Violet Lane (Love is Music Book 1)

by R. M. Lynn

  I shrug. “I don’t know. In case you wanted to work on something for the project now.”

  “Ok, cool,” she says with a nod and begins typing on her keyboard. “So, I think the most important aspect is the song we have to write. Because we’ll have to get it perfect, and then we all need to learn it. There’s going to be practice that needs to come with that one.”

  “Right,” I say and watch her push her glasses up her nose.

  “I mean, I’m not worried,” she insists and looks up at me again. “You guys obviously know what you’re doing on that front. We should also maybe try to figure out who’s going to play what part and when. I know Noah isn’t much of a front man, so is it possible our popular song choice is one he can contribute to? Maybe something by Calvin Harris or Avicii. And then, with you and Dylan, we have two singers.”

  “Three singers,” I correct. “You sing. We should do a duet.”

  “A what?”

  “A duet? You know, two people singing together?”

  She rolls her eyes. “Kyler, I know what a duet is. I’m just confused why you’d want to do one with me.”

  I shrug. “I think the dynamic would be different, and we can do a lot with the song writing if I have you as my counterpart. We could really tell a story, which I know Fields wants us to do.”

  She adjusts her glasses and leans back against her pillows, silent. I patiently wait while she thinks it over. I know I’ll get my way, because my way is the best way. It makes sense. With her singing, Dylan still has his guitar. We aren’t the type of band to use the piano, so for us, it’s relatively useless. I know she knows this; she has to.

  Finally, Alivia says, “Fine, but I pick the song.”

  I give her a shrug and say, “Go for it. Pick the song.”

  “And I get to write the other one, too. You don’t get to hog it.”

  “We’ll work on it together,” I assure her with a smile.

  “If I faint,” she begins and nibbles on her bottom lip, “it’ll be your fault. And I want you to be aware of the potential consequences of your decisions.”

  I laugh out right and tell her, “I’ll carry that weight, I swear. I promise you won’t faint. In fact, I think it would be a great idea to get a leg up on that stage fright issue you have.”

  She scowls at that. “What do you mean?”

  “Once or so a week we go to this bar. Sometimes it’s after a gig, sometimes we go on a Sunday or even a Wednesday. But they have karaoke literally every night from eight to midnight,” I explain to her. “It sounds cheesy, and it totally is, but it’s another way to get our name out there. But next time we go, and the next time after that, you’re coming with. And you’ll perform a song. It’ll be great.”

  “Fuck no, it will not be great,” she retorts as soon as I finish speaking. “You’re insane if you think I’m doing that.”

  I smirk and reply, “Livy, what’d I tell you about cursing?” She clamps her mouth shut, and I chuckle. “It’ll be fine. I swear it’ll work, too. After a few rounds, you’ll feel like a pro on stage. The crowd is less in your face, and if you’re as good as you claim, they won’t even heckle you.”

  Her frown makes me laugh more, and she snaps, “I never said I was good. I mean, I guess I am, but even so.” I raise an eyebrow at her, and she finally blows out a breath and relents with, “Fine. Let me know when you go next. Okay? Just remember this when it’s time for the peer evaluations.”

  “I’ll remember,” I vow with a laugh. “So, we’ll do a duet for both sets. Noah will be in the first set with us for sure, but I’m not sure about the second one. Ayden and Dylan may just be in the second one. What song do you want to do for the first one so I can bring that back to the guys?”

  She thinks a moment before asking, “Do you like the Chainsmokers?”

  I give a nod. “Yeah, they’re good. Noah likes them, I’m pretty sure, so it should be easy to convince him.”

  “Awesome. And for the written song, how should we do this? I can open a google document that we can share?” she suggests, and I can’t hide my disapproval. “What’s wrong with that?”

  “I write all my songs in hand,” I tell her. “Don’t tell me you type yours on a fucking laptop.”

  She shrugs and explains, “I write using whatever I can whenever the moment hits me.” I look her over, smiling. She notices. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

  “I just think you’re cute,” I tell her.

  She blushes and cries, “What is with you today? Did you drink a truth serum before you came over here?”

