Flynn's In (Lexi Frost Series) (4 page)

“No. I didn
’t have to be at the reading of the will. Paul put me there to have more friendly faces for her.”

“She
’s not some vase or chair that he can just leave you in a will!” Kenny snapped.

“No
, she’s not. Teri knows I was interested before, we didn’t get very far because . . . well because Paul had a head start and was better prepared.”

Kenny
’s eyes flicked briefly to Nicholas and Flynn smiled.

“Don
’t worry about Nicholas, we understand each other. Although I’m not sure how Teri’s going to react to my presence. On one hand, she’s hurting and she knows me. We got along okay. On the other hand, she loved Paul and lost him unexpectedly. And she knows that I was romantically interested. That Paul invited me here knowing the same thing is going to occur to her eventually.”

“Like an endorsement.
”

“T
hink of it in a broader sense: he’s gone and he’s telling her it’s okay to move on. Offering a suggestion maybe, but it’s ultimately her decision. For now, I’m not here to replace Paul as much as be her friend. If she wants to cry and avoid me, that’s fine. Nicholas is here for her to lean on too.”

“Then why does she need you?
”

Flynn shrugged and smiled mischievously. “I
’m a hell of a lot of fun and very persuasive. Don’t worry, I won’t trick her. Okay, that’s not true. I may trick her, but not about anything important. I just want to get her out of the house and smiling again.”

“Fine
, but I’m watching you.”

“Join the party.
”

Kenny still looked apprehensive. Flynn smiled again.

“Feel free to tell Teri my dastardly plan if you like. Nothing I told you is going to be a surprise, assuming she’s stopped to think about it.”

“So
, later then,” Nicholas hinted. “She hasn’t really thought much through yet.”

Chapter Four

“I haven’t thought what through?” Teri asked as she finished coming down the stairs. Nicholas and Kenny looked at her with guilty expressions. She didn’t expect Flynn to be here and stopped short.

Nicholas mentioned Flynn was in town and wanted to meet the boys. She didn
’t pay attention to most of what Nicholas told her lately, although if she was going to get surprises like this she was going to have to start. She was wearing pajamas for crying out loud!
And
it was nearly three in the afternoon. And she’d been crying, so her eyes were probably puffy. Plus her hair was just hanging there because she didn’t do anything with it today. Okay, this week.

Teri
’s self consciousness magnified when Flynn smiled at her. That impish, I’m-up-to-something smile. She wanted to reach for a camera for the first time since . . . she couldn’t remember.

“Your little boys are going to be rock stars.
” Flynn didn’t seem to notice her appearance, which made her even more uncomfortable.

“You haven
’t even heard them.”

“I don
’t have to. Teri, you told me about them yourself on the flight to L.A., remember?”

“I
’m biased. They could suck.”

“Hey!
” Kenny sat up straight. Teri ignored him.

“You
’d be amazed at what good editing can do to a song,” Flynn grinned as Kenny huffed and slumped in his chair.

“Then why are you here?
”

“Refinement. Help them put it all together and make them successful.
”

“Well
, you know how to do that,” Teri admitted. She knew Paul wanted to help the boys out, but didn’t expect him to draft the only musician he knew to do the job. Surely he could have hired someone else.

Not that she was upset
, Flynn was good. He was hot and successful when she was a teenager. He still was now that she had teenagers. Considering that, why would Paul choose another artist? The younger musicians might relate to the boys better, although she suspected Flynn and Jess were cast from similar molds. Plus, Flynn had more experience under his belt and that experience would be invaluable.

H
aving him hanging around felt weird. It was strange Paul didn’t consider that.

“Millions of girls and their moms can
’t be wrong,” Flynn agreed, breaking Teri’s rampaging thoughts.

“Have fun. I
’m going to go take a shower.” Teri retreated up the stairs before the situation got any more awkward. Behind her, she heard the front door slam as Cassie, Tiff, Dev and Bryan came home from school. Oh, God. Flynn Peterson in the same house as Cassie and Tiff. What the hell was Paul thinking?

• • •

Flynn sat in the basement and listened as Kenny put his band through their best moves. They had some skill. Flynn looked closer to see where they needed help.

