I blow out my breath, and nod. “Yeah. I’m ok,” I tell her, placing my hand on hers and giving it a reassuring squeeze. The warmth of her small hand in mine is comforting, something about Naomi feels like home to me. I guess that’s why I’ve always been so careful with her. I didn’t want to ruin this… thing we have, by getting involved.
I leave my hand on hers, and she doesn’t take hers away. We stay that way – connected – until we arrive at the airport.
Chapter 19
Naomi
“Is it bad that I’m nervous already?” I ask Theo, who’s sitting in the seat next to me. I’m in the middle of the row and he’s in the aisle seat. Lucky for him, because he’s much too tall to fit comfortably against the window or the middle where I am. Some random person who is pretending we don’t exist was the lucky one to snag the window seat.
The other three are five rows in front of us, in the seats just near the emergency exit. That’s where there’s the most leg room. Theo, who is still over six feet tall, is the shortest of the group, so he volunteered to keep me company. He still looks slightly squished up though. Luckily this flight isn’t very long. We’re only travelling from Sydney to Brisbane.
“Give it half an hour,” he says to me. “Your nerves will give way to boredom soon enough.”
Theo pulls out his phone and switches it to airplane mode before plugging a set of headphones into the jack. My eyes stray to his playlist as he thumbs through the songs. I notice an eclectic mix of rock, metal, and alternative music. Some of it I know, some of it I haven’t heard before. But from the looks of things, we have very similar taste.
He stops on Aiden Price’s I Recall and offers me an ear bud. “You want to listen as well?” he asks.
“Oh, I don’t know. I don’t want to get my ear gunk on your headphones,” I explain, causing a deep belly laugh to rumble out of him. It sends chills through me, starting at my chest and working its way in ripples until I’m sure I feel a tingle in my fingertips and toes, and I guess maybe somewhere else too…
“I can deal with your ear gunk,” he smiles, offering it to me again. This time I accept it, plugging it into my ear as he presses play and adjusts the volume so we can listen, but still hear each other speak.
“So, I’m still working on those lyrics,” he says. “We’ve been so busy preparing for this tour that I haven’t had a chance to finish them.”
“Tell me about it. This has been one very busy month. I did have some thoughts on those lyrics though. I actually jotted them down. When we get to the hotel I can show them to you. My notebook is packed with my luggage.”
“Yeah? I’d like to hear your thoughts,” he smiles.
Hearing him tell me that he’d like to see the lyrics just sends me soaring, and I struggle to keep a huge grin off my face. When we were in high school we used to share our thoughts on our compositions all the time. I can’t begin to explain how wonderful it is to feel like we might be able to go back to that again.
Conversation flows fairly easily between us. We talk about how we feel about the tour, how the band is playing together. We have a short conversation about a few changes we could make to some of the songs and whether or not we should play any of our new songs or throw a couple of popular covers into our set list. But eventually, we fall quiet. It’s not that we’ve run out of things to talk about, it’s just that it feels comfortable to be near him again, and I hope that he is feeling the same way too.
Theo lays his head back against the seat and closes his eyes. So I remove the bud from my ear, and pull my replacement Kindle out of my bag and power it up, ready to lose myself in the world of romance for a few hours.
“What’s that? A tablet?” Theo asks, his eyes now open as he watches what I’m doing.
“It’s a Kindle – an ereader,” I inform him.
“You like reading?”
“Yeah, I love it. And this means I can carry a whole library full of books with me.”
“Yeah? What are you reading now?”
“Oh, you don’t want to know,” I laugh, waving my hand at him in an attempt to cancel out the subject.
“Tell me. I’m interested.”
“It’s a romance. Girly stuff. I love them,” I admit, feeling a little defensive all of a sudden.
“There’s nothing wrong with romance. I’d have a bigger issue if you said you were reading War and Peace, or something like that – no one really likes that book, they just say they do to impress people.”
