One Hit Wonder (8 page)

He took his button-down shirt off and threw it on the ground beside them, maneuvering her on top of it. Then, he ripped off his T-shirt and, matching her smile, helped her out of her dress. She reached out, rubbed her hand between his legs, and unbuckled his belt. They were completely enthralled as they made love while staring deeply into each other’s eyes.

“I love you,” she whispered in his ear, thinking these words she’d considered so loaded came rushing to her mouth with such a power she had no strength to stop them.

“I love you, too,” he said instantaneously. She stopped kissing him for a moment, afraid he responded too quickly, without thinking about what he had just said. Although she hadn’t labeled it love until then, she’d lost sleep over it countless nights and didn’t want him to take it lightly.

She looked into his eyes and said, “I want to make sure you understand … I love the band, I love the music, I love the road, but I
love
you.”

“And I love you, Audrey. From the moment I saw you.”

There was something about the way he looked at her. Perhaps a recognition, a realization, but it was as if she’d been balancing on a ball her whole life and now — for the first time — she was stepping on firm ground.

• • •

The moon had changed sides in the sky when they walked back to the hotel. The Jersey Shore marathon was over. Kevin and Matt were stretched on the beds and Tyler was sitting by the table. Rob was already asleep in the bus. On the television, she saw the black-and-white image of a woman on a pay phone,
The Twilight Zone
. Kevin and Tyler were smoking cigars and all three of them held plastic cups with Jack Daniel’s and ice. Very fitting, she thought standing by the door holding hands with John in silence, and waiting for everyone’s assessment. She didn’t know if was the silence or the holding of hands that did the trick, but she knew by the look on their faces they understood what was happening.

In a cinematic way, Kevin slowly pointed his index finger at the two of them. “Oh, oh, oh! What did you guys do?” His face twisted, as if suddenly the channel had been changed to a comedy show. Then, he burst into getting-laid jokes, followed by Matt and Tyler.

Audrey’s brows snapped together as she looked at John, who shrugged dismissively. Letting go of his hand, she walked toward the table, lifted the empty tequila bottle, and said, “No more tequila? You bastards.”

It was noon when Audrey and John sat at the diner by the hotel to have breakfast. She was feeling something akin to elation for being with him for almost twenty-four hours consecutively. They’d made love again and again in her room, then spooned in bed until they fell asleep exhausted and happy.

The rest of the band trickled in one by one, each looking more hung over than the last. They laughed and made bets on how bad the next to walk through the door would look. Kevin, as usual, was the last to show up, looking pale with blood-shot eyes. It was the night of their gig, so breakfast had to be extra hearty.

“What’s the plan today?” Matt craned a gigantic piece of ham and cheese omelet to his mouth.

“The bar opens at five, but we don’t go on until eight,” John said.

“Awesome. I’m going back to bed.” Kevin ran his fingers through his hair and tilted his head lazily backwards.

“I want to get there around six, though.” John gave Kevin a reprimanding glance. “I hope we can sell some CDs this time.” At the last gig, Kevin gave away more than half of the CDs the band had set aside to sell.

“If you guys aren’t going anywhere for awhile, I’m going to take the bus back to the shop. I still hear a noise after they’ve replaced the break pads.” Rob sipped his coffee.

“Can you give me a ride? Gary asked if I could take pictures of the bar for their website. I’m going to meet him there before it opens,” Audrey said.

Matt, Tyler, and Kevin immediately turned their faces to John.

“What?” Audrey noticed their sardonic looks.

“He wants his easy-rider ass alone with you,” Kevin blurted.

“Don’t be a jerk.” She placed her coffee cup on the table. Of course, she’d noticed Gary’s interest as soon as he set his eyes on her, but she would rather eat cockroaches before letting Kevin’s cynical comment get to her.

“Ha! He’s going to have a sweet surprise tonight.” Kevin spoke with his mouth full of pancakes.

“John beat him to the punch,” Tyler said.

Under the table, John and Audrey had their pinky fingers crossed, but she knew better than to give them more ammunition.

“Rob, are you ready?” Audrey said, and John stood to let her out of the booth.