Bryan
’s drum solos were rough. Nicholas’s plea to smooth them over came to mind and brought a smile to Flynn’s lips. Bryan was fine for keeping a beat, just not for taking the spotlight. It figured, their musical rough spot wasn’t Flynn’s strong point either. It’d be fine. Flynn could point Bryan in the right direction and then recruit Drew. The drummer for his own band was Flynn’s best friend and would willingly lend a hand.

Kenny was good on guitar. Really good. Considering relative experience
, he’d be better than Zane someday.

Jess was good too. His voice had a nice quality to it and he had a good range. Kenny mentioned Jess was taking voice lessons
, and Flynn wondered how much of what he heard was natural and how much was the hand of a good instructor. It didn’t matter. His movement looked natural and Jess used his available space well. He was energetic and flamboyant. Jess was going to be good on stage.

Shifting his focus
, Flynn quietly watched Dev. Jess might be good in the spotlight, but the young man to his right wasn’t. Dev had a formal carriage and posture that made Jess’s movements seem more fluid, but it also emphasized Dev’s tension.

Flynn knew Dev flew back to
New York every couple of months for photo-shoots so his nervousness surprised him. Dev’s face was everywhere for Oskar Viktor’s upscale youth clothing line. The ads were great: Dev was overwhelmed by girls, presumably due to his fashion sense. Flynn started to get the sinking feeling that Dev’s expressions of horror at the onslaught of girls weren’t entirely faked.

As Flynn considered how to address the problem with Dev
, he received a pleasant surprise. Midway through a song, Jess turned and started singing to Dev, essentially accusing him of fooling around and indiscriminately breaking hearts.

Dev scowled at Jess
, who grinned in response. Flynn perked up as Dev’s nerves melted away, replaced by hostility. Jess wouldn’t let it go and casually wrapped an arm around Dev as he continued singing. Jess even rested his cheek tenderly on Dev’s head. Something he wouldn’t be able to do much longer, Flynn thought of the younger boy’s inevitable growth spurt. Dev confirmed Flynn’s suspicion quicker, by stomping hard on Jess’s foot. Jess swore loudly and backed away from Dev to sing the chorus.

Flynn chuckled and Kenny gave Jess a truly venomous glare. Jess wasn
’t paying attention to Kenny though. Dev moved forward slightly during the interaction so he wasn’t behind Jess’s line of sight any longer and Flynn noticed that Jess kept stealing quick glances Dev’s direction.

When Jess started to back up and to his right to get behind Dev
, Dev grabbed the cable attached to his electric guitar and pulled on it. The cable was secured across the room behind Kenny and, when Dev pulled it tight, it made an effective trip-line, sending the unsuspecting Jess crashing back into Bryan’s drums.

The laughter Flynn was reining in broke free as the music stopped and Kenny started lecturing Dev and Jess.

“I warned you two!” Kenny offered a hand to Jess. Bryan moved to try to keep anything else from falling over.

“He tripped me
,” Jess protested.

“You started it
,” Dev accused, staying clear as Kenny pulled Jess free from the drums.

“You weren
’t smiling,” Jess said.

“Stay on your own side.
”

“Jess
, help Bryan with the drums. Heaven help you two if his hard head bent something again. Dev, untangle these cables. Stop booby trapping the area,” Kenny ordered.

Flynn watched as
, obedient yet unrepentant, Jess and Dev set about their assignments. Kenny turned to face him. He was pissed, it was written all over his face. When Dev hit him across the back with a cable, presumably on accident, Kenny merely closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Flynn started laughing again.

“Flynn
, don’t encourage them,” Kenny sighed.

“Kenny
, encouraging them is actually what you should do.” Kenny gave him a look of disbelief and Flynn stood up. He motioned Kenny to follow him upstairs. “They won’t kill each other without you there to break it up, will they?” Flynn asked, as they climbed the stairs.

“No
, Bryan’s the house referee. Everyone listens to him, even the girls.”

“Handy.
” Flynn motioned him into the living room and sat down. “Listen. You’ve got a good sound, so there’s a decent foundation to build on.”

“
Bryan needs work.”

“A tad
, when’s Spring Break?”

“Not sure
, I’ll ask.”

“I can help him with drums
, but on solos, I’ll call Drew. Sound isn’t my primary concern. Paul mentioned problems with Jess and Dev. Dev, in particular, is a big concern.”

“He
’s shy. It’s hard to play crowds.”

“I
’m not a crowd, Kenny. You played in the park and in front of small groups.”

