“I get two Sundays off a month. This is one of them.”
“And… you’re here?”
She gave me a scathing look. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
I was still stammering my way through a polite response when—
“Thiswas your bright idea?” Ramona’s arms were folded over her chest, foot tapping impatiently as she watched us approach. The gaping back doors of a trashy van framed her slight build, making her look even smaller.
At the sound of her voice, three guys emerged inside the van and in front of it. I recognized them instantly as Ramona’s bandmates, and realization closed in. Sage’s SOS very likely had nothing to do with her.
We drew up to Ramona and the back of the van, and Sage confirmed my suspicions.
“They have soundcheck in an hour, and Melvin just lost his speaker cab.” She pointed out the beat-up 4x12 wooden box with split joints hanging out on the asphalt.
“Hand-me-down from my grandpa,” a guy with hair longer than Sage’s said. Melvin, most likely. “Killer sound, but it’s been through it.”
“Aiden.” I held out my hand, but he responded by beating a fist to his chest and jutting out his chin. So I took my hand back and cleared my throat.
“So… Can you fix it?” Sage asked, sounding hopeful instead of full of it. For a change.
“Quickly,” Ramona added. “Can you fix it quickly, is what she meant.”
Something in my gut twisted. Maybe I’d been stupid to think Sage asked me here for a different reason. A reason that had more to do with us than her best friend’s band.
But I pushed it aside and forced a smile on my face. “I sure wish you mentioned I’d need my tools.”
“I told you it was an emergency.” And the incredulous pout she gave was totally uncalled for. Pulled all my attention to her lips.
Goddamn her.
I shook my head, and took a breath that I hoped came off as a sigh of exasperation instead of what it actually was… Me getting my shit together.
“Actually, all you said was ‘SOS’,” I replied.
“Are you hiding any other talents? Because it’s not like I’d be asking you to come out here and play hockey.”
Touche.
I crouched to give the speaker cab a closer inspection, and the band milled around, imposing on my personal space. The back panel had totally separated, two base joints were shot, and they were giving me an hour.
“It’s probably time for an upgrade,” I said, running my finger over one of the jagged edges.
“That’s not happening today,” Melvin said simply.
When I stood, they were all staring at me as if I held the answer to their prayers in my hands. “Honestly, man, it’ll be faster to hit a pawn shop and pick up a used cab. For me to put this thing back together—”
“The last gig we played,” Ramona cut in, looking me dead in the eye, “we ended up owing the bar money. That’s how little money we make.”
“Yeah, we play in the negative,” Melvin added. He almost sounded proud of the fact. “So it’s you, or nothing.”
I looked at Sage, and her unmoving gaze gave me the only right way to respond in this situation. She had texted me today when she’d been avoiding me like the plague. That should’ve told me how much it meant. To her, and to Icy Veins.
“There’s always something rolling around the back of my truck,” I said with a sigh. “I might be able to help you guys out.”
High-fives and whoops echoed in the deserted alleyway, with the guys going so far as to slam their chests together in celebration. Sage tried to stop it as it happened, but the hint of a smile curled her lips and it was the single deciding factor in my final decision. There may have been no hope for anything happening between us, but being the one she called, and the one who could make her smile like that did something to me.
“It’ll be a temporary fix,” I said, managing their expectations. “I stand by what I said before—”
