When Sindy’s shift ended, she had a quick bite and went straight to Tessa’s house. Not for rehearsal – for once. They’d played every night for the last two weeks and if Sindy had to spend another hour alone with Lucas and his God damn lesson plan, she was going to hit him over the head with her guitar. Tessa’s invitation had been extended out of friendship, reinforcing the bond that had formed between the two.
Her little Toyota Corolla seemed dwarfed in the massive driveway which led to a pair of two-car garages. She parked next to a Hummer that towered over her car. In front of it sat a Mercedes Maybach S560. Parked parallel to the Mercedes and directly in front of Sindy was a Tesla Roadster. A shiver of nerves crept down her back at parking next to these extravagant vehicles. She let out a deep breath and sent Tessa a text to let her friend know that she just pulled into the driveway and headed to the front of the mansion. One of the huge front doors opened as soon as Sindy climbed the steps that led to the front of the house.
“Sindy! Come in.” Tommy Blade, in all of his legendary glory, stood in the doorway. He stepped aside, revealing Angel Garcia standing next to him.
Oh, God. This was too much. Where was Tessa? Sindy stepped into the elegant entry foyer with the mile-high cathedral ceiling, and stared up at the round crystal chandelier that hung above her head like a giant moon. It reflected the sunlight filtering in from the glass wall on the second floor and cast a prismatic display like sparkling diamonds on the floor. “Hi. Um. Tessa invited me.”
“You don’t need an invitation,” Angel said, the corners of his eyes wrinkling from a smile.
Sindy turned toward the sound of high heels echoing on the marble floor. She knew it was Jessi Blade before she spotted the signature hot pink hair. As if she wasn’t nervous enough standing there trying to make small talk with Tommy Blade and Angel Garcia, the addition of Jessi Blade, one of the top fashion designers in the country, credited for dressing some of the hottest rock stars in the world, had Sindy totally dumbfounded. She tried to play it cool and smiled, hoping her teeth wouldn’t chatter and she wouldn’t say something that made her sound like a babbling fool.
“You haven’t met our beautiful wife yet.” Tommy Blade extended his arm invitingly to his wife, never taking his eyes off her. The way he looked at her, as if she was making a grand entrance after getting a head-to-toe makeover, or as if he hadn’t seen her for a month, made Sindy wish someone would look at her like that. Just once.
Jessi Blade stepped into Tommy’s embrace and offered her cheek, which he promptly kissed. His muscular arms wrapped her in a tight circle of love that projected from this man and hung in the room as if it were its own entity. “This is Jessi Blade.” Tommy made the introduction. “Jessi, this is Sindy.”
Sindy extended her hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Blade. I’m a big fan of your designs.”
Jessi waved Sindy’s hand away and hugged her. “Please call me Jessi. And thank you.” She held onto Sindy’s upper arms and smiled at her. “You’re so pretty. I love your hair. You’re a natural redhead. I can tell.”
Sindy never considered herself a redhead. Her hair was more auburn, but she wasn’t about to argue. “Thank you. I love your hair, too.”
“Thanks.” Jessi ran her fingers through it. “I’ll be sure to tell my colorist you like it. So I hear from my daughter that you’re a very talented guitar player, and my son is very impressed. He says you’re sharp as a whip, an eager learner, and passionate about the music. He doesn’t throw accolades around lightly, so that’s a big deal.”
It surprised Sindy to hear that Lucas had bragged about her.
“How long have you lived in New York?” Jessi asked. “I heard you’re from Baltimore?”
“Yes. I’ve lived here a little over a year.”
“What made you come to Long Island?”
“Well, I couldn’t afford Manhattan so I settled in Queens. The woman I worked for opened a diner out here, so she asked me to transfer. I fell in love with Long Island and moved here. I haven’t seen many beaches besides Long Beach, so I’d like to explore the shoreline, and I’d like to see more of the boroughs.”
“You have been to Brooklyn, right?” Jessi was full of questions, and it was obvious where Tessa got her bubbly personality from.
“No,” Sindy answered.
Jessi, Tommy, and Angel all looked at her as if not visiting Brooklyn was absurd. “You have to see it.” Tommy said. “Williamsburg is filled with little bars and local music. You really need to experience the underground music culture.”