  I chuckle. “I smoked with Dylan before I came. Maybe that’s it.”

  She laughs and throws her pen at me, the pen hitting my chest and bouncing to the floor. I rubbed my chest laughing at her laughing.

  “Ouch, that hurt,” I whine through my chuckles.

  “I highly doubt that,” she laughs back. When she sobers, she says, “Well, I’m glad we got that figured out. Next steps include writing the song and practicing both of them.”

  I grab my guitar from the foot of the bed and put in my lap. I strum the cords softly and look up at her.

  “What do you like to write about?” I ask over my soft playing.

  “For me,” she says on a sigh, “I like to use real life experiences I’ve had. But I also find myself watching other people’s situations and writing about that, too. Like Alice? She has this on and off boyfriend, so I wrote a song about that once. You?”

  “Real life experiences,” I tell her. “But I think it’s like that for most.”

  “Have you been writing a lot since classes started?”

  “Yeah, I always have a muse.”

  Her head tilts and asks, “What’s your muse because I’ve been having the worst writer’s block?”

  You, I want to say. However, I don’t. I make some bullshit up about the thrill of performing at our gigs at Taps. She buys it. Thankfully, the line of questioning stops when my phone vibrates in my pocket.

  “Hold on,” I say looking at the messages popping up on my phone. “It’s Dylan.”

  Dylan: Stop playing house and get your ass over here!

  Dylan: I’m fucking hungry, man!

  Dylan: Hurry up before I come carry your ass out of there!

  I look back up at Alivia and give her a small smile as I say, “Dylan wants to go eat. So, I better get going before he breaks your door down.”

  She nods and smiles weakly. “Yeah, okay. I’ll see you later?”

  Standing and grabbing my things, I tell her, “For sure. I’ll see you in class, and of course, at our next karaoke night.”

  She cringes instantly and shakes her head. “Don’t make me regret agreeing to this.”

  “I wouldn’t dream of it,” I tell her as we head for the front door.

  She gives me a small wave as I head out. I hear the door close behind me, and suddenly, I can’t fucking wait until karaoke.

  ◆◆◆

  Chapter Six

  Kyler

  It took three weeks before Alivia finally agreed to attend karaoke night. Three whole weeks. The only reason I let her get away with it, is because I saw her at least five out of the seven days each week. If it wasn’t in class, it was when she invited me to get a quick lunch during the week. I spent time at her apartment, laughing and hanging out, pretending to do homework. Sometimes she’d even come over to my place and sit around the couch with me and the guys. Of course, there were times when I didn’t get to see her, the times she’d be busy with school work. Other times, the worst times, she’d be busy doing whatever it is she does with Scott. Through the last few weeks, with the closer Alivia and I become, the more I’m becoming okay with just being her friend if that’s what she needs me to be.

  When Alivia approached me, and said she’d be willing to go with us for karaoke that night, I couldn’t hide my excitement or the shock. She actually approached me and asked to go. I honestly thought through those weeks she would never bring it up.r />
  Now, Dylan, Noah, and I are standing out in the parking lot of the apartment complex waiting for Alivia and Mackenzie to come downstairs. I can’t stop the smile that spreads across my face when I see her appear on the balcony and move down the stairs. Mackenzie is laughing and chatting a mile a minute. Alivia is scowling, but there’s a small smile playing at her lips. Once they approach us, they take turns hugging us. I leave my arm around Alivia’s shoulders after she hugs me.

  “So, we ready?” Dylan asks and claps his hands together.

  “I can’t wait for you guys to hear her,” Mackenzie tells us, and I tighten my arm around Alivia and grin down at her.

  “Looking forward to it,” I say.

  “Okay, well, I told Ayden and Oliver I’d go pick them up,” Noah tells the girls. “So, we’ll meet you there.”

  “I’ll go with you,” Mackenzie blurts out shamelessly. “That okay?”

  Noah glances at me, and I shrug before he looks back to her and answers, “Yeah, sure. This way.”

  They walk off to his car, and I turn Alivia and I toward my Jeep. Dylan climbs into the backseat while Alivia slides into the passenger seat next to me. Dylan’s hand shoots up and immediately starts fiddling with the radio.

