Page 3 of Spark

“I will when you stop acting like a dick who deserves to be nagged.”

With a roll of his eyes, Kai swings open the metal door, and it’s back into the basement we go. But only two steps into the room, we’re surprised to find Titus slaying a nasty riff on Savage’s guitar, while Savage looks on like he’s witnessing Titus turning water into wine.

Kai and I look at each other in disbelief. Savage never lets anyone touch his most prized possession: the second-hand electric guitar he bagged groceries for a year to be able to afford.

When Titus sees my brother and me, he abruptly stops playing and looks sheepish. “We were just messing around till you got back. ”

“He’s incredible, guys!” Savage blurts excitedly. “Holy shit, Titus! Play something else.”

“He’s a great singer, too,” Ruby offers proudly. She’s now standing behind her keyboard, patiently awaiting her chance to dazzle us.

“Not as good as you, though,” Titus replies.

“Wait, you both play and sing?” Savage asks.

“We grew up playing with our parents,” Ruby explains, like it’s no big deal. “They were in a band in college. Our mom’s a music teacher now.”

Savage looks thoroughly energized. Indeed, the dude is physically hopping from foot to foot with excitement. “Can you both sing harmonies?”

Both Ruby and Titus confirm as much. But they do it casually, like it’s nothing. Which means they both must be pretty good, because only people for whom harmonies come naturally think it’s nothing.

“We’re not looking for a second guitarist,” Kai interjects. “Savage plays guitar.”

“Like I said, I was just fooling around till you got back,” Titus says evenly as he heads to the couch, his stiff body language a mixture of “fuck this guy” and “I’m not gonna say what I’m thinking so I don’t blow this for my sister.”

For a longish moment, a thick silence hangs in the air. To fill it, I stride toward my drumkit, which prompts everyone else to start getting settled with their instruments, too. Finally, when it seems like we’re all set and ready to roll, I shoot an encouraging smile at Ruby. “Are you ready?”

“Sure,” she chirps. “Which of your songs would you like to start with?”

My eyebrows ride up. “You learned more than one of them?”

“I learned all of them.”

“All four ?” When I sent Ruby our rough demos—the only four Fugitive Summer songs currently in existence—I only meant for her to learn one. And I’m positive I told her that.

“Take your pick,” I manage to say. “Whichever one you’re most excited to play.”

“Okay, can we start with ‘Little Demons,’ then? I love that one. I mean, I love all your songs. But that one really spoke to me.”

I shoot Savage a pointed grin. Damn, she’s good . “Little Demons” is Kai’s favorite of our four songs. Not surprisingly, since he’s the one who wrote the lion’s share of it.

“Sounds good,” Savage says smoothly. “Count us off, KC.”

I pause and clear my mind, getting the tempo in my head, and when I’ve got it, I click my sticks together at the right pace, counting us off. A moment later, we launch into the song … for the very first time, with four musicians instead of three.

“That was as good as sex,” Savage declares as he leans back onto the tattered, discarded couch we dragged into the basement a few months ago.

Ruby and Titus, our band’s two newest members, just left, following a three-hour jam session that blew all our minds and quite possibly changed all our lives forever.

Right out of the gate on “Little Demons,” Ruby was a star.

Everything she added to the tune was perfect—stuff that immediately made the song so much better.

Fuller. Catchier. In particular, the subtle counter-melody lick she played to complement Kai’s bassline in the first verse was out of this world.

Pure gold. And it only got better from there.

For instance, when we reached the first chorus and Ruby switched to a meandering synth riff that made the song feel kind of celestial and other-worldly—a touch demonic, you might even say—and all while singing pitch-perfect backing harmonies behind Savage’s kickass lead vocals, that was it.

We all knew. We’d found our keyboardist. Even Kai started exchanging nods and electrified expressions with Savage and me at that point.

At Savage’s insistence, Titus got up to play Savage’s guitar on our second song, which then gave Savage the freedom to move around while singing, like the future rockstar he is.

And I’ll be damned, by the end of that second song with all five of us playing, and Titus and Ruby supplying some perfect backing harmonies, a five-member band was born.

“That was better than most sex,” Kai retorts, one-upping Savage’s prior comment. “If I had to choose making music like that every day of my life but at the cost of only ever getting myself off with my hand, I’d do it. It was just that good.”

“Well, let’s not get too crazy,” Savage mutters. “That was awesome, but better than sex? Nothing is better than sex.”

“Making great music is better than sex.”

“No.”

“And sex is amazing. That’s my whole point.” Kai whacks my leg. “Would you hurry up and fuck somebody already, so you can weigh in on this argument?”

“I’m saving myself for marriage.” It’s my usual joke—the thing I say to deflect attention whenever the subject of my virginity comes up.

Of course, they know I’m not actually waiting for marriage or anything else in particular to do the deed for the first time.

So far, I just haven’t had the opportunity to take things past kissing and making out.

It certainly doesn’t help that I’ve switched schools midway through my high school career, and that I’m now attending a school that’s a long train ride away, making hanging out difficult.

But, hey, I’m only sixteen. Almost every guy I know, other than Savage, is still a virgin, too.

Hell, Kai didn’t lose his virginity till he got to college and met Courtney.

“Speaking of sex,” Kai says. “Let’s talk about the elephant in the room. Ruby’s off-limits, guys. We all agree to that, right?”

“I don’t think we need to make an actual rule about that,” Savage says. “Let’s just play it by ear.”

My heart stops. I haven’t told Savage about my crush on Ruby, but he knows me well, so I’m guessing he’s at least wondering. Did Savage leave the door open about Ruby for my sake . . . or for his ?

