Brooklyn & Beale (4 page)

“If I didn’t know better, Holden, I’d swear you sounded annoyed by his absence,” Madison said, her expression suspicious.

“But that’s impossible,” Josie added with a smirk.

“Can you blame me for wanting him here? His ability to go tit for tat with the two of you is what makes him tolerable. What good is he if he’s not around now that you two have multiplied?”

Josie flung her napkin at Holden. “You make us sound like Mogwais.”

“I wouldn’t feed any of you after midnight,” he grumbled as he stood.

“I feel like I’m missing something,” Chloe said, her face colored with confusion.

“Well, these two can fill you in. I have to get to work. Chloe, it was great seeing you again. We’ll get together for dinner before you leave for the tour.” Holden leaned over and gave her a hug before moving to Madison’s side.

“Sounds great.”

“Try to behave,” Holden said as he gave Madison a quick kiss. “See you later, Josie.”

As soon as the front door shut, Chloe turned toward Madison and Josie. “Does Holden not like Anders?”

“No one actually likes Anders,” Madison answered. “Well, I suppose Josie likes him, but I’m not sure even that’s on a consistent basis.”

“Shut up, Maddie. I like him just fine. When I don’t want to kill him, that is.”

“We have so much catching up to do,” Chloe sighed.

“You’ll meet Mr. Wonderful soon enough. I promise all your questions will be answered the moment he opens his mouth.”

“Don’t be mean, Maddie. Anders is—” Josie paused and scrunched her brows before shaking her head. “Never mind. I want to hear all about Reid and the tour.”

Chloe smiled then groaned when she looked at the clock. “I need to shower. I have to get ready and be at the studio by eleven. How about later tonight?”

“How about we plan for tomorrow night? Maddie and I will be on set this afternoon, and we might be late. Here.” Josie pulled a spare key out of the kitchen drawer and handed it to Chloe. “Take this in case you’re home before me.”

Chloe reached out and took the key. “I know I’ve said it before, but it’s so cool that you guys work together. Being costume designers is badass.”

“It pays the bills,” Josie laughed. “Hopefully by tomorrow night, you’ll have more details about Reid for us.”

Chloe laughed at Josie’s and Madison’s exaggerated smiles. “We’ll see. I’ll have to stop staring like an idiot if I plan to have an actual conversation with him.”

Madison backed out of the room and cut her eyes to Josie with an expression that could only be described as devious. “Well, you’re in the perfect place if you want to know how to get over feeling shy around famous hot guys. No assembly required, just a sturdy wall.”

“Maddie!” Josie’s face turned bright red, but it was obvious to Chloe that she was fighting back a laugh.

“Bye!” Madison yelled, laughter trailing behind her.

Chloe looked at Josie and lifted her brow. “A wall, huh?”

Josie groaned, the blush slowly fading from her skin. “Don’t ask.”

“Oh, I totally plan to ask. For now, though, I have to get ready, so you get a pass.”

“I’m going to kill Maddie,” Josie grumbled.

“You wouldn’t last a day without her. You two are a package deal.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Josie moved to Chloe and gave her a hug. “I’m so glad you’re here. I’ve missed you so much.”

“I’m sorry I disappeared. Life got in the way.”

“I understand. Go get ready. I’m going to track down Anders. If I don’t see you tonight, we’ll catch up in the morning.”

“Sounds perfect.”

During the drive to the studio, Chloe tried to prepare for the hour she would spend alone with Reid. She reminded herself that, aside from his fame and insanely good looks, he was just like everyone else. Once she got to know him, she was fairly certain he would be like every other artist she’d met.

Clutching the handle of her violin case, she walked inside the studio. The girl at the desk gave Chloe a fleeting glance before instructing her to go to control room number two. Chloe took a deep breath and headed in that direction. Through the glass, she saw Reid seated behind one of the mixing consoles, wearing a pair of headphones. When she entered the room, she dropped her case by the door and moved as quietly as possible to the chair next to him and sat down.

“Shit,” Reid gasped. “I didn’t hear you come in.”

Chloe smiled and pointed to the headphones still covering his ears. “I suppose those have something to do with that.”

Reid chuckled and removed the headphones. “Nope. I didn’t have anything playing.”

Chloe shrugged. “Then it’s from years of sneaking past my friend’s overprotective brother when we were in high school. Once a ninja, always a ninja, I suppose.”

“You’ll have to show me your tricks when the tour starts. Sneaking past fans gets harder every show.”

“Show you my stealth moves, I will,” Chloe said, her expression devoid of emotion for only a moment before she covered her face and laughed. “Oh my God. I can’t believe I just said that.”

“Did you just use Yoda-speak on me?”

Chloe nodded, her face still hidden.

