Under the Lights (A Brothers of Rock - GONE BY AUTUMN - Novel) (14 page)

Jules reached for her phone and
couldn
’
t find it. When she
did, the ringing had stopped. It was one of the other backup singers.
Dani.

Waiting for the voicemail to beep
was like the longest two minutes of Jules' life. It finally beeped and she
listened.

The band wanted to have a
practice. Today. Right now. Hurry up.

Jules launched from the bed and raced
to the bathroom. She glanced at herself in the mirror. She looked just as she expected.
Hungover, her hair a mess, the same clothes as the night before. There was no
time to shower. There was no time to do much of anything but throw on a
different shirt.

At the very least, Jules brushed
her teeth and forced a brush through her hair a few times to clean it up. It
didn
’
t look good but it
looked a hell of a lot better than what it would have.

She grabbed her stuff and charged
through the apartment.

“
Where
are you going?
”
Tara asked.
“
You look like a mess.
”

“
I
am a mess,
”
Jules said.
“
And I got a call
…
the band wants to practice.
”

Tara laughed.
“
Yeah, right.
”

“
What?
”

“
I
bet Tanner planned it. He wants the practice. Because he misses you.
”

“
Stop.
No.
”

“
You
woke up and ditched him.
”

“
He
told me to.
”

“
Every
guy says that shit. You stay though. Push the boundaries. Especially if you
like him.
”

“
Who
said I liked him?
”

“
Your
face is turning red again,
”
Tara said.
“
You like him.
You really
lliiikkkeee
him.
”

Jules growled. She slammed the door
as Tara yelled '
I love you though!
'

When she got into her car and
turned the key, Jules paused.
“
Yeah,
”
she whispered.
“
I like him. So what?
”

(14)

Tanner opened the door and looked
around for Jules. She wasn
’
t
here yet.

Damn.

He dropped his guitar case and
spotted Ryan sitting at the table, working on what looked like some lyrics.
Blake was behind the kit, tuning his drums. Gabe and Asher were jamming on
acoustic guitars. Marilyn was the only backup singer that was there. She had
her black hair pulled back and wore a hoodie and jeans. She looked much more
comfortable compared to the effort that she usually put into herself.

Tanner sat across from Ryan.

“
Tragedy?
”
he asked.

“
Working
on it,
”
Ryan said.
“
Wish we could just use your
lyrics, man. They were good.
”

“
They
’
re old. We were kids when I
wrote that shit.
”

“
Doesn
’
t mean they don't have power.
”

“
You
’
re the singer. You write the
lyrics.
”

Ryan put the pen down and looked at
Tanner.
“
I told you, man,
if you have lyrics
…”

“
I
’
d rather you do it. If it
’
s my stuff, then I
’
ll just do it. Right?
”

“
Do
what? Release it?
”

Tanner swallowed.
“
I didn
’
t say that. Sorry. I
’
m
just in a messed up mood.
”

“
I
can see that. You
’
re lucky
we were all here already. What's up with the last minute practice?"

“
Just
getting ready for our next gig,
”
Tanner said.
“
No big deal,
right?
”

“
I
guess not,
”
Ryan said,
shrugging his shoulders.
“
You
just seem so jumpy.
”

“
I'm
irritated. Just wish all the nonsense would die down, you know?"

“
What
noise?
”

“
Just
opinions and stories.
”

“
About
me?
”

Tanner nodded slightly.
“
I hate when people twist words.
Makes it seem like it
’
s
Ryan
and his friends.
”

“
You
don
’
t believe that, right? Please
tell me you don't believe that for a damn second.
”

“
No,
of course not,
”
Tanner
said.
“
Just want to get
back to being a rockstar.
”

“
We
’
re there,
”
Ryan said.
“
Trust
me.
”

The door opened and Dani walked in.
Tanner stretched his neck, looking for Jules. Still no sign of her. He hoped
she didn
’
t quit the band.
Not after one wild night.

Asher walked over to the table and crouched
down.
“
I have a problem.
”

“
What
’
s wrong?
”
Tanner asked.

“
I
broke a rule.
”

“
A
rule?
”

“
He
slept with one of the backup singers,
”
Ryan said.

“
Who?
”
Tanner yelled. All his mind
could picture was Asher and Jules rolling around in a bed.

“
Easy,
”
Asher said.

Ryan laughed.
“
Let me go talk to Dani. Then I
guess we need to find Jules. Either way, we have to start soon. I promised
Raine we
’
d spend the night
together. And Sam wants to talk about a show. I think we
’
re hitting the road for show.
”

“
Good,
”
Tanner said.
“
It
’
s
too quiet.
”

“
Hey,
”
Ryan said.
“
I know it's not about the money,
per se, but we are cleaning up big time right now."

“
I
miss the road,
”
Asher said.

“
Agreed,
”
Tanner said.

“
Soon
enough,
”
Ryan said.

He slipped away and Tanner couldn
’
t help but follow him with his
eyes.

“
Dude,
what
’
s with the death stare?
”

“
Nothing,
”
Tanner said.
“
Just bullshit rolling through my
head.
”

“
You
have to let it all go,
”
Asher said.

“
Tell
me about Marilyn,
”
Tanner
said with a grin.

“
Oh,
shit. I don
’
t know what
happened.
”

“
You
knew what you were doing.
”

“
Well,
yeah,
”
Asher said.
“
Just too tempting. And last
night I ran into her.
”

“
On
purpose?
”

“
I
ran into her. Leave it at that. So we talked, I bought her some drinks, and
then took her back to my place. She wanted the rockstar experience, so I gave
it to her. But she was still there this morning, man. You called for practice
as I was trying to unload her.
”

“
You
’
re an asshole, man.
”

“
I
know. But I ended up lending her one of my hoodies and driving her here.
”

“
You
rebel,
”
Tanner said.

