Summer Love (Senior Year (Vol. 1))

by Marysue Hobika

  “What are you wearing?” he asked.

  I had on a short flowing sundress with my new cowgirl boots. My bangs were braided off to the side, while the rest of my hair hung in waves down my back. It was a fresh look that complemented the music we’d be playing. Becca had helped me pick out the outfit, declaring that the guys would go crazy when they saw me, and that it wouldn’t matter if I sang a wrong note because they’d be too distracted by what I was wearing to even care. I could tell by the look on Drew’s face that Becca might be on to something.

  “Don’t you like it?”

  “I hate it. Trust me, I’m a dude. I know how guys think. You should change.” He stood firm, crossing his arms across his chest.

  “It’s Becca’s dress. She let me borrow it,” I said.

  “I still hate it.”

  “Really? Because I remember you telling her she looked great, or was it bangin’ when she was wore it?”

  His face turned red. “That was different.”

  “No, it’s not. Grab your keys ’cause I’m not changing. I’m ready when you are.” Speaking my mind was getting easier and easier all the time.

  Drew pulled up in front of Ed’s house. “Have fun at the concert.”

  “Car,” he said, holding onto my arm.

  “Yes …”

  “I’m proud of you. You’re different. You’re not the shy, quiet violinist anymore. You’re a sassy, outspoken fiddler. You’re going to do great tonight. I’m sorry I won’t be there to see it, but I promise I’ll be there cheering you on from the front row when you play later this summer at the Summer Jam. Break a leg.” He reached over and gave me a quick squeeze. “Mom would be proud too.”

  I held back my tears. “Thanks, Drew. You’re the best.” Even though we sometimes disagreed on things, we always looked out for one another.

  I gathered my things and shut the car door. I made it halfway up the driveway when Drew rolled the window down and shouted, “Warn Becca that she and I are going to have a talk about that outfit. And you’d better come clean and tell me if I need to give anyone a serious pounding.” Typical Drew. Always trying to get the last word in no matter what, even if he’d just taken Brother of the Year honors with his previous comments.

  “Bye, Drew,” I said, annoyed.

  I continued up the driveway and pushed open the side door. The plan was to rehearse a few songs before carpooling to the party. “Hi,” I called out, entering what seemed to be my second home these days.

  I immediately noticed Brady sitting on the couch tearing apart the outer wrapper of a Pepsi bottle. “Are we the first ones here?” I put my case down on the coffee table and looked around.

  “Looks like it,” he responded, without bothering to look up.

  “Where’s Ed?”

  “Don’t know,” he mumbled. I wasn’t sure what I’d ever done to him, but it was clear he’d never warmed to the idea of me being in the band.

  Suddenly worried I had the wrong time, I asked, “We were supposed to be here at three to warm up, right?”

  “Yup.”

  I sat down on the edge of the couch opposite Brady. I pulled out my phone to check the time and see if there was a group text that maybe I’d missed. I scrolled through my messages—nothing. Whatever. Everyone else was probably just running late.

  “Do you always have to do that?” Brady grumbled.

  My face flushed. “Do what?”

  “Hum,” he said, still not making eye contact.

  My face flushed even redder. “Sorry, I didn’t realize I was humming. It’s a habit.”

  “Well, stop.” Brady was being an ass, and it was making me anxious.

  I stood up and opened the fancy fiddle case. Music calmed me, when I was nervous. And I was nervous. Without taking it out, I gently stroked her, feeling the satiny smooth, purple surface beneath my fingertips. She was beautifully crafted, like a fine piece of art. I had yet to perform a solo in front of an audience larger than five or six people. I grimaced. In a couple hours, I would be performing with the band in front of a large crowd. Ed said there’d be at least 200 people at the party tonight. I sighed and carefully took purplicious out of her case. I hoped I could pull this off and make her proud.

  “You aren’t going to play that thing now, are you?” sneered Brady. I had been deep in thought and had forgotten that he was here.

  Trying to ignore him, I settled her under my chin. “I thought I might as well practice until everyone else gets here.” What is his problem?