I can’t help but laugh at the image of some uni students I’ve seen lugging around that giant thing, trying to look cultured while reading it.
“Will you read to me?” he asks, pulling the bud of the earphone out and stopping the music.
“Seriously?”
“Yeah. We’re going to be travelling a lot, we’ll have plenty of time to read a book. Why don’t you pick a book and read it out to me.”
“Um… alright.” I scroll through my library, trying to find a book that doesn’t ride the line between romance and erotica. I’m sure I’ve got some clean romance on here… “Oh here,” I say when I find one. “I’ve had this one downloaded for a while now. It got really great reviews. It’s about a girl who’s really spoilt and ends up getting in trouble and having to redeem herself through community service. Sounds kind of boring, when I try and sell it like that,” I laugh. “But I’m sure there are some good life lessons in there.”
“And this is the plot of a romance?” he asks, brows raised.
I nod, tapping the screen to open the book. The story opens with bunch of rich brats having a party and doing drugs like it’s the normal thing to do.
“See I don’t get that,” Theo says when I pause. “Why is it, just because you’ve got more money than you can possibly spend, would you go and ruin your life with drugs? It’s just stupid as far as I’m concerned.”
“Do you want me to pick another book?” I ask him. “I’ve got heaps.”
“No, no. This is fine. I just hate drugs is all. Keep going, I like listening to your voice.”
We exchange a brief look and a smile, as he leans on the armrest between us, his head on his hand and he positions himself so he can see the words on the screen as well. As I look at him, I have this great urge to hug him. So I do – I can’t help myself. It’s a little awkward because we’re sitting next to each other, and I think I’ve shocked him a little. I only hug him briefly, but he hugs me back and I hear him release his breath in a low sigh.
“What was that about?” he asks as I sit back and pick my Kindle up again.
“It’s just nice to know that the Goth boy I used to know is still in there somewhere. I’ve missed you and your view of the world Aramis,” I tell him.
He chuckles a little. “Just call me Theo now. But thanks, I guess I’ve missed you too. You were kind of the light to my dark,” he admits, and my heart does this little skitter thing across my chest.
“You should write that down you know.”
“Which part?”
“The light to my dark. It sounds like something you could use in a song.”
He smiles and nods. “Yeah. That’s what I’ve missed,” he says more to himself than to me, as he slides the pen out of the bottom of his phone and writes the lyrics on the screen. I can’t wait to see what he turns those few words into.
Sliding the pen back inside his phone, he sets it on his lap and turns back to me. “Alright, keep going,” he prompts, nodding toward my kindle.
It’s gone to sleep now, so I press it on again and resume the story, sneaking glances at him every now and then, to check that he’s still listening and doesn’t look too bored. All the while, thanking the cosmos for returning my friend to me.
By the time we land, we’re about ten chapters in, the main character has just started her community service helping impoverished kids and the guy who’s to be her love interest is giving her a hard time for being so spoilt all her life. She thinks he hates her, but you can tell there�
��s more to it than that.
As we stand up to disembark from the flight, I stash my kindle back inside my bag, sliding it on my shoulder.
“I hope you’re going to finish reading that to me. If I don’t find out why Ethan’s got it in for Kasey, I might lose my will to live,” he jokes as he steps out into the aisle, blocking the path of other passengers as he lets me out in front of him.
“You don’t have to listen to it if it’s boring you,” I state, talking to him over my shoulder as I slowly move toward the exit.
“No, I like it. I really do want to know what happens,” he assures me, his voice soft and low as he leans toward me and speaks so only I can hear. There’s something about Theo, the rumble of his laugh, the deep tone of his voice – it’s like a caress, gently running down my spine, causing my skin to prickle with goose bumps. “It’s been fun. I meant it when I said I like listening to you,” he adds quietly, leaning even closer so I can feel his body brushing against me.
Marcus
Standing up from my seat, I get ready to exit the plane. I can’t wait to get out and stretch my legs. I’m not big on sitting still for long periods of time. Although, I forget my haste when I look up the plane and spot Theo and Naomi.