The door opened yet again and this
time, it was Jules.

Tanner quickly stood up. He stared
at Jules as she walked across the loft, smiling and saying hello to everyone.

Asher stood and looked at Tanner.
“
Excited to see someone?
”

“
Shut
up.
”

“
Am
I the only one breaking the rules here?
”

“
Asher
…”

“
Holy
shit,
”
Asher said.
“
You fucked her.
”

Tanner grabbed Asher by the shirt.
“
Don
’
t say a word.
”

“
When?
”

“
Let
it go, man.
”

“
Last
night? Is that why you wanted the practice today? So you could see her again?
What happened?
”

“
Get
your guitar,
”
Tanner said.
“
We need to practice.
”

Tanner walked away. He grabbed his
guitar and as he put it on, he walked right by Jules and the other singers.

“
Hey,
”
he said to Jules.

She smiled at him. The look in her
eyes was beautiful.
“
Hey.
”

“
What
are we working on?
”
Dani
asked.
“
New songs or a set
list?
”

“
Run
through the show again,
”
Ryan said from behind Tanner.
“
I
say we finish up
Tragedy
today. I have to get this done.
”

“
Why
don
’
t we start there?
”
Tanner suggested as he stared
at Jules.
“
I
’
ll sing with Jules and you can
write it out.
”

“
That
works,
”
Blake said.

“
Wait
a second,
”
Asher said.
“
Let
’
s record it.
”

The band had a mini studio that
they used to record parts of songs, riffs, solos, beats, and sometimes demos of
new stuff.

“
Good
idea. Let's get it down so we all can hear it,
”
Asher said.
“
Then I can
work through the guitar parts for myself.
”

“
I
like that,
”
Tanner said.
“
You ready, darling?
”

Jules
’
cheeks turned a deep shade of red.

Tanner had no damn shame right now.
What he did have was a million burning questions in his mind. But if he couldn
’
t get those questions answered
right now, he
’
d take
sitting next to Jules and singing with her.

“
Do
you need us?
”
Dani asked.

“
Not
on this one,
”
Gabe said.
“
Just get the basic vocals and
guitar down.
”

“
Ryan?
”
Tanner asked.
“
You
’
re the lead singer.
”

“
No,
”
Ryan said.
“
Not me. You sing it, Tanner.
”

“
No,
man. I
’
m not singing my
stuff.
”

“
At
least the chorus then,
”
Jules said.
“
Or else I
’
ll be solo.
”

“
Fair
enough,
”
Tanner said.

They sat facing each other. Tanner
strummed his guitar and waited for Asher to give him the thumbs up that the
recorder was turned on. When he got his signal, Tanner began to play the song,
mouthing to Jules where they were in the song. At the chorus, their voices just
clicked. It was like the same incredible connection he felt when their bodies came
together the night before.

The second Tanner started to think
of Jules naked, he couldn't stop. The feel of her silky skin. The taste of her
mouth. Touching her most tender of areas. The way her body clung to his and how
her desires demanded more. The way she rolled right on top of him. The way her
breasts hung in his face. The scent of her hair. How her hips rocked left to
right, back and forth,
goddamn
…

Tanner blinked a few times and
missed the first few words to the second chorus. He smiled and then picked up where
they were. As Tanner stared at Jules, he was getting lost in her. Her voice,
lips, mouth, and eyes. How beautiful she was. How he felt staring at her,
singing to her, with her.

He and Jules sang the chorus two
more times, this time Tanner just strumming the chords once. The chord rang out
and died off as Tanner and Jules finished the song.

But after the song was done, Tanner
couldn't look away. He wanted to lean in and kiss her. He wanted to caress her
cheek, taste her thin, sweet lips, and then tell her she was a damn fool for
leaving.

“
Okay,
that was pretty cool,
”
Asher said, interrupting the moment.

“
Yeah,
it was,
”
Ryan said.
“
That ending was perfect.
”

“
Maybe
we could work with that,
”
Gabe said.

“
Okay,
”
Tanner said. He stood up.
“
Enough of that. Let's speed
things up. Put on a show.
”

The band got set up like they would
be on stage at a show. Ryan called out a song. He waved his hand and they jumped
right into it.

Tanner had a fire burning through
his body and he played guitar like he would never play again. He worked the
stage, getting carried away with the practice. He and Asher soloed together,
then separately, and then traded guitars even.

During one of the songs, Tanner stepped
up to the mic.

“
Try
this,
”
he yelled.
“
Have the ladies sing with just
Blake on drums on the chorus. Trust me.
”

“
Okay,
”
Ryan said.
“
Let
’
s set it up.
”

Gabe, Tanner, and Ryan stood at the
mics, singing the chorus. Blake stood up to play the chorus. He played the
rhythm and the rest of the band hit the opening chord for the chorus and let it
ring out. The backup singers knew exactly what to do. Their three voices meshed
perfectly.

“
It
’
s good,
”
Ryan shouted to Tanner.

“
Hell
yeah,
”
Tanner said.

He looked at Jules and smiled.

They let the singers go through the
chorus four times before Tanner took the edge of his guitar pick and ran it
down the strings of his guitar, making tons of noise. The band played the
chorus one last time and finished the song.

Suddenly Sam let out a whistle and
clapped.

"Guys that sounded
great!"

“
That
’
s a wrap,
”
Ryan said.
“
I
’
m good.
”