Page 32 of Before We’re More Than Friends (When We Faced the Music #1)

He shook my hand. “Silas Landers. Oliver’s in the garage with his bandmates.

” He let me inside the house and led me into the laundry room.

He opened the door, revealing a big garage.

Hayden, Oliver, Caleb, Sienna, Arielle, and Raina sat on the beanbags, clapping for two little blonde girls as they performed a routine in their blue cheer uniforms.

“Hey, one of your friends is here,” Mr. Landers said before closing the laundry room door, leaving me with everyone else.

Oliver turned around and smiled. “I thought you weren’t coming.” His gaze traveled to my guitar. “And you came prepared.”

“This doesn’t mean I changed my mind,” I said as I took in the garage. It was decked out in fairy lights and posters, instruments and beanbags scattered across the place. There was even a TV with a cable box and two gaming consoles, a few controllers sitting on the ground .

“Are you sure?” Hayden asked, beaming as his eyes lit up. “Because your whole presence says otherwise.”

“I wanted to at least try.” My gaze went to Raina, who was also grinning at me. She gave me a wink, and the back of my neck prickled. Screw you, neck.

“Who is this?” one of the blonde girls asked, stepping closer to study me. She was tall but looked no older than six. “Did one of the girls finally get a boyfriend?”

“Hey!” Arielle shouted. “It’s okay that we don’t hop around like your brother.”

“Yes, because I’m a bunny in relationships,” Oliver muttered, his face pinching. “But no, this is our new addition to the group, Dallas.”

“Hey, Dallas,” the shorter girl said as she stepped up. “I’m Bella, competitive cheerleader.”

I smiled, giving her a fist bump. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Do you have a girlfriend, Dallas?” the taller girl asked.

“Mollie,” Oliver hissed. “Get out of here.”

“It’s not for me!” Mollie threw her hands up. “I was just wondering because he looks . . .” Her eyes traveled from my face to my chest. “Like that .”

“Gosh, you’re so embarrassing!” Bella said. “He’s not that hot.”

“Well, ouch.” I put a hand to my chest, laughing out of embarrassment.

“Get the hell out of here,” Oliver growled, pointing to the door. “Now.”

“You said a bad word!” Mollie said before she and Bella ran up the stairs and into the laundry room, giggling to themselves.

“They never ask about my love life,” Caleb said, putting a hand on his side. “Should I be offended?”

Oliver rolled his eyes. “I’m really sorry about them,” he told me. “They don’t know how to act around strangers. ”

“It’s fine,” I said as I sat beside him. “They’re cute.”

“Thank you!” Mollie called from the other side of the door. “You’re cute, too!”

“Leave!” Oliver shouted.

More giggling came from the laundry room before it faded away.

Hayden cleared his throat. “Now that Mollie and Bella are done being a thorn in Oliver’s side, we can get to business.” He stood up from his beanbag and stood in the middle of the garage. “As you know, Battle of the Bands is coming up, and it’s our big chance to expand as a band.”

“And get girls,” Oliver said with a smile.

“Yeah, because it’s tragic you’ve been single for almost a month,” Caleb said, finishing a bag of chips. “Now you know how the rest of us feel.”

Oliver scoffed. “I’m having a rough patch. It happens.”

I wanted to ask about what happened with Kami, but Hayden started speaking again.

“Getting girls will be a bonus, but we need to show everyone that we’re serious about music,” he said, crossing his arms. “The problem is that we don’t have a lead singer.” He nodded to me and Raina. “But we have two candidates.”

Raina held up her hands. “I didn’t promise that I’d sing today.”

“You are,” Arielle said. “You’re up against Dallas.”

“I didn’t know it was a competition,” I said, anxiety rising in my chest.

Hayden lifted his eyebrows. “Would it be more interesting if we made it one?”

“I’m down for that,” Sienna said as she sipped on her coffee. No judgment, but did the girl drink anything else? “We need something entertaining to happen around here. ”

Raina giggled. “As if you don’t swoon over Ivan Hicks every weekend.”

