Something I Need (xoxo Nashville Book 1) (10 page)

J
onte lay
on the floor of the apartment, her head propped up on one of the chocolate scatter cushions. She and Dolly had gotten into a bit of a ritual that went something like this: on the nights Jonte wasn’t working downstairs, Jonte would make dinner, and after they’d eaten and cleaned up, Dolly would spend an hour teaching Jonte everything she knew about playing the guitar. Then, before bed, the pair would sit down and watch a couple of Gossip Girl episodes – Dolly loved the clothes and the OTT ridiculous storylines. Apparently it was good for normalizing their own lives.

Jonte reached across and scooped up a handful of corn chips out of the oversized bowl.

“There’s no way they would actually fuck like that on the piano.” She huffed at the sight of Chuck and Blair going at it on top of the gorgeous black piano.

“Says the woman who almost had sex on a pool table only a few weeks ago.” Dolly leaned off the sofa and wiggled her eyebrows at Jonte, causing her to flush.

“There’s a big difference between a grotty old pool table and an immaculate grand piano.”

“Yes, clearly they have class. You’re just a dirty, dirty girl.”

Jonte grabbed the pillow out from under her head and whacked Dolly with it. “Shut up!”

Holy crap, that one mistake was going to haunt her forever.

“You’re looking a bit hot and bothered there, Miss J. Having sexy-time flashbacks?”

“Dolly!” Jonte screeched and whacked her again.

“It’s perfectly understandable. Ya watch these two angsty-pants go at it, of course it would make you think of your very own Mr. Angsty-Pants downstairs.”

A snort escaped Jonte’s mouth and she cracked up at Dolly’s new nickname for Cash. She didn’t mean to laugh. Actually, she was kind of pissed at Dolly for bringing this up, but come on, Mr. Angsty-Pants? It was just too funny.

“There’s nothing going on with us.”

Jonte’s words couldn’t have been truer. Things had been purely platonic for almost two weeks now. They were friends and had somehow actually succeeded in their quest to pretend the ‘pool table incident’ had never happened.

“But there could be,” Dolly sing-songed.

“This is so not up for discussion.” Jonte turned the TV off.

“Hey, you brought it up with all your piano sex talk.” Dolly held her hands out defensively and then bent down to scoop up their now empty bowl.

“I was simply admiring that piano.”

Dolly looked back at Jonte and curiously cocked her head to one side. “What do you know about pianos?”

“Pretty much everything. I’ve played since I was three years old.”

Dolly dropped the bowl. She fumbled and grabbed for it, somehow stopping it from smashing. “How is it possible that I’m just hearing about this now?”

“I don’t know.” Jonte shrugged. “I guess it never came up before.”

“But for weeks you’ve let Cash rant on and on about how ya couldn’t play a damn guitar and you’re some friggin’ child piano-playing prodigy?”

“I wouldn’t say prodigy.” Jonte rolled her eyes at Dolly’s deliberate exaggeration.

“But you’re good, right?”

Jonte nodded and grabbed the bowl from her. She rinsed it out under the tap and set it on the dish rack to dry.

Dolly bounded into the kitchenette, holding out her cell phone. “Look, look!”

“The Big Bang,” Jonte read off Dolly’s small screen and looked up at her friend, puzzled. “I don’t get it?”

“Did you go in there yet?”

“I don’t remember it,” she replied, unsure of what had gotten into Dolly.

“It’s a piano bar.” Dolly stared at her wide-eyed. “You need to get your ass in there tomorrow!”

A
nd so the next morning
, Jonte dressed up and cabbed her ass over to The Big Bang. When she found the building, she knew she definitely hadn’t been inside due to the simple fact that it was bright blue and would be kind of hard to forget. Yes, she’d been wandering the strip for the past few weeks, but there was only so much rejection someone could take in any one day. And of course she’d put her name down for the open mic sessions but had chickened out at the last minute each time after having watched every other performer strut up to the mic toting a guitar. That was the one thing Cash had been spot on about that first night – she needed to master the guitar, and with Dolly’s help, she was slowly getting there.

