Page 43 of The Deviation
I nod, shifting my focus from the dates Johnny and Oz gave me, to my own calendar. “The fifteenth is a winner. I’ll email the venue tomorrow and finalise the change.” I scribble the datein my notebook and then flip back to my agenda. “Next up, I’ve got studio time booked on the twenty-second of next month for recording the new single. I want to double check everyone has it locked in, so there aren’t any last-minute conflicts.”
Pages are flipped and phone screens swiped before murmurs of confirmation are given. Crossing the item off on my list, I take a sip from the glass of iced tea Charmaine served after the guys headed outside to The Jam Shed to begin their rehearsal.
What originally started as a fortnightly pre-rehearsal meeting to go over the band’s upcoming schedule has grown into something entirely less formal. We all gather around Gavin and Charmaine’s dining table—the four men, Toni, Charmaine, and me—for a noisy dinner full of takeaway containers and shared stories as everyone catches up with everyone else. Once stomachs are full, I force the guys to drag out their various calendars and set about co-ordinating their schedules. With all four of them working full-time jobs, it can take a while to find room for everything. The second we’re done, they disappear out the door to do what they love, play music together.
Tonight though, they were so restless Toni, Charmaine and I jointly decided to send them on their way while we organised their lives for them. They seemed unperturbed by the idea. Once they were gone, Toni and I helped Charmaine clean up from dinner before we sat back down and got started.
Being included in what they refer to as ‘band fam dinner’ was overwhelming for me at first. That’s what they are to each other. Family. The easiness between them, the shared history, is a painful reminder of something I once thought I had. Which reminds me of the dangers of getting too comfortable. I don’t belong here; I’m not one of them. The band pays Rush a percentage of everything they earn to employ me to manage them. I am, quite literally, the hired help. As long as I do my job to their satisfaction, I’ll be welcomed with warm smiles. But ifthey ever decide another manager would suit their needs better, my seat at this table will be offered to someone else. That’s the reality I can’t allow myself to forget.
“Have you heard the new song yet?” Charmaine’s voice catches my attention, but her wide smile is directed at Toni.
He sucks in a deep breath, eyebrows reaching for his white-blond hair. “Ned sang it for me a few days ago. It gave me chills. I don’t want to hear my boyfriend pining that hard for anyone but me, thank you very much.”
Charmaine gives him a conspiratorial grin. “Except, we all knowNedisn’t the one doing the pining.”
“Oh hell, yes. That boy has it bad.”
“Has he said anything to Ned?”
“Not a peep.” Toni shakes his head. “Whoever she is, she must be putting him through the wringer.”
Wincing, Charmaine sits back in her chair. “After everything he’s already been through, with the divorce, I’d hate to see him hurt again.”
I frown, my gaze bouncing between the two of them. “Who are you talking about?”
Two sets of eager eyes turn my way. “Johnny,” they say at the same time.
My heart sinks… all the way down, souring the honey chicken in my stomach. “Johnny’s seeing someone?”
“We don’t know for sure,” Charmaine says with a shrug. “But with the music he’s been writing these last few months, and the new single…” A look of blissful agony crosses her face, and she puts a hand over her heart. “Tell me it’s not the most heart-wrenching thing you’ve ever heard.”
My mouth drops open. I shake my head. “I haven’t heard it.” Apparently, I’m the only one. “Johnny said it wasn’t ready.”
“Oh, it’s ready,” Toni says with a nod. “It makes me want to cry it’s so freaking ready.”
Charmaine sighs. “Hopefully, this woman will soon pull her head out and realise what an incredible man she’s got there. Then, maybe we’ll get to meet her.”
Toni holds up his own glass of iced tea. “Here’s hoping.”
Charmaine turns her curious gaze on me, as if I’m not on the verge of hyperventilating. “What about you, Calum? Do you have someone waiting for you at home?”
Clearing my throat, I force a smile. “Just a sister, I’m afraid. All my focus is on the band right now and building my career. Boyfriends will have to come later.”
“Well, I’m sure you’ll find someone when the time is right,” she says. “A handsome ginger like you? What man worth his salt could resist.”
I huff a laugh. “More than you’d imagine,” I admit ruefully, picking up my glass. “I’m afraid ginger isn’t everyone’s cup of tea.”
“Pish posh,” Toni says, scoffing. “Trust me, there is a man out there who’ll take one look at your hot self and decide to scull the whole damned pot.”
“Too right,” Charmaine says with a definite nod.
The back screen door slams and Johnny strides into the room. “Charmaine, do you know where Gavin left his black music folder?” He’s breathing heavily and there’s a light sheen of perspiration on his skin, even with the cool spring night. “I need some notes I gave him last week.”
“I know I saw it somewhere. Let me take a look. Help yourself to some iced tea,” she says as she rises to leave the room.
He turns, his eyes widening as he takes in the jug and collection of cups on the table. “Perfect.” Stepping closer, he grabs my almost full glass. I try to tell him that one’s mine but he’s already gulping down the icy liquid. My gaze catches on the way his throat moves as he swallows, a single drop of condensation sliding down over his olive skin. It catches on theneck of the t-shirt stretching over his chest, which leads to a hint of taut stomach and then the tight denim moulded to his groin… which is right, the fuck, in front of me.
Up until this moment I could honestly say I’d never had a single tea-related erection in my entire life. The bastard ruined my record.