MISTAKEN - The Complete First Season (28 page)

I
closed
my eyes and rubbed at my temples. I pulled my feet up onto the little gig stool that sat in front of my electric keyboard and wrapped my arms around them. My headphones were still on, drowning out any sound that might have bothered me—not that anyone was making any sound in my little apartment. I tried to visualize playing my piece perfectly; I could see my hands skimming across the keyboard, hitting every note. I could hear every note—

“DO YOU WANT SOME COFFEE?” Melissa had pulled one of the earpieces of my headphones away from my ear.

I slapped my hand over my ear, trying to drown out the suddenness of her voice. “Christ, Mel, there’s no noise in the headphones when my fingers aren’t playing. You don’t need to scream.”

Her smile widened to a grin. “Sorry, doll. Coffee?” She made her way around me to our tiny kitchen and turned on the coffee maker.

I shook my head. “No, it’ll make my hands shake.” I looked down at them. They were already shaking. Definitely no coffee for me.

She shrugged and I watched her bounce around the kitchen. She seemed to be doing remarkably well, the bruising on her face now dimmed to a lighter blue and green instead of the angry purple it had been before. She’d found the magic formula with her makeup, too, and the color barely showed through after she had it on.

“How are you doing, Mel?” I watched her pulling things out of the refrigerator and secretly hoped she wasn’t going to try to make breakfast. Melissa’s forays into cooking had never been very successful. Toast was about as complicated a dish as the woman could handle.

“Brilliant, doll. How ‘bout yourself?”

“Same.” I stood up from my gig chair and stretched my back. I hadn’t realized how numb my butt had become from sitting there for the past few hours.

“Ever hear from Prince Charming?” She pulled a carton of eggs out of the fridge and I knew we were going to be in trouble.

“Um, nope. Not since the text the other night.” I walked over to the bar that separated the kitchen from our little dining area. “Hey, you should let me take you to breakfast.” I took a seat at one of the bar stools that faced the kitchen.

“No can do, sister. I have to be at Baxter & Bishop at eight o’clock sharp to meet with my father. You know, the whole ‘my future with the company’ speech in his office.” She cracked an egg into a still cold frying pan. “Not like I haven’t heard it five times before.” She paused for a moment, looking up at the ceiling. “Six times before.”

“You’re going to do great. I know you are.” I winced as I watched her crack another egg in, then turn the heat up on the stove to high. A kitchen fire was about the last thing we needed that morning.

She sighed deeply. “We’ll see. It’s a short term thing that’ll get me through, I guess.” She turned to face me, leaving her eggs without the watchful eye they needed with heat that high. “I did something. I should have told you, I guess.” She turned back to the stove.

I breathed a sigh of relief as I watched her cook her eggs. “What did you do? It couldn’t be that bad.”

She shrugged, keeping her back turned from me. “Oh, no, it’s not bad. I just didn’t know how to bring it up. You know.”

My stomach did a little flip and I felt my heart beat quicken. I didn’t need any more surprises, just then. “What is it?”

She turned back to me, the look on her face something between excitement and fear. “You know how the University of California has all those online class thingies?”

I nodded. “Sure.” Her eggs started to smoke. “You should watch your eggs.”

“Oh yeah.” She turned her back to me, pointing her attention back to the stove. “Well, I applied.”

“Seriously?” A grin took over my face. “That is so awesome, Mel.”

“You really think so? I mean, I’m only taking one class to start this fall, so it isn’t a big deal.” She glanced at me over her shoulder. “I wasn’t sure what you’d think.”

“I think it’s amazing! Why wouldn’t I?”

She shrugged and turned back to the frying pan. “I don’t know. I guess I wasn’t sure about it, so I didn’t know what anyone else would think, either.”

“Well, I think it’s awesome. I’m so excited for you!”

She looked at me over her shoulder, her lips turned up into a smile. “Really?”

“Really.” I returned her smile and pointed at the stove. “Your eggs.”

“Oh, shit.” She turned off the stove and dumped the steaming mess onto a plate. “I don’t even know why I bother.” She slid the plate between us on the bar. “Breakfast is served m’lady. You realize we’re both going to be college students again, right? How awesome is that going to be?”

I let out a long sigh. “Well, that remains to be seen. I’ve got less than a ten percent chance of making it, so, you know. Unlikely.” I waggled my fingers in front of me. “These babies haven’t really been playing much the past few years, you know? I think my odds are pretty low.”

She slid a fork over to me and took one herself. She took a bite from the plate of eggs, blowing on it first to cool it off. “I think you’re getting in. It’s meant to be, right?” She turned back to the coffee pot and poured herself a cup of coffee. She came back to stand at the bar opposite of me. “Ever figure out who made it meant to be?” She raised an eyebrow in my direction.

