by Anne Mercier
"Oh boy, Jared. Do you happen to know him?" Lucy asks.
I frown when Ethan tells her he can introduce her to him sometime. Sera and Lucy wiggle their eyebrows at each other.
"Mmm, Jared," Lucy murmurs. Fuck that. Jared Leto. M. Shadows. Milo Ventimiglia. Fuck them all. She's mine.
"Back to the topic at hand," I say with a pointed look. "Just let us know what spots you've got open and we're on it." I look to Cage, who nods.
"Well, it depends. Sera do you want to drum full-time?"
Xander laughs.
"Find something amusing, drummer boy?" Sera grits out.
"Yeah, your skinny arms drummer girl."
"I was skinnier than this in high school and not nearly as toned."
"Flex a muscle, darlin'."
She does and I'm pretty impressed. He raises his brows then reaches over and squeezes underneath her arm. She rolls her eyes.
"Please. As if I wouldn't firm that shit up. It's a woman's weak spot."
I squeeze Lucy in that spot, feeling her firm muscular arms, and I grin.
"Smart ladies."
"We started out with a trainer who was like Hitler on crack. He taught us a good regimen then wanted to tell us what we could and couldn't eat and that was it for me," Sera tells us.
Lucy nods. "There is no messing with my food. I eat what I want, how much I want, and when I want. Don't be trying to take away my peanut M&Ms or I'll cut a bitch."
I chuckle. Big threats from such a dainty woman. I put my arm behind her on the arm of the chair, my hand resting on her lower back. Jace notices and his eyebrows go up. Lucy rolls her eyes at my need to touch her and Jace grins.
"I think you forgot something, Lucy," Jace tells her.
"I did?"
"You did. You forgot to introduce me to the best damn band ever."
"Oh my God! Please forgive my error. At the head of the table down there is Cage Nichols, multi-business owner, record and video producer extraordinaire." They greet each other with a nod.
"Next is Ethan Ashcroft, bass guitarist for Falling Down. Then we have the ever-quiet Kennedy Caldwell on rhythm guitar, the bratty Ben Kingston on lead guitar, and the ever-critical Xander Mackenzie on drums. Next to me, currently groping my ass, is the man with the sexiest voice around, none other than Jesse Kingston. Guys, meet Jace Warner, bass guitarist for," Lucy pauses to look at Sera and Jace, questioning, and they both nod. "Blush."
"Fucking perfect," Xander says with a clap. "That is fucking perfect for you. Blush."
She blushes just then and he points and laughs.
"Fuck off," she says with a laugh. "It was the name of our band in high school."
"Where are the other members, Lucy?" I ask.
She looks at me, her expression so sad I want to make it better. "They've got responsibilities and lives and kids and good jobs and… strings they don't want to tug on."
I nod, knowing how that goes. "Got it. Sera's got drums? Or are you going on guitar?"
Sera hesitates, unsure.
"It's easier to find good, reliable drummers than it is guitarists—but only because I know more of them." Cage nods to me in agreement.
Lucy bites her lip and I reach out and soothe it with my thumb. "Don't."
"I can't help it. Nervous habit."
I look to Sera for her answer.
"Rhythm guitar."
"Good choice. You being up front with Lucy will bring in the guys. Jace and whoever we get, if it's a guy, will bring in the girls."
Sera pouts. "Drummers bring in people."
"Fuckin' A we do," Xander exclaims.
"I know it, but honestly, can you see it, Xan? These two up front, Jace in the middle."
He nods, as do the rest of the guys and Cage.
"I see it and I’m liking it," says Kennedy who never speaks.
"Oh my God! He speaks!" Lucy exclaims, teasing.
He scowls. "I'm a man of few words. It'd be cool if you could get one more chick in the band. Doesn't matter if it's guitar or drums. It'll even out the guy-to-girl ratio. We've got so many chicks at our shows there are no tickets left for the fucking guys unless it's their boyfriends."
"True that," Ethan says.
