Page 3

Ajay plays the air drums as he walks by me, heading straight for his kit. He sits down, starts playing, stops to write something down, and starts banging a beat again.
Keane sits on the stool next to me.
“What gives?” I ask, motioning toward Ajay.
Keane sighs. “He had a dream about a song, played it out the entire way here, and wants to get it down before he forgets. Jamie wouldn’t let him play it in the house. James has the flu or something and has been keeping her up at night. Evelyn stayed at our place last night.”
“Geez,” I say as I look over my shoulder at Ajay, who’s focused on his task.
The door opens again, and Dana Cantu walks in. She and Keane stare at each other for longer than normal. I don’t know what’s going on with them, but there’s definitely something. At least I think there is. But what the hell do I know? I can’t even keep my girl happy at home. After she said she needed to study, I thought she’d come to bed eventually, but I woke up this morning to an empty bed and house. I had to look at the cameras to see when she left and then wondered why she didn’t wake me up.
I don’t want to continue to harp on her about the little things. She said she had a test this morning, so I’m going to assume her mind is where it should be and not worried about my hurt ego. Nola needs to focus. Finishing school is important to her, and it needs to be important to me as well.
I strum my guitar and then look at Keane, who still has his eyes on Dana. She’s our lead singer and resident rocker. She reminds me a lot of Gwen Stefani, with platinum blond hair, long fingernails, and a voice everyone recognizes.
Again, I look over my shoulder and then back at Keane. “Is there something going on with you and Dana?”
Keane’s head turns slowly, almost like one of those wind-up toys that doesn’t really work anymore. “What? No.”
I chuckle. “Are you sure? Because it sounds like you’re trying to convince yourself of it.”
Keane shakes his head. “No, nothing is going on.” He sighs. “I’m attracted to her, but she doesn’t know it, and I’m fighting it because the last thing I need or want is a band hook-up. Especially with us going on tour and Chandler being with us.”
“Hendrix will lose his shit,” I say of Hendrix Brandt, our last band member who also plays the guitar. Hendrix is his nickname because he can riff like Jimi Hendrix. To this day, I have no idea what his real name is. Whenever any of us ask, he just tells us it’s Hendrix and always has been.
“That’s the one thing I know for sure; Dana is over him.”
“Does he know that?” I ask Keane, who shakes his head.
“Hendrix believes they’re soul mates and she’ll come back to him.”
I know what that’s like, to believe in a soul mate. Nola’s mine. At least I think she is.
Keane turns to face me. “Is Nola ready for the tour?”
“She’s not going,” I tell him, filling him in on why. “We’ll meet up in SC and get married, though. So that’ll be nice. We’re just going to have our parents there, and then we’ll figure out the big celebration after she graduates.”
“Congrats, man.”
“Thanks, just don’t mention it to my sister. She has enough on her plate right now.”
“How’s Ben doing?”
“Good,” I say. “They’re planning their wedding now.”
“Chandler is hoping for an invite,” Keane said, laughing. I have no idea who they have on their guest list. Knowing Elle, everyone she’s ever met will be invited because she likes presents. But then again, I can also see her having a family-only celebration.
“Should I tell her you want a plus one?” I waggle my eyebrows at Keane, who blushes.
“Chandler would be my plus one.”
“Maybe there’s someone she wants to bring.”
Keane shakes his head. “I’m not even close to ready to let her date or even entertain anyone coming around to court her. Thankfully, we’re only in the tween stage of life. I have another couple of years before someone knocks on the door.”
“Court her?” I begin to laugh and then stop. There was a time when I thought I would have to court Nola after I met her family. Thankfully, she didn’t seem to care for the dating habits that her parents and grandparents practiced.
Maybe that’s where I made a mistake.