I shook my head and took a tenuous bite from the eggs. They weren’t terrible—better than what usually happened when Melissa stepped foot in the kitchen.

She continued. “I mean, I’m glad he did it for you and everything. Hell, I wish I had thought of it because I would have done the same thing, but seriously. He should have talked it over with you. How could he really know that was what you wanted?”

I shrugged again. “We talked about it, I guess.” We had. Just not at any great length. Not enough for him to go out of his way like this.

“Hmm. I’d be pissed for you if I wasn’t so happy for you. I guess when they tell you you’re in, you should just call him and thank him. Where is he, anyway?”

I lifted my shoulders into another shrug. “No clue. He just said he had things to take care of. Super busy and all that.” I took another bite of eggs.

“That sounds like a crock. You believe him?” She blew on another bite of eggs.

“I don’t know. What choice do I have?”

She tilted her head. “You’re the one who tells me ‘you always have choices.’ Why don’t
you
have a choice now?”

“I guess I do. I don’t know. I don’t know what to do.”

She reached out and patted my hand. “That’s why you have me, doll.”

M
y stomach would not stop flipping
and flopping and generally making me sick after I arrived at the auditorium. I checked in, listened to the short spiel given by Marie St. Claire, the dean of admissions, and then received my assigned audition slot. Because the auditions were blind—the judges were seated behind a screen and didn’t know who was playing—we were all only known by our numbers. I drew number eight, which I figured wasn’t too bad considering there were twenty-one of us who were auditioning.

I walked out into the lobby of the auditorium to wait my turn to be called. I figured it would be more than an hour before I was called since each audition was ten minutes long.

I found a seat near the window and looked out over the campus. The sun gleamed over the trees in a way that was all San Francisco. I loved it here, loved this campus. I could see myself here, studying music the way I had always wanted. There was only one performance between me and finally realizing my dream. Thinking that way usually caused me to blow auditions, so I had to turn myself back to the sterile lobby and try not to think about it. I sat there for what seemed like forever.

A blonde man, lithe and about my height came and sat next to me. His lips tugged into a small smile. “Hey, I’m John.”

I nodded at him. “Jenna.”

He blew out a long breath. “I can’t believe how nervous I am.”

“Yeah, me, too.” I glanced around the room, trying to get him to take the hint that I wasn’t really in the mood to talk.

“So, where’s your undergrad degree from?” He turned in his chair to face me, intent on making conversation.

“Uh, Georgetown. You?”

“Georgetown? Georgetown has a music program?” He raised an eyebrow with disbelief.

It wasn’t anything I hadn’t heard before. “Yes, they have a music program. What about you? Where did you go?”

“Performance major at USC.”

I gave him a large nod. “Nice to meet you, John from USC.”

“You, too, Georgetown Jenna.”

I smiled and turned my attention to the doors of the lobby. A woman called out, “Five. Applicant number five, please.” My stomach flipped again. Only three more people performing before me.

I turned back to John. “I’m number eight. What’d you pull?”

He showed me his card. “Lucky number nineteen.”

My eyes widened just a bit and I grinned. “That is a lucky number, you know. Known for its magic and good fortune.”

He gave me a serious look and nodded again. “I know. I’m pretty stoked about it.”

I shook my head. “God, I could only be so lucky.”

He held the card out to me. “Wanna trade?”

I narrowed my gaze and shook my head. “No thanks. Eight just happens to be
my
lucky number.”

He chuckled. “So, Georgetown Jenna, you have someone special back in D.C.?”

I raised an eyebrow at him. Of course he’d hit on me. Of course it would happen before this audition. “Not in D.C., no. I’ve been out here in San Francisco since December.”

“Ah, so you have someone special here.”

I shrugged, not really answering the question in any meaningful way. “What about you?”

He nodded. “I’m still in L.A. My boyfriend and I have a place down there. I don’t know what we’ll do if I get in. I don’t think he’ll move up here.”

I breathed a small sigh of relief before I nodded in agreement. “Long distance relationships are hard.” At least he wasn’t hitting on me.

“I don’t even want to think about it. I want this so much, but I don’t want to think about it.”

“Yeah. I guess we have other things to worry about first.” I tapped at my sheet music. “What are you playing?”

“I’m winging it.” He turned to me with a grin. “Just kidding. I actually have a piece that I composed last year. What about you?”

“Um, the Hammerklavier allegro movement.”

“No shit? Georgetown teaches Beethoven, huh?” He had a stunned look on his face.

“I’ve had some good teachers outside of school.” It was known as a difficult piece, one I’d been trying to perfect for years. It didn’t help that I’d pretty much given up the piano, but my brain seemed to still remember the fingering. I hoped it did, anyway.

“Shit, I guess.” He fell silent and I was afraid I’d scared him away. “That’s impressive. You’re probably a shoo-in.”

