A Kind of Truth (26 page)

Will filled a glass of water, then turned with an inscrutable expression. “Yeah, we were just going over some instrumentation.”

“Ah.” Leah leaned against the counter and shot a shrewd look between us. “Sounds important. I didn’t realize that was the kind of thing you worked on at home. Alone.”

Will raised his glass in a mock toast. “Not alone. We do it together. It’s the kind of thing you work on everywhere. In the shower, in bed or… right here in the kitchen.”

My mouth opened and closed at least twice. Did he realize what he was doing? This wasn’t the same as announcing we were married to a random salesman selling us a sofa. This was Leah. He was pissed and obviously feeling territorial. I watched as he moved around the room, methodically closing every cabinet Leah had opened. He came toward me and wrapped an arm around my waist before leaning in to kiss me. It wasn’t an affectionate or sexy kiss. It was a statement.

“Right, babe?”

I nodded and felt my smile morph into a Cheshire cat grin. The kid with the glasses had done it again. He’d knocked me off my feet with his quiet daring. I reached to pull him close, but he stepped away with a cocky smile before heading to join our friends.

“Hmph. Looks like you need help more than you think,” Leah snidely remarked as she picked up her wineglass and sauntered after him into the living area.

I stood at the island, observing the activity in the adjoining room. It looked like a friendly, warm gathering of friends and coworkers. There was music, laughter, and the gentle hum of soft chatter that would have made anyone looking in the window wish they’d been invited to the impromptu party. On the inside, it felt slightly dangerous. I could almost feel the silky thread of a web of lies. Lies of omission or lies told to protect others. It made me wish for something simpler. However, that wasn’t what I’d come to New York for. I wanted superstardom. The loftiest platform where my voice could be heard the loudest. I didn’t know how to keep it simple and reach that goal.

SPIRAL PLAYED
a series of shows to sellout crowds at small clubs in June and July. Every week the pace seemed to accelerate. It was exhilarating. We fed off each other’s energy. A lively studio session often inspired unplanned onstage magic in the form of a song we’d played around with that didn’t make the playlist but seemed perfect in the moment. Or a comedic reminder of something silly we’d done that would make one of us laugh in between songs. We were young and unjaded enough to be able to find humor in our mistakes. And we were beginning to understand it was important to let the audience in on the joke. If they felt part of our onstage nonsense, they connected with us as well as our music.

I still spent a couple mornings a week at Bowery Bagels, but the rest of my time was dedicated to practice and shows. And Will. I was worried my place might become an impromptu hangout spot for the band after the first time they’d descended unexpectedly, but our intense schedule didn’t leave us much extra time. We were all exhausted after practice and wary of becoming sick of each other’s company. Which meant Will and I had plenty of opportunity to be alone. No one questioned us. After Will kissed me in front of Leah that night, it was really a moot point. Our friends didn’t care. And the only person who potentially did was out of town. A lot.

Leah had been too busy with other projects to spend as much time hanging around Spiral. I talked to her occasionally when she contacted me about promotional ideas or a blog post featuring the band. It was generally professional. The only time I felt uneasy was when she posted the picture she’d taken of us in my kitchen on our official website. It was captioned “at home with Rand.” A simple enough statement anyone might easily interpret as an intimate moment. Will didn’t say a word, though he had to have overheard the guys giving me a hard time about it. We seemed to have an unspoken truce when it came to talking about things that bugged us. Neither of us wanted to discuss his family or what he’d do at the end of summer. And we never brought up Leah. I’d decided not to tell Will about her idea to play the part of my beard. It would only upset him. I didn’t see a point in bringing up a topic that would snowball into the greater one of “what are we doing?”

Time felt too precious to waste worrying about the future. It was better to live in the moment and concentrate on the perks of being signed with a legit record company. Like an all-expenses-paid trip to Hollywood to meet with the label’s offices. Our calendar for our five days in LA with the band was jam-packed with a very official itinerary of nonstop schmoozing.

Visiting California was like a dream to me. I felt like a kid who’d just found out he was going to Disneyland for the first time. I could barely sit still. Of course, that may have had something to do with my seatmate. Leah insisted on sitting next to me on the five and a half hour flight to give me a rundown of events. I listened and nodded in all the right places. I even cooperated when she insisted on taking a series of in-flight selfies with me when making a scene would have drawn more attention than I wanted. It made me fidgety as hell. It looked like my reprieve from her ardent attention had ended. This was business, I reminded myself for the umpteenth time.