Reid chuckled, pulling her hands away from her face. “Being a Jedi Master is nothing to be embarrassed about. Hell, maybe I should put you on security detail too. With a ninja slash Jedi Master on my team, I won’t have anything to worry about.”

Embarrassment heated her skin, but Chloe decided to suck it up and make the most out of the situation. She wanted to get to know him, and there was no better way of doing so than having a completely random conversation about ridiculous things. “I hate to break it to you, but I’m afraid my combat training consists of a very short career in roller derby and four wrestling matches before my mother pulled me from the team.”

Reid stared at her with a blank expression. “You’re shitting me.”

“Nope. She always ruined my fun.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Reid said, shaking his head. “How were you on a wrestling team? Unless it was a midget wrestling team, then of course it makes perfect sense.”

Chloe’s mouth fell open in shock. “My dad was a midget.”

Reid opened and closed his mouth several times, his eyes wide. “Shit. I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to offend you. It’s just that—”

The sound of Chloe’s laughter cut off Reid’s apology. He stared at her with narrowed eyes before the side of his mouth lifted into a smile. “Okay, I walked right into that one.”

“You did,” Chloe agreed. “But to answer your question, yes, I was on the wrestling team. I never said I was any good—same with roller derby—but I did it because it pissed off my mother. She hated anything that could injure my hands. It was more an act of defiance than anything else.”

“I can’t say I entirely blame her for wanting to protect your hands. You’re very talented. It would have been a shame for you to be injured doing things you didn’t even enjoy.”

“Oh, I love wrestling. My dad watched it almost every night when I was a kid. It didn’t matter if he’d seen the match or not. It was kind of our thing.” Chloe looked at her hands, not interested in having a conversation with a virtual stranger about her dad.

“A fan of wrestling and
Star Wars
. What are you, an alien?”

Chloe peeked up at Reid and grinned. “Only on my mother’s side.”

Reid grabbed an extra set of headphones and passed them to Chloe. “Here, let’s listen to some of the music we recorded yesterday before I start believing you.”

A rush of excitement caused Chloe’s leg to bounce and her thoughts to shift. “Okay. I’d hoped to listen to the recordings this morning. I know I pulled a few notes yesterday. I just need to know how much so I can taper back.”

Chloe sat with her headphones in place and her attention focused on the mixing console. When the music didn’t start, she looked at Reid in confusion. “You okay?”

Reid blinked. “You noticed? I only caught it this morning when I listened to the tapes. How would you even know the notes were too long?”

Chloe shrugged. “It’s my job to know. It didn’t feel right. The sound. I can’t explain it. I learned to play by ear before I ever read a note of music.”

“Wow. That’s impressive.”

“Music is everything to me. It’s the best job in the world because it never feels like work.”

The expression on Reid’s face as he slid on his headphones seemed almost wistful. “I hope it stays that way for you. Okay, let’s run through these songs so you can hear where you pulled the notes. Once the guys get here, we’ll go into the live room and get back to playing.”

“Sounds great.”

“If you’d like, we can do this before the next few rehearsals or until you feel more comfortable.”

“I’d really love that, as long as you don’t mind. I can’t thank you enough for giving me this opportunity, but I can start by making sure I don’t miss a single note.”

“It’s not a problem at all. Are you ready?”

“Ready,” Chloe said, a smile stretched across her face. He was just as attractive now as he’d been when she walked through the door, but she’d succeeded. She’d humanized him. For now.

“Greer, if you come in just a second sooner, you’ll nail the intro.” Reid pushed his hair out of his face and took a deep breath. For the first time since he’d received the call about Valerie breaking her arm, he felt like things might be okay.

“Chloe, I think if you hold half a beat after Greer’s intro, that will fix what’s off.”

“Hey, Reid?”

Reid looked up from his guitar toward Chloe. She seemed uneasy, which was a huge contrast to when they were alone together earlier. “What’s up?”

“I was just wondering if maybe Greer should repeat the intro, but on the second round, drag the notes a little before I come in. I think it would make the transition smoother.”

Reid stood motionless with his brows drawn together in concentration. In his head, he played the intro as Chloe suggested. It only took a moment for his face to smooth and his eyes to brighten. “Hell yes. Greer, that’s exactly it. Give it a try.”

Greer did as Reid instructed. The moment the notes fell into place, Reid looked at Chloe and gave her the most genuine smile he’d had in months. At least where his music was involved. Chloe’s answering smile caused his stomach to flip. Her excitement was contagious. The change of the intro had been insignificant, just an added repetition, but it suddenly felt brand new. It was like discovering the missing piece to a song. It felt fresh, clean.

As soon as the song ended, Reid pulled the strap of his guitar over his head and turned to face the group. “I think we made progress today. How about we call it a day? Tomorrow, we’ll head over to the stage and work on choreography.”

