Page 54 of Spark
KENDRICK
“ I f anyone wants something more than these snacks,” Laila says to the group—Ruby, Kai, Titus, and me—as we get settled in her and Savage’s expansive living room, “there’s a Mexican place down the road that delivers.”
We’re at her and Savage’s gorgeous, beachside home on a Malibu cliffside for another all-hands-on-deck writing sesh—this time with Laila contributing her talents to the cause.
We don’t normally invite outside co-writers into our process, even our only honorary band member, but desperate times call for desperate measures.
“I could go for a burrito,” Titus murmurs, patting his flat stomach.
“There’s plenty of snacks right here, T,” Ruby says to her brother, motioning to the impressive spread on the coffee table. “We’ll get an actual meal later as a reward for writing a kickass masterpiece.”
“But I didn’t eat breakfast,” Titus says with a pout.
“Deal with it,” Ruby snaps. “Whenever you eat a full meal at the beginning of a writing sesh, you fall into a food coma, and we need you, and everyone here, working at maximum capacity.”
“I don’t know why you’re so stressed,” Titus says with a yawn. “We’ve still got plenty of time. It’s only one song, dude.”
“Yeah, but it has to be amazing. And don’t forget, we also have to record and rehearse it into the ground.
All our calendars are getting so busy with side gigs these days, so finding time when the five of us can get together—the six of us, sorry” —she motions to Laila— “is going to get more and more difficult.”
With a grin, I pipe in to say, “Since our guest mentor episode aired, Ruby’s calendar has filled up like crazy with songwriting sessions. Some of them with legit heavy hitters.”
Everyone expresses excitement for Ruby, and when I prompt her to elaborate, she lists off the artists she’ll be working with soon with a wide smile and sparkling eyes.
“Reed predicted this exact thing would happen as a domino effect to Cooper’s song,” I say. “I guess The Prick really does have some kind of a crystal ball, huh?”
“That’s giving Cooper way too much credit,” Laila says.
“Yes, Cooper’s song helped get things rolling, but Ruby’s the one who did this for herself.
She’s the one had the genius idea to kiss you at your birthday party, and she’s the one who noticed someone recording.
Ruby’s also the one who’s co-written some of the most kickass songs in the world for Fugitive Summer, and she’s the one who expertly plays them live for tens of thousands of people around the world. ”
“I get it. No, you’re totally right. Sorry.”
“Also,” Laila continues, “Ruby’s the one who negotiated the performance slot term in her contract.”
“So true,” I concede. “I shouldn’t have said that.”
“And then,” Laila continues. “As if all that wasn’t enough, Ruby went on to shine like a thousand suns during the press conference and Guest Mentor episode.
So, please, let’s not let Cooper’s stupid song about some mystery girl named ‘Ruby Tuesday’ eclipse everything she’s done to seize the day and make hay while the sun just so happened to be shining down on her, simply because Cooper lifted the shade on a nearby window.
Okay?” She looks around sternly at the group for emphasis.
Every man in the room mumbles, “Okay,” since we’re now feeling like she’s talking to all of us, not just me. And after that one-word response, we all press our lips together, feeling appropriately shamed and stupid.
“Good. Thank you.”
Ruby laughs. “Thank you, Laila.” She’s laughing through tears.
Clearly, Laila’s speech meant a whole lot to her.
“Thank you not only for those amazing words,” Ruby clarifies.
“But also, for going to bat for me as your mentor this season. I’ll never be able to repay you for what you’ve done for me.
” She looks at me and blushes. “Personally and professionally.”
“No repayment necessary, babe. I asked for you because you’re incredibly talented, and a great friend, and I wanted the whole world to see what I’ve known about you for a long time.”
“Laila’s absolutely right,” I say, feeling like it’s safe for me to speak again. “You’ve earned everything coming to you. I didn’t mean to imply otherwise, baby.”
“ Baby ?” Titus says, his eyebrow cocked.
“Reed’s point wasn’t necessarily wrong, though,” Ruby says, not addressing her brother’s question. “Cooper’s song was the first domino to fall. Don’t you dare tell Reed I said that, though. On principle, it annoys me no end how that man always thinks he’s right about every fucking thing.”
“Ain’t that the truth,” I mutter.