“It’s very trendy,” Angel added.
“The three of us grew up there.” Tommy stated.
Angel smiled at his husband and extended his hand. “Have we met? I’m Angel Garcia. I grew up in New Jersey.”
“Oh. Yeah.” Tommy Blade smiled back. “I forgot. We met after you moved to Brooklyn, so, to me, that’s where you’re from.”
“Tsk. Tsk.” Angel shook his head slowly from side to side. “You don’t even remember your own husband’s history.”
“I remember plenty. Including the first time we met.”
“Oh really?” Angel raised one of his ebony eyebrows. “Where was it?”
“It was in the studio. When I auditioned for Immortal Angel.”
“Yes, my prince.” Angel stared at Tommy with a smoldering look in his eyes. “You do remember.”
“Of course.” Tommy turned to Jessi. “And the first time we met was at a frat party. But the first time I saw you was across the football field a few weeks before that.”
Jessi melted and threw her arms around Tommy, and Angel threw his arms around the both of them. Sindy had never seen three people so full of love for one another, not that she had any experience with polyamorous relationships.
“Oh God, not again,” Tessa rolled her eyes at her parents as she walked into the entry foyer. “Why can’t you fight once in a while like other people’s parents?”
They stared at her for a second, then burst out laughing.
Tessa looped her arm through Sindy’s. “Glad you could make it. Let’s go upstairs and leave these three alone.”
“It was nice meeting you Sindy,” Jessi Blade called after them.
“You too. And nice seeing you again . . .” She had no idea how to address Tommy Blade and Angel Garcia, so she just waved and let the sentence trail off as she followed Tessa up the circular staircase. It led to a large landing on the second floor with couches and music memorabilia on the walls. There were two wide corridors on opposite ends of the landing, and they took the one that veered to the right.
“This is Lucas’ suite,” Tessa waved her hand at a doorway halfway down the hallway. “I’m just around the corner.”
The corridor turned left and continued for about 25 or 30 feet. The door to Tessa’s room was somewhere in the middle. Sindy expected a large bedroom, the kind that had enough room for a separate sitting area and a desk and a vanity, but she walked into something that looked like a one-bedroom apartment. The initial space had a couch and two recliners in the center facing a giant flat screen. A large desk bordered one wall. The opposite wall supported an entertainment center with amplifiers and a rack filled with several bass guitars. Sindy walked through the room in a daze, until an alcove caught her attention. “You have your own kitchen?”
“Don’t let my Papi hear you say that.” Tessa laughed. “That’s not a kitchen. It’s a fridge, a sink and a microwave.”
Tessa failed to point out that there was also a counter with a coffee maker and hardwood cabinets. Sindy continued walking around the room and gazed at the many framed photos displayed throughout. Almost all of them were of Tessa, Lucas, and Mason performing. Some in an outdoor lush garden, which she assumed was the grounds to this mansion, others in a local bar. The photos spanned a lifetime. A blond-haired, blue-eyed little boy and a dark-haired little girl chasing an older boy with a magnetic smile. A comical photo of Tessa on her 13th birthday holding back a young Lucas
and Mason from sticking their forks into her cake. The most recent, Tessa in a cap and gown surrounded by her family. It was a beautiful photo, filled with good-looking people who looked genuinely happy. Sindy arched her brows. She thought families like this only existed on TV shows. Well, with the exception of a third parent.
Another doorway caught Sindy’s attention, the door half ajar. “What’s in there?”
“My bedroom.” Tessa walked to the door, pushed it open and a light automatically flicked on by some sort of sensor. “My papi had the sensor lights installed,” she explained when Sindy lifted her eyes to the ceiling fixture. “He’s such a conservationist, always worried about the environment.” She smiled with affection.
“I guess that’s his Tesla outside.”
“No, that’s mine. I care about the environment, too. My dad is the opposite, more worried about the electric bill.”
“Your dad worries about the electric bill?”
Tessa nodded. “He’s very practical. Not a spendthrift like my papi and my mom. I take after them. Lucas takes after our dad, always trying to budget expenses when it comes to the band when really, who cares?”
