Natalie Barnes
Chapter One
I take one last glimpse in the mirror before I turn the light off. I walk out of the bathroom and into the bedroom of some Hilton hotel just outside of LAX. This could possibly be the day that my band may get signed. Full of nerves, I take another glance in the mirror above the dresser to check myself out once more. My hair hangs long and thick to the middle of my back with long layers I just recently had cut into it. My dark brown hair laid straight for now. But I know once I’m out in this heat and smog of LA, it will soon start to frizz and begin to wave.
I pick up a little bottle of serum I have in my makeup bag that’s on top of the dresser and I squeeze a small amount on to my palm. I rub my hands together and gently stroke my fingers through my hair, trying not to get too close to my roots right away so it doesn’t appear greasy.
The smell of it is heavenly. Not too fragrant but leaves a fresh clean scent behind. My tanned skin is glowing. Thanks mom and dad for the good genes. I never had to step foot in a tanning bed or had to get airbrushed. My dad is Italian and my mother is Native American. All I had to do was put on my usual dark eye liner and mascara.
Once I put the hair serum away, I pulled out a little tube of my lip gloss, smacking my lips together. Fuck, I’m so nervous. All of a sudden, my cell starts ringing. I drop my lip gloss and hurrying up, search my room for my phone. Where is the damn thing? I notice it on the chair in the corner of the room. By the fourth ring, I answered it all breathy— partly from searching so quickly for it and partly from nerves.
“What the fuck are you doing, Sophia? Taking a shit?” Roger, my drummer, is always the jokester and is also very blunt.
“Nope. Not shitting,” I say with a small smile starting to cross my face. The guys in the band are all characters. Just talking to Roger made
7 my nerves start calming down a bit. Just a bit though. “Well what the fuck are you waiting for then?” he says laughing. But I can tell he’s serious, too. “Be down in four minutes. Just leaving my room now.” I push end on my phone and started the journey out of my hotel room and down the hall to the bank of elevators.
We arrive outside the studio with only a few minutes to spare. This LA traffic is fucking insane! It has taken us almost an hour to get here. As we all exited the van taxi cab, I noticed my jeans ripped even more below my right ass cheek. Fuck! I love these jeans. They’re my lucky ones. I wore them during the first night I practiced with the boys when we decided to start this band back in college, during the first time we performed in little dive bars downtown Ann Arbor, and during the first time we hit the stage outside of Chicago for the metal festival last summer—which, by the way, is when we got noticed and got offered to come out here to possibly be signed.
“Well, darling, you knew this day would eventually come.” Cory, my lead guitarist, chuckles behind me as we walk in. “But, hey, the look fucking rocks so don’t sweat it!” A Cheshire cat grin slowly creeps across his face. I turn around and playfully smack him in the shoulder as we start entering the building, giving him a scowl when I do. He raises his hands in the air in defense.
I approach a large marble desk, seeing a very beautiful receptionist sitting behind it, talking on the phone. The image of a playboy bunny comes to mind, especially given her chest size. Wow! I’m surprised she doesn’t fall over. For someone with such a tiny frame, she sure was packing. Oh, great! The boys are gonna be drooling and full of hardons once they lay eyes on this one. I glance behind me before turning to speak with her. Sure as shit, they were all in awe of her. I give them a cheesy grin and roll my eyes at them before speaking with Miss Playmate of the Year.
“Um, yes, hello. I’m Sophia Ariel and this is my band, Dollar Settlement.” I gesture toward the guys. “We have an appointment with Lux Lufer. I mean Mr. Lufer.” I then give her a small smile with my hands behind my back, trying to seem reserved or some shit. She glances at the guys and a big smile starts to show on her face, showing off perfect Barbie teeth. She then moves her eyes back to me. “Why, yes! Mr. Lufer has been expecting you. Just take a right down the hall to the elevators. Go to the sixteenth floor. You will see another receptionist there. I will buzz her and let her know you’re on your way up. Then just wait for Mr. Lufer to buzz you in.” She gives us one last smile before picking up the phone to call, I’m assuming—the upstairs receptionist. “Thank you,” I replied and waved to the guys.
