Rock My Heart (Luminescent Juliet #4)

Rock My Heart

Kindle
Edition

Copyright
© 2015 by Jean
Haus

All right reserved.

No part of this book
may be reproduced
in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information
storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author.
The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.
This
is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and
incidents
are either
the products of the author’s
imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons,
living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Cover
Photo by
by
Robert
Bejil
Photography

Cover by S. Warren

Other Luminescent Juliet Series
Titles

(Each are a standalone)

In the Band

Ink My Heart

With the Band

Chapter 1

~April~

Once upon a time, I
used to be a music fanatic—breathed, lived, and
luuuved
it. Now music is
background noise, a popular radio station to fill in the silence while studying
or cleaning my apartment or driving in the car. I don’t have playlists, songs
to pump me up or remind me of a past affection, at least not since high school.
Back then, music was my life and connected to every emotion. These days I try
to stay emotionless. Yet here I am again in a dingy bar to see a local band.

This bar might be the dingiest.

Even in the dim light, the tiles overhead are a
dark, stained yellow. The walls brown, battered paneling. The stage is tiny,
and the ‘dance’ floor in front of the stage much smaller. As I walk across the
room, my shoes stick to the dirty carpet. There are five tables occupied on
this Thursday night. Not exactly hopping. I spot Romeo sitting in the back.

Fine, six tables.

Yet a band is currently setting up on the small
stage, speaking in hushed tones as they arrange the drum kit, speakers, and
microphone stands.

 
At his table,
I tug out a chair and Romeo says with a warm smile, “Hey, April. I already got
you a drink. Thought you could nurse at least one.” He nods to the tall glass
on the table.

 
“Hey,
thanks.” I sit and lift the pinkish orange mixture waiting for me. “What is it
exactly?”

“Um a…some concoction with fruit juice, the
bartender says it doesn’t taste much like alcohol,” he says with a slight grin.
His dark hair is messy and he’s wearing his usual black shirt and jeans.

I return the grin. Romeo knows me rather well—he was
the only one in my small circle of friends who didn’t insist I go out for my
twenty-first birthday last winter—at least compared to most people. I’m not
much of a drinker. Besides the taste, I don’t like losing control. I take a sip
of the fruity smelling drink—huh, not too bad—then lean toward Romeo. “So have
they finally decided on a band name?”

“Yeah.”

“Well?”

He grimaces before spitting out, “Shush.”

“Shush? Like be quiet?”

He shrugs.

“Really? Knowing Riley they have to be loud, so…”

“Riley got out voted. The singer thinks it’s ironic,
since they are so loud. And you know Riley.”

“She doesn’t really care.”

He smiles. “Nope.”

We both say together, “She just wants to play,” then
laugh.

As I watch them finish setting up on the little
stage, I ask, “Why would Riley want to play
here
?”

All of a sudden serious, Romeo glances across the
room at his girlfriend. “She wanted a small venue. It’s just a short practice
round before the U-
Palooza
. The singer and guitar
player have never performed in front of a crowd.”

I inspect the small half-filled bar. U-
Palooza
, a concert the fraternities and sororities of our
university put on every autumn, is huge compared to this. “Not much of a crowd
here.”

He shrugs. “Riley didn’t want a big crowd. Too much
pressure for the singer.”

“Is that why it’s just you and me?” I’m guessing
Riley didn’t want Romeo’s bandmates, who recently finished a national tour with
two major bands less than a month ago, from Luminescent Juliet making
her
bandmates nervous.

Romeo gestures with an index finger toward the bar.
“And Gabe. He knows the owner. Hooked Riley up.”

Gabe Reed, the drummer for Luminescent Juliet, leans
on the bar, talking with the older, female bartender. Tall and lean, he looks
like a mix between a biker and a surfer with his brown and sun streaked jaw
length hair, five o’clock shadow, old tatty jeans, white T-shirt, and permanent
scowl.

“Ah, this venue is making more sense by the minute.”
I take another sip of the fruit mixture.

Romeo raises a brow.

“Seems like Gabe’s type of place.”