When no one moved, Reid rolled his eyes. “Don’t be assholes. We’ve been here over four hours. I’m not that much of a slave driver.”

“It took Chloe ten hours to get to LA yesterday before she drove to the studio and practiced for almost six hours. You’ve kept us here from sunup until sundown before. Forgive me if I’m waiting for the punch line.”

Reid shrugged at Greer, but he flashed Chloe a sheepish smile. “This is what happens when I have a shred of confidence we’ll pull this off.”

“You’ve ridden our asses for weeks. Even when you weren’t here. Now, suddenly, after two practices with Chloe, you’re confident we’re not going to screw everything up?” Greer looked toward Chloe, his expression colored with disbelief. “Why the hell didn’t you get here sooner?”

Chloe laughed, a shy smile pulling at the corners of her mouth when Greer winked. “Maybe you should have suggested repeating the intro. Could’ve saved yourself a lot of trouble.”

Greer glared at Chloe, causing laughter to fill the room. “She got you there,” Drew observed.

“You’ve been stuck here as much as I have,” Greer pointed out to Drew. “You should be just as outraged.”

“Nah.” Drew dropped his drumsticks and stood. “I got nothing else to do. Plus, it’s Reid’s dime. If he wants to pay me to play drums, then I’ll take his money all day long.”

“Jerk,” Reid mumbled. “All right, everyone get the hell out of here. You’re officially off the clock.”

“Crap. Maybe I should have kept my mouth shut. I could have finally gotten that new ink I want.” Chloe looked at Reid, mischief written all over her face. “I’ll know better next time.”

“I’ll be broke by the time this tour is over,” Reid joked.

“By the time this tour is over, you’ll have more money than you know what to do with. Now, while I still can, I’m going home, getting naked, and spreading across my bed from corner to corner. Once the tour starts, nights like those will be a distant memory. Later,” Greer called over his shoulder as he walked out the door.

“Well, that’s quite the mental image,” Chloe said, grabbing her violin case.

“You’re welcome to join me,” Greer yelled, his voice fading to a laugh as he moved farther down the hall.

Chloe snickered. “One thing’s for sure. This tour will never be boring.”

“I can’t wait,” Reid deadpanned.

After exchanging good-byes with Chloe and Drew and packing away his things, Reid lingered. The silence caused a familiar feeling of unease to creep in. It was true he’d been demanding, but preparing for the tour wasn’t his only reason for the long hours. The truth was, he didn’t want to be alone, and because of recent changes in his life, he didn’t have a lot of options for company.

Walking into the control room, he pulled on a set of headphones to listen to the rehearsal tapes. He smiled at the random comments from Drew, Greer, and Chloe between song breaks. Notebook in hand, he jotted down things to go over with the others. More than two hours passed before he reached the final song. The song that had given him grief ever since he changed the intro. The same song Chloe managed to fix in a matter of minutes.

Reid smiled as he thought about how her face lit up when Greer did as she suggested. Reid remembered that kind of enthusiasm. The feeling of exhilaration when the notes fell into place. From a young age, he’d always known whatever he did in life would involve music. For years, he played at every hole-in-the-wall bar in Memphis. He mailed out demo after demo to recording labels from New York to Los Angeles. The response was always the same: silence.

When the talent scout picked him up three years ago, he thought all his dreams had come true. For all intents and purposes, they had. What he hadn’t expected was to lose Jess and everything that followed. He still loved music, breathed it. The passion and inspiration, however, were blanketed under layers of bad decisions leading to unthinkable consequences.

Unnerved by his train of thoughts, Reid decided to call it a night. On the drive home, he watched the city lights pass in a blur. Bright colors on vibrant signs glowed in the night and masked the stars. It was nothing like Memphis, nothing like the open space of his childhood home. Everything was bright lights, fast-paced and loud. So loud that at times he couldn’t hear himself think. He needed that now, the noise. The distraction. Anything to keep him from dwelling on the last year.

There was no noise to be found, however, when he walked into the foyer of his house. His shoes echoed off the tile and the lights hummed to life as he moved from room to room. When he reached the entrance to his living room, he only hesitated for a moment before continuing to the kitchen. He grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator and eased onto the stool by the bar. With his arms braced on the counter, he let his head fall forward, his shoulders hunched. The silence felt overwhelming, suffocating. He needed to call Jess. She was the only one who could soothe the voices in his head.

He longed for the time when silence was comfortable, when it didn’t feel like a bad thing. Blowing out a heavy breath, he pushed away from the bar and walked to his bedroom. Stripping out of his clothes, he fell onto the bed and dialed her number.

“Hello?”

“Hey.”

“Reid, hey. How are you?”

He paused, and when he spoke, his voice sounded unsure, even to him. “Good. Tired.”

“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

Reid exhaled in disbelief. “How do you do that?”

“Do what?”

