Just For You
Book #3 of Play Me a Song Series
Written by Jessica Kale
Copyright © 2017 by Romantic Scribe
All rights reserved.
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Table of Contents
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
PROLOGUE
***
“That’s great, Sandy, keep going,” Jeremy said, fidgeting with his mixer. He sat hunched over like an old man, squinting at the keys as they seemed to move on their own. He had been working non-stop lately. Even the studio started to look a bit older. The clutter was building in the recording booths; cardboard boxes stacked one on top of the other, wires tangled together, reaching far across rooms. To Jeremy, it started to feel more like home. But he was exhausted. His head felt heavy, but he knew he had to focus. Only two verses left.
Sandy squeezed her eyes shut, tilted her head to the side and roared the last note. The song went out with a bang, and Jeremy clapped his hands together.
“And that’s a wrap!” he said. Sandy smiled at him and then averted her gaze to the door. Jeremy spun around, only to find Gabriella standing there with one leg out the door, dragging a carry-on behind her.
“Hello!” she grinned.
Jeremy bounced to his feet and ran to her. “You’re back!”
Gabriella let go of her bag and spread her arms out like wings. “Literally just got off a seven-hour flight,” she said, pulling Jeremy closer to her. He buried his face in her shoulder and drank her in.
“Ah, the sweet smell of your sweat. I had missed it,” he joked.
“Sorry,” Gabriella said, stumbling back a few steps. “Sandy!”
“Welcome back, Ella!” the singer said, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and giving her one of those awkward side-hugs. Their cheeks pressed momentarily before Gabriella pulled away and looked around.
“Is it just me or was this studio a lot cleaner before I left?” she asked, her eyes floating from one cardboard pile to the other. She walked around in her boots, drinking in the studio with all of its instruments and pedals and red solo cups. Her hair had gotten even longer, to the point where it now reached past her waist, and it danced along her back as she walked.
“See, this is what happens when you’re not here for three months,” Jeremy said.
Gabriella brought her hair to the side and started braiding it. “I think we need to start renovating,” she said. “It’s already been three years.”
“It feels like yesterday,” Jeremy said, tickling at his beard. “Harper Records had definitely come a long way.”
“It sure has,” Gabriella said, staring blankly through the glass walls of the recording booth. She zoned out for a while, her mind buzzing like static. Suddenly, she snapped out of it, as if someone had just teased her with a mild electric shock. “So did you watch my TED Talk?” she asked, turning around on her heel.
Jeremy nodded. “Of course,” he said, running to his laptop. “I have it open right now.” He clicked the spacebar on his computer and it came to life.
And not just because someone promised you money, does it mean that they promised you dignity. Not just because a top-notch producer promised you fame, does it mean that they promised you a good reputation. These are things you have to work for; they don’t come easy,
Gabriella’s voice came through the speakers. In the video she was holding a mic, pacing back and forth on stage, like she would during a performance. At one point she sat on a high stool, but then got off and stepped closer to her audience.
How many of you here have dreamt of becoming an artist? She asked. Tens of hands shot up from the sea of people sitting in front of her. How many of you here think they would never get seduced by money? Gabriella stopped and scanned the audience. Her last syllable echoed like a siren. The people’s hands went down one by one, and in the background Jeremy could hear chatter. Gabriella paced the stage like a lioness in a circus, while the real Gabriella averted her gaze elsewhere.
“It’s really weird watching myself,” she said, rather to herself.
“No, no, you should be proud of yourself,” Jeremy said, pausing the video. He looked at her with a glimmer in his eyes. “Gabriella, you’re not just a musician now, you’re an inspiration. And you’re inspiring other people with your story.”
“I just … it’s too much pressure sometimes, living this life,” the blonde said, absently playing with her hair. It hung in a fishtail braid down the length of her back; Gabriella had the kind of hair that put Rapunzel to shame. “I’m happy I actually have something to say, let alone sing, to my fans. It’s just the attention, it gets too much sometimes.”
“You have every right to say that,” Jeremy said, pressing the spacebar again.
Well the sad part is, you never really know how you’ll react when you’re closing a deal with a hotshot producer, when a hypothetical money bag is just sitting there on the desk between you guys, and the only thing separating you from that bag is a ‘yes.’ As a musician, I was seduced, but I fought it. All of you should, too.
Jeremy closed the lid on his laptop and smiled. “My God,” he said. “First your solo album goes platinum, and then this? It’s like I’m watching my little girl grow up.”
Gabriella leaned in and hugged him again. “You have no idea how much this means to me,” she said. “I would’ve never made it without you.”
“Alright, enough sappiness,” Jeremy said. “Tell me, how was the tour? Like, overall?”
“It was … crazy. I mean, it was much crazier than the last one. Lots of people jumping onstage. Oh, this one time a guy on the street came up to me asking if he could buy one of my eggs.”
