“Let’s give her a try,” Ash replied.
“No, I can’t—” she protested.
“Of course you can,” Keaton said. “Come with me. Guys, give us two minutes.”
He took her hand and led her from the sound room. He shut the door, and then suddenly, it was just the two of them.
“Why are you acting like you can’t stand me?” Keaton asked. “What have I done?”
She sighed. “Nothing. Keaton…I really like you.”
He smiled. “Great!”
“But I can’t…I won’t come between you and the band.”
He cocked his head. “Never. But we need you. I need you. Please, just try.”
She gave a deep breath, looked through the window at the other band members, and gave a small nod.
He hugged her. Then he took her hand and led her back into the room.
“So, what the hell, Keaton?” Taylor demanded. “We’re changing the song?”
“I promise I haven’t done anything too drastic,” she said. “But I thought the song needed to be a little more tender. It’s a love song, really, not a hate song. Ash and I played around with it last night, and we came up with an amazing intro to the song.”
“All right,” Mike said with a good-natured shrug. “Let’s hear it.”
Momo took out her violin and tuned the instrument. In moments she was playing the new segment to the piece. The men listened through it once, and when it was done, Mike nodded.
“All right,” he said. “Start it over, let me figure this out.”
It took almost an hour to get the new segments fitted, and when they finally had everything figured out, they played it through several times. It was a process that could have been brutal, but the men had buckled down and worked hard. By the end of the hour session, Taylor was dripping sweat, and the rest were gulping bottles of water.
“You know what?” Keaton said. “Why don’t you sing the first two lines of the chorus, and I’ll kick in on the third?”
“One more time?” Ash asked.
Mike looked at the clock. “We’ve got four minutes.”
“Fuck,” Taylor muttered under his breath, frowning. He counted off with his sticks, and Momo launched into her violin solo.
When her part came, she sang with a crystal clarity that was startling. Keaton chimed in on the third line, and their voices blended beautifully. She finished up the song playing the violin against the heavy drumbeat, and when the last sound died, all of them stood for a moment staring at one another.
“That was awesome,” Mike finally stated, breaking the silence. He pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose.
Ash and Keaton laughed. Taylor jumped from the drums and strolled to the side of the room where his equipment cases rested. Though The Studio Booth provided the basic drum set, Taylor brought his own snare and cymbal. He started packing up without saying a word.
Momo raised her eyebrows to Keaton, who just shrugged.
“Hey, Taylor, gonna need a ride?” Mike asked.
“Nah, got a hot chick waiting for me. Hope you had fun, nice to meet you, Momo.” He turned his back on them.
Mike shrugged and dismissed him with a wave of his hand. He, Ash, Keaton, and Momo talked about the song as they packed up their gear. They walked out and climbed into Mike’s van.
At the repository, Ash, Keaton, and Momo said their byes to Mike and headed inside. Keaton went around turning on the lights and Ash flipped on the generator for the heater. Momo settled on the couch, her eyes downcast.
“It’ll be warm in a few minutes,” Ash told her.
“I know,” she murmured. “I was here last night, remember?”
“See, I knew you’d two get along,” Keaton said, his face practically beaming.
Ash shot Momo a quick, hooded glance. “Yeah, about that, Keaton, I’ve got something to tell you.”
“Okay.”
Ash ran a hand over his face as something heavy clunked in the pit of his stomach. He’d never willingly, in his whole life, hurt Keaton. At least, not with something like this, and yet he knew he was headed on a collision course down a wrong street.
“What the fuck is going on, Ash? You’ve been acting weird all night.”
He felt Momo’s hand settle on his knee and pat gently. It helped. “Keaton, Momo and I…we, um, kissed.”
He saw Keaton shoot a look at Momo, then down at her hand on his knee, then back to Ash. “What?”
“Keaton,” Momo murmured, “it just happened. I’m so sorry. But there’s something tangible between him and me, just like I felt toward you. And that’s why I don’t think I can be with you.”
“She knows about us,” Ash admitted, picking up her hand. He saw Keaton’s gaze follow the gesture. “She doesn’t want to get between us.”
“What?” Keaton said again, his tone going a bit deeper.
“She figured it out, but it felt right to tell her.” He ran an agitated hand through his hair. Momo took her hand back and placed it in her lap. “Keaton, man, I don’t know what to say.”
“Is that all you did, kiss?”
“Yeah. That’s it, I swear. I mean, I wanted to do more, but I know she’s your girl—”
“Ash, it’s okay.”
Ash waited because he knew something more had to be coming. If Keaton were to tell him to stand and take a punch, then he knew he would be jumping up and bracing himself
“No, Ash, it’s really okay,” Keaton assured him.
Ash saw the surprise he felt mirrored on Momo’s face. Keaton smiled at them.
“For awhile I knew that something was missing in our lives,” Keaton continued. “Not between you and me, I love you, you know. But I knew there was something out of place. I just didn’t know what. And then, when I heard Momo sing, when I talked to her and heard her passion for our music, it all kind of clicked.”
“What clicked?”
“That missing element in our music, in our lives, was her.”
“Me?” she whispered. She swiped a tear from the corner of her eye.