Sienna shook her head. “Something entertaining that I can actually be a part of.”

“I think we should vote!” Arielle chirped. “There’s five of us, so it won’t be a tie.”

“Sounds good,” Hayden said. “What do you think, Dallas? Want to go first?”

“I-I need time to prepare,” I said as sweat ran down my back. “Raina can go first.” I reminded myself that seventh grade was four years ago. What happened then wouldn’t happen again. I was here in front of my friends—and Raina, gosh—who wouldn’t feel differently about me after this.

And it wasn’t like I cared if Raina beat me or not.

Not really.

Maybe just a little.

I can’t lose.

“I’m ready, anyway.” Raina got up from her beanbag and walked to where a microphone stand was.

The rest of the band went to their instruments—Hayden to his set of drums, Caleb to his keyboard, Oliver to his white bass guitar, and Sienna to her red lead guitar.

“What are we singing?” Raina asked.

Oliver faced me and her. “Do you both know ‘Classic’ by MKTO?”

Raina smiled. “I love that song.”

“Me too,” I said, smiling as well.

“Perfect,” Hayden said before tapping his drumsticks together. “One, two, three, four.”

Everyone started playing their instruments, and Raina swayed to the beat before singing the first verse. Her light and raspy voice hit me like a tidal wave, a chill traveling down my spine. She was only a few seconds in, and I knew I was going to lose this competition.

She sailed through the pre-chorus before leading into the chorus, belting out the lyrics as she danced, smiling wide. In the moment, as her hair swayed with her movements, she looked freaking stunning. Hot. Sexy .

Raina Vermont was freaking sexy.

Sweat ran down her forehead toward the middle of the song, but her voice didn’t let up.

Her glittery makeup was still intact, adding to the beauty in her expression.

Her performance reminded me of something from a kids’ sitcom, and I was waiting any second for her to take the mic and jump on something.

When she looked into my eyes, hers piercing me, her grin widened. A zap of electricity coursed through my chest. It was like she was singing to my soul. I smiled as I took her in, wishing I could stay in this moment.

And I hated it. I hated that I loved this so much, that I couldn’t stop watching Raina as she belted into the microphone with her angelic voice, that she looked freaking perfect as her hips—gosh, how had I never noticed those hips?—swayed.

I hated that she was the sexiest girl on the planet right now.

When she finished singing, sadness crashed over me as Arielle and I applauded Raina and the band. I wanted to rewind the past three minutes and bask in Raina’s presence, the sound of her voice, and her beauty I’d never admired so much before.

Gosh, I’m so freaking in love with this girl.

Coming here was a terrible idea.

“I think Dallas liked that a lot,” Raina said with a smirk, fanning herself with her hand. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him that happy.”

Yeah, I needed to run for the hills if I wanted any chance to save myself. “You’re awesome,” I said, my cheeks on fire .

“Let’s see if you’re better.” Raina sat back in her beanbag. “Man, my blood is pumping.”

Mine too, for the wrong reasons . I drew in a breath, walking to the microphone stand with my guitar. I looked over at Hayden, who nodded and smiled.

“You can do it,” he mouthed.

I managed to give him a weak smile back.

Hayden tapped his drumsticks together. “One, two, three, four.”

I closed my eyes as the music started, trying to drown out my fears. Focus on the music. You’re sitting in the tree with Toby, belting this song until your lungs burst.

It took me a moment to realize I was already singing the first verse, strumming my guitar. Raina and Arielle watched me with smiles, though Raina seemed more invested, a look in her bright eyes I couldn’t determine. Maybe she’s looking at me the way I was looking at her .

Don’t entertain that idea . I averted my gaze and focused on my lyrics, but by the chorus, I was belting out word for word as I locked eyes with Raina. Suddenly, we were the only people in the room, and everything that came out of my mouth was for her.