“He knows the bartender. His father’s girlfriend…I
think. Gabe’s never very forthcoming.”

The band finishes setting up and Riley comes over to
our table. Her and I look like complete opposites, me in white capris, silver
flats, and an aqua polo—that my mother bought because she claimed it perfectly
matches my eyes—her in tight jean shorts, combat boots, and a black tank. My
light brown hair is pulled back in a low ponytail at the base of my neck. Her
dark hair with its dyed blonde streaks is in a ratted out ponytail.

She gives me a quick hug. “Thanks so much for
coming.”

Hugging her back, I say, “Wouldn’t miss your debut.
I’m
super
excited to see your band
play.”

She lets out a nervous laugh. “Hope we don’t suck
too much.”

Romeo drags her onto his lap. “Drummer
extraordinaire and suck don’t go in the same sentence.”

Gabe shows up, his presence and scowl as usual
intimidating, sliding a tray of shots on the table, but then he smirks at
Riley. “Liquid courage?”

“Hell yes! Thanks.” Riley grabs a shot with shaky
fingers. “One won’t hurt.”

I’ve never seen her so nervous. Actually, I don’t
think I’ve ever seen Riley nervous. Even her ever-present ponytail is bobbing
with obvious apprehension.

Gabe pushes the tray closer for Romeo and me to grab
a shot glass. I take one, trying to be polite.

Riley lifts hers and we all follow suit. “To not
sucking!”

I nearly spit the stuff—tequila?—out, but somehow
choke it down. Yuck. I haven’t done a shot since high school. I found the taste
of pure alcohol awful then too.

Romeo takes the shot glass from Riley’s shaky
fingers, gives her a quick kiss, and shoves her off his lap. “Go get
em
’,” he says and playfully slaps her butt. She glares at
him furiously before marching toward the little stage.

Unfortunately, Gabe grabs a chair, turns it
backwards, and sits at our table. Though across from me, his hard profile faces
the stage and he rests his lean muscled forearms on the back of the chair.

I take a huge gulp of my fruity drink. I’ve never
been popular with Romeo’s band. He and I dated a few years ago, but decided to
be just friends. While we dated, the rest of the band kept their distance.
Though Justin, the singer, did call me an ice princess, behind my back
and
to my face. When Romeo and Riley
started getting together, both Sam, the bass player, and Justin resented me,
thinking I was still after Romeo. Yet, they’ve slowly come to the realization
that we are just good friends and have been more tolerant of me. And though I
never would have let them come between our friendship, it’s nice not to get the
evil eye all the time.

But Gabe is different. Although he rarely speaks to
me, or is even near me, I can almost feel his irritated indifference toward me.
It has nothing to do with Romeo or Riley. He simply doesn’t like me. Usually, I
take dislike with an air of acceptance—few people really know me—but for
whatever ridiculous reason—and it is ridiculous—Gabe’s dislike puts me on edge,
which is probably why when he handed me a shot, I didn’t decline like usual.

He leans over and murmurs something low to Romeo,
who’s setting out his phone on the table to record
Shush’s
performance. Ignoring Gabe’s rudeness and refusing to contemplate if he is
talking about me, I scoot my chair, facing it toward the stage.

I’m here to see the band.

That’s it.

Riley has settled behind the drums. The guitar and
bass player are looking back at her. The singer clenches the microphone stand
in a near death grip. They’re all dressed in black or dark tones. One of the
girls even wears fishnet stockings. Riley nods to the guitarist, the lone male
in the group, and he faces forward, eyeing his guitar stem before twanging out
the first riff.

And in seconds—without any introduction—they’re
banging out
Zepplin’s
“Communication Breakdown.” The
music roars through the little bar, and I almost laugh. First, because Riley
would pick
this
song. It’s heavy
drumming would appeal to her. Second, the lyrics remain the same except for
‘girl’ changed to ‘boy’, and the song from a female perspective is a bit
sexually empowering. Unsurprisingly, the few patrons, most who are older,
instantly recognize and pay rapt attention. However, none of them seem to
notice the changes made to the guitar solo to make it more simplistic.