“Didn’t you feel it?” Keaton asked her. “It was like a finding a missing puzzle piece and snapping it into place and having it complete the picture. I’ve only had that connection with one other person, and he’s sitting next to you.”
Momo looked from him to Ash and back again. She had a charmingly perplexed expression shining on her face. “Are you talking about a threesome, as in sex?”
“Well, I’m hoping there’s sex, but, no, Momo, I’m talking about us getting to know one another, building trust. Maybe work toward a full-fledged relationship.”
“How would that work, Keaton?” Ash asked.
“I think it would work very easily,” he answered. “You both said you felt a connection, right?”
“It takes more than connection to build a relationship.”
“You’re right, Ash, but can you honestly tell me you don’t want to try? Momo?”
She had been silent through most of their talk, her gaze shifting between them. Remorse had turned to surprise and then finally to narrow-eyed contemplation.
“You’re saying to me that you want to be in a ménage relationship, the three of us,” she clarified.
Keaton nodded. “One day, if you develop the feelings for both me and Ash.”
She gave him a small smile. “I already have feelings.”
Keaton threw a happy smile to Ash.
“But,” she continued, “there will be certain rules, of course.”
He frowned. “Rules?”
“If we start a relationship, then it will be exclusive,” she stated, pointing a finger at each of them. “You and you, no other men or women will be allowed or tolerated. I know you’re rock stars, and temptation is out there aplenty, but I deserve your respect. If you want to cheat, you tell me first and we’ll break the relationship. Then you can have all the groupies you want.”
“Deal,” Ash said immediately. “I have no problem with that.”
>
“Yeah, me, too,” Keaton told her. “What else?”
“This might be hard, but I think it’s important that we establish a no-jealousy policy between the three of us. Including myself. I know you and Ash were a couple first, so any time you two want to spend alone, I get it.”
“This is going to be interesting,” Ash replied. “I don’t think I’ll have a problem being jealous, but I guess we’ll find out.”
Keaton nodded. He raised one eyebrow at her. “Anything more?”
“One more thing.” She nodded toward the bedroom. “The last wall. I’m going to need a door.”
Keaton smiled. “Okay. Done.”
She took a deep breath and stood. “A relationship is more than just sex. And I know that I’ve already done it with you, Keaton, but this is something different. We’ve all just met a few days ago, so I’m going to hold off on the falling into bed with both of you until we get to know each other a little better. But I think we’ve laid a good foundation.”
She leaned down and kissed Keaton on the lips before turning to do the same with Ash. When she straightened, she had a wicked little smile on her lips.
“But let’s not wait too long, eh?”
The men chuckled.
“Now, I’m going to go back to my tiny apartment because I have the morning shift tomorrow. What are your schedules like?”
“Sunday through Thursday, always off at three,” Ash told her.
“I work the evening shift again,” Keaton replied.
“Then how about we meet before Keaton has to go in, and we can have an early dinner?”
The two men nodded.
“We’ll walk you home,” Ash said.
“There’s no need—”
“Of course there is, love,” Keaton murmured.
Ash rather liked the way that endearment fell from his lips.
Chapter Nine
The week progressed with them meeting and dating each day or night. And true to their word, if one of them couldn’t make it, then the other didn’t raise a stink. In fact, instead of feeling jealous if Ash was with Momo, Keaton felt sorry to miss out on seeing them. It was more a regret rather than feeling possessive or resentful.
And though they didn’t hop into bed together, there were moments of tenderness, moments of kissing and heavy petting. They were working out the details of what it would be like to actually have a ménage together. Sometimes Momo would be sandwiched between them, gasping as each man laid claim to her. And sometimes Keaton would be the one receiving attention.
Kissing Momo was different than kissing Ash. Momo was breathy and soft in all the places a woman should be soft. Ash was muscles and hard angles, taking charge in his own special way. Behind Ash’s blond angelic looks lurked a man who liked to spank, who liked to see Keaton squirm under him.
Keaton had no idea when they were going to take things to the next level, but he liked they were actually taking their time to find out little things about each other. He knew practically everything about Ash, but he liked discovering that Momo didn’t mind the color pink in moderation, or that she didn’t know a lick of Japanese, even though she loved watching anime. Her favorite holiday was St. Patrick’s Day because everyone got sloshed on green beer, and her favorite food was buffalo chicken wings with bleu cheese dressing, not ranch.
She hated smoking because it made her throat feel scratchy and didn’t mind asking smokers to blow their smoke the other way. And one day, she wanted children. That made Keaton pause. He hadn’t really thought of children, but he could see them as a large happy family. He could see her, belly gently round with either his or Ash’s child, and that made him pause again to contemplate their relationship even more.
What if she did get pregnant with either his or Ash’s baby? Would it bother him to not know for sure whose child it was?
What he discovered, after some deep soul searching, was that the idea of them having and becoming a family excited him. Of course, he didn’t want that now in his life. They were all in their early twenties. And especially not when he felt like Endymion was close to finding that golden ticket. But someday, yeah, someday would be pretty nice.
“You ready to play?” Keaton asked her Saturday night as they made their way to The Black Tiger’s back entrance.
