“No!” I say loud enough that the people at the table next to us look over. I take a breath and try again. “No, it’s not a no.”
He cocks an eyebrow. “So, it’s a yes?”
I hesitate for a second as Austin’s face pops into my head. It’s not like he’s asked me to do a duet withhim. And he wants me to be successful. It’s amazing being a backup vocalist, but this is a whole new level. This is lead vocals.
“I just need to clear it with Austin and Paul first,” I say.
Noah waves that away with a hand. “No need. I’ll do that.”
I hesitate, but who am I to second-guess the proper etiquette of this sort of thing? It’s Noah’s opening, after all.
“So, it’s a yes?”
I nod, adrenaline kicking my heart into gear. “Yes. It’s a yes.”
Noah sits back and grins. “I’m glad to hear that.”
“What about rehearsing, though? I mean, we can’t just show up on stage and hope it comes together.”
“What do you say we eat this delicious food and then do a little rehearsing outside? How does that sound?”
It sounds, in a word, sublime.
24
AUSTIN
I stareat the dialog box on my laptop that’s asking me whether I’m sure I want to delete the channel or not. My finger hovers over theYesbutton.
I don’t know why I’m hesitating. I haven’t used the channel in a long time, and it’s not supposed to be up. I’m shocked it hasn’t been shut down. Fusion is pretty proactive about going after anyone utilizing their songs without copyright.
I guess when it’s songs they don’t like and don’t plan to produce, they don’t care as much. Though, why they took the trouble of producing the backing tracks, I’ll never understand.
I hesitate another second, then slam the laptop lid shut. I can’t bring myself to delete it right now. It feels like erasing part of me that already feels more distant than I want it to.
I check the time, my foot tapping on the floor of my bus. Mia’s not back yet, and I hate it. It was supposed to be lunch—supposedly business only—but it’s past three now. Plenty of time for Noah to mosey his way into Mia’s heart. I should’ve warned her against him, but I didn’t want to come off as being petty or jealous, which, to be clear, I am.
It’s fifteen minutes later when I catch sight of the two ofthem heading for her bus. My heart whirs like a power drill as I scramble closer to the window to watch through the gap in the curtains.
Please tell me he’s notgoing inside.
She wouldn’t. Shecouldn’t. Not when she got mad at me when she thought I’d spent the night with Paul’s girl.
They stop just in front of the doors to Mia’s bus. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see my breath steaming up the window. I have zero chill, but I don’t even care. I refuse to blink for the foreseeable future.
They laugh and smile and cut my heart out for thirty seconds, then Noah goes in for…
A hug.
Whew! That was a nail-biter.
Mia smiles, waves, and disappears into the bus. Noah stares after her for a second that has my jaw about to shatter from the pure pressure I’m exerting. Then he heads out.
I narrow my eyes through the thick window and nod.Yeah, that’s right. Walk away, buddy.
He glances toward my bus, and I hop back, praying he didn’t see me. That’s the last thing I need—Noah Hayes thinking I’m surveilling him.
I want more than anything to stomp right over to Mia’s bus and grill her about lunch, but I don’t. I don’t even message her—a decision I come to after writing and deleting four texts.
