Accidental Rock Star (10 page)

“Yeah?” Ethan said
slowly, not looking up. “Got an opinion on it?”

“Aria can do it.”

Aria snorted. She took
her case from him. “Thanks.” She opened it up and took out her
guitar. “I’m okay in my range, but I don’t have the vocals to be
more than backup.”

Aria knew music. She’d
know what she could hit. He pressed his lips together on what he
wanted to say.
I’ll do it.
He wanted to see her face when
she heard him sing. He wanted it bad. The need rolled through him.
He didn’t want to wait.

“How about a different
chick?” Dylan looked at Aria. “Girl. Female singer.”

Tyler shook his head.
He walked over to the lone two cups on the tray and took a sip of
the lukewarm cocoa to stall. “Aria can sing. Just for now.”

“I don’t want that
gig.” Aria had taken her place by Ethan. She pulled on her bass and
strummed the strings. “I’m a musician.” She paused when what she
played didn’t come out perfectly, frowned, adjusted her fingers and
played again.

She had it all
backward, not knowing the treat he was offering her. The lead. The
lights. The control. The singer. Tyler ignored the pull. He lowered
his voice, using his best persuasive tone. “Just until we get some
songs going.”

Dylan rapped out a few
drum beats with his sticks. “Yeah. We don’t need drama in the mix.
For now, let’s just enjoy the music.”

“Makes sense.” Ethan
handed out clipped stacks of paper. “I got a variety in there. And
tabs for each of the songs.” He took his guitar over to a tall
stool. “Let’s nail down a set first.”

“Pick something to
play,” Dylan said.

“Easy.” Aria grinned
and strummed a twangy chord. “If I’m singing, its country. We’ll
add a cello later.”

Tyler waved that off.
“Hell, no. We’re playing rock.”

Aria grinned, her mood
restored. “We’ll see.”

Ethan strummed out a
classic.

Aria sang. She had a
beautiful, alto girl tone and more range than she’d said.

Tyler kept the beat and
stared at her mouth as the lyrics rolled out.

Gorgeous.

Ethan controlled the
playlist, and it hit Tyler like a punch when the first chords of
one of his own chart-toppers strummed out. His fingers were playing
his song. Energy strummed through his body with each chord. He
could do this. He knew this song, and he sounded good. His feet
carried him toward the mic.

Aria was already
there.

He stopped, missed a
note and picked back up.

“I like this one,” Aria
said, striking him up. And then she sang—his song. The moment was
so intimate he couldn’t keep his gaze from devouring her. She was
amazing.

They played until the
sun set. Rock. Alternative. Mash-ups. Covers. Even Country. The
night had crazy energy, and it lit him up the way only a big
performance did. Aria called curfew, bringing an end to the
rehearsal.

“I’ll walk you,” Tyler
said.

“Okay.”

He waved at the guys
and left Baylee’s truck at Ethan’s. The broken sidewalk was lit
more by garage lights than the intermittent street lights and the
chirping creatures competed with the music stirring in his head. He
was on a high and walking would burn it off. Also, it’d keep Aria
with him longer than driving. “That was stellar.”

“Yeah.”

He grabbed Aria around
the waist and spun her, making her laugh. “Crazy fun.”

“Yeah.”

“No. It was music. And
rehearsal. And fighting. But it was
fun
.” He emphasized the
last word so she’d understand.

“It’s music.” She said
the word with reverence. “Why are you so surprised?”

The question shocked
him silent. The answers flooded his mind. The wastoids he played
with. The business. The pressure. The charts. The ups and downs.
The graphs. The release dates. The manipulations. He tensed and let
her down. “I was in a band back home.” His words came out stilted.
“The guys weren’t like you guys.”

Aria squeezed his arm.
“Well, good thing you ditched them.”

“Yeah.”

***

They met the next four
days in a row. Each time was better than the last. More blended.
More creative. More powerful. It shook Aria how much she looked
forward to rehearsal.

“How about In the
Dark?” Ethan threw out his tenth attempt at a band name as they
packed up. The blue bug zapper had been buzzing for half an hour,
indicating nighttime. “Or Playing in the Dark.”

Tyler didn’t respond.
But he raised his eyebrows and lifted the guitar strap over his
shoulder, ready to load the case.