We started descending down the hall, then I began to hear comments. Like “holy shit,” “damn” and “fuck me running” coming from their perverted mouths. They’re like my brothers, but sometimes I feel like mother hen. I push the button to call the elevator, and all of a sudden, the door opens. What? No, wait? I need just a little more time before getting up there. This is such a huge opportunity, and it’s only a matter of seconds away. When the doors close, I turn to the boys. “So are we ready?” I asked nervously but still tried to seem upbeat.
“Hell yeah we are, sweetheart!” Jared says excitedly. Roger’s looking me over; he can tell I’m nervous as hell. “What’s the worst he’s gonna say, Sophie? He doesn’t like our fucking music or doesn’t see making sales with us?” He quirks his eyebrow up at me and continues. “He obviously knows we’re fucking good. He’s seen us in Chicago, then calls a couple weeks later offering us to come out here. He must like our shit.” Roger then leans against the wall and looks up smiling. He must be already thinking we got this. But one thing I learned all my years on this earth was not to get your hopes up. “Thanks, Roger. And if I start babbling like a girl in there, I give you permission to shut me up ASAP.” I smile at Roger while all of them started laughing and saying “Oh, sure” and “We know fucking better.”
The elevator doors open, and we’re there. Not even a stop on the way up to let anyone else on? Hmm? Maybe it is a sign of something good, but like always, I’m not getting my hopes up. It’s absolutely beautiful up here. Marble floors and walls covered in nothing but gold and platinum records. The lighting is dim, and right when you walk through the receptionist area, there sits a large dark leather sectional with a marble coffee table in front of it. Behind the sofa is a huge built in wall aquarium, filled with exotic fish that I never have ever seen before. And if you look closely, you can see through to the other side, which I’m guessing is some conference room. I turned left and smiled at the lady sitting at the desk. She looks a little older than Miss Playmate from downstairs, but she is just as beautiful. She stands to greet us. “Good morning! I’m Rachel. Would any of you care for a beverage while you wait for Mr. Lufer?” All of them were getting ready to throw a bunch of drink orders at this poor woman, so I turned to them and gave them my stern mother hen “not now” look. I turn back to Rachel, smile, and say, “No thanks.” She nods and takes a seat back down at her desk.
I was just getting comfortable on the sofa, regretting turning down the drink. Shit! Maybe a little scotch would’ve helped ease my nerves right now. Rachel’s phone buzzes. She stands again, gesturing to her right toward the metal double doors. “Mr. Lufer is ready to see you now.” Okay, here we go. Before going into the room, I hurried up and said a silent little prayer in my head for strength to get through this. Shit! Here we go!
Mr. Lufer’s office is amazing. The bloodred walls are also covered in albums. The office has dark hardwood floors and the windows on the far wall are tinted. The lighting in the office is also dim. Sitting right in front of the windows is a massive steel desk with two black leather chairs in front of it. Mr. Lufer stands wearing a charcoal colored suit. His black hair is slicked back with a little salt and pepper coloring the sides. He is a short man, so when he approaches us, the guys are like trees towering over him. “Hey, how’s it going?” He smiles as he shakes a
ll of our hands. “Please take a seat.” He gestures toward the black leather sofa and the two chairs in front of his desk. We all take our seats with Roger and me taking our places right in front of his desk.
“So . . . Let’s get to the rat killing shall we?” He laughs at himself. Lux seems like a really cool guy. “I want to sign you guys. A five album deal. And you must tour before releases of any new albums.” He leans back in his chair and rests his feet on his desk. He has some pretty nice shoes. They are so shiny I can literally see myself in them. Wait! Did he just say he was signing us already? I didn’t realize I was staring at him with my mouth wide open. I’m left speechless.
Roger leans over to me and starts patting my back, and all I could hear is the echoes of excitement from the other guys in the background. “I will start going over the terms of the contract with you guys now if you’re ready?” He looks right at me with a puzzled look on his face. No doubt with what my face must look like right now. “Okay,” I squeaked, “good.” He then proceeded with the details of the contract.
