The Road to L.A. (15 page)

              “Why are you so tense?” she whispered. 

He only shrugged in response.  He tried to relax a little, though it was extremely hard to do so when the sight of her, not to mention their closeness, caused a stirring inside of him.  He attempted to turn her several times, which impressed her slightly considering the fact he had just learned the dance.  At one point he had drawn her so close to him that their bodies seemed to fuse together.  She, in turn, tightened her grip on his shoulder. Jake was thankful when Lydia finally broke up the music and, subsequently, the party.  Jake let go of Carly and followed her inside the house and into the kitchen. 

              “You wanna help me with the dishes?” Carly asked over her shoulder. 

Jake nodded. 

They both stopped short when they saw the large pile of dishes stacked high in the sink, while more were being added by Lydia and Nici. 

              “This should be the last of it,” Lydia said, placing a bowl filled with the vestiges of queso on top of a pile of plates.  “Thanks again, sweetheart.  You’ve definitely earned use of the car tomorrow.”  She kissed Carly on the forehead before disappearing from the kitchen. 

“Wow.  I can’t believe I volunteered for this.  You still offering to help?” Carly asked, wide-eyed.

              “Yeah.  But it’s gonna be one long night,” Jake conceded, dreading what was to come.

And a long night it was, indeed.  They scrubbed, rinsed, and dried into the early hours of the morning.  When they had finally finished their last dish and had placed it into the cupboard, Carly and Jake trudged wearily up the stairs.  Once they reached Carly’s bedroom, both fell exhausted on her bed.  They lay there for a while, staring at the ceiling.  Carly could feel how the bed sank under Jake’s weight, and she rolled over onto her side so she could look at him.  He smiled at her, his arm lying across his forehead.

              “You’re gonna break my bed,” she teased, giggling. 

He playfully grabbed hold of her waist and swung her around until he was lying on top of her.  She gasped and squealed as he pinned her wrists above her head and nuzzled the soft skin behind her ear with his lips.  Only he knew this sensitive spot of hers, and he delighted in taking advantage of it.  He finally gave in to her pleas and stopped, but he continued to hover over her, his hands and knees straddling her sides. 

              “I had a great time tonight.  You’re family’s great.  Thanks for inviting me.”

She reached up and moved several tendrils of hair away from his forehead. 

              “I’m glad I invited you, too.” 

She looked up at him, her expression serious.  Jake, however, saw the hint of a smile coming on as she added, “Who else would’ve helped me with the dishes.” 

They both laughed, rolling onto opposite sides of the bed.  They remained stretched out on the bed for what seemed hours, enjoying the quiet comfort of the house.  The next thing Carly could remember was that she opened her eyes and the sunlight was streaming through the window.  She looked at her clock on the bedside table and noticed it was nine o’clock in the morning.  She rolled over to her side, and that’s when she saw Jake fast asleep.  She gasped with terror at the thought of her parents walking into her room this morning and finding him in her bed.  She nudged him gently at first, then harder.  He awoke with a start and looked about the room, appearing somewhat dazed.  He then came to his senses and realized he had succumbed to the exhaustion of the previous night’s chore.  He noted the expression on Carly’s face and jumped up.

              “Don’t worry, I’ll get out of here now.”

She nodded her head since speech seemed to fail her at the present moment. 

He opened the bedroom window and, glancing at the tree situated right outside her window, decided he would use that to climb down.  She gently placed her hands on his shoulders, seeking his attention.  He turned and saw her shake her head. 

              “I can do it.  Don’t worry.”

He brusquely kissed her forehead, and then with the skill of a seasoned athlete, he climbed out of the window and onto the tree.  He carefully climbed down part of the way and then grabbed hold of a thick branch.  It bent slightly under his weight.  His impressive height aided the rest of his descent as he managed to be low enough to the ground to jump the rest of the way down without hurting himself.  Once he was safely on the ground, he looked up at her. She looked back at him from her window, extremely thankful for his safe descent. 

