Crazy Baby

by A. D. Justice

  This gives me cause to smile slightly, and the corner of one side of my mouth lifts in amusement. “Well, we have next year planned out pretty well for each other, don’t we?”

  She smiles in return. “What do we do now?”

  “All I know is I can’t lose you, Andi. We’ll do what we have to do to make this work.”

  “You’re not mad?” She eyes me dubiously.

  “I’m not mad. I’m not happy, but I’m not mad. So, how does this touring thing work?”

  She knows what I’m asking without me spelling it out for her. How close of quarters will she be in with Travis?

  “It’s a forty-city tour, from mid-January through the end of May. A lot of the stops are on the East Coast, many even in the southeast, so I think those will actually be easy for me to travel separately and meet them there.

  “From the middle to the end of the tour, the venues are mainly in the Midwest and western states. That’s when I’ll be on the tour bus. But, I don’t know which bus since there is another act opening for them, too. It’s an all-girl band, so I just assumed I’d be on the bus with them.”

  The point I need to make to Andi has nothing to do with my jealousy or insecurity. It’s just a cold, hard fact. “Baby, listen to me. You need to understand something. Shane is a rare man. He really does look at you like a sister and protects you like a brother should. Any other man in the world won’t see you as a sister, though. That includes Travis Malone.

  “He is very interested in being more than friends with you, and he will make a play for you. Andi, it’s not that I don’t trust you, because I do. It’s that I don’t trust him to not try to make the most of his time with you—away from me.”

  She sighs audibly. “You may be right, Luke. He may be interested in me. He may even try something with me. But if you trust me, you should know that it doesn’t matter what he says or does. I’d never do that to you.

  “I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. This was actually a very hard decision for me to make. It means leaving the youth center behind, my friends, the gym, and now you. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting that one at all.”

  She squints her eyes at me, silently asking me about this little hiccup.

  “Yeah, that’s my fault. Mack asked me a couple of weeks ago about my future, my career, and what I really wanted. Then he offered me this spot in his buddy’s camp. This is probably the only time I’ll even have a chance at really making this a career. It’s just not something I can turn down.

  “He asked me for my decision when I went to the gym this morning, and I said yes. So, I’m officially in training now and will leave for camp after the first of the year. When he first asked, I just assumed you’d go with Mack and me to Vegas.”

  She moves to sit in my lap, and I wrap my arms around her, pulling her closer to me. Her sweet breath fans out across my cheek as she leaves a trail of soft kisses. Laying her head on my shoulder, she offers a small consolation.

  “If it helps any, Pop’s friend, Joe, wouldn’t let me help anyway. He says it’s a distraction to have a female in a real man’s gym,” she says with a giggle.

  “Mack just recently told me about that rule. Joe’s just afraid you’ll show him up,” I offer.

  “Yeah, I’m sure that’s it,” she laughs. “He’s the best at what he does, Luke. Listen to Joe and Mack, and you’ll be even more amazing than you are now.”

  “Speaking of, I have to get back to the gym pretty soon. Mack has me on an intense schedule every morning and every afternoon. I’m afraid I won’t be around much.”

  “It’ll be the same for me. Our concert rehearsal starts today, and I’ll be there every day until we leave for the tour.”

  “What songs will you sing?” I ask.

  “The label gave me some individual songs that are solely mine. I’ll have a few cover songs, too.”

  “I want to see you in concert. I love watching you onstage.” It suddenly occurs to me that I’ll miss her entire tour because I’ll be in training camp. “Will you be close to Vegas?”

  “We actually have two out there. One is in Phoenix and one is in Los Angeles,” she says excitedly. “L.A. is close enough to Vegas for you to drive out to see me if it’s during one of your off days.”

  “Damn, I’m so glad. I thought I’d have to miss the whole thing. At least I get to see you live in concert once or twice on your tour,” I say as the sadness threatens to overtake me.

  “Hopefully Mack and Joe will give you a couple of nights off in a row so you can come to the show and hang out with me before and after it. They have to give you some downtime,” she says hopefully. “Maybe they’ll even let me come watch you in the ring while I’m out there.”

  “We’ll make sure they do. Even if we have to dress you up as a pretty little man to get you inside,” I joke.

  “Let me know if I need to buy a wig,” she laughs.

  This tour will be a once in a lifetime opportunity for Andi, and the camp is undoubtedly an incredible chance for me. We each get to really give our all for something that we love—singing for her, boxing for me. Our love for each other isn’t in question, our devotion to the other is secure, and our relationship is foolproof.

  We got this.

  I think.

  Joe and Mack will keep me too busy to have time for much of anything else. Andi’s schedule and time on the road will be crazy with a forty-city schedule. My only qualm is that’s a lot of time for Travis to find ways to worm his way into her heart and mind. The bond they’ll build over the roar of the crowd and the excitement of the stage will be hard for me to compete with from thousands of miles away.

  Resolving to be a better man for Andi, I hold my reservations inside. I refuse to be the one who puts a damper on her good fortune. She would never do that do me, and she deserves this break. This is her time in the spotlight, her half a year of fame. At the end of this tour, if she wants to continue pursuing this career, we’ll cross that bridge when we have to.