“Is this your first time in LA?” Leah asked with a devilish grin. When I confirmed it was, she launched into an extensive list of must-sees while we were in town. “I’ll take you to one of my favorite restaurants on Melrose. It’s very intimate and—”

“Small and intimate doesn’t sound like the best venue for a band,” I commented as I craned my neck for a glimpse of Will. He was sitting next to Isaac near the back of the plane.

“Just you and me,” she purred. I turned back to find she’d invaded my space. She was wearing a tight V-neck tee that barely held her tits. She took advantage of the confined area to rub them against my bicep.

I gulped and looked away. Then immediately turned back and gave a short laugh. This was ridiculous.

“Leah…. This is business.”

She sat back in her seat and studied me carefully. “That’s right. It’s business. So leave the boyfriend out of it. Fucking this up now by getting caught in an indelicate situation with Will would be a disaster.”

“Excuse me?” I gave her a withering glance as a surge of protectiveness raged through me.

“You heard me. Don’t be obvious. You’ll only fuck up Spiral’s chances, and let’s get real… he’s temporary. The son of an ultraconservative gubernatorial candidate is a bad bet.”

“How do you know—?”

“Rand, that’s almost cute. It’s my job to know this stuff.”

My gaze and tone of voice were steely. “Do not say a word about him.”

“Relax. I won’t. He’s temporary background noise until the real party starts. Have fun with him if you want. Just remember what you’re here for.”

“I know exactly why I’m here,” I said in a low, menacing tone.

“I think you’re letting your dick do the thinking for you. For the next few days… you’re mine.”

I had to get away from her before I did anything stupid. I unbuckled my seat belt and made my way toward the back of the plane. I tapped Isaac’s shoulder when I got to their row. “Do you mind switching with me for a while, man? I’ve got an aisle seat next to Leah.”

“Leah the man-eater. Hmm. I think you owe me one. I’ll give you thirty minutes,” Isaac huffed.

Will looked up at me curiously with his head cocked. “Is she eating you up?”

“Yeah. I needed a break.”

“Want a magazine?” He pulled out a
People
magazine and a bag of M&M’s.

I picked up the candy and pointed to the magazine. “You read this stuff?”

“I always buy them for plane rides. What’s she up to?”

“I don’t want to talk about her. It’s nothing new. Let’s talk about fun things, like what we’re gonna do first.” Will listened patiently as he thumbed through his magazine, nodding every once in a while to let me know he was listening. “When we’re done with the official schmooze-fest on Wednesday, I say we go to the beach. We can check out Malibu and the Santa Monica Pier. Do you want to go to Disneyland or Universal on Thursday? Maybe we can do them both that day.”

“They’re at least an hour away from each other, and they’re all-day kind of places. You’ll have to make a choice. It’s one or the other. Not both.”

He shoved his magazine into the bag near his feet and plucked the bag of M&M’s from my hand. I grabbed them back with a scowl and poured a generous amount on the cocktail napkin on the seat tray in front of me and set to work separating the green ones.

“I bet we could do one in the morning and the other in the afternoon. We have to maximize our time, babe. We only have three days alone,” I complained, popping a brown M&M in my mouth.

“Does she know about that?”

I’d booked an extra three days on a whim, thinking it was wise to take advantage of the opportunity to relax and not worry about business. I gave him a perturbed look and shook my head.

“No. But I’m nearing the end of official fucks to give.”

Will snorted. “I don’t blame you. What color are you eating next?”

“Red,” I replied with my hand out.

“Let me guess… you’re saving the green ones for last.” He pushed the armrest out of the way and leaned into me.

“Correct. They have magical powers, so it’s best not to dilute them with the other colors. If possible, I try to eat the yellow and blue ones together too.”

“Because yellow and blue make green? You’re ridiculous.” Will laughed. His eyes were creased with humor as he set his left hand on my knee and scooted closer still. I squeezed his hand and twisted my wrist to hold it. His smile widened, and I swear my heart flipped in my chest.

“Hmm. Let’s see if this works. I have six green M&M’s. Three for you. Three for me. Go on, eat ’em,” I said, pushing the napkin to the edge of the tray.

Will rolled his eyes but took the candy and ate one. “What’s supposed to happen?”