"I’m sure none of you complain," Lucy says with a pointed look at me. My brows lift and she looks away. I sense jealousy from my Cupcake and I like it. At least I know I'm not alone in that.
"So we need lead guitar and drums?" Lucy asks.
"Sera, why aren't you taking lead?" Jace asks.
"It's been too long," Sera murmurs with a wry grin.
"Yet you were willing to tackle drums?"
She huffs at Lucy.
Ben stands up. "Come on. Let's go see what she's got."
"What? No," she protests.
"Suck it up and let's go. You should be lead," Lucy whispers, "and you know it."
We get to the stage and Xander hands Sera his sticks. "Let's hear the drums first so we judge correctly."
Sera nods. "What do you want to play?"
We all pick up our instruments. Xander taps his chin with his index finger. "You up for a challenge, doll?"
I smirk as Sera narrows her eyes. Xander grins knowing he laid down a challenge.
"I thought so. Let's see how much stamina you've got. Nightmare by Avenged Sevenfold."
"Oh boy," Lucy tells me with raised eyebrows. I just shrug. "I can't really sing this one with you. Ethan's better for this one."
"That's why you're not backing me up. You're singing it with me. I've heard your rasp."
"Whatever, I can't sing like a dude," she tells me. No, she can't, but she can sing like Lucy and that's pretty fucking awesome.
"Let's do this," I say.
Sera whips her long brown hair up into a messy bun and takes a seat, adjusting for the height difference. She looks up and counts it off on her sticks and we're rocking.
Fuck yeah, is my first thought, watching Sera beating the fuck out of those drums. Christ, that's hot.
I close my eyes, singing from deep down, feeling it flow out from my soul and when I hear Lucy join in, I grin. She's incredible. I don't sound a whole lot like M. Shadows, but I make it my own. That's what sets apart wannabes from the real thing.
Lucy gives it her all and as the song ends, I open my eyes and wink at her. Her smile steals my breath.
"Fucking killer," Ethan shouts and fist bumps Jace. The two bass players were having a good time it seems.
Xander nods at Sera, his grin wide. She hands him his sticks. "You kicked ass. How do you feel?"
"Like I could keep going."
"Could you keep going for two hours solid? Maybe with a couple small breaks."
She tilts her head to the side and wiggles her eyebrows. He grins again. "I was talking about drums, darlin', but if you're heading in that direction we can always find out together."
She laughs. "I could keep playing for two hours. Maybe not at that pace the entire time, but I could do two hours."
He nods. "There's always a few less heavy songs mixed in the albums so if you wanted drums, you'd be great."
"Thanks. That means a lot coming from you."
Xander just nods.
"The question is," I say, "do you want to be back there or would you rather be up here?"
"First, let's see what she's got for the chords," Ben says.
Lucy smirks and I raise my brows. I have a feeling we're in for a big surprise.
"Just watch," Lucy whispers and heads over to grab rhythm guitar.
"Whatcha got going on here?" Kennedy asks as she picks up one of his guitars.
"Relax, oh silent and sexy one. I won't wreck your precious. I just know what she's got in mind and I need to do rhythm for her. Well, I don't need to, I want to because this is going to be epic."
"What's she got in mind?" Ethan asks.
"The same thing she always has in mind whenever someone challenges her on guitar," Jace says with a grin. "The only question is which song."
"My
new favorite," she announces and Lucy raises her eyebrow, her mouth forming a small o.
Luce hops up on a stool and tells me, "You're gonna have to sing this one solo, hot stuff."
I nod, grabbing the mic and stool, and plop right next to her. "What is it?"
"You'll know it as soon as the first note is played."
I nod again, ready for whatever they've got for us.
"Ready?" she asks.
Sera nods and Jace winks.
Sera strums the first chord of Hail To The King by Avenged Sevenfold and all brows go up and grins appear. Sera jumps in to sing her part as do Jace and Xander. Kennedy matches Lucy, Ethan matches Jace, and I sing like a motherfucker.
Ben stands in front of Sera and watches her while his fingers work the fret, grinning. She's not even paying attention. Her eyes are closed and she's in the zone. That's fucking impressive.