  I just hope she still wants me after all the time we spend apart. Maybe my insecurities have a small part to play in my reservations about this whole concert thing.

  CHAPTER THREE

  ANDI

  “Wow.”

  There are no other words that come to mind as my eyes rake over the schedule. Rehearsing for my shows at the club has nothing on this grueling pace. My short holiday break is over and it’s clear that for the next eight weeks, nearly all my time will be accounted for with practicing.

  “I know it looks like a lot, but we do it at short intervals to help build up your vocal chords. A forty-city tour is pretty intense,” Travis explains apologetically.

  “No, it’s fine.” I glance up at him. The last thing I want to do is seem ungrateful. “I just never really knew how much time went into rehearsals leading up to a tour. Knowing you do this before every tour is impressive.”

  Travis smiles and his face lights up like I just gave him the keys to the kingdom. “It’s what we love to do, but I appreciate the compliment.”

  “So,” the tour manager, Katelyn, breaks in. “We practice here at the recording studio for three to four hours every weekday for the first few weeks, with weekends off. As we get closer to tour time, rehearsals increase to four to six hours a day. Closer to time to leave, there will be some weekends that we’ll meet to do photo shoots.

  “Andi—” she turns her eyes to me “—even though your set is significantly shorter than the others, your vocal cords aren’t accustomed to singing this much. You’ll have a vocal coach monitoring you to make sure you’re not straining too much.

  “You’ll have to build up to it at first with shorter rehearsal times, but you’re still expected to be here with the rest of the band the whole time. Plus, you’ll also have to practice with Travis and the guys for your duets.

  “Everyone else, you already know the drill. Get set up in your assigned sound rooms and get used to being in close quarters for the next eight weeks.”<
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  With that, everyone pushes back from the table and we leave the meeting room. Katelyn leads the way down the hall to make sure everyone gets where they’re supposed to be. Travis takes the largest room with Mike, Kale, and Drew, the drummer, bassist, and lead guitarist of Sound Bar. Before they close the door, Travis winks at me and says, “Have fun!”

  The girls in the other band take the second room. In the short time I’ve been here today, Cami, Leslie, Jada, and Crystal have made me feel like one of them. Cami, the lead singer of Fireflies, and I seem to have immediately bonded. As she walks into the room, she also turns to me and says, “Good luck, Andi!”

  I smile and give her a small wave as I continue on to the next room. The outer room is the control room where the audio engineer and vocal coach watch and listen. It’s smaller but my music is prerecorded so I don’t need room for a band and instruments.

  “Hi, I’m Dave,” the engineer extends his hand.

  “I’m Andi. Good to meet you.”

  “I’m your vocal coach, Linda. I’m looking forward to working with you,” she says warmly.

  Once I’m inside the soundproof room, the door is securely closed behind me and I put my headphones on. Dave walks me through the song lineup and says most everyone uses the first set as a warm-up. Linda agrees and advises me to simply pretend I’m in the shower and just sing normally.

  Umm, that’s really not helpful.

  After finishing my first run-through, I understand why Dave said that. My voice totally sucked. I missed cues, I was off-key, and it just overall felt weak. The second set was better, and each consecutive set kept getting better and better. Right up until I’d lost count and my voice started getting scratchy. Linda put a halt to my rehearsal at the first sign of a problem and shoved a cup of hot tea with honey at me.

  “You sound great, Andi,” Dave says as I walk into the engineer’s booth.

  “I agree!” Linda beams. “Now, drink your tea and don’t talk for a while. You still have to rehearse with Travis, but that won’t be for another hour or so. You should notice a difference by then,” she explains and hands me two ibuprofen pills.

  Smiling and nodding, I take the pills and go wait in the engineer’s booth in Travis’s sound room. When I take a seat, Travis is singing a brand-new love song that I haven’t heard before. Watching him rehearse it in this smaller, more intimate setting makes me wonder if he wrote it from a personal experience. His face is contorted in pain, his eyes are closed, and the emotions flowing through his lyrics are palpable.

  He unconsciously acts out each line of the song as he describes a love that was lost before it had a chance to be. The chorus is heartbreaking, and I’m completely enraptured by his performance.

  Girl, I feel you when you’re not here

  Can you not tell how much I care?

  But you’re with him, and you can’t see

  The one you love should’ve been me

  When he finishes the song and opens his eyes, they immediately land on me. His look of surprise can’t be masked, and he quickly averts his eyes. Suddenly feeling like I’m an uninvited guest, I quickly stand and turn toward the door.

  “Don’t go, Andi,” his voice calls out through the speakers in the sound room.

  As I turn back to look at him, he says it again. “Don’t go. Stay and listen while I sing it again. I’d appreciate your input, too.”

  I smile, nod, and take my seat again. Sipping my hot tea, the band starts the music again. Mike clicks off the beat with his drumsticks, and then the guys begin playing their instruments in perfect harmony to the words of the most beautifully written song of despair I’ve ever heard. It’s called “It Should’ve Been Me,” and from the chatter in the sound room, Travis just recently penned the song in one sitting.