Jonte climbed the stairs, following the directions painted on the walls to the bar, and then lurked nervously at the entrance. Her tummy was doing way more than flip-flops; she felt like the entire cast of a Cirque du Soleil show had set up shop in there and were conducting a tumble practice. No wonder though, this was the first real chance she actually had at being discovered.

Calm down.

Calm down.

Calm down.

You’ve got this
. She repeated her mantra, trying to work up the courage to walk through the door and speak to the guys mucking around on the two grand pianos that took up most of the stage.

“Can I help you?”

She turned towards the voice and took in the tall man sporting a pair of thick-rimmed black glasses and an eyebrow ring. With close-shaved blonde hair, he appeared to be around her age, maybe a little older, and was now leaning against the doorframe. A smile was plastered across his face as his eyes raked up and down her body.

She didn’t mind, not one little bit.

He was cute, in that I-just threw-on-the first-thing-I-found-on-my-floor kind of way. His biceps contracted when he leaned harder against the opening. Wowser, they were way more than athletic; they were ripped.

“They’re really good.” She grinned and nodded at the men on the stage, just so it was clear that was what she was talking about, not his sexy arms.

“They are.”

“I’m Jonte.” She held out her hand and he shook it, not even hesitating.

“Sebastian Meyers, but everyone calls me Seb.” He let go of her hand. “So what can I do ya for?”

“I’m actually looking for a job.”

Seb raised his pierced eyebrow. “Doin’ what exactly?”

“Anything, really. I sing, I play the piano, and I’ve been helping out at my friend’s bar, pouring beers and cleaning up.”

Seb played with the little bit of stubble on his chin. “So if you already have a job, what are you doing here?”

“It’s really only a temporary arrangement,” she clarified and continued. “I need to get some experience performing in front of the Nashville crowds before the American Country Star rounds start up in a few weeks.”

“You already made it through the auditions?” He sounded impressed.

“Yeah, I sent my audition tape through before I flew over here.”

“Where are you from? I can’t pick your accent.”

“Australia.”

“So, why don’t you just go to any of the open mic nights along the avenue?”

Jonte bit down on her bottom lip. “I’ve tried, but I kinda chicken out. I don’t play the guitar and I feel silly getting up there without one.”

Seb shrugged. “Yeah, well, guitars are overrated.”

She smiled because that’s what she thought too.

“Sebastian! Man, will you get your ass back over here.”

Jonte looked away from Seb to find the guy who had been playing the piano on the right-hand side of the stage yelling out.

“I’m so sorry. I’m wasting your time,” she muttered, her confidence fading fast.

“Ignore him.” Seb flipped the guy the bird. He pulled two drumsticks out of his back pocket and used them to point to the stage. Huh, how had she not seen the drum kit nestled in between the pianos?

“Marcus, get up for a sec, will ya?” Seb yelled out and motioned for Jonte to follow him. “Play something.” He leaned against the piano Marcus the arrogant asshole had just vacated.

“What should I play?” Jonte asked, unsure of what was appropriate.

“We play anything and everything here,” Marcus said, and she couldn’t miss the malice in his voice. Yep, definite douchebag.

“Play something I can join in with.” Seb ducked around her, sliding onto his stool behind the drums.

“Okay.” Jonte blew out a deep, fortifying breath.

Something he could play along with? Cash had been surprised that she’d been a Stones fan. Maybe the element of surprise would work here too? No doubt Marcus expected her to belt out some Taylor Swift, which of course she could do, if she wanted to.

Her hands skimmed the keys, playing the opening of “Paint It Black.”

“Oh, yeah.” Seb’s words were almost a growl and he pounded down on the drums, his intro starting just short of where it should have been.

Jonte huskily sang out the first few lines, and then she heard the piano across from her join in. The other pianist sang the chorus along with her.

She turned to check out Seb. He seemed in his element, thrashing away on the drums. As if sensing her, he glanced up, catching her watching him, and smiled.

