“I didn’t realize you played,” I commented politely. He shrugged.
“Yeah. I was looking for a band to play with back home but couldn’t find anyone.”
“Welcome to L.A. everyone’s got a band to play for,” Ronny laughed. He wasn’t wrong.
I didn’t let them plug anything in, but the trio had fun going through the room and checking out our stuff.
“What exactly do you need?”
“We don’t need to borrow anything, really. We just wanted to see what you were using,” Lola said, frowning a little. “Our budget isn’t exactly the same as an established band like yours.”
I scoffed.
“The Homewreckers are not established. Sure, our other bands were, but we’re starting out fresh just like you guys. Here, let’s start with some of the basics. What are you working with currently?”
The rest of the evening Ronny and I went through Calico Cruise’s inventory and how they could improve things within their budget. When Cara woke up, the party moved to the living room to play with her and discuss music. Dinner arrived and we all sat on the floor and ate around the coffee table.
“Our first show after we upgrade everything and learn the new music is going to be fire,” Rosa said cheerily as she reached for a fourth slice of pizza. “I can’t wait to get on stage for the first time on vocals.”
I glanced over at Lola, who was rather quiet. I know she was bummed about getting taken off singing, but she wasn’t that good. If we were all being honest, Rosa was the significantly better singer. I leaned over and put my arm around the young girl. I squeezed her shoulder tightly.
“Hey, there’s nothing wrong with playing bass. There’s lots of kickass women who play.”
She crossed her arms and pushed a strand of her purple hair back. She took the purple from her mother. For as long as I could remember my Aunt Renee has had violet hair. Her daughter mimicked her. She threw her bright eyes at me with a smirk.
“I’ve already heard the ‘bassists are cool too’ speech. Uncle Derek’s been helping me get better. I just really like singing.”
“You still get to sing, stop being dramatic,” Rosa called from across the table. She stuck her tongue out and pointed her pizza at her friend. Lola shot her the middle finger, then turned back to me.
“She’s been enjoying the spotlight.”
“What can I say? I was meant for the center stage, right Jim?”
“Hey,” I put my hands up. “Don’t get me involved in this. Look,” I sighed and glanced around the room. Everyone was looking at me expectantly. “As someone who can play multiple instruments, I think a chick playing the bass is fucking awesome. Some of my favorite people are bassists.”
My eyes caught Ronny’s for a split second and my heart fluttered.Stupid fucking bassists.He was smiling softly at my comment, although his eyes were looking down. Lola shrugged.
“Sure, sure. Now is the baby done eating? Can we play with her now?”
I looked over at the infant still sucking on her bottle.
“Almost. She’ll need burped but if she stays awake for a bit then sure.”
Everyone hurried to finish eating and wash up so they could play with Cara before she fell asleep again. The girls were more interested than the men, which wasn’t a surprise. While they cuddled Cara, Ronny and Ben turned on the TV and started a conversation about guitars.
I sat back, completely content in watching them rather than engaging. This was how I wished things could be. Happy, relaxed, and almost no tension. I glanced at the clock. Tate should be finishing up soon, I thought. If he were here, that would make the perfect night.
Ronny must have seen me looking at the time, because he came and sat down beside me on the floor. He scooted close to me, and I fought the instinct to move away.
“Penny for your thoughts?” he asked. I smiled at him and shook my head.
“Nothing. Just enjoying the night. We’ve been kind of cooped up here these last few months. Everyone taking their turns coming in and out but nothing really meaningful.”
He didn’t say anything for a long moment, but then nodded.
“We have had a bit of a gray time, haven’t we?”
“Gray?” I raised an eyebrow.