“Not one at a time! Who does that? All of them.” I waited for him to obey before I explained my reasoning. “Good. You, my friend, are about to get very horny. Can you feel it?”

“Yes. Definitely.” He gave an exaggerated nod. “Not good, though. We aren’t landing for another two hours.”

“Tricky business at thirty-five thousand feet, I agree, but we can—”

“Don’t even suggest it,” he warned, pulling his hand away to reach for his discarded magazine.

“What?”

“We are not having mile-high sex. Behave,” he whispered sternly.

“What do I do with these green M&M’s? If I eat them, I’ll go mad with lust. I won’t be able to—” I gasped in horror when he scooped them off the napkin and ate them all in one swoop. “I can’t believe you did that.”

“Someone had to save you from sitting on a plane for two hours with a boner. Especially when you have to go back and sit next to Leah.” He chuckled at my groan and shoved my elbow when I poked his side. “Stop reading over my shoulder.”

“What am I supposed to do for two more hours? I can’t go back to my seat, and I’m going stir-crazy. C’mon, baby.”

“Shh! Geez!” He batted my roving hand from his inner thigh and cast a sideways glance at the older woman snoring in the window seat next to him.

“She can’t hear. I’m bored. Entertain me.”

“Is this the longest flight you’ve ever been on?”

“Yep. I feel boxed in. I’ve already paced the aisle a few times to get a break from Leah. The flight attendant is getting irritated with me.”

“Next time things will be different. Your personal secretary will book your seat in first class with an unlimited supply of M&M’s and champagne waiting for you.”

“You think?” I asked with a lopsided grin.

“Sure. Eventually you’ll be riding in a tricked-out bus or flying on private jets. You’ll choose your own prime seat, have all the candy your heart desires, and best of all… you can have sex in the bathroom and not think twice about the other hundred people on the plane who might need to use the facilities.”

“I like the sound of this.”

“The life of a rock god,” he singsonged. “You were born to do this, Rand. You’re going to be amazing. Anything can happen. I’ll be able to say ‘I knew him when….’”

“You won’t have to say that. You’ll be with me,” I said with a frown.

He nodded slightly, one of those noncommittal gestures passive-aggressive people mastered early and used often. It made me angry. I tweaked his earlobe, desperate to move back to neutral, fun topics, like getting lost in theme parks and checking out hunky guys at the beach.

“I don’t need private jets, champagne, or caviar. I’m good with M&M’s in coach class sitting next to a cute guy in glasses.”

Will held my gaze with a sweet smile, then reached for the bag of M&M’s. “Want more?”

“Sure, but hold the green ones.”

“Good idea. We’ll save those for later,” he said, raising his brows lasciviously.

The gesture was unexpected. I burst out laughing and startled the woman next to Will, who woke with a loud snort. We both went still, then snickered quietly when the snoring resumed a moment later. As I divided the chocolates by color, pretending not to notice when Will put the green ones back in the bag, I knew with absolute certainty I’d give up the so-called perks of an elite lifestyle to always have this in my life.

LOS ANGELES
was magic. Eighty degrees, blue skies, palm trees, and home to some of the most beautiful people I’d ever seen. I was sure a surgeon was to thank in many cases, but who cared? I loved every minute of the time we spent in the real world’s land of make-believe. It was fresh and vibrant with a unique energy that may have been due to the perpetual sunshine. Whatever the cause, I found it invigorating. I jotted poems and phrases into my phone I hoped to turn into song lyrics later. I wanted to remember everything from the gorgeous mountain background to the funny-accented “surfer-dude speak” and the insane traffic on the endless ribbons of highway. The people were either extraordinarily nice or vapid and egotistical. The ones I didn’t trust were somewhere in between.

Thankfully the execs at the Suite Dog Hollywood offices were smart and seemed to share the same vision for Spiral as the East Coast team. We toured the recording studios and met with a few radio contacts regarding guest appearances in the fall. We were all jazzed by the positive reception. It gave us hope we’d hit the ground running after our first single was released. Success, failure, or interminable mediocrity weighed on my mind after my bandmates left for home. I was cognizant of impending change with sharpened clarity. Visiting the recording headquarters and playing to an alternative-music-savvy audience was eye-opening. As was dodging Leah’s overtures and gritting my teeth when she posted every selfie she took of the two of us on the band’s website.