“Your eggs?”
“Yes, my eggs! Basically he was asking if he could have my babies, literally.”
“What the hell?” Sandy said, her mouth open in an O-shape.
Jeremy chuckled. “That is pretty hilarious,” he said. “And flattering.”
“You’re forgetting creepy,” Gabriella said, rolling her eyes. “But other than that, it was amazing. It feels good to be home, though.”
“Wait,” Jeremy said, turning around and squinting at Gabriella’s carry-on. “Did you come here straight from the airport?” he asked. Gabriella nodded. “Alicia didn’t pick you up?”
Gabriella’s face turned as red as a beetroot. It was like she wanted the earth to open up and swallow her whole.
“Nah,” she said, smiling like someone was tugging at the corners of her lips. “I should get going. Long trip. This singer needs sleep.”
Without saying another word, she waved at Sandy, and turned around. Jeremy watched her as she grabbed the handle on her suitcase and wheeled it down the hall. He listened until the sound disappeared, until he couldn’t hear Gabriella’s boots anymore. The la
st thing he heard was the sound of the door slamming behind her.
CHAPTER 1
Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in …
Beads of sweat formed on Alicia’s forehead and stayed there. Runners kissed the concrete beside her; she knew she had to jog faster. She kept moving. Sweating was inevitable. Her skin took on a glossy shine and the salty drops invaded her eyes. In a way, it felt good. But in another way, Alicia felt like she was running away from something. She had gotten used to exercising every day, but going for a jog around the park fence was her favorite kind of workout.
She squinted against the sun. She was surprised by the warmth of its rays, the way it broke out from behind the clouds. No longer did it trickle heat, but instead, gave it to her willingly. Still the clouds lingered, but today it wasn’t a dense layer of gray. It was a chaotic array of white puff amid the blue. Alicia stopped, stretched out her hands and tilted her face upwards. She basked in the light, trying not to let her thoughts get to her.
The sun’s heat wasn’t strong enough to burn, and soon enough Alicia was back up and running again. The fence turned and she turned with it, until she arrived at a pond. It sparkled in the light; she was used to sitting down with her father on the park bench in front of it, but this time, all she wanted to do was dip her toes in the water. She threw her shoes off and walked slowly towards the edge, rolling up her workout pants and slumping down on the grass. She was breathing heavily. Lungs of a smoker, she thought to herself.
She looked at the kids running around the pond, trying to push each other in, laughing like there was no tomorrow. One boy was crouched down under a tree, which hunkered low to the windswept hill with its branches fanned out wide. Alicia loved that tree. Often, she and her father would lie down in the shade and listen to the squeals of those naughty spirits swinging between the branches like apes.
This time, one of the kids caught her eye. The one crouched down in the grass, and he smiled at her. She looked behind her, perhaps he was smiling at his mom, but when she found no one there, she turned back. The kid smiled again and waved, and Alicia compulsively waved back. There was something about this minute interaction that made her day. In another life, she felt like she might have known the boy. With his blonde helmet hair and his toothy grin. His eyes were alight, Alicia could see them from all the way where she sat. She waved again, and he waved back. But he didn’t run over to her. Suddenly he got down on his stomach, his face disappearing amongst the weeds. Alicia guessed he was probably watching insects. She always used to do that as a child.
Her toes were getting wrinkly in the water, but she didn’t mind. She thought she could wave at the kid all day, observing his little movements, the way his hair bounced up and down as he hopped around the grass like a toad. She felt warm. A part of her wanted to go over to him and hug him, but she knew she couldn’t do that.
My motherly instincts are acting up, she thought, brushing a hand through her hair. Suddenly her phone started to ring. For a while, she didn’t notice, but the buzzing was persistent, like a bee going crazy in her pocket.
“Hello?” she said, cradling the phone to her ear.
“Hey, pumpkin,” Daniel Harper said.
“Dad!” She smiled. “I’m at the park right now and I thought of you.”
“Let me guess … you’re sitting by the pond?” he asked. Alicia could hear the mischief in his voice. But more importantly, she could tell that he was happy.
“Yep,” she said, shuffling her feet around in the water.
“So what are you up to?”
She shrugged, then realized that he couldn’t see her. “Watching the kids playing. It’s actually soothing, believe it or not. I think I’m gonna be here for a while.”
“Since when did you like kids so much? I’m surprised.”
“I don’t know.” Alicia paused for a second, trying to ignore the honking noises in her ears. “How’s Paris?”
“Oh, it’s great. Your old man is having a blast over here.”
Alicia could hear the hustle and bustle going on around him. He had been gone for a while, and she missed him more than anything, but his happiness was her priority, just like her happiness was his. “Yeah? Define having a blast?”
“Well, remember that jazz festival I was telling you about? The one at Cafe Universal?”
Alicia nodded, her lips twisting into a smile. “Yeah?”
