Chapter Nine
Ru hung up the phone feeling lighter. He picked up his guitar and leaned back against a stack of pillows. His apartment in San Diego was nowhere near as grand as the place Tommy had in Minnesota. He could have afforded something bigger with an indoor pool and his own studio, but he liked the open space and industrial walls of his loft. He didn’t need something that designers created to make his life a showcase. He just needed a home, which was why the furniture was more for comfort than style, and the square footage was more of what an average person would have rather than that of someone with millions of dollars to spend.
The reinforced walls meant he could play as loud as he wanted and not bother anyone else in the building. He knew there were other musicians in the place, he never heard them.
Right that moment it felt a bit lonely. And all he could think about was Adam, his little phone striptease, and how much hearing his voice had changed the course of his day. From shit show to inspired?
Ru strummed out a few chords, ran through a couple of Vocal Growth songs before moving on to practice some of his favorite musicians’ work. Most of the stuff he was playing should have been performed on one of the five different electric guitars hanging on his wall, but he really liked the acoustic. It felt good in his hands and sang sweetly. When he finally turned to the song he’d been working on for the past few hours, the melody just flowed.
He let his voice free, not worrying about matching up to anyone else or balancing out someone’s bass; it was all him. He sang the song as though he were singing it to Adam, smiling when the song turned suggestive and softening his tone when it turned sweet. After a few adjustments, Ru finally put the guitar aside.
His phone buzzed. A text from Tommy.
T:How was your day?
Long,Ru texted back.Herb didn’t like songs. Starting over. U?
T: AJ is douche.
LOL,Ru replied.Really, is everything going to be okay?
T: Probably. New guy is like AJ junior. Miss you already. So, bad songs?
R:Working on a new one now.
T: Yeah?
R: Cheesy love song.
T: LOL. About Adam?
Maybe,Ru wrote back.Definitely.He wanted to go back to Minnesota so bad, and not for the weather.
T: Come to studio. We’ll work on song together.
R: What about AJ?
T: Left an hour ago. Just me. AJ says my voice blows.
Ru groaned but packed up his guitar. As much as he didn’t want to go out, he would. He would do just about anything to improve his music, and maybe Tommy could help.
R:Be there soon.
At the studio a little while later, the place was dark and quiet, but the security guard let him in. Ru found Tommy in the band room plunking around on the keyboard. Tommy looked up and smiled. “So where’s the song? Let’s hear it.”
Ru cringed. “I don’t know.”
Tommy glared at him. “Seriously, man. It’s me. Sit the fuck down and sing it. If it sucks, I’ll tell you so, and then we can fix it.”
“You didn’t tell me the other ones sucked.”
“’Cause they don’t. They just aren’t great.”
Ru growled at him. “You could have said something before I showed them to Herb and made a fool of myself.” He pulled the music out of his folder and went to the copier to get an extra for Tommy to read.
“Herb is your producer, and it’s his job to produce good results from you. My job is to be your friend and supportive no matter what. Besides, they were pretty good for a guy who hasn’t written anything in months.” Tommy took the music and sat down at the keyboard. He read it over for a minute before grabbing a pen and jotting down a few things.
“Changing it already?” Ru asked, dismayed.