              “Stop by later,” he called up to her. 

              “Oh Romeo, oh Romeo, I shall do-eth as thou command-eth,” she called back to him in a wispy voice, dramatically propping herself on the windowsill.

He laughed at her before he turned and jogged away.  She watched him.  When he was out of sight, she shut her window and turned to find her mother standing in the doorway, her arms folded across her chest.  A feeling of dread consumed her as she realized that her mother now knew about Jake staying overnight in her room.  Carly gulped hard as she expected the worst.  She was not, however, prepared for what her mother had to say. 

              “I won’t tell your father.  Just don’t let it happen again,” Lydia said quite calmly, then left. 

Carly stood in the room, half dazed and half confused by her mother’s atypical reaction.  She half-expected a stern lecture and some sort of punishment to seal the deal.  Suddenly, fatigue set back in and Carly plopped down on her bed.  Before she could muse further about Lydia’s lax reaction, she was fast asleep. 

Chapter Eleven

              Carly descended the stairs as fast as she could, trying desperately to avoid her cousin’s tenacious chatter.  She was almost thankful that Angelica would be leaving to go back to Florida soon.  She cupped her hands over her ears in a vain attempt to block the words that came spewing in an endless procession out of Angelica’s mouth.

              “I’m telling you.  He definitely has a thing for you,” Angelica was saying while chasing her cousin around the kitchen.  “I’m just telling you how I see it.”

Angelica threw her hands up in a gesture indicating she was close to giving up.  But Carly knew better.  Her cousin would never give up until she had Carly accepting her point of view.  Carly sat down at the kitchen table and began rummaging through the contents of her purse.  Amanda would be picking her up soon.  Jake had a showcase in Cleveland tonight, and everyone was going up there to support him.  Carly finally looked up from her task and glared at Angelica from across the table. 

              “Now, I know you are very eager to offer me your long-winded opinion, supported by your tirelessly worded ‘facts’ to support that opinion,” Carly said. 

Angelica began to open her mouth to speak, but Carly held up her hand to silence her. 

              “In no more than five words, you may tell me your opinion about Jake.  After that, I don’t want to hear anything more about it.”

Carly waited and Angelica eagerly obliged.

              “I think Jake really likes…”

              “Okay, that’s five words,” Carly interrupted, jumping from her chair and hurrying toward the front door in response to a car horn blaring from the driveway.  As Carly slipped outside, Angelica called after her.

“We’re not done!  We’ll talk about this when you get back!”

Carly simply rolled her eyes.   

Meanwhile, several blocks away, Jake was scanning his entire room for any signs of his guitar.  He heard the faint sound of a honk outside of his bedroom window at the same time he spotted the black guitar case sticking halfway out from underneath his bed.  He quickly swiped the case, grabbed an apple from the kitchen, and shot out the front door.  He found Carly, Amanda, Aaron, and Roy waiting patiently for him.  Before he was able to greet his friends, a stern voice yelled for Jake from within the house.  He turned and saw his father standing in the doorway, a dark scowl contorting his displeased countenance.  Jake handed his guitar to Aaron and walked hesitantly back toward the house.

              “What’s wrong, dad?” Jake asked, stopping just short of the front stoop. 

              “Where you going?” Mr. Harmon asked, his sharp eyes narrowing intently on his son’s face.

Jake felt his heart sink and he replied somewhat apprehensively.

“We’re going to Cleveland.  We’re gonna perform in this showcase. There’re supposed to be some music execs looking to sign new bands.”

Jake’s half-hearted smile faded completely as Mr. Harmon’s scowl only deepened, revealing the lines etched in his weathered face. 

              “We’re really good, dad.  You should come and watch.” 

Mr. Harmon scoffed at this and spat in a venomous tone, “If you were half as good at football as you are with this music bullshit, maybe you woulda been good enough to get the team to the state finals.  Instead, you’re just wasting your life away playing that damn guitar with a bunch of damn losers.”

                “Whatever, dad.  Like I said, you can come if you want.”

