Chapter 47
Easton
Blossom—Dermot Kennedy
The air is gentle and warm when we land in LA, the sky clear and bright blue. The sun is shining and it’s a beautiful spring day. Everything is perfect.
We’re picked up at the airport by a driver Redrock sent.
He’s waiting for us with a sign in his hand that says We Are No Saints.
Jax starts laughing when he sees it and punches Colin on the shoulder.
George, the driver, leads us outside to a black SUV that will take us to the Redrock offices.
Beck sits in the front, while the rest of us climb into the back.
Squeezed between Colin and Jax, I stare out the window as we drive from the airport toward the city.
My friends talk around me, but I don’t really listen because I’m not fully there. My thoughts are still with Rayne.
Rayne, and the question she didn’t answer.
It wasn’t fair to ask that of her in the first place, I know.
It’s selfish, and I shouldn’t have just blurted it out like that.
It’s not a decision you can make on the spur of the moment.
She’s built a new life for herself in Boston, made friends, found a home.
In LA, she would be confronted with too many painful memories.
But the thought that my future might be here on the West Coast while hers is on the other side of the continent is just unbearable.
I had to ask her, even though there’s no guarantee yet that we’ll get a record deal, or even if we’ll move here.
I had to ask her because I can’t imagine not living in the same city as her, not being able to see her every day.
You and me, we’re real, Rayne. We’re real.
Unfortunately, that doesn’t change the fact that I shouldn’t have taken her by surprise the way I did. I flinch when Jax nudges me.
“Are you zoned out or what? We’re here.” He grins at me, and I force a smile.
I know I should be happier. Our dream is coming true, and I should be enjoying it. I should be enjoying every single second.
“Sorry, I was just thinking about something.”
“Then it’s time to get back to reality. We’re in LA, dude!” His grin widens even more; he’s too excited to notice what’s going on inside my head, and I’m glad he doesn’t. He wouldn’t understand.
“Let’s roll!” Colin calls impatiently. He and Beck got out of the car a while ago and are already waiting for us at the entrance.
“Come on.” Jax climbs out of the car, and I follow him with a suppressed sigh, forcing myself not to think of Rayne. Right now, it’s time to focus on the guys and our shared dream. Our dream, which is now within reach.
The Redrock Building is a tall skyscraper made entirely of glass, sunlight reflecting brightly off the facades. Palm trees stand at regular intervals along the sidewalk, making it look almost surreal.
“Everyone ready?” Colin asks before we enter the building.
“So ready.” Beck puts his arm around my shoulder and pushes me into the building.
The lobby is bright and decorated with palm trees in pots, significantly smaller than the ones outside. In front of the large windows facing the street are comfortable-looking armchairs gathered around low tables that look like tree trunks.
We sign in at the reception desk, and a few minutes later a tall woman with short black hair steps out of the elevator and greets us with a friendly smile. She introduces herself as Constance Roberts, a talent scout for Redrock.
“Nice to meet you. Did you have a good trip?” she asks. We nod simultaneously. “Excited?”
“Maybe too excited,” Beck says honestly.
“I get it. But don’t worry, we don’t bite, and we’re really glad you were able to come at such short notice.” She points toward the elevator and presses number fourteen after the doors close behind us with a soft ping.
On the way up, Constance talks about the hotel we’ll be staying at and tells us she has a few things planned for the day if we’re not too tired after the meeting.
“I can imagine you didn’t get much sleep,” she says with a wink. She’s right. We really didn’t sleep much, mainly because of how early our flight this morning was. It was still dark when we set off for the airport.
“Not at all, actually.” Jax grins cheerfully.
“I hope tonight will be different.” The elevator doors slide open and we step out. “This way.”
We follow Constance into a large conference room where another, much shorter woman with red, curly hair is already waiting for us at a round table.
“This is my colleague, Amy.”
“Nice to meet you.” Amy shakes our hands one by one, then asks if we want anything to drink and if we’re hungry. She seems nice; her smile is warm, and her brown eyes are clear and appraising.
All four of us shake our heads. We’re too nervous to eat anything.
“Let’s get started, then,” Constance says after we all sit down around the table. “I don’t think it should come as a surprise that we found out about you from your music video. We were extremely impressed. Did you put it all together yourselves?”
I nod. “A friend of ours filmed the video and handled all the editing. She knows more about it than we do.”
“Does she do that professionally?” Curiosity flashes in Constance’s eyes.
“No, she’s studying dance,” Jax explains.
Amy and Constance exchange a quick glance that I can’t interpret. “It’s really wonderful. You should be proud that you’ve done so well together,” says Constance.
“Yes, but we think your songs could be even bigger than the video. We looked at your social media profiles and the music you’ve uploaded so far,” Amy adds.
“There’s a lot of good stuff there. Some of it could be developed further, and we think you have a lot of potential.
Especially considering your current hype on social media.
It would be a shame not to take advantage of it. ”
“That’s why we’d like to work with you on an album. We can rework some of your existing songs, but I think we’ll need a few new ones as well. Who writes your lyrics?”
“Mainly Beck and me,” I say.
“So you wrote ‘Dance with You ’Til Midnight’ together?”
I shake my head. “I wrote that song with Rayne Bellamy.”
“Ah, the dancer from your video.” Amy and Constance look at each other again. I’m glad she’s referring to Rayne as the dancer and not as Liam Bellamy’s daughter.
“Do you write songs together often?” Constance asks.
My heart skips a beat. “That’s the only one so far.”
Her eyes narrow slightly as she studies me.
“I think you should change that. You have amazing chemistry together. Not just when you dance. ‘Dance with You ’Til Midnight’ is an exceptionally good song.
The other ones aren’t bad either, not at all, otherwise we wouldn’t be sitting here today, but that song is something special.
We heard it and immediately felt something.
You tell a story that feels real, and that’s exactly what we’re looking for. ”
For a moment, I can’t breathe and my palms are sweating.
I wait for the voice in my head and the doubts that are always there, but there’s nothing.
The voice is silent, and for the first time, I believe that what Rayne, Beck, and everyone else said to me is true.
I don’t have to try to create something great on my own.
It’s okay to do it with someone else. With her.
Because together we’re real, and together we can bring out the best in each other.
“We want to work with you either way, but if Rayne continues to write songs with you, that would be a big plus. I’m just saying it like it is, because there’s no getting around it: She’s a well-known name.
Having her on your side could really help.
Besides, it looks like a lot of people think you’re great together.
” Constance smiles, and I feel my cheeks flush.
“Oh really?” I mumble embarrassedly, hoping she won’t answer. Over the last few days, Jax has shown me too many comments from complete strangers who, for whatever reason, hope that Rayne and I are not only a couple in the video, but also in real life.
“Looks like it.” Amy’s eyes sparkle with amusement.
I look at my friends because this isn’t a decision I can make on my own.
Rayne has to make her own decisions, obviously.
But this is also about the band, and if Redrock wants Rayne to be part of it, that’s completely different from me just asking her to come to LA.
It’s about our band, our future, and our friendship. Our music.
“She’s part of it,” Beck says with a grin, and my shoulders slump in relief.
“We can’t let Rayne turn into Text Girl again,” Colin says, which Amy and Constance acknowledge with confused frowns.
“East will talk to her,” Jax says.
Yeah, I guess I will.
“Great. Let’s get down to facts and figures.” Constance stands up and takes a stack of paper from the shelf next to the door. She divides it into four parts and hands one to each of us. “This is what we can offer you.”