Chapter 10
“You’ve been driving all afternoon,” Boomer said to Alec when we got back to our parking spot. “Want me to take a turn?”
I knew he was itching to drive the car, and from the half smile on Alec’s face, he could tell too. Pulling out his keys, he said, “Know where you’re going?”
Alec nodded. “You’re not going to drive and play that game of yours, are you?”
“I can’t tell if you’re being serious or giving me a hard time, but in case you need reassurance, I’ll keep it in my pocket.”
“That was a joke,” Alec said with a laugh.
“You need to work on the whole joking part,” Boomer responded, his forehead pinched together. “Maybe next time you can smile or something.”
“How about this?” Alec dangled these in front of Boomer. “I’ll trade you these for the game. I haven’t played one of those in years.”
Boomer’s face lit up like Alec had told him he’d won the lottery. “You so have yourself a deal.” He handed over the purple Game Boy. In turn, Alec tossed him his key chain.
Asha leaned over. “Is it just me,” she whispered. “Or does Boomer actually think he gets to keep the car?”
We both snorted.
Once we were on the road again, I plucked my ACT book out of my bag and tried to study, but it was impossible to concentrate.
Alec was sitting across from me playing Boomer’s game, and my whole body was conscious of his proximity.
Every time my mind wandered to him, I had to reread whatever passage I’d been working on.
When twenty minutes had passed and I’d barely made it through a chapter, I tossed the book on the seat between us. Alec glanced up from the Game Boy.
“Sorry,” I told him, but he waved me off.
“It’s okay. I completed Boomer’s Pokédex anyway.”
“What?” Boomer turned and gaped at Alec. “You caught Chansey? No freaking way. I’ve been trying to capture that damn thing for three weeks!”
“Boomer!” Asha shouted as the car drifted into the next lane. “Eyes on the road!”
Alec just smiled and set the Game Boy aside. Then, he unbuckled his seat belt and slid over to re-buckle next to me. When he pulled out his phone and offered me an earbud, I took it without a second thought.
“I want you to give me your honest opinion about this band,” he said as he scrolled through his music library. “They’re called Raining Bullets. This is their demo.”
When he hit Play, I closed my eyes and concentrated on the song. It was fast and upbeat with loud guitars and a whole lot of rock. They reminded me a bit of the Heartbreakers…only a girl version. Alec didn’t say anything when the demo finished, just looked at me expectantly.
“They weren’t what I was anticipating,” I said, pulling out the headphone so we could talk, “but I liked them a lot.”
“Yeah?”
I nodded. “The world needs more awesome rocker chicks.”
“My dad’s been going back and forth on whether he should sign them. Says they’re not radio-friendly, so he’s leaning toward no, but I’m working to convince him.”
“Are they friends of yours?”
“Actually, we’ve never met,” he said. “But I’m trying to get into the production side of the music business. There’s something about finding new talent and working with other musicians that I love.”
“Trying?” Alec was part of a successful band, and his father owned a record label. How hard could it be to get into the production side of music?
“Let’s just say my dad and I don’t see eye to eye when it comes to creative decisions.”
“So he doesn’t trust you.”
“It’s more that he has a blueprint for running the business and doesn’t like to stray from it,” Alec said. “But last month I got him to agree to let me produce a record for this new client he’s signing.”
“Congrats, Alec!”
“Thanks, I’m really excited about it.” He gestured for me to put my earbud back in. “Here… How about I play you some more demos?”
As we continued toward San Francisco, making our way closer to Rose and the answers I so desperately needed, Alec showered me with music.
Unlike the playlist he’d shared with me earlier in the day, none of the melodies were familiar, and I didn’t know a single lyric, but I couldn’t care less.
Each time I heard a new song, I felt like I was getting another piece to the puzzle that was Alec Williams.
***
Not long after leaving Pismo, we stopped at the Gas Exchange.
As promised, Alec refused to let anyone pay for gas.
While he fueled the car, Asha and Boomer took charge of stocking up on snacks so we wouldn’t have to stop for dinner.
They were halfway across the parking lot when Asha spun back around.
“Your usual?” she called. She was still following Boomer, walking backward as she waited for my answer.
“Yeah, and something with caffeine in it.” I grabbed a squeegee from the bucket bolted on the side of the pump and said to Alec, “You sure you don’t want anything?”
He already had the gas cap off and was selecting a grade. “No, I’m good.”