When the last chord is struck, the studio is completely silent. Sera's head comes up and she grins at Lucy.
Ben shakes his head. "Fucking Hail To The King."
She shrugs. "I do so love a challenge and I'm glomming on A7X right now."
"Obviously you've been playing some if you know that song."
"Well, yeah. I'm a musician. I have to play even if I'm not in a band. Lucy and I have jam sessions."
"Good. It seems you get to choose what you want to do because you're fantastic at both," Ben says.
She grins at him. "Thanks, Ben."
He nods. "I mean it. That was incredible."
"It's up to you. If you do drums, you'll be in the back and likely someone else will have to sing backup. If you choose lead, you get the spotlight. If you choose rhythm, you get a lot of spotlight but not as bright," I tell her.
"First, would you be content back there? People know who you are as a drummer, I mean, look at Xander. The women are nuts for him even back there," Lucy says.
"Probably not. I'd prefer to move around the stage a bit."
Lucy nods.
"That leaves lead and rhythm. Would you be content with rhythm or do you want to continually challenge yourself?"
I look at Lucy with a knowing smirk. I know what she's doing. Clever.
"I, of course, want the challenge," she says with a grin, her brown eyes, so much like Lucy's, flashing with humor and excitement.
"Then you're it, woman," Jace says with a grin.
"So we're looking for rhythm guitar and drums. You need anyone for boards?" I ask.
"Nope. I got that," Lucy tells me.
At that, I'm surprised and my brows go up. "No shit?"
"No shit. Why do you sound so surprised?"
I shrug, not sure why really.
"What, only Sera can be a musical prodigy?"
"I never said that."
"They must have missed our P!nk performance yesterday," Sera explains.
Lucy nods. "Must have. And now I feel like I have something to prove," she says, heading to the piano. She flexes her hands and fingers, cracking her knuckles. I take my mic with me and sit next to her on the bench. I like being close to her and, if she's honest, she likes it too.
She starts playing Your Song from Elton John and everyone joins in on their cue. I sing the first verse. Lucy joins in on the chorus and takes the second verse. I lean forward, catching her attention, and sing the last line of the second verse to her. Yours are the sweetest eyes I've ever seen. That's no lie. They are. So expressive and kind.
Lucy smiles.
"Well done, Cupcake."
"Thank you, thank you," she says with a laugh.
Cage stands from his chair in front of the stage.
"You want my opinion?" he asks.
"Always," Lucy tells him.
"Sera, take lead. Luce, just sing, do acoustic when you want, during breaks or whatever. Piano if you need to. Focus on working the crowd, engage them. Jace is perfect." Cage shakes his head and laughs. "I knew you'd be sensational but I wasn't expecting this."
Lucy, Sera, and Jace light up at his praise, and it's high praise, indeed. It's not every day Cage Nichols hands out compliments like that.
"So we find rhythm and drums and get you set up in a studio. You've got songs, right?" he asks.
Lucy laughs. "Are you fucking with me right now?"
"Yep," he laughs in return. Hell, I can't remember a time when I've seen Cage smile so much.
Lucy throws a guitar pick at him, which doesn't go very far.
"Yeah, we've got songs. Books upon books of songs."
He nods. "You know I own a company that produces records."
"No, had no clue at all," she tells him, pointing at me and the guys.
He laughs. "I've got the company studio and a private one. You can use the private one any time you want, but in a couple weeks I want you in the company one recording your album."
"Holy fuck," Jace says. "You're that Cage Nichols."
He nods. "I am."
"Oh yeah," Sera says, walking up to him and jumping on his back. Piggy-back time. "We're going to be on sexy Cage's label." She leans forward and kisses his ear.
His arms reach back and cup her ass, holding her up. Well then.
I put my arm around Lucy. "I'll help you. Whatever you need."
"Thank you, all of you, for this." We all nod.
She turns to me, her expression one of complete sincerity so I give her my undivided attention. "Please know that I don't expect it from you, but I am grateful for every single thing you do."