  A stolen glance is all I get

  My love for you isn’t known yet

  He holds your heart, we can never be

  But this I know, it should’ve been me

  We laugh and talk, I hide my pain

  To be near you, time and time again

  What I would give to hold you tight

  Look in your eyes, and love you right

  Girl, I feel you when you’re not here

  Can you not tell how much I care?

  But you’re with him, and you can’t see

  The one you love should’ve been me

  If only I was stronger

  I can’t wait any longer

  I want you to be mine

  Until the end of time

  My friends all say to let you go

  My head says yes, my heart says no

  The love I hide is plain to see

  To everyone, but you and me

  Pick up the phone, give me a call

  I’m here alone, I’ll give my all

  He can’t love you, not like I do

  But one day soon, I will show you

  Girl, I feel you when you’re not here

  Can you not tell how much I care?

  But you’re with him, and you can’t see

  The one you love should’ve been me

  The one you love should’ve been me

  I jump to my feet and clap furiously like a star-struck groupie. The song is just so hauntingly beautiful and I know it’ll be a hit, especially with Travis singing it. I’m picturing all the crying girls in the audience when they hear this song live.

  Travis laughs lightly at my reaction and shakes his head. “Does that mean you like it?”

  I quickly scribble a note for the sound man and have him read it to Travis.

  “I love it! I’m not supposed to talk for a while, but if I could, I’d be screaming! It is so awesome!”

  All the guys laugh at both my words and at the sound man reading it aloud with a girlie voice. Travis crosses his arms over his chest, tilts his head to the side, and continues to hold my gaze with his. The smile never leaves his face, but it suddenly becomes more sensual. After a couple of seconds, the intensity in his eyes makes me look away.

  The sound man doesn’t seem to notice anything out of the ordinary as he tells the guys to take it from the top again. So, I chalk whatever I thought that look meant up to an overactive imagination after hearing their new love song. I take my seat and listen intently to his beautiful love song again.

  Travis is handsome and sexy all wrapped into one, nice-to-look-at package. I see a difference in a man who’s just handsome or just sexy. He doesn’t necessarily have to be one to be the other. But Travis is definitely both, as his screaming fans will attest.

  He’s probably around six foot something, but he’s not as muscular as Luke. Travis is more on the lean side but with a natural muscular build. Both of his arms sport tattoos—one arm is a complete sleeve and the other looks like it’ll soon match. His dark hair, eternal five-o’clock shadow, and bright smile are almost mesmerizing.

  But his hazel eyes can be downright hypnotizing. All of his emotions show in his eyes. When he’s playful, there’s a sparkle of mischief in them. When he’s serious, they turn more brown than green. When he’s being flirty, they change to a beautiful dark green, slightly narrowed, and he tilts his head to the side. It’s no wonder all the girls fawn all over him and can barely speak in his presence.

  Of course, his singing and onstage persona add to that overall sexy presence. I’ve watched videos of Sound Bar’s performances, and they give one hundred percent of themselves to their fans. Running back and forth across the stage to give everyone a good view, engaging the fans standing in the swarm of people on the floor, and pouring every ounce of energy into each song must leave them exhausted at the end of the set.

  I’ve just realized that I’ll have to do the same while I’m onstage. The feeling of intense fear mixed with immense exhilaration fills me. In one way, this is the most exciting thing I’ve ever even considered doing. In another way, it’s the most terrifying thing I’ll ever do. These guys pack the huge stadiums, selling out every show with thousands of screaming f
ans. I just hope I can live up to their fans’ expectations.

  Travis finishes singing the love song again, and this take sounds even better than the first. His eyes find me again and he grins at my ridiculously huge smile. I’m so green at everything, so I’m picking up a lot of tips from watching a seasoned professional like Travis. I’d swear that he feels every word of the lyrics in much the same way an actor puts himself in the place of his character. That gives me an idea of how to better approach my songs and strengthen my own voice. It’s actually what I’ve done during my karaoke skits, but I felt the words since I sang most of those songs to Luke.

  “You like?” Travis asks through his studio headphones.

  “Love!” I reply through the microphones in the ceiling of this ultramodern facility.

  “Are you supposed to talk yet?” he asks then tsks me with a shake of his head.

  When my hand jerks to cover my mouth, Travis tilts his head to the side and laughs heartily at my gaffe. Linda speaks up from behind me, holding back her own laugh.

  “I think you’re safe to talk now, Andi.”

  My cheeks feel warm all of a sudden, and I know they’re bright red from embarrassment. It’s rough being the newbie.

  “Are you ready to sing to me, Andi?” Travis asks.

  “Absolutely!” I jump up and grab the lyric sheets from the desk on my way into the soundproof room.

  We haven’t rehearsed these songs together yet, so I’m anxious to hear how we sound. We’ve sung other songs together, but they were just short clips for the public service announcement commercials. This is very different because we have to hit the cues just right, harmonize throughout the whole four-minute song, and be able to pull it off just as well live.

  Travis holds the second pair of headphones out to me as I approach him. Before I can reach out to take them from him, he fits them over my ears while his eyes never leave mine. As he moves my hair out of the way, his fingertips graze over the sensitive skin on my neck. I’m holding my breath as he inhales a ragged breath.