She’s smiling, and her cheeks are flushed as he leans down and says something in her ear. Her hand reaches up to touch her hair as they share in the humour of whatever the hell it is he said to her.
I’ve been around enough women to not like what I’m seeing right now. I knew I should have insisted I sit with her. I knew Theo couldn’t be trusted. He’s fucking flirting with her.
And she’s loving it.
I refuse to move from my seat until Theo and Naomi reach our row of seats. She smiles at me and asks how my flight was pausing so she can let me out.
“Yeah, it was fine,” I say, as I slide in between her and Theo. I then stand back and let Lachlan and Jack out ahead of me to make a bit of a gap between us.
“Don’t think I don’t know what you’re doing,” I state over my shoulder to him when I’m sure she won’t be able to hear me. I’m still assaulted by the mental image of him practically putting his tongue in her ear. I hang back a little more, so I block his progression for a moment, letting out another couple of passengers on the other side of the row. It gives us a better gap between where Naomi is now moving with Lachlan and Jack.
“What is it you think I’m doing Marcus?” he asks calmly, smiling like he’s being watched and has to pretend he’s happy.
“Going after her,” I state, playing the smiling game too.
“I can’t help it if we get along,” he tells me, all matter of fact.
“Just don’t get along too well. I’m watching you,” I warn him. As we exit the plane, the other three are waiting for us so I change the subject to the surprising lack of turbulence on the flight so no one knows what we’ve been talking about.
“Hey guys,” I call out, quickly making my way towards them, placing my hand on the curve of Naomi’s lower back and guiding her towards the luggage bay. “Bet you’re glad to get out of those cramped seats to stretch your legs.”
I can hear my voice, it’s coming out a little overly enthusiastic and I have to stop myself from visibly wincing when I’m met with odd looks.
“Yeah, I guess,” Naomi replies, shrugging. “I’m tiny though, I fit alright.”
“Lucky you,” I smile. Turning my attention to the others. “How about you go and get some trolleys and we’ll meet you at the baggage carousel?” I suggest. Not really waiting for their answer as I pick up our pace and separate from them. “Thanks,” I call back to them, raising my hand to wave over my shoulder, completely ignoring the stormy look on my brother’s face.
I make small talk about how good it is to be standing again as we get a good position in front of the carousel to spot our luggage.
“So what did you and Theo chat about for the whole flight?” I ask, trying to appear as though I’m uninterested, but just making polite conversation. But to be honest, I have this great need to know, and the smile that plays on her lips as she thinks for a moment causes my gut to twist.
“Oh, this and that – you know? The band, the tour. Then I was reading a bit. It was all good. It’s nice to be getting along with him now,” she explains as she reaches up and pulls her hair away from her face, securing it in a messy bun with her hair elastic.
“Yeah, I’ll bet,” I say, kind of wishing that they never sorted it out. I so didn’t want to tell him the truth. But I couldn’t say no to her. I like her too much to be that much of a jerk.
Since we sorted out the misunderstanding between me, her and Theo, things have been a lot more cohesive between all of the band members. I feel like we’re all friends again, kind of like how we were back in high school before I was a dick and ruined things.
Although it doesn’t help that I still think she’s gorgeous. I still want her as more than a friend. I know it’s a bad idea to go after her. The band needs to come first, and it’s obvious that Theo is interested in her too. I know I should just back off and focus on the tour – there are plenty of girls out there. Ones that I won’t have to fight my brother for.
Problem is – none of them are Naomi.
***
After loading up the trolleys with all of our bags and gear, we make our way over to the hire car counter. We’ve got a van for transporting our gear and a sedan for the rest of us. We transfer all of the gear and baggage into both vehicles. Theo is the one that organised all of this, so he gives me a print out of our hotel booking and tells me to take Jack and Naomi with me to the hotel, while he takes Lachlan to the venue to drop off all of our gear.