“You’re good,” Seb puffed out when they finished. His compliment warmed her insides, making her think maybe being here in Nashville wasn’t so crazy after all.

“So is half of Nashville,” Marcus bit out and stormed off.

“Ignore him, he’s just jealous,” the other piano player said when Marcus was out of earshot. “I’m Dean.” He waved and tucked his straggly shoulder-length hair behind his ears.

“Jonte.” She waved back.

“We need to get you in front of Sierra. She’s the owner and I’m pretty sure she’ll love ya. Come by tomorrow night for open mic night. Dean and I will play with you.”

“For real?” She tried to play it cool but was giddy, her head just about spinning from the thrill of getting to play with the two guys again in front of a live Nashville audience.

“Yep. Do you know, “The Devil Went Down to Georgia”?” Dean asked.

“Sure. But won’t we need a fiddle player?” Jonte replied. Back home she loved practicing that song with her best friend, Mimi, for a bit of fun. Jonte on her piano, Mimi on her a violin.

“Nah, drums and piano’ll be fine. We do it all the time. It’s a crowd favorite. Now we don’t make hiring decisions, but Sierra’s always on the lookout for talent.” Seb jumped up from his stool, walked back around, and plonked himself down next to Jonte, his thigh rubbing up against hers. “Hand me your cell.”

Jonte fished her phone out of her purse, her shaky hand passing it to him. He typed on it for thirty seconds and she heard another cell ring. “Now you have my number and I have yours,” he said, passing back her phone and digging his own out from his jeans, silencing it.

Holy crapballs. She was finally going to get to play.

* * *

C
ash hated Wednesdays
. They were so damn slow it almost wasn’t worth even being open. But not opening meant his regulars might find somewhere else to drink and then not stop in on the busier nights of the week. Besides, in the scheme of things it didn’t really matter. Being slower meant he could unpack stock and clean up in preparation for the end-of-week madness.

Well, it looked like his Wednesday just got better. Jonte practically floated into the bar, a dazed look on her face. She didn’t have a shift tonight and he wondered what had put her in such a good mood.

“You look happy.”

“Your sister is a genius.” She grinned and slid onto what had become her stool.

Cash chuckled. “Well, I don’t know if I’d go that far, but she has been known to have her moments. Spill.”

“She sent me to The Big Bang
today and Seb and Dean are going to play with me at the open mic night tomorrow. Oh, shit. I’m supposed to work tomorrow night.”

“Don’t worry about work. Play? Play what exactly? And who are Seb and Dean?”

Jonte told him all about her morning and how she’d been so excited she’d actually gone shopping for a new outfit especially for tomorrow.

Cash was pleased for her, he really was, and that’s exactly why he didn’t mention the surprise he’d arranged for her tomorrow night. For the last two weeks he’d heard all about how she would show up to open mic nights all over town and then not sing. He’d finally decided enough was enough, it was time for her to just get up on the stage and sing. And so he’d organised for Dolly to come in and manage the bar so he could take Jonte to the open mic night two doors up where he’d play any damn song she wanted as backup on his guitar. Yes, it appeared in only two short weeks, aliens had invaded Earth and he’d gone and lost his damn mind. He’d just been hoping he’d be able handle whatever song she picked. After all, he hadn’t had a panic attack in years.

Christ. This was why he should have told Dolly his whole plan, rather than just snippets. But revealing everything would have led to discussions he still wasn’t ready to have, giving Dolly ammunition in her unrelenting you-like-Jonte quest.

“I really wish you could be there.” She pouted, making him almost want to be there too.

He wiped down the already clean bar top near her. “Yeah, well, someone’s gotta be here. You want a drink?”

“Nah. I really should go start on dinner.”

“Cool. Stop by tomorrow night and let me know how you went, okay?”

“Sure.” She slid off her stool and waved on her way out. Once she was gone, he pulled out his cell and left a message for Dolly, canceling their arrangement for tomorrow night.