She squeezed by him and whispered, “See you later?” Very aware of the watchful eyes on them.

“Yes,” he whispered back.

• • •

It was hard to photograph the concert while being completely hypnotized by John. She saw him on stage in a new light, the way he moved, the way he held the guitar and closed his eyes when he soloed. Images of the night before flashed through her eyes, blinding her with desire — his hands trailing over her body, followed by his mouth. Her skin felt like rice paper, barely containing her body from exploding and scattering into the air.

Satisfied with the photographs she’d taken, she sat at the bar.

Gary placed a beer in front of her and, nodding to the stage, said “They are really good.”

“I know.” She glanced at Gary and at the beer. “Thanks.”

“Do you think they’d stay and play tomorrow, too?”

“I’m not sure. They have other concerts in Texas.”

“Hmm.” Gary seemed disappointed.

She only gave him a sideway glance, trying to keep her attention at the stage to defer conversation; otherwise, she feared he might make a pass at her. Their afternoon together had been more like an ambush date, after she photographed the bar, he offered to take her to the hotel. It was bad enough she had to hold on to him while riding his motorcycle through town, he stopped on the way and insisted in buying her coffee. When they finally arrived at the hotel, she jumped off and said goodbye while already walking away.

“Hey.” Gary leaned against the inside of the bar, pondering. “Do you want to go somewhere later?” He cleared his throat. “Just us.”

“Oh.” Audrey feigned surprise. “Gary, I’m really flattered…but I am with” — she nodded toward the stage — “the band.”

Gary turned his head. John was staring at her.

“Lucky man.” He straightened himself up and tapped his fingers on the bar. Timely, someone two seats down ordered a beer and Gary left to tend to the customer.

She continued looking at John, who gave her a faint smile before returning his concentration to the performance.

After they played the encore, Kevin asked for everyone’s attention. He’d never done that before, so she turned on the stool to face the stage. He announced a special treat was about to commence. John walked to the microphone with his acoustic guitar.

“This is a brand new song, something I’ve been working on,” he said, looking at her. “So be kind to me.”

He poured his heart out in the most beautiful song. If for everyone else this was just another love song, for her it was as if he was talking to her, singing about the feelings he’d confessed having for her the night before. A few people in the crowd followed his gaze and found her, standing now, with an astonished smile on her face. Someone shouted, “Oh, yes!” Her heart skipped a beat when he hit a chorus singing, “when I trace the stars all I see is your face,” and “it’s all I need to guide me through the darkness.”

She didn’t know he could sing, much less had such a voice — raspy and deep. When the song was over, he put his guitar down and strode toward her. The room erupted in noise as he made his way through the crowd and, without saying a word, wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her.

• • •

This, she thought, was heaven. A lifetime could have passed within the measure of the next days, the worries she’d brought with her seemed to be distant memories of another life. A life without John. Not long before their first night together, she’d realized he was a great guy, but never imagined what a man he really was: tender, smart, and sexy — very sexy.

“How did you get to be this way?” Audrey said, pulling up the sheets and resting her head on his chest. “I mean, in bed.”

“I am afraid to ask, but I’m hoping the syntax of ‘this way’ means good.” John played with a strand of her unruly hair.

“Amazing.”

“You make me this way.”

Maybe he was trying to be charming, but their chemistry was undeniable. Untamable. She’d never felt so comfortable with anyone and, because she’d never felt particularly skilled in the area of mind-blowing sex, she had to agree. It could be their utter connection or their love, maybe those were one and the same, but with him there was never awkwardness, and even the tip of his fingers gliding over her skin gave her immeasurable pleasure.

Along with their hunger for each other, their intimacy grew with each conversation. She’d never believed in soul mates, but if it was true there was one person in the whole world who was ideally suited to another, she’d found hers. Their connection ran deeper than the feeling she had when he touched her skin. She accepted, with no fright or anxiety, he was meant to own her heart forever; even if he no longer wished to.