Heat lit Aria at the
thoughts the name invoked. Her. Tyler. Playing in the dark. She
stepped out onto the driveway and fanned her face. That wasn’t what
Ethan had meant.

“Sounds dirty.” Dylan
shoved up and joined them, heading toward his truck. “That can be
our name. Sounds Dirty.”

“No,” Aria said.

Ethan gestured to the
blackness on the other side of the garage door. “We never finish
until the stars come out.” He shook his head. “As if other worlds
were appearing for our show.” He turned to Aria and grinned. “Write
us a song. You can use that.”

It’d be fun to hear
them play a song she wrote. Better than fun. “Okay.” They were good
together. The combination of all their styles was surprisingly
effective. They were working better than they should be for a new
group. They meshed. The music meshed.

“When Worlds Appear.”
Tyler dropped his arm over her shoulder, warm, secure. He propped
his loafer on top of Ethan’s bumper. Few guys around here wore
loafers. They worked for him though.

Dylan moved past
them.

“That’s our name. When
Worlds Appear,” Tyler said.

Dylan, who’d been
inserting his keys, stopped. “Yeah.”

Aria turned back to
Ethan. He was madly typing on his tablet. She rolled it over in her
mind and then said it aloud, “When Worlds Appear. I like it.” She
curled her arm around Tyler’s lean waist and squeezed. “We have a
name.”

“How about the talent
show?” Ethan asked. “It’s soon. We gotta sign up.”

Aria wrinkled her nose.
Anytime she’d tried to perform in public with the marching band,
crap hit the fan. This was going so well she didn’t want to mess it
up. She didn’t want to hear the hallway derision about something
that mattered so much. Plus her parents, if they heard she was
singing in a band… they’d die. “I don’t want to sing.”

“We can do a lip-sync
thing. We play along to some girl’s
a cappella
singing to go
along with our playing. We can probably get that online.”

Tyler drummed his
fingertips on his legs. Energy radiated through his body. “I’ll
sing.” He licked his lips. “I mean, I’ll lip-sync. I can get a
recording from my friend.”

Ethan whooped.

“Sure,” Dylan said.

Aria blew out a breath.
“I’ll play.” As long as she didn’t have to sing, her parents
wouldn’t freak. They probably wouldn’t even find out. She played
with the band all the time. That’s what she’d be doing. Just a
hobby.

Tyler pulled her
closer. “Go out with me tomorrow night?”

With one question she
went from anxious to excited as if her favorite band was announcing
a new tour. “Yes.”

Aria wanted this.

She’d been dying to go
on a real date with Tyler since the first guitar lesson. A real
date rather than random kisses and roaming hands. A real date with
random kisses and roaming hands. Her smile caved. Why was she so
nervous? She shook off her jitters and pushed her silver loop
earrings in. She’d changed four times and settled on a thin
lavender sweater, swish skirt, navy tights, oxfords. Hair
flat-ironed into twisted waves. Light perfume.

She was ready.

Tyler texted.
I’m
here.

She’d told her parents
she was going out with Baylee and her cousin was picking her up. If
they thought she had a date, it would cause pressure and
restrictions and questions.
What happened to Hunter? Who is this
Tyler? Who are his people? What clubs is he in? He’s in the band?
Oh.
The weight of that disapproval would sink her evening. The
itchy guilty feeling, making her uncomfortable in her own skin,
might do the same. Maybe she should have told them. They’d be mad
if they found out now. Guilt gnawed at her.

Her phone beeped again.
Guess Tyler wasn’t coming to the door. Well, that saved some
questions. Aria yelled goodbye to her parents, let herself out, and
went over to his truck. Well, his and Baylee’s truck. They shared
and seemed to alternate driving. She wished he’d get out and open
the door for her, give her a hand in. She pulled on the handle.
Rock music poured out. She hoisted herself up to the seat, being
careful of her skirt.

Tyler grinned at her,
showing off his perfect teeth.

She loved his grin. The
one that said, ‘this will be fun.’ She leaned into the cushion and
clicked on her seatbelt. Tyler stared at her legs. She shifted on
the seat, and Tyler lifted his gaze to the rearview mirror. He
shifted into reverse.

“So, where are we
going?”

“You’ll see.” He sped
up. Going well over the speed limit.

Aria bit back the urge
to tell him to slow down. Guys hated being told how to drive. “A
movie?”

