“If someone wanted a career in music, I’d tell them it’s tough. This life isn’t easy. It’s a one in a million shot. But if you work hard and you’re determined, anything can happen.”
Typical Morris. Short and to the point.
“Jayce, do you ever get nervous before a performance?”
I held my breath, wondering how he was going to answer. Would the question trigger his anxiety? He didn’t have that sickly, pallid look to him. Instead, he was relaxed, confident, giving the camera that patented Jayce look, cocky and mesmerizing at the same time.
“Do I ever get nervous before a performance? I think it’s only natural to get nervous before going out on stage, whether it’s the first, tenth, or hundredth time. It’s a good thing, I think. It means you’re taking the show seriously.” He wore his ever-present leather jacket and a white tee that molded to every delicious ab. I snapped picture after picture, trying not to focus too much on Jayce. “If you’re nervous, it means you feel the pressure to put on the best show you can. You never want to take your fans for granted. You should feel nervous because each show should be special and unique. I want every fan to have an amazing experience, every time.”
It was the perfect answer. I let out an inward sigh of relief. I should have realized Jayce could handle himself. He was a professional. He’d done dozens of interviews before.
“Kell, how do you handle mistakes during a performance?”
“Mistakes? What’s a mistake?” Kell turned to the rest of the band. “Guys, have you ever heard of this mistake thing before?” Then he grinned and sat back in his chair. “No, but seriously, all musicians dread making a mistake on stage, but it’s going to happen, and more often than you’d like. You can’t let one mistake trip you up. It’s hard, ‘cause sometimes it makes you lose confidence in yourself, but I just remember that even the greatest artists make mistakes. The trick is to just power through it, keep on going and continue putting on a great show.”
“Ren, what are your inspirations?”
“I have too many inspirations to name. There is one artist who just blows my mind, Miyavi. He was originally in a rock band, Dué le Quartz. That was more than a decade ago. Miyavi went solo and released some amazing stuff. He has this great style of playing, like he’s slapping the strings.”
“Have you ever met him in person?”
Ren laughed. “God, no, I’ve never met Miyavi in person. Only in concerts. It would be a dream come true, though.”
“Jayce, how do you and the guys juggle work with your personal lives?”
“When you’re touring all the time or stuck in a studio recording, it’s easy to forget there’s another life out there. It’s important to have down time to reconnect with the people you love. It helps ground you.”
“Yeah, so you don’t get a swollen head like me,” Kell interrupted.
“And is there love in your life, Jayce?”
I nearly bit my tongue. Why the hell was Deena asking that? I tried to catch her eye, but she wasn’t looking in my direction. Did she know? Did she suspect? How had she found out? Was I going to lose my job over one forbidden moment?
The corner of Jayce’s lips twitched up. “I did have a little something with one girl,” he admitted. “But that’s over now.”
“Do you think you’ll ever get back together?”
He fought back surprise. “I don’t know. I’m just focusing on the music right now.”
Nausea rose up in my stomach as I feared the worst, but Deena moved on and didn’t seem interested in pushing the matter further. I let out a breath of relief. Hopefully, the question was just a routine one. There was no way anyone could know what happened between me and Jayce. For all I knew, Jayce wasn’t even talking about me. After all, we’d only shared the one kiss. It made more sense for him to be talking about a previous girlfriend.
I was just being paranoid.