“I care. There’s no reason to waste money.” Sindy felt her cheeks redden and hoped she didn’t sound frugal, but Tessa just laughed it off. Sindy looked around the bedroom, mesmerized by the enormity of both rooms. Never having much more than the basic necessities, Sindy had become used to the simple things. Although she was impressed at the extravagance and lavish lifestyle, it wasn’t really for her. She was a minimalist, happy with the small things in life – a flower blooming on a Spring day, a group of baby ducklings following their mama across the grass, an old dog, slower, but still spry enough to chase a ball. She would be lost with so many amenities at her fingertips and swallowed up in the oversized house. “Tessa, this is amazing. I can’t believe you grew up in your own private apartment.”
“Oh, this section of the house wasn’t always here. It was added when I turned 16. My parents bought the adjacent property and added an extension that was bigger than the original house. They tried to say the expansion was for us, but I knew it was just a ploy to keep us living here as long as possible. I think it worked. Sit and relax. Turn on the TV or the stereo if you want.” Tessa slipped into the kitchenette and returned with two bottles of water and a small spread of cheeses and assorted crackers.
“Thanks, Tessa. You always go to so much trouble.”
“We’re sharing a snack. Isn’t that what girlfriends do?” Tessa presented the sweetest smile.
“Yeah.” Sindy took a piece of cheese off the tray and popped it into her mouth. “Oh my God,” she exclaimed into her cupped hand, overwhelmed at the intense flavor. “What is this?”
“It’s Old Ford. Don’t you like it?”
Sindy swallowed. “It’s heaven. I’ve never had it before. It’s like butter. All the other cheeses must be jealous.”
Tessa threw her head back and laughed. “I like you.” She folded her legs underneath her and faced Sindy.” I don’t have any close female friends. I’m always surrounded by all these damn boys.”
“I don’t know why not. You’re so nice. And as far as the guys are concerned, that’s no surprise. You probably have your pick of a half dozen guys to go out with on a Saturday night.”
“I don’t mean boyfriends. I mean Lucas and Mason. I was the only girl all those years that we toured with Immortal Angel while we were growing up. Even Mason’s younger sibling is a boy. I thought when Audra – that’s his mom – finally had a baby, maybe I’d get a girl that I could pal around with. No such luck.” Tessa spread her arms as if she was making an announcement. “It’s a boy!”
“Mason has a younger brother?”
“Yeah. Michael. He’s nine. He’s not that interested in music. He likes to play around with the sound mixer, though. Jimmy and Audra aren’t pushing him. Right now, all the kid cares about is video games. He’s adorable. And some kind of genius. And to answer your question about female friends, none of the girls I know are interested in music. Not like I am. I don’t have many outside interests. I love fashion.” She stood up and wrapped a silk scarf around her neck, put on a pair of heels that were sitting next to the desk, and then pranced around the room as if she was on a catwalk. “And I sew a little.” She jumped onto the couch and landed in a sitting position with her leg underneath her. “I love to cook and bake. But nothing compares to music. I don’t know anyone who lives and breathes it the way I do. Except Lucas and Mason, and, of course, my family. And, now, you.”
A gold thread in the scarf caught the light and Sindy reached out and touched it. “This is beautiful.”
Tessa took it off and looped it around Sindy’s neck. “It’s Persian silk.”
Sindy never felt anything so exquisite and so soft. The creamy lilac flowers looked as if they had just bloomed. The sight of them filled her nostrils with the memory of a trip to the botanical gardens when she was a child. “This is really gorgeous.”
“My mom made it, I think.” Tessa picked up one of the ends that hung in Sindy’s lap. “Yep. See?”
Jessi Blade’s name was sewn into the fabric. Never had Sindy worn something so expensive, and her face lit up. “I’m wearing a Jessi Blade original.”
“Keep it.”
“No way. I couldn’t. This is expensive.”
“I have tons of stuff my mom makes. I think I have an exact duplicate of that scarf. Take it.”