  “So, your friend,” Dylan begins with a cock of his head toward Alivia. “She’s into Noah?”

  Alivia shrugs with a smirk. “She’s into attractive guys with nice bodies. I think it helps that Noah’s a nice guy, too.”

  “I’m attractive with a killer body,” Dylan insists. “What about the fairy? Alice, right?”

  “Unfortunately, Dylan, she’s currently back with Troy,” Alivia informs him.

  “Bummer, man,” I say with a chuckle.

  “Who the fuck is Troy?” he snaps. “That’s kind of bullshit.”

  Dylan goes on to rant about simply wanting a steady stream of pussy in his life. His word, not mine. Alivia apparently thinks it’s hilarious, laughing at everything he says.

  Suddenly, she pulls her phone from her back pocket and says, “Hold that thought, Dylan, I have to take this.”

  I turn the music down so she can take her phone call, my eyes glancing between her and the road.

  “Hey, Scott,” she mumbles into the phone and looks out of the window next to her. “No, I told you already… I’m going out with some friends… I already told you…” She glances at me as Scott says something to her. “Yes, I’m aware it’s a Thursday night,” she sighs back. “I’m not doing this with you, okay? I’ll talk to you later when you actually want to hear me.”

  She hangs up the phone and doesn’t say anything to us, just looks out of the window, body tense. Dylan’s eyes meet mine in the mirror, and I shake my head barely but just enough so he gets the hint to keep his mouth shut.

  He doesn’t, and he blurts out, “So, your boyfriend?”

  I can see her nibble at her bottom lip from the corner of my eye for a moment before she mutters, “Yeah, it was Scott. He apparently has been feeling neglected these past few weeks. It’s nothing.”

  Dylan snorts and replies, “Scott sounds like a bitch.”

  Can’t argue with that, I think to myself. I, of course, don’t say this out loud, however. Instead, I reach over and give her shoulder a squeeze.

  “You alright?” I ask softly.

  She gives me a fake smile and insists, “I’m fine. Let’s just focus on tonight.”

  Dylan and I drop it. I turn the radio up and listen to Dylan belt out every line to every song that comes on for the rest of the ride. If her mood suffers for the entire night because of that prick, I’ll probably kill him. I hate seeing anything other than a smile on her face.

  We pull up to the bar which sits closer to campus in hopes of luring in drunk college students. It’s not as packed as it would be on a weekend, but for a Thursday night, it’s pretty full. I lead our trio inside and to the bar. Dylan gets himself a beer and goes off to get us a table near the stage. I pull Alivia to my side and lean into the bar.

  “What do you want?” I ask, my mouth moving to her ear so she can hear me.

  “A boyfriend who isn’t such an asshole,” she says back with a shake of her head. Before I respond, she adds quickly, “Ignore that. Don’t listen to me. I’m just in a mood.”

  I put a hand to the side her neck, my thumb against her jawline. I tip her head up so she can look at me.

  “Please, don’t be,” I implore softly. “Don’t let him ruin this, please. Just be with me, okay? Be present with me.”

  I know my words can mean more than one thing, and maybe they do, but for now, I just need her to focus on having a good time tonight. She needs to learn to not be afraid of a stage.

  “Kyler,” she murmurs, her eyes searching mine.

  I swear to God, she wants me to kiss her. I can see it all over her face. The way she says my name. She wants it so bad. I want nothing more than to oblige. I move, my mouth descending. It’s mere millimeters away, her breath hitches, and then there’s a hand clasping my shoulder.

  “Bro, have you ordered a drink yet?” Noah asks me, completely oblivious to what he just broke up.

  My eyes move over Alivia. She’s blushing and breathing heavily as she turns to face Mackenzie. I give Noah a shove, when I know neither girl is watching me.

  “What the fuck, Kyler?” Noah snaps at me. “What was that for?”

  “You’re so fucking clueless, you know that?” I retort. “I was… I was so fucking close, man.” I raise my hand and move my fingers so they’re just barely touching. “This fucking close to having her.”

