See Her (Turn it Up Book 1)

by Natalie Parker

  “No, come on. Ian’s the one who moves in with somebody after knowing them for three months.” My mother says, trying to lead the conversation down a logical path.

  “And look how well that worked out for him!” my dad adds.

  “Very funny, Mayzie. Good one.”

  “I’m not joking Mom. It really happened. Yesterday.” There’s an unsettling stretch of silence on the other end, and I’m staring at my phone now like it’s the Oracle.

  “You’re serious?” she asks, her voice sounding like she swallowed a brick.

  “Yes,” I say, getting assertive. The next few seconds tick by in more silence before it’s finally broken by the siren sound of my mother losing her shit.

  “MAYZIE LEEANN WALKER!”

  “Ooh,” I say, recoiling from the phone just a little.

  “Have you lost your mind?!” she continues.

  “Have you lost your fucking mind?!” my dad echoes.

  I feel Jack’s arms come around me from behind, his chin resting on my shoulder, giving me silent support; letting me know he’s in this with me.

  “Mom, I’m kind of past the point in life where middle naming me has any real effect. Also, you got my last name wrong. It’s not Walker anymore.”

  “I can’t believe this shit,” my dad fumes, and I can picture him rolling his eyes and shaking his head.

  “Mayzie, why would you rush into this?” my mother asks, her voice still high pitched and exasperated. She’s passed outrage and has reached her ‘at a loss’ point.

  “Did he knock you up?!” my dad’s outburst makes me wince. Holy Toledo.

  “No Dad! Look, would you both calm down? If you chill out, we can explain this, and then I’m sure you guys will feel a lot better about everything.”

  “Hey, Jeff, Amy…” Jack says, testing the waters. “I’d love for the four of us to get together, maybe have dinner and we can talk – “

  “Hey, Mom! Dad!” The sound of my brother entering the scene, followed by the slamming of my parents’ front door interrupts Jack. Great. “Guess what your daughter did?” I hear him shouting in the background.

  “Oooh, look at you,” my dad addresses him sarcastically. “Tattling on your sister like a big man. You’re too late, idiot. We’re already talking to her.”

  “What? Are you kidding me?” my brother protests, thrown off his game. He tries to recover. “Aww Mayzie, telling our parents over the phone? What’s wrong with you?” Oh, for crying out loud. Listen to him, tattling and sucking up. But I can beat him at this whole immaturity game. When it comes to my stupid-head, jerk-face brother, I’m the effing queen of immaturity.

  “Hey Mom and Dad?” I start in. “Ian’s at your house because he’s tired of living with Tina and wants to stay with you guys.”

  “Oh, gee. Really? Huge shocker there!” my father yells sarcastically, and I can practically see him turning on Ian, who’s now tongue tied.

  “Uh… well…” Ha. Look who doesn’t have anything to say now.

  “Ian, really!” my mother scolds.

  “Okay, well, you guys have fun with that,” I say, preparing my exit from the conversation. “I’ll give you guys a call tomorrow, okay bye-eee!” I click ‘END’, and blow out a breath, dropping down to rest my forehead on the cool countertop.

  “I think that went well,” Jack says, resuming his casual pose, leaning against the counter.

  “See what you married into?” I ask, not lifting my face.

  “Hey, nothing’s going to scare me off,” he says, coming around the side of the island. I turn my face to look at him but don’t lift my head. “Nothing.” He reaffirms as he folds his arms on the counter top and rests his chin on top of them so we’re eye-to-eye. For the first time, he looks a little unsure. “But how are you feeling right now? Are you thinking we should’ve just gotten engaged? Waited a bit and had a wedding?” He’s wondering if I wish we’d given our families some time to get used to the idea and had them be there. Which, I can see the merit in that, but I let him know immediately that I have no regrets.

  “No,” I say, gently. “That would’ve been a nice thing to do for them, sure, but this is about us, and I love yesterday. I don’t want any other memory of marrying you than the one we made yesterday.”

