“Why do you need me?” I glare. “Go ahead.”
“Sam picked a high one. You ready … please?” He raises his eyebrows, and a whole apology plays across his face, like the obnoxious older brother I never wanted.
Sam and DC take water and towels, and I cross to the other side of the drums to see what Jace has. He nods to the slip of paper as he takes the water.
I glance down and snicker. Well, well, well … the tables have turned.
“She Will Be Loved” by Maroon 5. It’s Annie’s favorite, and I love to sing it, but I’mnotthe one who put it in.
“You just want a push on the chorus?” I look up at him for instructions, because we all know he’s got some.
“Yeah, especially the first one, then do whatever feels good. I haven’t sung in a couple weeks.” He bumps my shoulder in his typical “we good?” gesture.
He’s telling me to dowhatever? That’s a big responsibility coming from Mr. Stark. I bump him back.We’re good.
“Okay.” I look over, and DC gives me a nod as he picks up his bass. He knows I can handle Jace, but he’s keeping an eye on him.
Jace has a great voice. He sings with ease and agility the same way he plays guitar. He doesn’t need me, but I can’t deny it works. I carry him through the first chorus, but he’s smooth as butter from there.
Annie might need CPR before we’re done. Her eyes are glossed over, and she’s breathing shallow and fast.
Been there, sister.
Daniel’s eyes lock with mine while he mouths the words I sing, and suddenly I’m ready for this song to end.
“I’m drawing next,” I announce, hoping for a song DC sings.
Something inside me whispersJudeevery time I look at him, and it’s a warm fuzzy feeling I wish I could keep. I pull out “Hanging by a Moment” in his unmistakable left leaning print. He says it’s more comfortable to play guitar when he sings this one, but I love the bass part.
“Can you sing and play the bass on this?” I ask him, showing him the song I drew from the mug
“I can, but it won’t be great. It’ll be better if we strip it down.” DC looks at me like he’d do anything to make me happy. I think we’ve had way too much eye contact today. The music high is making me delirious.
“Okay, surprise me,” I say, because I’m all in regardless.
Jace looks between us, gauging our responses. “We could do ‘You and Me’ if you want to sing that together.”
“No.” DC and I veto in unison.
Jace nods with a smirk. “Okay then.”
Sam stands up to talk over the drums while people yell out songs. Some are great suggestions, but my heart’s set on this song now.
DC sings Lifehouse songs like he wrote them. He’s the only one with enough grit in his voice, and I’m helpless to resist, but we’ve had an intense twenty-four hours, and we’re not touching “You and Me” with a ten-foot pole.
I know it. He knows it. And it appears Jace has figured it out too, although kudos to him for singing Annie’s favorite song.
Hair metal is my go-to for a reason. I’ll sing anything, but sometimes deeper songs hit too hard. And my heart would unravel stitch by stitch if I let it.
I can’t go around singing my innermost thoughts out loud. It’s like saying “Beetlejuice” three times, and I don’t need any feelings sneaking up on me. Those suckers stay buried in a can in the backyard where they belong.
I motion them to go ahead. “However you want to do it. It’s always good.”
They talk about the intro for a minute, and Daniel pulls a stool next to his for me. He picks up my favorite Martin acoustic, and Jace switches to the wine-red Gibson Les Paul. These guitars sound amazing together, but it takes them a minute to adjust to this song’s funky tuning.
Sam picks up DC’s bass and starts running through the intro—which is fine, I suppose. He must be recording a loop because he’s tapping pedals. I’ve seen him do this before since there’s only three of them. Then he picks up his sticks and I’m not sure how he plans to pull off both, but if anyone can do it, it’s Sam.
There’s a moodiness Daniel captures with the bass that the others don’t, but if he’s going all in on the vocals—