“I got a gig there last week,” he said. “It was incredible!”
“Oh my God…so you’ve finally played in Paris!” Alicia exclaimed. “I can’t believe it, dad. You did it!” Warmth radiated through her. In a way, it felt like she and her dad were walking down the same road together, except Alicia was joining him somewhere the middle. Both of them had started their journeys apart, but it sure looked like they were finishing it together.
“Let me just tell you, Alicia, the people who play there are insane,” he said. Even though Alicia couldn’t see him, she could imagine the look on his face. Happy and radiant. “There’s this guy called Jean-Paul Marc, amazing on the piano. We jammed together backstage.”
“That definitely sounds like fun.”
“It was.”
There was a sudden pause, and her father coughed as if clearing his throat.
“There’s one more thing I wanted to talk to you about,” he said, his voice trailing off. There was something unfamiliar, almost alien, about the way he was talking to her.
“What?” she asked, taking her feet out of the water when a security guard popped his head from behind the fence. She smiled to herself and got up.
“So, that night after my performance, this woman came up to me,” he said. “She said my music was great, and that she wanted my autograph.” He paused for a moment; Alicia could imagine him looking up at nothing in particular, like a child relishing in a memory. “I told her I wasn’t exactly famous in France, but she insisted … and then when I signed my name …” There was silence.
“Yes?”
“She looked down at the paper and then she went, I know you! Daniel Harper, I know you!”
“Wait, what?”
“Turns out, she and I go way back. She used to date my producer, Quinn Eliott. I remember I used to have a huge crush on -” Daniel’s voice trailed off. It was only then did he realize he had made a horrible mistake. “Alicia -”
“No, that’s okay,” she blurted out. There was silence. “Listen, dad. You and mom have had your issues for as long as I can remember. I didn’t expect you -”
“I never cheated on your mom, Alicia,” he blurted. His voice was coarse, like fragmented rock. Alicia could hear her dad clicking at his lighter, over and over again. “Sorry,” he said. “It’s too damn windy here.”
“No, that’s okay.”
“Alicia, you have to believe me. I loved your mother. She was the only woman in my life.”
“I believe you,” she said. Her eyes were moving from side to side, thinking they would at one point land on her mother. She would be standing behind one of those tree trunks, eavesdropping on her conversation with her father. Or perhaps she was with him in Paris, in one of those cars passing by. Maybe she was everywhere, and she was getting disappointed all over again. “Come on, tell me the rest of the story. I want to hear it.”
“Well … she took my autograph, we caught up, grabbed a drink. And then she asked me out.”
“Like, on a date?” Alicia asked, her lips coming to a smile. “And here I thought you were getting old!”
“We went out last night. It went pretty well, I think. The only downside is that she lives here and my whole life is, well, my whole life is where you are.”
“Dad, you know I support you one hundred percent,” Alicia said. “Even if you end up moving to Paris just so you can reunite with your former crush.”
“How very mature of you, Alicia Harper.”
Alicia laughed. “Just don’t send me those stup
id Christmas cards where you’re dressed up in matching sweaters.”
Daniel chuckled, and she heard him take a drag on his cigarette before saying, “Deal. Now, enough of that. How’s my little girl?”
“I’m doing okay … just taking a walk in the park, not much going on.”
“And Gabriella?” he asked, his voice boiling down to a whisper.
Alicia rolled her eyes, suddenly angry. “Dad, please stop asking about her. I don’t know anything about her,” she said. There was silence on the other end. The anger boiled deep in her system, as hot as lava. It churned within, gnawing at her insides. Finally she took in a deep breath and let it out through her teeth. “I’m sorry. I just don’t know what to say anymore.”
“Alicia, you can’t just avoid talking about her all the time. You’ve been in such a funk lately, I need to know that you’re okay.”
“I am okay, dad,” she said, a little too quickly. “I just don’t have anything to talk about when it comes to her. I don’t know what she’s up to these days apart from what she does at the studio. That’s pretty much it.”
“Alright,” Daniel said. “But if you need talk about anything, I’m here for you, okay?”
“Okay,” she replied. “Love you, dad.”
With that, she hung up. She put her shoes back on and looked around. The kids were gone, there was no one around. She felt more alone than ever. What was once a sunny park suddenly looked like a scrub of moss and weeds. Alicia looked down at her feet. Used needles lay amidst the shabby greenery; she cringed at the sight.
“I need to take a walk.” She limped down the sidewalk, trying not to think too much about Gabriella. She tried not to think too much about what her father said, either. It sufficed that he was happy, and that was all that really mattered to her. Still, sometimes she wished he could be more than just a voice on her phone. She longed to talk to him, face to face, without having to imagine him looking at her the way he did when he knew she wasn’t doing okay.
Just For You: A lesbian romance (Play Me a Song Book 3) Page 1