“Yeah.
”

“Usually end like that?
”

“Not always that spectacularly.
”

“But they fight.
”

“Yeah.
” Kenny slid down in his seat in defeat.

“Dev has stage fright. I can
’t say if Jess recognizes the need to redirect his attention consciously or if it’s more instinctive. Probably the latter if he’s never talked to you about it, but that’s what he’s doing. He’s transferring Dev’s anxiety about playing in front of a crowd to focus solely on himself. Whether Dev is focusing on Jess in terms of apprehension, anger, or revenge probably fluctuates, but the end is the same.”

“I
didn’t think of that.”

“Encourage the playfulness
, Kenny. I would have done anything to get Drew front stage to play with me on tour. That kind of thing will make you a popular touring band, assuming we can get them to play their little tricks without disrupting the show.”

“So let them play
, just set some ground rules,” Kenny nodded, relaxing.

“Their fighting
’s been on your mind,” Flynn guessed.

“They go at it constantly. Dev is a smart little brat and it isn
’t hard to outwit Jess if you put half your mind to it. Jess is smart enough to catch on and get even. I asked Dev to help me with Jess, figuring he’d find some way to trick him into cutting back the number of girls he sees.”

“Didn
’t work out?”

“God
, no. I made the mistake of pointing out that girls are a little funny sometimes and reminding him that Jess has a serious crush on Cassie. Dev’s response was a list of drugs, prescription or simple compounds, that will make Jess temporarily impotent.”

“Um
, he didn’t . . .”

“No. I explained that wasn
’t cool. He reminded me that I was the one who said Jess needed to be dealt with. Bryan explained that was going too far. We both threatened him with life and limb. Now we both watch him to make sure he’s not slipping anything to Jess. I warned Jess too, just in case.”

“Wow.
” Flynn wasn’t really sure how to take that. “So Dev is officially off the Jess problem?”

“Oh
, hell yeah.”

“Just wanted to be sure. Ah
, well, that kind of threw me off track. Note to self, watch Dev.”

“Especial
ly when Teri enters the picture,” Kenny reminded him.

“Now there
’s a situation I didn’t want to consider.” Flynn felt a headache coming on. He took a deep breath and tried to push it aside. “That’s a problem for another day.

“Moving on to your image:
Dev looks like he stepped out of an Oskar Viktor ad. He’s standing right next to Jess, who doesn’t. Do you have an image in mind yet?”

Kenny shrugged. “Dev always looks like that. He has a uniform if it
’s a school day, but he hardly ever wears jeans or T-shirts anymore. Jess will dress up if there’s a girl involved, so if I tell him there are hundreds of girls involved he’ll wear anything I tell him to. I can’t play in a dress shirt and slacks though, it feels weird and Bryan can’t either. We’ve tried, it just throws us off. Jess prefers not to, but he will.”

“So casual then.
”

“Except Dev. Ties are his comfort zone and I don
’t want to mess with that.”

“Agreed. Okay
, so not a unified look. Of course Dev and Jess are like yin and yang and visually that just emphasizes it. I noticed Dev has his hair neatly trimmed as opposed to Jess’s longer hair. I thought maybe school had something to do with it, but I guess not.”

“No
, and I never complained that Jess was the only blond. It makes him stand out just a little more.” Kenny hesitated.

“Ask.
”

“What did Paul tell you?
”

“About the band? A bit
, but a lot of the information I had coming in was from Teri.”

“He didn
’t see the fighting was helping Dev.”

“He didn
’t know to see it for what it was. It doesn’t completely solve the problem, either. Paul saw Dev as shy, possibly intimidated by girls. Dev doesn’t have to worry about being mobbed by girls while he’s playing. That happens later.”

“Girls will still be a problem.
”

“He
’s fifteen, give the kid a break.”

“He
’ll be sixteen in a few months, the end of April. Jess and I turn twenty this summer.”

“Don
’t rush it, Kenny. I want to get you in a studio this summer, but even if everything goes smoothly, you won’t be doing many live shows for a while. Bryan and Dev are still in school.”

“
Bryan graduates in June.”

“Even so
, you aren’t signed yet and it takes time to get the real tour opportunities. You could do small demo shows, but you can’t hit clubs because you’re all under the drinking age. It gives us time to work out some bugs first. Let Dev grow up a bit more.”