“All right, but don’t look at me when you get hungry,” I teased. “This girl doesn’t share Cool Ranch.”
Before he could answer, his phone rang.
“Sorry,” he apologized and pulled it from his pocket.
He didn’t bother looking at the ID. “Hello?” The person on the other end responded, and whoever it was made Alec frown.
He listened for a moment before saying, “Something came up.” Alec’s voice was flat, like whoever he was speaking to had sucked life out of him.
I kept my gaze focused on the windshield, scrubbing a spot that was already clean, and tried my best to look uninterested in his conversation. In reality, I wished he would put the phone on speaker.
“Why? Can’t land a deal without me?”
Whoever he was talking to started to yell. Alec flinched away from his phone, and I could make out muffled ranting on the other end. He let it go on for a good minute before finally interrupting.
“King—King!” His face went slack, like interrupting had zapped all Alec’s energy, and he was too exhausted to fight. “I’m sorry, okay? I promise I’ll make it up to you… Well, no. Not right now. I kind of, er, left town.”
Was Alec in trouble with this King person because he offered to drive me to San Francisco?
The thought made me go stiff. I dumped the squeegee back in the bucket of gray-looking water and stepped out of earshot.
Alec’s conversation went on for another thirty seconds or so, but I only moved back toward the car after he shoved the phone into his shorts with more force than necessary.
I waited for him to say something, but he glared at the cars whizzing by on the road as if I wasn’t there.
Mind your own business, Felicity. If he wanted you to know, he’d tell you…
I tried to bite my tongue, but the tension in the air built between us like an invisible wall. I needed to break it down before Alec clammed up. “So…” I said warily. “Who’s King? A business partner or something?”
He snorted. “King is my dad.”
I gawked. “You call your dad King?” Alec mentioned his father was controlling…but making his son refer to him as king? That was just ridiculous.
“It’s his name,” he explained. “Sebastian King Williams. No clue what my grandmother was thinking when she gave it to him. Actually, she probably knew exactly what she was doing. It fits him perfectly.”
“He’s mad at you for missing the party, isn’t he?”
Alec exhaled through his nose and offered me a curt nod.
My face fell. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to take you away from your work.”
“Don’t apologize,” he said. “It’s not your fault my dad’s an ass.”
I searched for something to say, but my thoughts and words were muddled with guilt. Alec must have been lost in his own head too, because we both fell quiet. The pump finished fueling as the door to the Gas Exchange swung open.
“Look who scored!” Boomer yelled in his megaphone voice.
He held a huge bag of Swedish Fish over his head like he was Lloyd Dobler in Say Anything.
The smile on his face was all teeth and enthusiasm.
Asha followed. In one hand was a cardboard drink carrier with a slushy, a soda, and coffee.
In her other hand, she clutched a plastic bag, which presumably held my chips, her Pop Rocks, and whatever other junk food the two had purchased.
“We ready to go?” she asked.
Alec hung the gas nozzle back up and nodded. To Boomer he asked, “You still want to drive?”
I watched my friends, waiting to see if they picked up on the shift in Alec’s mood. Neither did.
Boomer gave another toothy grin. “Most definitely. Let’s bounce.”
***
The rest of the afternoon flew by. Sometime after leaving the station, Alec pointed out the city of Salinas as we passed through.
He told me it was the birthplace of John Steinbeck, and that he’d set many of his novels in the area, like Of Mice and Men and East of Eden.
Steinbeck was far from my favorite novelist, but that Alec noticed and remembered my love of American literature was enough to keep me smiling for the rest of the drive.
At some point I must have dozed off, because I woke to the sound of someone gently whispering my name. “Felicity, wake up. We’re almost there.”
My eyelids fluttered open, and I blinked in confusion.
The last I remembered, I was listening to music with Alec, and the sun was still out.
Now, dark-blue and purple hues had chased away the daylight.
I lifted my head. There was a kink in my neck from sleeping at a weird angle, and my hair was matted to the side of my face. I stretched out my arms and—
Oh God.
I’d fallen asleep on Alec’s shoulder.
“Sorry about that,” I muttered, quickly straightening up and wiping my mouth. Hopefully I hadn’t snored. Or worse, drooled on his shirt.
I felt Alec shrug beside me. “I didn’t mind.” He was in the middle of wrapping his headphone cords around his phone, and when he finished, he met my gaze with a smile. “Sleep well?”
Warmth bloomed on my cheeks, and I nodded. “Where are we?”