“Can I drive?” asks Jack. “My car’s a shitbox. This one is all schmick and crap. I wanna press all the buttons.”
Laughing, I toss him the keys. Watching as he jumps into the driver’s seat and starts pressing buttons and playing with the electric windows and mirrors like an excited kid.
“I get the back,” Naomi calls, jumping into the back seat and stretching her legs across it, laying against the door with her arms folded behind her head. “Ah, this is the life. Take me to the hotel Jeeves,” she jokes.
“Certainly ma’am,” Jack agrees, reaching forward to start the engine, before pausing and lowering his head to look at me through the open passenger door. “Are you getting in? What are you doing?”
“Grabbing these,” I say, lifting two guitar cases into the passenger seat. “Theo and I want them in the room,” I explain, as I shut the door and move to the back to get in next to Naomi.
“Now where am I supposed to put my feet?” she complains jokingly, as she smiles and lifts her legs.
“You can still stretch out if you like,” I tell her, grabbing a hold of her feet and resting them across my lap.
“You excited about singing to a whole stadium of people on Thursday?” she asks me.
“Yeah actually. I’m really looking forward to it. Did you see how well our album’s doing on iTunes?”
“Yeah, I did. I can’t believe it.”
“Amazing what a little exposure can do for a self-produced garage band, right?”
“Hmmm,” she says, resting her head back against the window as we drive. “I hope we don’t get laughed off the stage.”
Frowning, I place my hand on her calf nonchalantly. Quietly enjoying the smoothness of her skin beneath my palm. “What makes you say that?”
“It’s just my worst nightmare.”
“Mine too. Although I don’t think we’re going to get laughed off the stage. Especially not with you up there.”
I start moving my hand up and down her shin in a soothing motion as I hum along to the current song playing over the radio. It’s bloody Aiden Price again. Ever since Naomi mentioned him a while ago, I find that I’m hearing his songs everywhere. This song is called Weighted the radio version isn’t as good as the album version, but I still hum along all the same. When I glance at Naomi again, she’s fall
en asleep. I still my hand, and just look at her for a while, admiring her features, softened by sleep.
“Don’t be stupid man,” Jack says from the driver’s seat, his eyes glaring at me through the rear vision mirror.
I look away, staring out the window again, my hand still resting on her leg like it’s glued there. Stupid kind of feels unavoidable right now.
Chapter 20
Naomi
“Naomi,” a gentle voice calls to me, as I slowly stir and open my eyes. “We’re here and you’re drooling.”
All of a sudden, we’re at the hotel, I didn’t even realise I’d fallen asleep. I think it was a combination of Marcus humming and smoothing his fingers up and down my calf and the gentle vibration of the car as we drove.
Processing his words in my sleep addled mind, I sit bolt upright, pulling my legs from Marcus’s lap as I wipe at my face. He starts laughing a little as he opens his car door, extending one long leg as he begins to climb out. I sneak a look in the review mirror to make sure I’m presentable. I’m so embarrassed that I was drooling. Oh god – kill me now!
“Relax. You’re still gorgeous,” he comments, leaning down to look at me. “Come on. Let’s get this stuff up to our rooms before we have to get on the road again.”
“Why? Aren’t we here for long?” I ask, as I climb out and head toward the car boot where Jack is unloading the luggage.
“From what Theo told me, we have an hour to settle in. Then we have our sound check booked in. He wants to make sure everything’s working fine. He worries that something could get damaged in transit. It’s what he does – he’s a bit of a control freak.”
“Yeah, but if he wasn’t, none of this stuff would happen to us and we’d be giving a cut of all our profits to managers and agents or whatever,” Jack adds in. “Better someone who has the band in mind more than the money.”
“Why does he play drums now?” I ask. When I knew him in high school, he was always on the piano or keyboards. He was wonderful. I can’t imagine why he would stop playing them on stage.
A Beautiful Melody Page 11