“You can’t mess with Ruby, Savage,” Kai says sternly.

“Why are you saying that to me, when Kendrick’s sitting there looking like a golden god?”

“Because she’s not his type. But you? You don’t have a type. As long as a girl’s hot, she’s an option.”

Fuck. Shit. Did Kai just imply Ruby is hot?

“That’s fair,” Savage concedes.

“So, respect the off-limits designation, motherfucker.”

“I don’t like being told what to do, though. If I’m feeling it with Ruby, then I’ll do something about it, no matter what you say.”

“Savage, fucking hell.”

“ However , you’ll be happy to know I’m presently not feeling it and don’t anticipate that changing anytime soon.

” Savage winks at me, all but confirming he’s managed to sniff out my crush far better than my big brother.

“I agree she’s hot, though,” he adds, still looking at me.

Probably, for a reaction. When I don’t give him one, he adds, “In a cute, pixie-fairy sort of way.”

“So, why aren’t you interested in her then?” Kai asks, looking suspicious.

I hold my breath, praying Savage won’t say something stupid like, Because I can tell Kendrick’s into her.

“She’s too sweet for me,” Savage replies, and I exhale in relief. “You know I like my women a little bit mean.”

We all laugh. It’s true. He does .

“Okay, can we all agree, then?” Kai asks. “Ruby’s off-limits.”

“I didn’t say that,” Savage counters. “I said I’ve personally got zero interest in her. But if one of you wanted to go for it with her, that’d be fine with me. Why make stupid rules when this band is supposed to be about having fun?” He shoots me the tiniest of smirks.

Kai’s not having it. “If anyone messes with Ruby and it goes sideways—which it would, because young love never lasts—then we’d lose two players, not one. The band wouldn’t survive that, guys. Definitely not worth it, no matter how cute she is.”

Savage and I look at each other. Who’s Kai trying to convince with that? Savage or himself?

Kai cracks open one of the cheap beers a neighbor bought for us on the sly.

“Also, let’s not overlook the fact that Ruby’s jailbait, on top of everything else.

At least, for me. Even if I was tempted, which I’m not, I couldn’t do that.

Certainly not with her corn-fed brother in the band, too.

Did you see the arms on that dude? Holy fuck.

Titus’s guns were bigger than Kendrick’s! ”

I’m reeling. All the words Kai’s been saying are the right ones. Reassuring, on paper. But the fact that my brother feels the need to say them at all? This increasingly feels like a “lady doth protest too much” situation, like I’ve been hearing about in English class lately.

“You okay?” Savage asks, batting my leg. “You’re awfully quiet.”

I force a smile. “Just tired. Three hours of banging on drums after a rough football practice will do that to a guy.”

“You killed it tonight. You’re so fucking talented, KC.” He returns to Kai. “You should apologize to him for being such a dick about Ruby. That wasn’t cool, man.”

To my shock, Kai doesn’t flinch or flip Savage off. On the contrary, he jumps right in with the requested apology. “Yeah, sorry, KC. I was a dick. Turns out, you were right. Ruby’s incredible.”

Incredible.

Eye candy.

Pretty.

Cute.

Hot.

The hits just keep on coming.

“Titus is pretty damned incredible, too,” Savage says, unaware that I’m spiraling next to him on the tattered couch.

“But Ruby was definitely the secret sauce,” Kai mutters.

“Yeah, she was the spark that lit the fuse that caused the explosion,” Savage agrees.

Spark.

Fuse.

Explosion.

Those are exactly the things I felt when I first met Ruby. The second I saw her, my palms went clammy and my heart skipped a beat. I swear to god, a swarm of butterflies attacked my stomach, just like they talk about in cheesy movies.

“Now that we’ve got the right musicians in place,” Kai says, “the sky’s the limit for us, guys. I can feel it.”

“Fuck yeah, it is,” Savage says, with far more enthusiasm than I’ve ever heard from him in relation to the band. “Hey, toss me one of those beers, man. We’re celebrating.”

Kai grabs beers and throws one to Savage, as requested, and then to me, even though I never drink during football season.

Fuck it. I crack open mine and guzzle the whole thing in one gulp.

My body is normally my temple until the season is over, but tonight, I’m making an exception.

Because tonight? Fuck me, it was pretty damned clear the girl I’ve been crushing on, the girl who’s the spark that lit a fuse inside me and caused an explosion, felt that exact same kind of a spark tonight. For my brother.

“Slow down, KC,” Kai says. “We’re gonna have a toast.”

“Here’s my toast.” I let out a long, loud burp, making the guys laugh.

“Cheers to that,” Savage says, still chuckling.

“Actually, you know what?” I blurt, suddenly determined to keep Ruby away from Kai. “I agree with you. I think we should all treat Ruby like a sister, the same way she’s a sister to Titus. Our whole band will be an all-for-one-one-for-all kind of a thing.”

Savage furrows his brow. “You really want it that way?”

“I do.”

“Good call, KC,” Kai says. “From this moment on, we’re all Ruby’s brothers, not just Titus. That’s the only way this is ever going to work out.”

Savage trains his dark gaze on me for a long moment. And when I don’t give him anything to work with, because I can’t without giving myself away, he shrugs and says, “As long as it’s Kendrick Cook telling me what to do, and not Kai Cook, then count me in.”

We raise our beers to seal the deal. Although mine is empty, unlike theirs.

Is that the equivalent of crossed fingers?

Probably not. More likely, I think I’ve just managed to keep my best friend and big brother from making a play for the girl I’m crushing on .

. . while simultaneously decimating my own slim chances with her as a result.