“Nah.”

“The drama production
at school? The one your cousin’s in?”

He startled and a flush
hit his cheeks. “Nah.”

Why’d that make him
nervous? Exactly what did he have planned? She had to get this date
back to normal. “Tell me about Missouri.”

Silence. His flush
deepened. “Not much to tell.”

Aria shifted in her
seat. Had something happened back home, and he didn’t want to talk
to her about it? Why was this so awkward? She knew him. This should
be great. Maybe they were going to the mall. Food court, maybe.
That’d be fun. People hung out there. She’d love being seen with
Tyler. She was really interested in him. Once her parents had
discouraged her going out with guys who were into music, the
pickings had gotten really slim. Maybe she’d tell her parents Tyler
ran track.

They passed the
mall.

They neared the turnoff
to the Pointe. She stiffened. She didn’t want to go to the Pointe.
Did she? Well. Sort of. But maybe after date two or three.

They passed the road to
the Pointe.

They got on the
interstate, and Tyler picked up more speed. They were going out of
town.

Thirty minutes later,
accompanied by loud music on the radio and Tyler tapping on the
steering wheel, they exited. A four-story building she hadn’t been
to before loomed in front of them. Tyler bypassed valet parking and
parked the car in the guest lot.

Hotel Merange.

The only place more
notorious than the Pointe. The prom hotel. The hotel where half the
girls in town had lost their V-cards, the other half having lost it
at the Pointe or on the end zone of the football field. Li-War had
seen some losses.

The Hotel Merange. She
swiveled in the seat and stared at Tyler.
Who do you think I
am?

Tyler lifted his hands
from the steering wheel in a gesture of surrender. “I don’t need
the look. I know to get your door.” He got out.

Aria breathed out.
Maybe she was overthinking it. Tyler wasn’t from here. He couldn’t
know. He crossed in front of the truck. She needed a clue before
she embarrassed herself and asked. She unclipped her seatbelt and
popped the glove compartment open. Box of condoms. Open. Right
there on top. He knew what the Hotel Merange was. She snapped the
glove box closed just as Tyler reached her door. He wore a huge
grin and helped her jump down from the cab.

She didn’t know how to
explain to him that she wasn’t up for this, not on their first
date. She pressed her lips together and followed him toward the
entrance.

Guests were exiting
cars in the circular driveway. A middle-aged couple kissed and
tossed the keys to their Suburban to the valet.

A taxi pulled up. An
older guy and a younger woman got out. A woman she hoped was his
granddaughter, but from his hand on her waist, probably not.

Tyler held the door and
they entered the burgundy-carpeted lobby. Crystal chandeliers lit
huge vases of peonies. The hotel check-in desk lay to the right.
Tyler kept his head down and led her past it. “Restaurant’s this
way.”

“Okay.” Her voice came
out shakily, and Tyler squeezed her hand.

Country music played in
the background. Muted. Familiar. The sound eased her nerves.

Tyler paused at the
host desk. “Tyler Steele.”

The host winked at them
and showed them into the dining room. The wink made her face burn
and ratcheted her tension back up. What the hell did he mean by
winking? She looked past the waiter’s suit-covered back. Booths
lined the walls. They had burgundy drapes at their openings, some
ajar, some closed. Tall wooden risers divided the booths into
private nooks. She’d heard the place was romantic, but it felt like
a cross between a saloon and a bordello.

The host showed them to
a small booth for two in the back. A bottle of wine sat in a large
ice bucket in the middle of the table. Like they’d be served
alcohol.

Tyler looked at the
host expectantly, but the guy moved on to another group coming in
the door. Tyler rolled his eyes and edged out the cork, then poured
two glasses of pale pink wine, the color of Li-War’s tongue after
the sun had faded it.

She stared at him.

“This place is a kick,
right?” Tyler leaned back in the chair and gestured upward. “Like
the Old West.”

Dear God. This stranger
who’d replaced her crush was pointing to the rooms upstairs. Before
they even had appetizers.

“Music sucks
though.”

The one thing she’d
liked. Aria shot a gaze to the door. “I have to go to the ladies’
room. Pardon me.” She darted out before he could reply and made it
to the door in half the time it had taken them to tramp to the
table. The host looked at her and pointed down a hallway lit by dim
wall sconces. “Ladies’ toilet just down there.”