“Yeah, and if you lay a hand on her, I’ll kick your ass,” Adam says through the microphone from the sound booth.
Noah walks straight up to me, wrapping his arm around me and dipping me back, pretending to kiss me, whispering, “You’ll learn I like to fuck with him a lot. Watch, he’ll be here in—” We’re ripped apart by Adam, and Noah falls back on the couch in a laughing fit. “Told ya,” he says.
I lean up to kiss Adam. “He was just messing with you. No one could take your place.”
The grin he gives me is priceless, and his crystal-blue eyes radiate back at me, filling my life with pure happiness for him. It’s more than this moment. It truly is him that’s putting my life back together when I thought it was lost forever.
“So, let’s hear it. What you got?” Noah asks like he’s asking me what I have to offer him to drink and not for me to sing in a sound booth for the first time.
I know, for him, this is an everyday event, but for me, this is an opportunity I was sure I’d lost. I glance around the room, not sure where to go and what to do.
Adam takes me by my hand into the sound booth, so it’s just the two of us. “Don’t be nervous. We’ll practice a few times, and I’ll be right here for you.” He tilts his head, and I can’t help but lean up to kiss him.
We get slightly carried away, and I hear Jack clear his throat over the loudspeaker. “Um, hello? There’s a child here,” he teases.
I turn in shock of what Cailin just saw and realize she’s not even in the room.
“Just kidding,” Jack says. “She went to get water. Just wanted to fuck with you. We’re here to make music, not more babies.”
Adam grabs the headphones and puts them over my head before picking up his pair. “We’ll practice a few times. Don’t worry about anything if you mess up. We have all the time in the world.” Adam’s voice is so reassuring and helps calm my nerves.
“What about the music? I’m not sure I can sing to nothing. How do I get the beat?” I ask.
“Don’t worry. Jack laid down the piano track last night.”
“Seriously?” I ask, surprised.
“Yeah. Once he gets on something, it’s hard for him to stop. That’s why he built this studio. It drove him nuts to have to quit and go home for the night when the place would kick us out.” Then, Adam says to Jack, “Play the track, so she can hear it.”
He nods, and a few seconds later, I hear the piano through my headphones. My eyes light up, and I can’t help the biggest smile that covers my face.
This is seriously happening.
Adam leans in to softly kiss me. “Let’s do this.” He smiles and raises his eyebrows to me.
I nod, and Adam heads to his spot next to me with a microphone in front of him as well.
We listen to the beginning a few times, practicing where he’ll come in and where our voices will merge together.
“Okay, let’s try this for real this time,” he says to Jack and then turns to me. “If you want to continue to your verse, go ahead, or we can stop and practice that a little more too.”
I nod and hold my hand to my ear, ready to feel the beat straight to my soul.
Adam’s voice begins, and chills run through my entire body. It’s so powerful, so manly, so … Adam.
I sing my quick portion with him, which is more harmonizing than actual lyrics.
To my surprise, I look over to see Noah right as he pounds out a beat on the drums when Adam’s voice drops, and he belts out the chorus. The growl-like inflection he does as he emphasizes certain words fits perfectly with the rhythmic beat.
It’s been years since I’ve been with a group of guys who just fit together like this. My band was the same way. One member could join in, creating a sound no one had predicted but was pure magic.
Thinking of my band both breaks my heart and heals it at the same time. I know they wouldn’t want me to live the way I’ve been living.
This is for them.
I place my hand over my heart, saying a silent prayer, knowing they’re smiling down on me.
The chorus is coming to a close, so I take the motivation I’m feeling from their memory and belt out the lyrics that Adam wrote.