After everything was said and done, we all stand and take turns to shake Lux’s hand. “All right, guys and gal.” He turns and gives me a half smile; then, he keeps walking forward out of his office. “I know these next five weeks is going to be pretty damn tight. But you guys know that I’m going to be putting Dollar Settlement on tour in a little over a month, so we have lots of work to do. I’m about to show all of you the studio. Get comfortable. You will be seeing a lot of it from now on.” We start going down just a few floors in the elevator when Lux starts speaking up again. “Now, one of the reasons why I’m pushing so close to this tour date is because I need an opening act for one of my main bands. The other group I dropped because they wouldn’t stop dicking around.”
The doors to the elevator open, and we all follow his lead down another dimly lit hallway. “So anyways, I know you guys can do it. And your material is great, so I’m not worried about that. But don’t start fucking around because I do like to run a tighter ship here.” We approach the metal double doors at the end of the hall. They are just like the ones to his office. He turns around to face us and gives us an all-out smile before opening the doors to the studio. I wonder what band it is. Lux stays quiet for a few more moments building up the tension before he speaks again. “The band you guys will open for is Undead Society.”
“Fuck yeah!” Jared, my bassist, exclaims. He is so excited right now. It’s one of his favorite bands of all time. All of us are looking at each other with excitement and a couple high fives going on. Undead Society is truly one of the best metal/rock bands out there. Think of Corey Taylor from Slipknot and Stone Sour. That is how Undead Society is. And maybe with a little “Lamb of God” style thrown into the mix.
Lux turns away and pushes the metal doors open. All of a sudden, we hear loud jamming going on. Wow! Talk about excellent soundproof walls. One more dark little hallway to go down, and then, we’re in the booth. Staring into the glass, I notice the sexiest man I have ever seen in my life, yelling into the mic that’s standing in front of him. I instantly knew who he is. Tristan Scott! Lead singer and one of the guitarists for Undead Society. Wow, he’s so fucking hot! Butterflies start to take flight in my stomach.
Chapter Two
As I stand in the booth staring into the glass as Undead Society is wrapping up, I can’t seem to take my eyes off of Tristan. He stands really tall—about 6’5” and with what looks like a kind of body that almost all bodybuilders would have. Only, his muscles aren’t obscene and gross looking like some of those guys on TV. The way he wears his black sleeveless shirt makes my mouth start to water. It is practically sticking to his chest from how ripped and toned he is (and maybe the little bit of sweat he has on him helps that, too). His distressed jeans hang right off his broad hips with a black belt keeping them in place. His jeans are loose fitting, too, but not that gangster style. He’s so sexy. Damn, I can stare at him all damn day. His left arm has a tattooed arm sleeve, and his right upper arm has what looks like a tattoo that goes down his side or back. Not really sure what it is, but wow! His hair is dark and wavy that’s kind of outgrown but trimmed shorter on the sides and back. Oh, how I would love to stroke my fingers through his thick hair! He’s also wearing dark aviator sunglasses. Short facial hair covers his face, and he has the most kissable, full lips I have ever seen on any man. Now, I’m glad that I’m wearing my lucky jeans. Besides the new rip I have in the back, they are very form fitting with a hole from years of wear and tear on my left knee. I’m also wearing a simple tight white V-neck shirt that shows some cleavage. I’m not like playboy lady at the reception desk, but a full C cup is good enough, I think. With the shirt being white, you can easily see my black bra underneath. The dark eyeliner and mascara make my blue eyes pop even more. I give myself props in my head for not looking jet-lagged today.
I glance around at the guys, who are all taking their places in the booth and getting ready to meet the Undead Society guys—since, after
12 all, we will be with them for seven weeks. The door to the booth opens; and what looks like Caleb, their lead guitarist, enters the room first. He is kind of surprised when he notices all of us in there just hanging out. The rest of the guys come in with Tristan being the last one to enter. I notice instantly that he is staring at me. My stomach starts flipping all over as if I just went on some big drop ride. But then I notice his jaw clenching. What the fuck? “Hey guys!” Lux says. “Just wanted you guys to meet the new band I signed today. They will be joining you guys on tour. They’re Dollar Settlement and they can jam. I went out and saw them in Chicago last month.” Lux looks over to me and points. “This is Sophia. She’s lead vocals. But don’t let that pretty face of hers fool ya. This chick has a set of lungs on her.” I blush and look around the room. The rest of the guys smile and give me a quick nod, except Tristan. He just glanced at me then turned his attention back on Lux. Well, I think he glanced at me? It’s too hard to tell with those damn sunglasses on. Why the fuck is he wearing them in such a dark room? Maybe he’s high or something. Or maybe he’s trying to come across as a badass or some shit. Whatever! He can kiss my ass.