Once the song and some surprised clapping is over,
Gabe turns to Romeo. “They changed the guitar solo.”

Obviously, I wasn’t the only one who noticed. I’m
sure Romeo being a guitar player noticed too. But Gabe plays the drums, so I’m
surprised he spotted the changes.

“He’s working on it.” Romeo shrugs. “Most people
can’t tell.”

Before Gabe can reply, the next song starts with the
singer screaming out, “I miss the misery!” The band kicks in at the end of
scream into a heavy tune I don’t recognize. Between the angry lyrics and loud
music, the song is rocking, on the edge of metal, and obviously the title is,
“I Miss the Misery.” The entire band head bangs for an added effect. How fun.

Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Gabe with his
arms crossed over the back of the chair, tapping his thumb to the rhythm and
paying close attention to the performance.

When the song is over, he turns to Romeo. “That one
was better, but they’re not staying with Riley.”

I take a long sip of my drink. I’d been thinking the
same thing. They’re just a touch behind her with the rhythm.

Romeo shrugs again. “Riley isn’t going for
perfection, merely sounding good enough to do a few gigs here and there.
They’ll get better eventually.”

The start of the next song, which is “I’m Just a
Girl” by No Doubt, cuts their conversation off. I’m instantly thrown through a
time loop. I used to
love
,
love
,
love
this song. The memories, various flashes of my past filled
with music, it evokes makes it hard for me to pay attention to the performance,
especially after a shot and half a drink. Imaginary notes dance across my brain
and fingertips. Until the emotions become too much. I guzzle the rest of my
drink, hoping to kill the overwhelming nostalgia with alcohol.

Luckily, they practically roll right into “Been
Caught Stealing” by Jane’s Addiction, which is purely a feel good song to me.

Both Romeo and Gabe watch the band intently as I get
my
emotions in control.
Once the song is over, the singer
shouts out a, “Thank you!” amid a few claps—I clap wildly—then the band heads
off to the side of the stage for a
pow
wow.

Gabe and Romeo lean toward each other discussing the
performance. It’s mostly about the guitar player and how Riley is leading
perfect but the band needs to keep up. Then Gabe takes off toward the bar.

“So what do
you
think?” Romeo asks, turning to me.

I glance at the band in discussion. “Well…I agree.
They’re not keeping up with Riley and the guitar player, while proficient,
needs to work on the solos. A lot. Yet the songs, I’m assuming Riley picked,
work for the singer and the band as a whole. Though they’re not perfect, they
have a great energy and judging them as a local band, they’d be one of the
better ones.”

Romeo nods. “Finding a good guitar player has been a
challenge, but the dude is willing to work at it, so Riley finally settled.”
His look at me is pointed. “She’s not out to make an album or write originals,
so she’s not after that type of talent.”

I nod, understanding Riley’s goals. She simply
enjoys playing.

Gabe suddenly returns with a huge tray of shots, a
beer for Romeo, and a drink for me.

Ugh. I’m already feeling light headed, but I’m
shocked that he even thought about me. He sets the tall glass in front of me.
Before I can thank him for the unwanted drink, Riley and her band are
surrounding the table.

“Well?” she asks hopefully, looking between Romeo
and Gabe. The other band members watch them too.

Romeo grins. “Two more songs, and I think you’re
ready for the U-
Palooza
.”

Though that didn’t sound like approval, it was quite
the compliment. While only a local venue to raise money for our university’s
sororities and fraternities, Romeo takes every public performance seriously.

Riley laughs, jumping in Romeo’s lap. The rest of
her band beams. Gabe hands out shots. He raises his and everyone else follows,
including me.

“Congrats,” he says with a smirk. “Getting Romeo’s
approval ain’t easy.” He downs his shot and we all follow suit.

Yuck. I’m not sure what the clear liquor was, but
I’m getting light headed. I usually watch Luminescent Juliet perform, then take
off after the show. Even when I dated Romeo, we didn’t hang out much at the
after party. I take a gulp of my drink to get rid of the awful shot taste.