  Jack

  This. Right here. What Mayzie just said… take that and drop it into the bottomless bucket of reasons why I love her. She didn’t need to flaunt a diamond ring on her finger for months on end while she planned an epic affair. I would’ve gone along with it, if that’s what she wanted. I’d give her anything she wanted. But the fact that all she cared about was us and our moment, just made me fall a little farther.

  “God, I love you,” I say, smiling and shaking my head in wonder.

  “I love you too,” she smiles back. “And my family will too. They just need some time to get past the shock.”

  We decide to barbeque over at Sarah and Mike’s and invite my dad over to tell them the news. It sucks that Mayzie’s parents didn’t get the same courtesy because my new brother-in-law took that away from us. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do it for my family. Melanie will just have to find out whenever she finds out I guess, since getting ahold of her is a crapshoot.

  My dad is nothing but happy for us, stating that it was about time I found someone. Sarah and Mike are a bit shocked, but happy. Sarah pulls me aside and tells me she has her reservations of course, not about who I married, she knows how incredible Mayzie is, just at how fast it happened. She’s doing her best to put it aside and be happy for us though.

  While we’re there, we grab more of my things out of the pool house and load them into the truck before going home to enjoy the rest of the night together.

  Mayzie

  “I can’t believe you!” Annie shouts into the phone.

  “I’m sorry! Except, I’m not sorry. I have nothing to apologize for. It’s my life, and it was beautiful, and I’m so happy. I am sorry that you weren’t a part of it, but that’s it. I don’t regret a single part of it.”

  “Oh, yeah? Well sorry I’m a little bitter that Penny was your frickin’ Maid of Honor!”

  “You’re disappointed. I would be too, but please don’t be mad. Please be happy.”

  “I’ll be happy later. Right now, I need some time to be pissy about this.”

  “Fine,” I say, letting out an annoyed sigh. “Call me when you’re done.”

  I toss my phone down on the bed and pick up my Kindle as the bathroom door opens, steam billowing out.

  “How did she take it?” Jack asks, leaning his head out of the doorway as he drags a razor through the foam on his jaw. Why the hell is that so sexy?

  “Not well,” I say, “She has a hair up her ass about not getting to be there.”

  “That seems to be the general consensus,” he says, ducking back in the bathroom. “Man, I need to cut my hair.”

  “Don’t you dare,” I say, swiping through books on my Kindle as he comes wandering back out with a towel wrapped around his trim waist, his skin all damp and dewy.

  “Oh, you like this?” He asks, leaning down and planting a hand on either side of me before shaking his wet hair in my face.

  “Uggghhh. Thanks. Now I smell like a dude,” I say wiping water off my face.

  “Anytime, baby.” He goes back to getting ready for work and I watch him get dressed, which is a damn shame. With his uniform on, he comes back to lean over me again. “Will you be awake when I get home?” he asks, kissing me goodbye.

  “Probably not…” I say, between kisses, “…but feel free to wake me… if you want.”

  “I do want…” he says. “I’ll see you then. I love you.”

  “I love you too.”

  As soon as I hear the front door close, my phone rings, displaying Annie’s name on the screen. I pick it up and swipe to answer. “That was quick.”

  “Oh my God, my best friend is married!”

  19

  Mayzie

 
Over the next two weeks, we settle into a blissful routine. I try to get as much work done as I can in the mornings while Jack is still sleeping after working a bar shift, so that we can have the afternoons together. We take walks with the dogs, have lunch, and have sexy time before he goes to work. On his days off, we hang out in the house, sometimes we’re both doing our own thing, but we’re together. He likes to fix things like creaky doors and uneven window sills, and he’s put up shelves for both my books and his vinyl collection.

  I always wake up slightly to him climbing into bed with me late at night, and the most wonderful feeling comes over me every time. I’m immediately wrapped in a blanket of love and security that I didn’t know I was missing. There is something about being in that state of half-sleep and feeling his warmth settling next to me. Sometimes, I wake up all the way and we do amazing things to each other. Others, I settle back into sleep with the comfort of him being there.

