirror but said nothing. He thought her cheeks turned a little pink. “It would be easier with the music.”
Zane smiled. “Ah.” He started tapping out a beat on the dash and then scatting a baseline. After a few measures, he started imitating the guitar, and Brad knew he was performing the intro to one of Ethan’s songs, “Not My Time.” That was all it took, though, because Val recognized the tune and started singing. Zane kept tapping out the rhythm, and both he and Brad sang backup. After finishing that one, they sang several other songs, and it helped pass the time. It didn’t hurt that Brad was hauling ass. He was tired of driving and, while he enjoyed her company, he wanted to actually see her.
At one point, Val asked, “Where will I be sleeping tonight?”
Brad answered, “Oh, yeah. Ethan said, since you’d stayed at his house before and you knew his mom pretty well already, you could sleep on his couch.”
She sounded pretty irritated when she replied, “It wouldn’t be imposing on his busy social life, would it?” Not that he blamed her. He’d seen how Ethan had treated her.
Zane couldn’t resist the opening, though. “You know about that?”
No. Bad move. Val likely wouldn’t take that retort with good humor, so he stepped in before she could respond. “He’s just fuckin’ with you, Val. Ethan really did mean it as a nice gesture. But if you’re not comfortable there, you’re always welcome at my place. I know my mom wouldn’t have a problem with it.” And neither would he. He knew he couldn’t push the girl, but a little suggestion might not hurt. And maybe then they could take the next natural step in their relationship—or whatever it was.
“I suppose Ethan’s place is fine. I like his mom.”
Brad wasn’t going to let Val know June wasn’t going to be there. She’d find out herself, and if that made her change the mind and decide to stay with Brad, well, then so be it. He wouldn’t be upset in the least.
It turned out they all stayed there. It was pretty late when they arrived, and Ethan flat out said he wasn’t in the mood to rehearse. Besides, he said, Nick told him he was busy but that he’d be free Saturday morning. So Ethan set several bottles of booze, a six-pack of beer, and tortilla chips and salsa on the coffee table and told everyone to drink up. They watched a movie, and Val fell asleep.
Brad had been sitting next to her on the couch. Her head was resting against the back of the couch, her mouth slightly open, and she breathed rhythmically. Aw. The poor girl was tired. He wanted to pull her head down to his shoulder but knew that would probably wake her up instead of help her sleep. Instead, Brad nudged Ethan’s boot with his foot. Ethan looked over at him. “Why the fuck you playin’ footsie with me, man?”
“You got a sheet and pillow for the girl?”
Brad was glad Ethan didn’t give him a smart ass answer. Instead, he got up and walked upstairs. He brought back a pillow and sheet, just as Brad had requested. Brad got up off the couch. Val’s shoes were little slide-on sandals, so he pulled them off her feet without disturbing her. Then he put the pillow on the end of the couch nearest her head and eased her torso down until her head rested on the pillow. Next, he lifted her feet up onto the couch and covered her with the sheet. Then he sat on the floor, resting his back against the couch. Zane was already on the floor, a couch pillow under his head, and he occasionally sat up slightly so he could take a drink of the beer in his hand.
At some point, Zane fell asleep and Ethan said he was going to his bedroom to crash. Brad moved to the chair. It was uncomfortable, but he didn’t want to sleep on the floor like Zane was. He could have easily gone home—it was ten minutes away—but he wanted to be near Valerie, and he didn’t give a shit how crappy his rest would be. He didn’t think it would affect his performance the following night.
He hadn’t realized just how tired he was, and he actually slept okay. He woke up once to find his arm asleep, so he adjusted position and fell back into a peaceful slumber. And then he slept like a baby, his dreams filled with visions of Val.
Chapter Twenty-three
BRAD AWOKE THE next morning to the sounds of two women chattering on and on about home decorating. It was insipid and obnoxious, and it wasn’t long before he figured out it was the television. But he was tired, so he tried drifting back to sleep.
It wasn’t happening, though, no matter how much he wanted to. After five minutes of listening to the two stupid women, he couldn’t stand it anymore. He kept his eyes closed but spoke in a falsetto voice, trying to sound as giggly and irritating as the overly cheery women on the television did. “Oh, my God! Doesn’t this lamp have so much potential?” He tried to be deadpan, but he couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across his face.
“I thought you were sleeping.”