  “Why bother? It’s not like it’ll make a difference.” His face was contorted in anger.

  I took it off my shoulder. “What do you mean?” I spun to face him, remembering the promise I’d made to myself to be more assertive, especially since I’d never done anything to Brady to warrant his hatred.

  Brady stood. “You know as well as I do that you shouldn’t be in this band. It’s a boy band.”

  My mouth fell open. Is that why he hates me? Because I’m a girl?

  At that exact moment, the door flung open and in waltzed Nate and Connor laughing. “Hey, guys. Sorry we’re late,” said Nathan, interrupting our conversation. He seemed to sense something was wrong because he looked from Brady to me, and then back to Brady, shooting him an accusatory look. “What’s going on?”

  “Nothing,” Brady shrugged, still picking at the Pepsi label.

  I didn’t want the night to start off with drama and I felt comfortable enough in my own skin to handle the Brady situation internally, so I said, “Just getting ready.”

  Nate’s eyes were curious. He looked perplexed, no doubt trying to figure out the elephant in the room, but I ignored him and tuned my fiddle. The moment was quickly forgotten when Ed bounded into the garage and banged loudly on the drum, announcing his arrival. He claimed his unorthodox entrance was practice for when he made it big.

  The guys teased me about my dress and boots, which ironically made me feel more relaxed. Once everyone settled in, we decided on the set list. Our debut was going to consist of a two-set performance, six songs each. Not too long, but long enough for everyone to get a feel for who we were. We ran through most of the songs and then we started breaking down the stage.

  “Are you sure you’re turning it the right way?” Connor asked Ed for the thousandth time.

  “I’m sure,” he grumbled, trying with little success to remove the last set of bolts holding the stage together.

  The plan was to break down the stage and load it into Ed’s pickup. It was supposed to take fifteen minutes, but it had already taken almost an hour and it still wasn’t completely apart.

  “You were able to take it down and put it back together the last time, right?” I asked, biting my lip. I was sure my lip-gloss had worn off long ago.

  “Well,” said Ed, not sounding confident.

  “It’s been a while since we took it apart,” Nate added.

  “That’s okay. I’m sure it’ll loosen any second now,” I said.

  “No, it won’t,” said Brady. “The truth is, we’ve never taken it apart.”

  “Oh …” I looked around and saw that Brady was telling the truth. Leave it to Brady to make me feel like an idiot. It was obvious everyone else knew it had never been disassembled. I was only trying to help by throwing out a few encouraging words and Brady had to act like a dick, again.

  “Lay off, man,” Nate warned.

  “What are you going to do about it?” challenged Brady.

  “Hey,” shouted Ed, “I finally got it.” He pumped his fist in the air.

  Nathan glared at Brady. “We’ll finish this later.”

  “Whatever,” Brady said, mumbling something under his breath I couldn’t quite hear.

  Once the stage was apart, it didn’t take long to load it into Ed’s truck. Connor and Brady jumped in with Ed, while I caught a ride with Nate. When we arrived, Ed’s cousin showed us where to set up. Our stage was in the backyard, facing the pool and patio. Thankfully, it went back together in a f
ew simple steps. However, there wasn’t much time to spare.

  Ed hadn’t been kidding when he said there’d be a lot of people at the party. I looked out at the crowd and my stomach clenched. I frantically scanned the audience for Becca. She was my one true comfort in all this and I knew she’d be there. I wanted to talk to her before we went on, but there wasn’t time. I took a deep breath, hoping to steady my nerves. I felt frazzled after rushing around and having to deal with Brady yelling at me.

  I barely had time to collect my thoughts when we took our positions on stage. Ed’s cousin’s voice echoed through the mic as he introduced Karma to the world. Everyone clapped and cheered. And then it happened. The sign I’d been waiting for. Becca’s whistle. She was here. I heard the whistle and saw her waving. She was standing in the front row. How could I have missed her earlier? Nevertheless, I kept my eyes locked on her, pretending that we were still in Ed’s garage and she was the only non-band member watching. I relaxed a tiny bit.

  “Ready? One, two, a one, two, three, four!” Ed tapped, jumpstarting the beat.