  Noah immediately loses the defensive attitude. “Kyler, I’m sorry, okay? I honestly didn’t even know. I guess I wasn’t even looking at you when I walked up. I was talking to Mackenzie.”

  “It’s fine,” I say dismissively. “I’ll forgive you when you buy the first round.”

  “Deal,”

  He calls over the bartender as Ayden and Oliver approach. They greet me and Alivia before going over to the table with Dylan. Mackenzie gets her drink from Noah and makes her way to the table. Four pints of beer are placed in front of Noah, and he looks over at Alivia.

  “Do you want a beer or something else? I can get you whatever Mackenzie got?” he asks Alivia.

  “It doesn’t matter,” she tells him and runs a hand through her hair. “Surprise me.”

  A moment later, Alivia has a vodka cranberry in her hand, while Noah and I hold two beers each and head to the table. I place the second beer in front of Oliver while Noah hands one to Ayden when we reach the rest of the group. I take a seat next to Alivia, and she immediately starts sipping her drink.

  “Thanks, Noah, for getting me a drink,” Dylan snaps and eyes the rest of us.

  Noah shrugs and says, “You already had one.”

  Dylan flips him off as someone climbs up on the stage and puts the microphone to his lips.

  “Evening, guys,” he says. “If you’re interested in doing karaoke, please come up to the deejay stand and let us know. Also, reminder, to be kind to those who may suck.”

  There’re a few chuckles around us. The deejay starts playing a popular song as a small line begins to form of people wanting to bare their souls, and singing voices, to a bar of random people. Alivia sucks back her drink some more.

  “Slow down,” I chuckle and lay my arm on the back of her seat to lean in. “You’ll be fine.”

  “How do you guys do it?” she asks. “Just go on stage and sing? And you do originals. My originals are so intimate to me. I can’t sing a cover, let alone my own song in front of a group of people looking to judge me.”

  “Nobody’s here to judge you,” I insist. “We all used to be nervous before our gigs. It took a little while to get used to it, and we used to come here all the time to help with it.”

  “Yeah,” Ayden agrees. “It’ll make it easier.”

  “Did you guys do anything to keep the nerves at bay?” she asks further. “How did you calm down before you went on?”
>
  We all smirk and glance between each other.

  “What?” she demands. “What was it?”

  “Weed,” Dylan laughs out finally. “We smoked a shit ton of weed.”

  We laugh, and Noah leans in to tell Alivia, “I don’t smoke, so whenever I get nervous I just focus on my music. If I know I can put everything into it, and I love what I’m doing, then all I can hope for is someone else to see that and love it, too.”

  She puts her hand on his arm and mutters, “Thanks, Noah.”

  I don’t like the way she’s touching him, my brother. I give him a glare from across the table. He immediately leans back into his seat, moving back away from her.

  “C’mon, Liv, let’s sign you up,” Mackenzie says and stands from her seat. “You’ll be just fine.”

  Alivia finishes her drink, grabs mine and drinks half of that, too. I smirk and look her over as she stands. I watch as they walk up and wait in line at the deejay stand.

  “What do we do if she sucks?” Oliver asks.

  “She won’t suck,” I assert. “She’ll be great.”

  Dylan looks at me with a raised eyebrow. “Have you heard her sing? How do you know she’ll be great?”

  “No, I haven’t heard her sing,” I admit, “but she’s talented. I know that much.”

  “She could shit in the parking lot, and he’d think she walks on water,” Ayden laughs out. “Try to maintain an unbiased opinion.”

  “Fuck you,” I retort and bring my beer to my mouth.

  Noah puts his hand on my shoulder. “I think your crush is cute, brother.”

  I knock his hand away as they all laugh. Mackenzie walks back to the table while Alivia makes a beeline for the bar after she’s signed up for karaoke.

  “We’re going to take a couple shots before she goes up,” Mackenzie tells me. “I was able to get her moved up the list, so she’ll be up after the next group.”

  I give her a nod before she heads to the bar. Suddenly, I’m nervous for her. She simply might not be ready to be on stage in front of a crowd. Maybe she’s more of a behind the scenes person, like Noah. I down the rest of my beer and lean back in my chair.