He opened his eyes. He couldn’t remove the sarcasm from his voice, but it didn’t matter. She knew he was full of shit anyway. “Who can sleep through this riveting programming?”
She started giggling. “What else was I supposed to do while you guys were getting your beauty rest?”
He sat up, stretching his neck. It was stiff from how he’d slept the night before. “You trying to tell me this is the only shit you could find?”
She stood and placed the remote in his hand. “I just wanted something to do while I waited for you guys. I want to practice.”
He paused a moment. “Val, you’ll be fine. We’ll have a goddamn blast and make a little cash while we’re at it. It’s cool.”
She smiled and he could see in her eyes that she believed him. “When can we start?”
Brad stood and walked over to Zane, his body splayed on the floor. “First, we gotta get these lazy motherfuckers up.” He nudged his friend with the tip of his boot. “Hey, man…we got a vocalist here itching to try us out.”
Zane muttered and stirred while Brad walked across the room to the bottom of the stairs. He hollered. “Ethan! Get your ass out of bed!”
“I’m up.”
“Hurry up. Val’s chomping at the bit here.”
“Gimme five minutes to shower.”
Brad made his way back to the living room and refrained from winking at Val. “Did you hear all that?” When she nodded, he asked, “Feel better?”
She smiled and nodded and he could see the stress in her eyebrows, but she was trying to be brave. “Once Ethan’s done making himself pretty, we’ll get the hell out of here and go to my place. We can have a bite of breakfast and we can shower too. Shit. Zane!”
Zane stirred again. “Yeah?”
“You still gotta pack and get your bass, don’t you?”
“Yeah.”
“Why don’t you have Ethan take you and that way Val and I can head to my place? I’ll make some breakfast.”
“Like what?”
“Biscuits and gravy sound okay?”
Zane sat up. “Yeah. That’ll work.” He yawned. “You gonna get Nick too?”<
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“Yeah, I can.” He looked at Val. “Let’s go. See you guys in a bit.” He pulled his phone out of his back pocket and pulled up Nick’s number.
“Want us to bring the booze too?”
Brad chuckled. “You still have some?”
“No fuckin’ idea. We can always get more.”
Brad looked at Val. “Got your luggage?”
“Oh, yeah.” She’d been following him to the door but then turned back around. Her luggage was on the side of the sofa near the wall, and she picked it and her purse up and walked toward him. He’d pressed his phone so it was dialing Nick’s number.
Nick picked it up after several rings, sounding groggy. “Dude, we’re gonna be practicing in the next hour and then we’ll be leaving sometime this afternoon. When can you be to my place?”
One thing Brad would say—Nick partied hard. The guy partied his ass off, harder than anyone he knew. Unlike Ethan, however, Nick maintained focus. When it came to the band and band matters, most of the time, Nick was all business. Once or twice, he had dropped the ball, but it just didn’t happen that often. Overall, Nick was a pretty steady guy, and Brad appreciated it. So when Nick said, “I’ll be there in less than an hour,” Brad knew he meant it.
“Don’t forget your stuff for the road, ‘cause when we’re done rehearsing, we’ll be heading out.”
“Consider it done. See ya.”
Brad held the door for Valerie as she stepped out. Zane said, “See you soon. Better be the best goddamn biscuits and gravy I’ve ever had.”
Brad smiled. “I can pour vodka into the gravy if that’ll help.” He closed the door but before it closed, he heard Zane coughing, and he figured it was because the idea of liquor in gravy sounded disgusting. Good. His biscuits and gravy might not be the best, but it would be a solid, hot meal to counter all the alcohol in his friend’s gut, and that was all Zane should have been worrying about.
Once they got to Brad’s house, he asked if Val wanted to shower, and then she told him she already had. So she asked if he wanted her to do something while he took his shower. Oh, he had lots of ideas, but the poor young woman was so nervous, he didn’t know if hitting on her as hard as he’d wanted would calm her down or wind her up more. He asked if she could cook the sausage, and she said she could. So while he showered and packed an overnight bag, Val worked in the kitchen downstairs. By the time he joined her, the sausage was done, so he turned the heat off. He grabbed some cans of biscuits out of the fridge while the oven preheated and they talked for a while. He was making the gravy as the biscuits finished baking when Nick showed up. It wasn’t five minutes later that Ethan and Zane arrived, and they all ate like horses.
Bullet Series Box Set Books 1-8 Page 107