“I’m excited and nervous at the same time,” she told him with a huge smile on her face. She was dressed in an electric blue top that fit her like a second skin, with a black and brown plaid miniskirt. She wore pink-and-black striped socks that hugged her thighs and calf-high black boots. Her hair was divided into two pigtails, hot pink stripes running through them. She was gorgeous and outrageous, and he loved her.
Mike, Taylor, and Byron greeted them. Byron held out another envelope to Keaton and shrugged.
Keaton groaned and tossed it without reading.
“What’s that?” she asked.
“Keaton has a huge fan,” Byron explained. “She scares me so I make sure to pass along the letters.”
“She’s harmless,” Keaton assured her. “I’m sure just some young kid.”
“Actually, she’s—”
But before Byron could finish his statement, Mike rushed over to hug Momo.
“I can’t wait till everyone hears you!” he gushed. “It’s going to be amazing.”
“And there’s a scout tonight!”
Byron’s excited cry made them all pause as they digested the information, and then they all spoke at once.
“Are you shitting me?”
“For real?”
“Byron, you better not be yanking my chain!”
“Holy hell, why’d you have to tell me? Now I’m nervous!”
Keaton and Ash high-fived each other. “With Momo’s vocals and violin, they’re gonna love us!”
“Yeah, yeah,” Taylor muttered. “We can name our first album China Doll.”
Everyone fell silent again, staring at Taylor.
“I’m not Chinese,” Momo told him coldly. “I’m Japanese.”
“Sorry. Geisha Girl, then.”
“Enough, Taylor!” Byron said firmly, surprising everyone. “I’ve heard her sing, and Keaton’s right. She’s what this band needs. Now shut up and keep your smart-ass comments to yourself.”
Taylor’s eyes were wide. When Byron was finished, he turned his back on the drummer. Keaton saw Taylor shoot Momo a dirty look before walking out of the changing room.
Mike cleared his throat and glanced at Momo. “Don’t worry about him. He’s just got a mouth he can’t control.”
Momo nodded and took out her violin, turning her attention to tuning it.
The band before them was wrapping up their set, and Keaton had a brief thought of dragging Ash to their closet but didn’t really have the time. He had gone to hunt down Taylor, who was pouting in Mike’s van. It bothered him a lot that Taylor had such a low opinion of women and held such an obvious distaste for Momo. He would hate to lose the drummer, but drummers could easily be replaced.
They set up quickly on stage. This time, instead of waiting for the count from the drumsticks, Byron would flip on the overhead light to highlight Momo. She would lead the song before everyone joined in.
The crowd was edgy, knowing something was different this time. A buzz could be heard over the electric charge through the room. And then Momo was spotlighted, and she had her violin under her chin and started “Space.” Her intro was only an eighteen-second beat, but her notes were high and classic. Then with a pulse-pounding beat from the drums, the lights came up, and the song began. The crowd went wild because they knew this song, and yet, it was completely different.
Keaton belted out the first verse, with Ash providing the background vocals, and then Momo’s clear voice chimed in with the first two lines of the chorus before Keaton sang with her on the last two.
The crowd was screaming, dancing, and head banging along with them. They had always had a great welcome at The Black Tiger, but this was something different. This was min
d-blowing. The song came alive, pulsing through the heavy beat of drums and thrum of guitars.
And when the song came to an end, Momo finished it up with her eighteen-second beat interlude from the beginning before the lights went completely out. The crowd erupted, almost deafening, stomping their feet and demanding more.
For the next twenty minutes, they held the crowd captive. Each one of their songs had undergone a transformation that resonated with the audience. It was a blending of hard rock with a softer edge, a bit of punk with grace. And when their set was finished, and they waved to the audience, all that could be heard was their name.
Back in the changing room, they all collapsed in exhilaration. Momo was doing a little dance, and Keaton snatched her up in a hug, twirling her.
“That was amazing!” she squealed. “What a rush!”
“By far, that’s the best night we’ve ever had,” Mike enthused.
“I don’t know about you blokes,” Taylor said, giving a significant look at Momo, “and blokette, but I am thirsty! Who wants what?”
He went to the cooler that Byron had provided and started handing out cans of soda.
“Momo?” he asked.
“I’ll take a cola.”
He turned around to get one for her, opening it for her before passing it over. She took a long gulp. She grimaced a little and looked at the label before setting it off to the side.
Just then Byron came bustling in. “Keaton, Ash, there’s someone I want you to meet. Come on.”
Keaton shot a surprised look at Ash, who just shrugged. He grabbed Momo’s hand, and they followed after their manager, who led them into the crush of people.
They pushed their way through to the bar, where a tall man in jeans and a button-down shirt greeted them. Not only did his clothes make him stand out, but his demeanor made him seem somewhat aloof.
Since the next band was currently setting up, they were able to talk at a mere yelling decibel.
“Ash, Keaton, this is Gil Johannson, with Abca Records. And this is Momo.”
The men shook hands.
“Can I get you anything?” the bartender asked, looking from each of the men, and her gaze lingering for a moment on Momo.
“Water, thanks,” Momo replied.
In a Chord (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 5
