“My voice.” Mia gave me a mock bow. “I play the chords I was born with.”
Wow.
Ava was also speechless before she cracked up again and gave her friend a playful swat. “What bullshit was that?” Ava cried. “You play the chords you were born with? That’s . . . that’s just . . .”
“Dickish,” I spoke.
Ava nodded, and Mia was scarlet. “I made it up in class today. We have to write bios for the upcoming arts show, and I wrote it down and hated it, but the prof was all gushing about it, and I thought I would try it out. Sounded bad?”
“A little pretentious,” I murmured as Ava was already sitting back down with a notepad and pen.
“For someone who hates to sing in front of an audience, you cannot say you play the chords you were born with.” She gave me an exasperated look as she turned back to Mia. “We’ll brainstorm; I’m fueled by cheese.”
My snort of laughter earned me a grin from both girls. “Okay, what do you sing?” I asked her. “Soprano, mezzo, or alto?”
Mia looked impressed as she looked at me. “I range between mezzo and alto.”
“You must be good to get in here with just your chords,” I told her honestly. “Okay, lay it on me.”
“Lay what on you?”
“Sing.”
“Oh.”
I watched the girl I had thought shallow and self-centered become a complete introvert in the space of seconds. I knew I must look as shocked as I felt. “You’reshy?”
“Horrifically so,” Ava answered as she leaned into her friend in a show of support. “Stage fright is real, hey, Mee?”
“It’s cracking hell.”
She also didn’t swear, and I thought that was peculiar. What was the point of a good rant if you didn’t drop the f-bomb a few times? Where was the satisfaction in that? “What if I turn my back?” I asked curiously.
“You’re stillyou.”
Ouch. “That is true.”
“I don’t mean it that way,” Mia apologized. “I mean you’reQuinn Lawrence, you’re intimidating.”
“Oh.”
“Don’t be silly,” Ava scolded her. “This is Quinn, she’s perfectly normal.”
Perfectly normal? Was that more of an insult? I wasn’t sure.
“Keep them coming, ladies, I’m here for a while longer,” I deadpanned. My phone buzzing with a new text alerted me to the fact that that may not be the case. Ava also grabbed her phone, and I realized the Devils were heading home.
Gray:You home?
Me:No.
Gray:?
I remembered his earlier text and his attitude and decided to fuck with him.
Me:With company
I waited as I saw the three dots come and go, and my heart stuttered when I received the thumbs-up emoji. Tossing my phone on the floor face down, I looked up to see Mia watching me, and I slapped a smile on my face. Her look was thoughtful as she broke the stare and reached for the empty pizza box to tidy up.