  Nate and I were singing a duet for our first number. Missing my cue, I joined in late, my voice wavering. Performing in a band was what I’d always dreamed of doing. I can do this. And sure enough, I didn’t miss my second cue, although my voice still didn’t sound as strong as it had when we rehearsed. I breathed a sigh of relief when the song ended.

  Before the second song, Ed made a short speech while Nate simultaneously whispered in my ear, “It’s okay, relax. You got this.”

  I nodded. Nathan’s words carried away some of the tension lodged in my stomach. I straightened my dress and stood tall. My voice didn’t betray me this time. I sounded like myself again—strong and clear.

  “That’s it,” Nate said, smiling during the pause.

  “Time to mix it up,” Ed ordered. As soon as I heard Ed’s voice, I made the mistake of taking my eyes off Becca. By this time, more people had gathered to watch, and I felt as if everyone was staring directly at me. I felt bile rise in my throat, but I pushed it back. “This is a new song we’ve been working on. Hope ya’ll like it as much as we do,” Ed said.

  It was one of the songs Connor had rewritten and it required purplicious. My hands shook as I positioned her under my chin and held the bow tightly in my other hand. I didn’t miss my cue, but I missed a chord. It sounded like a screeching cat. The audience made an audible cringe. I hadn’t made such a novice mistake since I was five years old. I could play this in my sleep. What is wrong with me? Why do I keep messing up? I closed my eyes. I got through the song without any more mishaps, but the damage was done. The crowd barely clapped and I knew it was my fault. I could feel Brady’s I-told-you-so smirk drilling into the back of my head. I didn’t need to turn around and look to know I was right.

  We finished the set, but the crowd was no longer into it. Even though we ended strong, people didn’t seem to notice. Many had already walked away.

  “I told you guys she was a liability,” Brady said, as soon as we hit the last note.

  I turned around and faced the band members, my head down, tears in my eyes. “Sorry, guys. I messed up.”

  “That’s an understatement,” snapped Brady.

  “I’ve never performed in front of a group this big. I got nervous.” I looked at my feet in my new cowgirl boots, thinking they weren’t helping after all.

  “You got better with each song,” said Connor, attempting to make me feel better.

  “Yeah. That’s a tough opening crowd,” joked Ed.

  “It’s okay. Just relax this time. That’s the nice part about being able to play two sets. We can still win them over,” Nate said, rubbing my back.

  “I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” replied Brady.

  “What’s your problem, Brady? Your shitty attitude isn’t helping,” Nate shot back between clenched teeth. His hands balled into fists at his sides.

  “She sucked, and you know it. The only thing she has going for her is that slutty outfit. She’s got you fuckers in a trance!” He shook his head in disgust. My cheeks flamed and tears escaped my eyes.

  “I told you to lay off,” Nate said, taking a step closer to him.

  “Fine,” he relented. “But it’s either her or me.”

  Shock registered on all of the guys’ faces. I didn’t want them to decide between us, but I knew that if I didn’t stand up for myself, I’d be giving Brady exactly what he wanted. What were my options? I wasn’t afraid to speak my mind anymore, but at the same time I cared too much about Nate, Ed, and Connor to put them in the middle. They deserved better. Predictable Carly.

  “It’s okay, guys. Brady’s right. I sucked tonight. You were better off before I came along. I’m done. I quit.”

  Nate grabbed my arm to stop me. “He’s bluffing. He knows we’re good together. You can’t quit. You have more talent in your pinky finger than the rest of us do in our entire bodies.”

  “Hey, speak for yourself, dude. I’ve got talent,” joked Connor. “He’s right—you can’t quit.” He pleaded with his eyes and walked toward me. “You weren’t on like you usually are, but you weren’t bad, either. You’ll be fine during the second set. We can even switch around the songs if there are certain ones you feel more comfortable with. You can do this.” Turning around to face Brady, he growled, “And you, cut her some fucking slack. Don’t you remember how you bombed at the talent show in ninth grade in front of the entire school? ’Cause I do.”