Sweat ran down my back and forehead, making me feel anything but sexy. But it didn’t matter. In this moment, it felt like I was baring my heart to Raina Vermont, the girl I’d fallen for through years of letters and messages without ever seeing her beautiful face.

How had it taken me this long to start singing again?

The rest of the song flew by. Before I knew it, the only thing that was left was the instrumental. Sweat stung my eyes as I wiped my forehead. Sheesh, I needed a shower.

Raina and Arielle applauded me with big grins.

“I told you I know talent when I see it,” Hayden said as he sat up from his seat, wiping sweat off his own forehead. “I could give Simon Cowell a run for his money.”

“T-Thanks.” My cheeks were on fire as I looked around the room at everyone grinning at me before facing Raina again.

“I might have to look out,” Raina said in a sultry voice as I walked over to her. “I have some fierce competition.”

My heart nearly broke my ribs from how hard it slammed against my chest. Was she flirting with me? Or was this part of her friendly banter? “Thank you.”

She rubbed my back for a few seconds, sending another bolt of electricity up my spine. “You should. I’m the reason you came here.”

My cheeks burned as I sat down. “You wish.” And I wished she was wrong.

“You two can wait in the living room while we make our decision,” Oliver said, pointing to the laundry room door. “Don’t pull a Mollie and Bella.”

“We’ll see,” Raina said before going into the laundry room, and I set down my guitar and followed her.

We sat on the couch in the living room, where Mollie and Bella played with their dolls. Mr. Landers, who sat in a chair with his Kindle, didn’t seem bothered by Barbie and Ken’s dramatic breakup.

“Who do you think is going to get picked?” Raina asked me as she watched the girls play.

“I don’t know,” I said. “Ryan isn’t a bad choice for a rebound.”

She giggled. “I’m still Team Ken. But seriously, who do you think won that sing-off?”

“I’m not sure.” Instead of focusing on the quality of my performance, I’d been too busy indirectly singing a song to the girl I shouldn’t be in love with. She was the only reason I was into music again in the first place .

Once she was gone, there would be nothing all over again.

“Well,” Raina said, staring at her lap. “Good luck.”

I scratched behind my neck, not looking at her. “You too.”

After six treacherous minutes of waiting, Oliver invited us back into the garage. I drew in a sharp breath, wanting to get this over with.

“We all talked it out before voting.” Oliver sat as he picked up a bowl that had five slips of paper in it. “You ready?”

“Sure,” Raina said. She gave me a smile before reaching for my hand, the same one that had the bandage on it. Gosh, the zap shooting from my hand to all over my body was not supposed to strike as hard as it did. “Good luck, again.”

“Thank you.” I swallowed, unable to look her in the eyes.

She seemed to get the wrong signal and let go of my hand. “Sorry.”

“There’s nothing to be sorry about,” I whispered, reaching for her hand again.

She smiled, her cheeks flushing as much as mine were right now.

“The first vote is for . . .” Oliver pulled the first slip of paper out of the bowl. “Raina.”

Everyone clapped, and Raina beamed.

Oliver picked up another slip of paper. “The second vote is for Dallas.”

Everyone clapped for me this time, and I smiled shyly, the heat in my cheeks refusing to subside.

“The third vote is also for Dallas.” Oliver picked up the next slip. “The fourth vote is for Raina.” He picked up the last slip, which was folded neatly. “Finally, the last vote is for . . .”

Hayden performed a drumroll.

I drew in another sharp breath, squeezing Raina’s hand. The results don’t matter. It doesn’t matter .

Oliver opened the last slip, and a grin broke out on his face. “Dallas!”

I gasped, putting my hand to my mouth like I’d just won a talent show. Applause and cheers filled the room.

“I knew you’d win,” Raina said with a smile, rubbing my back. “And you’d been so worried.”

I fluttered my lashes, still in shock. “I didn’t know I still had it in me.”

“You say that like you’re forty and living in your parents’ basement.”

I grinned. “It’s still a surprise.” I had no idea what I’d just gotten myself into, but for the first time, it didn’t bother me at all.