“I don’t know about that. I’ve got a lot on my plate right now, though, so…” I took a deep breath and blew it out. “I’m not even sure how I’ll make this work if I do get in.”

“I hear ya. I just took a job at Disneyland, playing in one of the hotels. It’s an awesome job. I’d hate to have to give it up. It would be a really hard decision.”

I nodded. “Most decisions worth making are.” The hairs on my arms raised a bit and I could feel someone watching me. I heard a man clear his throat behind me.

I turned to face him. We both spoke at the same time. “What are you doing here?” I scrambled from my chair and backed against the table. “Are you stalking me?” I raised an eyebrow at him.

He cleared his throat again before speaking in his rich baritone voice. “I was going to ask you the same thing.” He looked over at John and his gaze swept up and down. “Who’s your friend?”

The woman came from the auditorium. “Six. Applicant number six, please.”

I tilted my head. “This is John from USC.” I turned back to John. “John, this is Brandon.”

He pressed his lips into a thin smile. “Good to meet you.”

Brandon flicked his eyebrows in response then turned his gaze to me. “You didn’t answer your phone.”

“I didn’t get any calls.” I chewed my upper lip. “What are you doing here?” He couldn’t possibly have wanted to watch my audition. Even he would have to know that they wouldn’t allow it.

He motioned with his head toward the window and I followed him over. We took a seat a few feet away from John and he turned to me. “I told you I had business to take care of. You didn’t follow me here, did you?”

My brows furrowed into my eyes and my jaw clenched. The tone of my voice deepened at his accusation. “No, I didn’t. I’m auditioning for fall. Didn’t you arrange this?” I made a sweeping motion with my hand around all the other musicians gathered in the lobby. “I thought you were the one that submitted my name.”

He raised an eyebrow. “As much as I’d like to take credit, I had nothing to do with this, Jen.”

I tilted my head and narrowed my gaze at him. “Really? Nothing at all?”

He shook his head at me, biting at his lip. “No, nothing.”

“Then why are you here?”

His eyes narrowed a bit at my questioning. “I had business.” He cleared his throat. “My grandmother…” He had to pause to clear his throat again. “She wanted to leave enough to this place to form a scholarship. Turned out she didn’t leave enough, even though she left them every penny she had. I came here to make it right. To get her what she wanted. I owe it to her.”

I reached out and touched his hand. “I think that’s the nicest thing I’ve ever heard.”

His eyes flicked out to the window and he shrugged it off. After a long moment, his gaze returned to me. “I’m glad you’re here.”

“I’m glad you’re here.”

He chuckled and rolled his eyes a little. “No, I mean it. I have some things to talk to you about. I leased a place. Not just a short term lease this time, but a real apartment. It’s the first lease I’ve signed in…” He twisted his mouth around. “Well, in a long time.”

I nodded, holding his gaze. I tried to urge him on with my eyes.

“I have some other stuff to show you. I just want you to believe I’m trying. I want to make this work. You and me, I mean.”

“Seven. Applicant seven, please.” The woman from the auditorium ducked back through the doors.

“I’m next.” I ran my hand through my hair, unsure of what else to say to him. “I, I’m glad, Brandon. I think that’s good. The lease, I mean.”

“Yeah?” A corner of his mouth turned into a crooked grin.

“Yeah.”

He reached out and touched the pendant that was around my neck, the one he had given me. “This is good luck, you know. You’re going to do great.”

“I hope so. I didn’t have a lot of time to prepare.” I bit at my bottom lip. “You’re sure you had nothing to do with this?” I motioned around the room again.

“I’m quite sure. I didn’t even know it was something you were still thinking about.”

“I didn’t either, not until they called on Monday. I was just sure…” I pursed my lips and looked down at my lap. “I was sure it was you.”

He shook his head and lifted his shoulders into a slight shrug. “Does it matter who it was? If it’s what you want, it doesn’t matter, does it?”

“I guess not.” I stood up from the window seat. I knew I was next and my stomach wasn’t letting me forget it.

He stood up after me and pulled me into an embrace. He whispered into my ear. “Hey, you’re going to do great. I believe in you.” He placed a gentle kiss on my temple.

That warm, fuzzy feeling he always managed to give me started in my temple and worked its way through my body. I was going to be okay. “That means a lot, Brandon.”

He gave that crooked, one sided smile that I loved to me again and his blue eyes bore into mine without another word.

“Eight. Applicant eight please.”

I pressed my lips together. “That’s me.”

He nodded. “I believe in you.”

I didn’t know if it was his words, or everything I’d been through in the past few months. Walking into the auditorium and taking my seat behind the piano, I knew what that warm, fuzzy feeling that I still had was. It had nothing to do with soft kisses pressed to my temple.

I was finally beginning to believe in myself.