  What we don’t do, is look ‘See Her’ up on the internet. We watched the video the one time the label sent us a link so we could view the final product. It was surreal yet invigorating to see Jack, me and the guys in a video that was going to be viewed around the country. As discussed, there were occasional shots of me, but not enough to take the attention off the guys. And the scene in the St. Michelle is intense with the way they showed Jack shredding the shit out of his guitar while watching me dance, and what I didn’t expect was the special effect added in at the end. The videographer made it look like the theater was crumbling and falling apart all around the band, as if by the sheer force of their music. It is truly a work of art.

  After the first view, we haven’t watched it again or checked the music charts. Jack is afraid he will become obsessed and would rather just go on with life, and find out when the time is right if it’s doing well. If we hear anything at all that is. He figures that if we don’t hear anything, it will be less of a blow that way.

  But one night, it seems he can’t run from it anymore. He comes home from the bar at 10:30, when he was supposed to stay late and close. I’m in the nook, working on the computer.

  “Hey, what are you doing home?”

  “Well,” he says, shucking his jacket and hanging it behind the door on the coat rack. “There was a huge crowd, but they weren’t there to drink.”

  “What does that mean?” I ask, closing my laptop.

  “Apparently, the song is doing well,” he says, unbuttoning his shirt and pulling it out of the top of his pants so it can hang open. “Locals that know me from shows are getting a bit excited.” He bends down to kiss me before heading to the fridge and getting out two beers. I feel a little zing go up my back at the new but comfortable gesture, and then sigh. It’s like a little reminder that we really are married. “You’d think having a huge crowd would be good for business, but no one was ordering anything,” he continues. “All they wanted to do was bombard me with questions and shit.” He pops the beers open as I walk over to grab one from him. “I had to leave out the back because it got too out of hand. I’m not sure I can go back there. I mean it could die down, but I don’t know…” he trails off as he tips the bottle back. We head over to the couch as he keeps talking. “On the plus side, I got to come home to you earlier,” he says as we sit down and both put our feet up.

  “It’s a very welcome surprise.” I tell him as he settles down, leaning in on me a bit with his hand wrapped around my bare thigh. I’d changed into a t-shirt and pajama shorts a while ago. We both take a drink when we hear his phone go off. He leans forward to set his beer down, leaning even further into me to fish his phone out of his back pocket. He glances at the screen before bringing it to his ear, his other hand still rubbing my thigh, subtly stirring up some feelings of comfort and arousal, whether he means to or not.

  “Matt,” he answers, “you wouldn’t believe what just happened.” And then he’s quiet as a look of disbelief comes over his face…

  Jack

  Mayzie has that look on her face. She may think I don’t notice as I’m throwing clothes on, brushing my teeth and shaving, but I see it. There are a million things going through her head. Matt’s call last night brought news that the song has been gaining more attention and air time each day, and Ron wants to do a conference call to discuss the next phase of the label’s investment with us. In our first meeting, he mentioned it would be going on tour as an opening act. Mayzie was elated, but it definitely shocked the hell out of me. I thought it was a lucky thing just getting noticed and having the chance to record the song, but to have it go off the way it has? I have to be honest, I was not expecting it. I was happy and thankful that we got to put at least one song out in the world, and then officially start my new life with my girl.

  The last couple weeks together have been so amazing. Everything from watching her dance in our kitchen in the mornings to kissing her goodbye before work has made me happier than I ever could have hoped. She’s been trying to get into cooking more now that it’s the two of us, and she’s only set off the smoke detector once. God, I love her. My favorite though, is spending every night with her in our bed, her body close to mine. Beneath me, on top of me, or just next to me, it doesn’t matter. Under the covers with her is my happy place.

  Speaking of my beautiful wife, I look at her as she stands over the kitchen sink wearing black skinny jeans, and the sleeves of her red and black flannel are rolled up while she scrubs the hell out of the pan she made eggs in earlier. Only the very front strands of her hair are pinned back, enough so that I can see her eyebrows drawn together at the frustration of the task.