Lux turns toward Roger, who is standing a couple feet away from me. “This here is Roger. He’s the drummer.” Roger reaches out and shakes all of their hands. What a nice gesture. You can so tell he is a small town Michigan boy. When he reaches for Tristan’s hand, he looks so small. Normally, Roger is like our giant. When we go out to other places, he’s reaching at 6’2. But with him standing right next to Tristan, Roger just seems average. “This is Cory. He’s the lead guitarist, and Matt who is rhythm.” Lux then looks behind him to see a still shockedlooking Jared and gives him a reassuring wave closer. “And last but not least is Jared. He’s bass. And I think he’s a big fan.” Lux and a few of the other guys start laughing while Jared shakes it off. Everyone except cranky Tristan, that is. Damn it! I can already tell this is going to be a long fucking seven weeks.
“Okay, so before I leave you guys to all meet each other, I have just a few more things to say to the newcomers.” He goes and looks at me and my boys. “This is your studio now. You guys have to start pumping now that you guys are in a time frame. You can start right now, tonight, whenever. Just get fucking cracking, all right?” He does an all-teeth smile again. “Outside is Beth. She will have the keys to the studio for you guys. I will let security know as well. Day or night. I mean it. Oh, and one more thing . . . ” He points to the quiet man sitting at the board with his hat bent forward. “This is Gage. He will be here almost all of the time to set it up for you guys. And if he’s not here, then call him. Understood? Time is money, so I don’t want any of it wasted. Clear?” The last part kind of sounded like something a father would say. Or maybe even a sheriff? “You got it Lux,” I say with a smile. I’m so ready to get in there and start rehearsing. The rest of the guys all nodded and exchanged handshakes before starting to go in and check out the room.
As I turn to
follow them into the room, Tristan looks down at me before leaving and very coldly says, “This isn’t no bar gig. You fuck up on tour makes this label look like shit. I have shares here, so I don’t want myself looking like shit. You got it?” Um . . . What in fuck sakes did this piece of asshole shit just say to me! Keep calm, Sophia. Be professional. I repeated this in my head three or four times to calm myself down. If the other guys were in here, Tristan would be lying flat on the floor right now. Well, maybe not because he’s so huge, but he would’ve definitely gotten smacked at least once. The boys can be very protective of me. I then looked up to him, trying to stare at what I think are his eyes. It’s so hard to tell with the darkness in the room and his sunglasses being on.
Crossing my arms with a little smirk playing across my lips, I say, “I think my little band can manage. Are you done? Because I have some work to do.” I smile as sweetly as I can. Shit! Being fake nice like this really hurts my face. I want nothing more than to claw this motherfucker eyes out. I know my band is damn good. We worked so hard for the last eight straight years. Since freshman year of college, we were a band and were playing all of our own material, too. No covers. Sometimes for fun, we would throw some covers in our gig; but mainly, it was our shit. Did I say Tristan is a piece of shit?
I didn’t even give him a chance to respond to what I just said to him as I started to walk by him. This booth is kind of small, and when you have someone as big as Tristan in it, well . . . I accidentally brushed my arm against his as I was trying to get into the other room, where my band was. That moment when my arm briefly touched his, it sent instant shock waves through my veins and cooled and heated my blood all at the same time. Damn. I don’t want him to see me rubbing the goose bumps off. When I finally got inside, I could hear the main door outside the booth slam shut. “What the fuck was that?” Matt asked. I just shrugged my shoulders and said, “Well, since we’re all here now, do you think we should start?” I look over at Gage, who was in the booth looking out at us nodding. Good! I’m all of a sudden in the mood to scream.
Everything I Want Page 1