“Hello?” Titus says. “You called Ruby baby , KC.” He looks at me with narrowed eyes. “I’ve never heard you call her that before. Cutie, sweetheart, babe, Ruby Duby. But baby ? That’s a new one.”
Grinning mischievously, I look at Ruby for permission to break our fantastic news, and she returns my smile and nods.
Ever since we spilled our guts and opened our hearts to each other last week, we’ve been dying to tell our bandmates everything, but we’ve both wanted to do it in person and while we’re all together. Well, this sure feels like the perfect moment.
“Great catch, T,” I say with a wink. “I called Ruby baby, because she’s finally my baby.” My grin widens. “We’re officially together, guys. As a couple.”
As everyone whoops, cheers, and claps, Ruby adds, “We’re officially living together at Kendrick’s place. I’ve already got a renter for my place.” She gazes at me adoringly. “We’re endgame, guys. We both know it.”
The group instinctively gets up and huddles in the middle of the living room for hugs and congratulations.
“I told Ruby the truth about everything,” I tell Savage during our hug. “Even the building manager. She laughed about all my lying and scheming. She wasn’t mad at me at all.”
“What lying and scheming?” Titus interjects.
Shit. Ruby’s protective brother is standing behind me, much closer than I realized.
Reluctantly, I fill him in on the gist of the story, since he wasn’t at C-Bomb’s poker party; and to my relief, Titus seems every bit as amused about everything as his sister.
“You two already knew about all this?” Titus asks, motioning between Savage and Laila. Apparently, he’s surmised as much from their not-at-all-shocked body language.
“KC came to me for advice,” Savage says proudly. “And I helped him tap into his inner Doberman to get what he wanted. ”
“And surprise, surprise,” I add sarcastically, “he then babbled everything we’d talked about to his wife.”
“She’s my wife ,” Savage mutters, like he had no choice in the matter.
“Adrian knows there’s no point in him keeping anything from me,” Laila says with a waggle of her eyebrows. “I’ve got a few foolproof ways of getting information out of him.”
Everyone laughs.
Everyone but Kai, I can’t help noticing.
“Hey, Ruby,” my brother says. “I’ve already apologized to Kendrick for fucking everything up for you two. But let me apologize to you, too. I really fucked up, and I’m so, so sorry.”
“It’s okay, Kai,” Ruby says. “I think Kendrick and I both feel like everything happened, exactly as it was supposed to.”
“I just want you to know I couldn’t be happier for you two or sorrier for what I did.”
Ruby and I wrap Kai in a warm, forgiving hug, and my big brother is visibly holding back tears by the time we release him.
When that side conversation is done, everyone sits again, this time with Ruby and me sitting together and holding hands, and the rest of the group chatting enthusiastically about our happy news.
“Honestly, I’ve wanted you two to get together since high school,” Titus confesses. He flashes Kai a snarky look. “When I found out she had a crush on you, I thought, ‘Wrong Cook brother, Ruby, ya dumbass!’”
We all burst into happy laughter.
“Trust me, if I could rewind the clock, I would,” Ruby says, squeezing my hand.
“But in my defense, I did try to right that horrendous wrong pretty early on. Unfortunately, it didn’t go as planned.
” She tells the group the story of her coming to surprise me at school, and everyone reacts with gasps and pained body language, the same way I did when Ruby told me .
On and on, we talk about everything with our best friends.
Our found family. And every time I lock eyes with any of them, whether it’s Savage, Kai, Titus, or Laila, their smiles and body language tell me they couldn’t be more thrilled for Ruby and me.
For our whole band. Because at the end of the day, our happiness is theirs.
Our love, theirs to share. The truth is, we all want what’s best for every person in this room, in whatever form that takes.
After a while, Ruby looks at her watch and gasps. “Shit. Guys, we really need to get to work. Let’s write a hit song.”
“Actually, sorry, before we do that,” Savage says.
He looks at Laila, and she beams a smile at him that he apparently perceives as permission.
“As long as we’re sharing good news with the band, Laila and I have some we’ve been waiting to share in person with all of you.
” He looks at Laila again, looking like a kid on Christmas. “Tell ’em, Fitzy.”
Laila’s practically bursting with excitement. “I’m pregnant,” she shouts. “Four months along!”
The room erupts with congratulations and cheers. And in short order, we’re all up again and group-hugging with Savage and Laila this time.