  “You okay, sweetheart?” I ask gently, as I lean against the fridge, taking her in.

  “Yeah, I’m fine,” she says, briefly looking up and shooting me a smile before looking back down at the pan. “Why?”

  “You look like your mind’s somewhere else. And you’re going to put a hole in that pan.” She giggles at herself as she sets it down and shrugs while drying her hands on a towel.

  “We got some amazing news last night. A lot’s about to change. I’m just thinking about all the possibilities.” Her eyes get brighter as she shakes her head at the idea. “It’s just unbelievable. You’re probably going out on tour, you know?”

  “Maybe. We’ll see what Ron has to say on this call. Do you want to go with me?” I ask. The guys and I are all meeting at Matt’s to take the call.

  “This is a band thing. You go ahead,” she says, coming up and laying her hands on my chest, sending warmth tingling all through it.

  “It has to do with our future which means it involves you too,” I say, wrapping my arms around her waist.

  “You’re right, but the other guys may not see it that way. Let’s give them a chance to get used to that idea. It’s been just the four of you for so long.”

  “M’kay,” I plant a kiss on her lips. “I’ll come straight back home,” I say, giving her another one.

  “I can’t wait,” she says as I head for the door.

  “81 K?” Josh repeats the number of views Ron just told us the video has already. We’re sitting at Matt’s kitchen table around his phone which is set to speaker, as Ron delivers the news of the song’s success. “In three weeks?” he repeats again. I guess the rest of the guys had the same mentality I did and didn’t pay attention to the charts or YouTube.

  “Damn straight 81 K, and number 48 on the ‘Hot Hundred’!” howls Chris. Okay, all of us but him.

  “That’s right.” Ron confirms, from the phone’s speaker. “That’s higher than the average momentum, the kind we need to take action on. And people are asking all over social media sites how and when they can catch a show. Next step is going on tour, as an opener.” He’s all business and definitely not dancing around the issue.

  “When? And for who?” Matt asks.

  “The Shock Wave is set to leave in two weeks, and their opener fell through. We want you guys in. Turn it Up is the perfect fit to open for them, and it will get you in front of the target audience.�
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  “The fucking Shock Wave?!” Chris repeats.

  “Who was originally going to open?” Josh asks.

  “Is that really important?” Ron retorts.

  “Hell no,” Matt answers.

  After celebrating with some more howls, back slaps and high fives, Ron calls for quiet. “So. Get yourselves together, pack your things, rehearse, tell your families, all that. Tour starts in Seattle and leaves from there. You’ll join them for the first six weeks, and if things keep moving steadily upwards, we’ll extend your time on the road with them.”

  “Whoa. Ron, one quick question,” I say, leaning forward a little so he can hear me. “Who can come with us?”

  “There are six bunks on your tour bus, and you get two rooms at hotel stops. Agree on how to use them. Why?” I look around at everyone else and am met with a bunch of smirks.

  “I married Mayzie,” I say, unable to control my smile.

  20

  Mayzie

  “What do you mean, you’re not coming on the tour?” Jack asks me, his eyes intense.

  “I will not be Yoko,” I say, matter-of-factly.

  “Hey, you are not Yoko,” Jack says, holding his finger up towards me. “And explain to me how the hell I’m supposed to go on tour for six weeks without my wife - who I just married, by the way.”

  “I just think it would be better if I stayed out of this, at least for a while.”

  “And you think that’s a good idea, why?”

  “Because! This is new territory for you guys. It’s going to be a huge learning curve with a lot of glitches to work out. You’re going to be living on a bus together and in hotels; you’re going to be doing rehearsals and sound checks and set up and whatever else rock bands do on tour,” I say, holding my hands out. “This is about the band, and the band was with you long before I came along. I’m afraid if you throw me in the mix before you’ve had a chance to figure out your new normal, I could really get in the way, and, I don’t know, throw off your mojo, your vibe, whatever you want to call it. This is a crucial time for you guys, and you need to have your heads together, focusing on your music.”