“I . . . I don’t know what to say.” Sindy knew she shouldn’t accept it, but it made her feel pretty and sophisticated, and Tessa kept insisting. “Thank you.” Sindy loved everything about this girl. She was independent, outspoken, cute as can be and her talents had no end. Bass player, vocalists, seamstress, cook. Sindy looked at the cracker in her hand and added hostess to the list.
After a few hours together, Sindy felt as if she had known Tessa all her life. They ended up downstairs in the studio, where they bonded, sharing stories about music and growing up feeling different from everyone else. Their backgrounds were vastly different, but in a way, exactly the same. Tessa didn’t blend in with her friends from high school and college, preferring to stay home and make music or tour with Immortal Angel during summer break. Most of the people in the neighborhood where Sindy grew up were into trouble, and she chose to disassociate herself with that lifestyle, which left her without any close friends. It was ironic that they found one another and forged a strong friendship.
Even more surprising was Tessa’s unpretentious values. She obviously loved beautiful things and had exquisite taste, but she cared more about things that mattered like family, and her loyalty to the band was steadfast. She played with greats like Lucas Blade and Mason Wilder, but it was obvious that she called the shots.
Sindy glanced at the time on her phone and knew she better get going. She had a late shift at the diner. When they exited the studio, loud music from outside made Sindy turn her head toward the back of the house.
“That’s Lucas,” Tessa explained. “Not even my dad plays Metallica that loud. Come on. I’ll show you the pool and let you watch while I give Lucas a hard time.”
Sindy chuckled. She wouldn’t miss this feisty girl give Lucas a tongue lashing for the world. She followed Tessa through two huge French doors that opened up to an oasis. Lush gardens, magnolia trees, rose bushes, an endless manicured lawn and stone walkways were all around her. That’s not what had her spellbound, though. It was the pool. “You have a guitar-shaped pool?”
“It’s ridiculous.” Tessa stated. “Lower that!” she shouted toward Lucas, with her hands cupped around her mouth.
Lucas pretended not to hear her by furrowing his brow, shaking his head and shrugging his shoulders, then turned back to his conversation with Mason, who was lounging in a chaise, his face up to the sun.
“I know you hear me! Turn it down before someone calls the cops! It’s too loud!”
Lucas kept talking to Mason, then turned to Tessa as if he
just noticed her standing there still trying to talk to him. He motioned to his ear that he couldn’t hear her, which made Mason laugh.
It infuriated Tessa, and she let out a dramatic sigh.
Lucas reached behind his neck, pulled his T-shirt over his head, tossed it on the ground and dove into the pool. Sindy watched him swim with quick graceful strides, as comfortable in the water as he was behind the guitar. In seconds, he spanned the width of the pool and darted out of the water in front of them. His breath was labored from the 30-something foot sprint, causing his chest to broaden with each intake of air. Water droplets glided down his perfectly arced pecs. He flexed his arms and posed like a body builder, showing off his tanned muscles. Beautiful curves covered his shoulders and biceps. He turned and continued to flex, making his upper back grow wider. His wingspan tapered down to a slender “V” at his waist that held Sindy’s attention. Water dripped down his body and glistened in the sunlight, accentuating his golden tan and flaxen hair. The man was stunning, and it left Sindy breathless.
“No one cares.” Tessa shoved her brother, barely moving him.
Lucas spun around, pointed at Sindy and pinned her with an intense stare. “She does. She cares. Look at the way she’s watching me.”
Sindy scoffed at his egotistical, self-centered bullshit, and he laughed at her. He actually had the nerve to laugh in her face. Before she had a chance to tell him he was a jerk, he dove into the pool and swam to the other side to rejoin Mason.
Sindy snorted. “Is your brother always such an asshole?”
Tessa let out a booming laugh. “That’s what I like about you, Sindy. Most girls fall at my brother’s feet. He dated a million girls when he was in college, and they’re all the same. They all laugh at his stupid jokes. Throw their boobs in his face. Buy him drinks. Not you. You speak your mind. You never give in just because the great Lucas Blade wants to spend an hour talking about eighth notes. You tell him to move on, wrap it up and just play the damn music. I love that you challenge him.”
LUCAS BLADE: Radical Rock Stars: Next Generation Duet Book 1 Page 7