              “Just go to your fucking showcase.”

With that being said, Harmon turned around and slammed the door shut, leaving Jake to simmer over those biting words.  Jake’s anger rose within him like hot, boiling water.  He wanted to shout in his father’s face to tell him that he didn’t need his father’s approval and that one day he would make something of himself just to show him what a fool he’d been to ever doubt his son.  Instead, he turned, took a deep breath, and tried to remain unaffected by all that had just occurred between him and his father.  He walked to the car, hoping no one could see through his calm facade, for he was stilling fuming inside.

              “C’mon, Jake, let’s not be late.  Remember, this is a chance of a lifetime,” Amanda said.  She made sure to keep her tone light-hearted, for she conjectured that Jake was probably a bit upset.  They had all witnessed the tense encounter between Jake and his father, although they hadn’t heard the specific words uttered between father and son.

              “Yeah, yeah,” Jake replied, swallowing hard to suppress the hurt and anger that struggled to surface.             

Everyone piled into Amanda’s car, and the long drive to Cleveland commenced.  Carly immediately knew that Jake was purposely hiding something.  From the backseat, she could see the tension in his shoulders and neck.  Something was definitely wrong with him.  Carly reached her hand around the headrest of the passenger seat and placed it on his shoulder.  Jake felt her hand on his shoulder and closed his eyes to relish the comforting effect it had on him. 

After what seemed like a short drive, due in large part to Amanda’s notorious habit of speeding, they pulled into the expansive parking lot of the Cleveland Music Event Hall in downtown Cleveland.  Before Amanda could search for a parking spot, she drove to the rear of the colossal building to drop Jake off at the rear entrance. There was a sign affixed to the heavy gray door indicating in large block letters “Bands Only.”  Carly saw a group of young rock musicians entering and departing through this door, their musical equipment in hand.  Jake quickly jumped out of the car with his guitar case in hand and sprinted through the door, which was being held open by a big burly man with a bald head wearing a black t-shirt marked “Security.”  After Amanda had parked, the group of friends made their way to the front entrance of the looming building. Carly’s stomach began to flutter nervously.  As usual, she was the one who was nervous, not Jake.  A horde of people swarmed in front of the double doors that led into the foyer of the large building.  Carly also noticed two black limousines parked next to the curb at the front of the building, and she wondered if those belonged to music executives and A&R representatives from major record labels.  Her excitement mounted.  She noted two red 106.45 FM trucks parked behind the limousines, and she remembered that this radio station, one of the most popular in Cleveland, was actually sponsoring this event.  From what she had been told, several of the music industry’s key players would be watching the bands perform and would be signing several of the more talented bands with some of the country’s biggest recording companies.  Carly thought about what a great opportunity this was for Jake, and she doubted those record label reps wouldn’t find him extremely talented. 

They finally entered the bustling music hall and sifted through the crowds, hoping to find a good place to stand with a decent view of the stage.  After they had settled on a spot for the four of them, Roy decided he wanted to go to the concessions.  Roy asked if anyone needed anything before he left.

              “Didn’t you just eat on the way up here,” Amanda asked him, an amazed look on her face as she recalled the two Big Mac’s Roy had inhaled just thirty minutes ago.  Roy gaped at the twin, disbelieving the audacity of her question.  He folded his arms across his expansive chest and said, “I need to nourish these muscles.” 

Roy flexed his enormous biceps for her. “These babies are my meal ticket.”

Aaron couldn’t help chuckling.  “You’re going to nourish your babies with nachos and soft drinks?”

“No.  As a matter of fact, I’m going to get myself a power bar and a bottle of water.”

As Roy jogged away, Aaron called after him to pick him up a foam finger.  Twenty minutes later, Roy reappeared with a large order of nachos and a large coke.  Aaron just chuckled and shook his head when Roy offered him a nacho drowned in cheese sauce.  The twin then reached into his pocket and pulled out a pair of earplugs.  But before he could put them on, Roy noticed and wrinkled his nose.