“Know that something is bothering me when I’ve only said three words?”

On the other end of the line, Jess laughed quietly. “You’ve never been very good at masking your mood. I can hear it in every syllable.”

“So you’re saying I shouldn’t try my hand at becoming a professional poker player?”

“Oh, baby. Vegas would eat you alive. You’d be on the corner singing for nickels before you could say all in.”

“Well then, it’s a good thing I hate to gamble.”

“Indeed.”

Reid sighed. “I’m okay. Today was actually a good day rehearsal-wise. When everyone left for the day, though . . . I don’t know. I just started thinking about things I’d rather not.”

When Jess spoke, her voice was softer, soothing. “I’m sorry. I know it’s hard being back in LA. I wish you were here instead. I miss you already, and the tour hasn’t even started.”

“I miss you, too. I know this next year won’t be easy for either of us, but we’ll make it work. Right?” A weight of desperation settled on his chest and caused his breath to still as he waited for her answer.

“Of course we will. This ain’t our first rodeo. We’ll hold on for our eight seconds.”

Swallowing, Reid nodded. “Eight seconds is nothing.”

“Nothing,” Jess echoed.

“Get some rest. It’s late. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“Okay. Goodnight.”

Reid ended the call and tossed his phone on the bedside table. He closed his eyes and let his mind drift to the past. To smoky bars, cheap beers, and the sound of Creedence Clearwater Revival playing on an old jukebox. The memory made him smile. It was a familiar place Reid visited in his mind when he needed to block out the nightmares. As he slowly drifted to sleep, his face twisted with confusion as the scene changed. The last thing he saw was the glint of silver and a flash of purple before succumbing to sleep.

The next morning, Reid was surprised to find Chloe waiting in the control room. His surprise quickly morphed, however, when a sweet smell invaded his senses. Icing, cinnamon, and the warm scent of fresh-baked pastries hung thick in the air. He crossed the room to Chloe’s side, ignoring the look of shock that flashed across her face as he leaned closer and pulled in another deep breath.

“What is that smell? Is that you? You can’t smell like that all day.”

“What are you going to do, eat me?” Chloe laughed, before her eyes widened and her mouth fell open. Reid took a step back and eased into the chair next to her, the skin on the back of his neck heating as he processed her words. Not wanting to prolong either of their embarrassment, Reid redirected the conversation to the reason he’d nearly assaulted her in the first place.

“No, but if that smell is not from food you have hidden somewhere, only lingering on your clothes, you’re going to have to change. That’s cruel and unusual punishment.”

Chloe reached into her bag and pulled out a plastic container. “If I give this to you, am I at risk of losing a limb?”

Reid pretended to mull it over before shrugging. “The sooner you hand over the goods, the better your chance of survival.”

As soon as Reid had the container, he pulled off the top and closed his eyes. “Holy shit. Where did these come from?”

“The friend I’m staying with, Josie, her brother is a chef. He stopped by on his way to work and dropped them off.”

Reid took a bite of cinnamon roll and sagged back in his chair. “I’ve never tasted anything like this. Are there drugs in here?”

Chloe laughed. “If you think that’s good, you should try his apple pancakes with maple cream cheese sauce.”

Reid narrowed his eyes. “That’s what I smelled yesterday. I thought I was losing my mind. If you’re going to smell like this every day, we’re going to have to come to some kind of agreement.”

Chloe folded her arms over her chest. “What do you propose?”

Reid licked the icing off his fingers and closed the lid of the container. “First, even though I’m sure these two other rolls are for Drew and Greer, that’s not happening.”

Chloe started to protest, but Reid shook his head. “I will lick the tops off them now if you try to argue.” Reid lifted the container. “These do not exist.”

Chloe covered her mouth and giggled behind the sleeves of her hoodie. Reid continued to stare in silence, his brow lifted as he waited for her to answer. When she finally nodded, he continued.

“Good. Second, you have to share. And third . . .” Reid paused. “Well, there is no third. I just want in on this breakfast thing. What do you say?”

“And if I don’t?”

With narrowed eyes, Reid stared at Chloe before a devious smile curved his lips. “I’ll give you the bunk closest to the bathroom on the tour bus.”

Chloe’s nose wrinkled as a look of disgust crossed her face. “You wouldn’t.”

“How about we not find out? Breakfast for the second-best bed on the bus. Deal?”

Chloe sighed. “I’d be a fool not to take that deal.”

“Good.” Reid grinned and passed Chloe a pair of headphones. “Let’s get to work.”

For the remainder of the hour, Chloe and Reid listened to tapes and discussed possible adjustments. When it was time to head to the studio, Reid felt a twinge of disappointment. Chloe sparked a feeling of inspiration he hadn’t felt in a very long time. The reminder of how long it had been since he’d written anything other than jumbled thoughts caused Reid to frown.