I closed my laptop and focused on my bandmate.
The chords took a few moments to find, but then he had them, and the chorus began to form.
“What if you go a little higher?” I suggested, resting my elbows on my knees and steepling my palms together.
“Like this?”
“Yeah. And add a riff in the bridge.”
We went back and forth for a while, until Kaz put down the guitar and jotted down some notes.
Someone cleared their throat.
Molly.
I turned to look at her, suddenly remembering she’d been here with us this whole time. She hadn’t made a peep while we worked. It hadn’t been as weird as I’d expected to have her here, a fly on the wall to our creative process.
Her wide eyes flitted between Kaz and I. “Thanks for letting me sit in on that,” she said shyly and lowered her camera to her side. “I think I have more than enough for today.”
“What do you think of the songs?” The question tumbled out of me. It was the first thing I’d said to her since she came down, and I desperately wanted to know, even if it was ridiculous for me to continue to try to prove myself to her. She’d already admitted she was wrong when she told me I shouldn’t drop out to make music. What more did I want from her?
To see me as someone worthy.
Yeah, I knew for a fact that would never happen.
“The first one reminded me of some of the stuff you wrote back in River Valley,” she said, coming to sit down at the last remaining chair on the other side of the small room. “I remember you playing one of your originals to Ade back at our house and it sounded a little like this one. The lyrics went like… ‘Falling into deep waters never scared me as much as falling for you.’Do you remember that one?” She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I’ve always liked that song. It had a bold rhythm.”
She…remembered? I swiped a hand over my lips, trying to wipe the shock off my face. I remembered going over to their house to play that song for Ade and to get her help with the melody. I’d hoped Molly would be there. Finding opportunities to see her was my favorite game. She never came out of her room that day, but she must have heard it through the thin walls.
“You’re right,” I answered when I noticed Kaz giving me a quizzical look. “Kaz and I pulled some of the chord progressions from there.”
She smiled at me, triumphant. “I knew it sounded similar. I think it will be a hit.”
Kaz slapped his hand on my shoulder. “You hear that. Mase? You know it’s good if even our haters love it.”
I forced a laugh. “This must be a hallucination.”
Molly rolled her eyes and stood up. “Seriously? I’m not a hater. You really need to learn how to take a compliment.”
“Guess you’ll just have to compliment us more often.” Kaz walked to her and threw his arm over her narrow shoulders. He leaned into her. “How else are we going to practice taking them well?”
Molly plucked his arm off her by the sleeve of his crew neck, but I didn’t miss her sharp intake of breath when Kaz touched her. She sent him a furtive glance.
Was he already making inroads with her?
I didn’t want to see this. The flirtation. The subtle hints at something happening. Suddenly, I wanted her gone.
“I’m sure you’ll get plenty of compliments from all of your admirers tonight,” she said to Kaz.
A heavy stone dropped inside my gut. “You told her about the party?” I didn’t want her there.
Kaz met my gaze head-on. “Yeah, I did. Thought it would be a good place for her to get some pictures,” he said with a shrug, as if it were no big deal.
But itwasa big deal. I couldn’t relax around her. I’d be on my guard the entire night. “No. No pictures. People aren’t coming over to have their faces plastered on our social media.”
Kaz scoffed and raised his brows at me. “Are you serious? Your friends won’t give a shit about that. If anything, they’d like to get their fifteen minutes of fame.”
“I said no.”