  I looked at Brady and saw pure hatred burning in his eyes. I knew he wouldn’t change his mind, and I didn’t want to be the reason the guys turned on one another; they’d eventually resent me for it. Brushing away tears and putting on a brave face, I said, “My mind’s made up.” Then I turned, running of the stage before anyone could try to talk me out of it. It hurt to leave purplicious behind, but I knew either Nathan or Connor would grab her.

  Not wanting anyone to follow me, I dashed through the hedgerow that outlined the property. My eyes welled with tears and I could barely see where I was going, but I didn’t bother to wipe them. I just kept running without looking back, until I broke through the shrubs onto the sidewalk. I would’ve run for days if I hadn’t collided with what felt like a brick wall. All of a sudden, I was tangled up in strong arms.

  “Hey, Girly, what’s the matter?” said a husky voice. I’d never been so happy to hear that nickname. Only one person on the planet called me that—Gavin. He stroked my hair and soothed my tears.

  “Just get me out of here,” I sobbed.

  Without a word, he took my hand and led me away from the noise and the lights of the party. I sighed with relief as I felt my body relax for the first time all day. He set a quick pace and before I knew it, we were several blocks away. Realizing our distance, he stopped and stared.

  Chapter Twelve

  Gavin

  “Please tell me you’re okay,” I begged. “Nobody hurt you, did they?” I held her arms out to the side, scanning her body, looking for any signs of a struggle.

  “No. Nobody laid a hand on me.”

  I felt a huge sense of relief knowing she was safe, so what was it? She was clearly upset about something and I wanted—needed—to know what. She sat down on the curb before her legs could give out.

  “I’m a failure.”

  Sitting down next to her, I put my arm around her shoulders. She leaned into me and cried. I felt helpless. Not knowing what else to do, I pulled her closer. I was going to kill whoever did this.

  “What are you talking about?” I asked, leaning down and lightly brushing my lips against the top of her head, trying to erase her pain.

  “No, it’s true,” she cried louder, soaking my T-shirt with her tears. I patiently waited for her to calm down. When she finally took a deep breath and recounted the night’s events, beginning with Brady’s rude comments at the garage, to his then inappropriate comments about her dress and culminating with his ultimatum, it was easy to understand why Carly was so upset. I didn
’t blame her for walking away and taking the high road out of respect for the other guys. It wasn’t right that Brady put them on the spot and forced to choose between members, especially when it was their first real gig. The problem was, I knew the guys, and besides Brady, they understood how talented Carly was and how much being in the band meant to her, not to mention how much better they sounded. My anger had reached its high point.

  “What a prick,” I snarled. “I won’t let him get away with this.” I wanted to punch something, preferably Brady’s face.

  She laughed a little at my outburst. I brushed away the hair stuck in her wet tears.

  “I should’ve listened to you, Gavin. You were right.” She sniffled.

  My eyebrows drew together. “What are you talking about?”

  “You told me not to audition because some of them were jerks. You were right.”

  Seeing her so upset broke my heart. “Brady’s the only douche. The rest of the guys are cool,” I sighed. “And I was wrong to tell you not to audition. I’ve seen you on stage at rehearsals and you belong up there. You’re the star of that band and everyone knows it. Brady’s just jealous.” I stroked a finger along her jaw. “Don’t worry. We’ll fix this.” Her lips formed a smile when I said “we.”

  “I just want to go home,” she sobbed. Hearing her say that affirmed that tonight wouldn’t be the best time to get to bring up our situation. That would have to wait. Right now, she needed a friend, someone who would help her forget what just happened.

  “I was supposed to ride home with Becca,” she said, “but I ran out of there.”

  “I live a couple of blocks away. We can walk to my house, and then I’ll drive you home.”

  “Thank you,” she said, throwing her arms around my neck. I saw this as an opening and gladly returned the gesture, pulling her to my chest. I didn’t know why she was thanking me, but I wasn’t going to protest. I liked how she felt in my arms. She fit perfectly, soft curves molding to my larger, harder frame. I leaned my head down, tucking her under my chin. She smelled like summer. I could’ve stayed like this forever. So much for not bringing up our relationship tonight.