They left Tuscaloosa, performed in Houston, and were on their way to Dallas. She was tired from the road and longed for a proper bed. Once there, they would be able to rest for three days before having to hop on the bus again and head out to Austin. When they stopped at a fast food restaurant on I-20, she carried her laptop in and thanked God for free wi-fi. After downloading the pictures of the past two gigs from her camera, she noticed a considerable increase in traffic on the band’s Myspace page. She was surprised to read a comment on the page congratulating John for finding his muse, and it went on to say the song he wrote was beautiful, but the person who wrote the comment was in Oregon. Oregon? How in the hell he had heard the song if John had played only once? She scrolled down the comments and they’d mentioned the song again and again. YouTube? She searched it on YouTube and there it was: band’s guitarist serenades his girlfriend in Tuscaloosa.

“Oh shit, you guys have to see this.” Audrey and Kevin sat at a four top table, Matt, John, Tyler and Rob sat at the next one.

“Some YouTube user … .” She squinted at the laptop screen. “jewelsundquist11 recorded John’s song and uploaded it the day after the gig in Tuscaloosa.” She turned the laptop toward them. “Look at the view count.”

It had 1,827,843 views. Tyler whistled in surprise.

“If those were sold records, we’d be platinum.” Matt moved the laptop to his table and read some of the comments aloud. “I would serenade too if I had a girl like that; These guys are hot; this song is so beautiful, I can feel his love in every word; you made a mistake, dude, now she has the ball; what is the name of this song I want to buy it on iTunes.”

Matt lifted his head and everyone looked at John.

“North Star,” he said.

Matt continued to read. Most of the comments were favorable, and they wondered if some good would come out of it besides ad revenue for jewelsundquist11.

• • •

The news the band was going to record “North Star” in a professional studio in Austin took everyone by surprise. Bill had called and was meeting them there. Atlantis Records was interested in producing a single and a music video before deciding on a record deal. In a state of ecstasy, that night was their best performance to date. She heard “North Star” for the second time since Tuscaloosa. This time the band played it together, and Kevin sang it.

While she took the band’s pictures, people in the audience took hers. It was surreal. Random people would come up and talk to her and ask how it felt having a song written for her and how was their relationship. Was viral fame so powerful? Clearly it was, and clearly she wasn’t prepared for this kind of prying, but as much as she wanted to tell them to piss off, she knew she couldn’t.

Suddenly worried, she hoped they could stay inside the bus forever, traveling the country, making out in twenty-four-hour Laundromats, and waking up in his arms in cheap hotels. She knew it was impossible. She knew they were good. She knew he was great and would quickly outgrow this life. The tour was about to be over; Austin was their last city. Would the band drive back home as planned? How would Bill react to meeting her? He would probably send her packing on the spot. She needed a drink; actually, many drinks.

By the time the band finished the encore, in which John had to play the acoustic version of “North Star” by popular demand, she was tipsy. When she saw the boys coming over, she quickly shook off the worries, gave them high fives and kissed John, causing a little stir among the watchful eyes nearby. She had already ordered them tequila shots and, as always, they toasted to the next gig.

“Is everything okay?” John must have sensed something.

“Sure,” she lied.

Usually after a few beers and some chitchatting with the locals, Audrey and John escaped to enjoy some privacy, but that night it took them longer than usual to slip out.

“What are you thinking?” John said, breaking the silence. They barely made it to the hotel room, and after they’d wrinkled the sheets beyond ironing, they lay quietly for a long time.

“We will be in Austin tomorrow. It’s such a beautiful city.”

“Maybe we can go to the lake while we’re there.”

Audrey’s voice dropped to a murmur. “Maybe.”

Austin. Live music capital of the world.

They drove straight to the recording studio downtown, where a pale-skinned, round-faced, and rosy-cheeked Bill was waiting. He had incredibly narrow eyes, as if distrust was one of his physical features. His thin auburn hair was tousled and looked like a crumbled sheet of cellophane paper. He gave prodigal hugs to the boys, and a special congratulatory hug to John.

“Audrey, I’m delighted to meet you.”

“Thanks.” She shook his clammy hand.

“I’ve got rooms at the Driskill for all of you, just a few blocks away.” Bill nodded due west. “Audrey, why don’t you go ahead and check in? The boys and I have to go over the details of tomorrow’s recording session.”