"I know, Lucy. If I thought it was anything else, you wouldn't be mine."
She leans in and whispers, "I'm not yours, Jesse."
"You will be before the night is over."
She ignores me—or tries to—and stands up. "I've got to say, boys, I'm pretty surprised you knew that last song."
"What?" Kennedy asks. "If there's a musician out there that doesn't know that song, they are a disgrace."
"Agreed. I just figured you guys were too hardcore to know Elton John."
"Fuck no. It's a classic. Layla. Lola. Shit, they're the best," Ethan says.
"Truer words were never spoken," Jace replies.
"Well all right. We need to get Jace settled in at the penthouse—"
"Penthouse?" I ask, remembering the hotel comment from this morning.
She nods and blows out a breath. "Suites really."
"Why are you staying in a hotel?" I frown.
"Well, Mr. Sexy Rockstar, I can't go home. It's surrounded by reporters and when I say surrounded, I mean surrounded. It's gated, but that means stopping and risking someone getting in when the gates open and I can't be bothered to hire additional security. I've never had to before, and I'm not starting now."
I nod, not at all happy about the situation, a situation I helped create.
"So where are you staying?"
"I've got an entire floor booked at the Beverly Wilshire. Once filming is done, we'll stay in the house in Santa Monica."
I feel like shit. Damn. "I'm sorry, Lucy. I didn't realize the reporters were on you that bad."
She shrugs. "It's par for the course."
"They weren't nearly that bad at my place."
"Gated community?" she asks and I nod. "Yeah, mine's not. I haven't had a need for it."
"Until now," Sera says.
"You're a movie star," Xander says. "How could you not need a gated community?"
"I've always stayed under the radar when I've gone out—avoided temptation, so to speak. It's not that we haven't been looking already, we just never made it a priority."
"Guess we will now, huh?" Sera says and Lucy nods.
"We're taking Jace out for drinks," Kennedy says and Lucy groans.
"Really? His first night here?"
"Is there a better time?"
She sighs. "He's got his own suite. I'll give you the key, Jace. I rented out the floor so we have privacy. You all can party there if you want, just keep the skanks to a minimum please, and over on your side of the building. I don't want
to hear that shit."
Lucy looks around then asks, "Where'd Sera go?"
"She took off with Cage," Jace replies.
She nods and I wonder what's going on between the boss man and Miss Sera.
"Do you have a car here?" I ask.
"Max."
I nod. "I'll take you home."
"Okay. That's probably better. Then Jace and the boys can have Max or Gio drive."
I nod again as Lucy hands Jace his suite key and tells him they've got the car for the night.
"We'll drop their cars off and Max can take us to the hotel."
"Sounds good. Stay out of trouble," Lucy says to Jace as she gives him a hug. She mimics Robert DeNiro as she points and squints her eyes at the other guys, who just grin.
I let out a chuckle. I'll be damned if I don't like her even more now than I did ten minutes ago.
Chapter Fifteen
Jesse
Past
"You're not going to invite me up, are you?" I ask.
She shakes her head. "No, I'm not. We've still got to work together."
"Just one more day… more like half a day. There's not much left to shoot."
"Jesse."
"Lucy."
She smirks and shakes her head.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"Oh come on. It was something."
She turns in the passenger seat to face me. "You really want to know?"
I glance over for a second before looking back at the highway stretched before us. "I do."
"I was just thinking 'Jesse freaking Kingston'."
I grin. "Yeah, that's me."
"It still seems surreal."
"I could say the same Miss Hollywood actress. Luciana freaking Russo."
She waves me off. "I'm not anything but a mediocre actress at best."
Now I really do laugh. "Oh really. This coming from the woman who got nominated for an Oscar after her very first film."
"Please. It was best supporting actress and I didn't win."
"Still nominated and you won the actress Oscar for your last film so don't tell me you're mediocre."
"Meh. I don't feel like I deserve any of that. I'm just Lucy and I go play other characters sometimes."
"You work hard, learn all the lines, get into that character, make it believable."
"Great scripts help."
