Chapter Thirty-One
KILLIAN
T wo days later, I strode briskly through the halls of VS Music Production on my way to the recording studio, pissed as hell at the way that fucker Peter thought he owned my girl. The pressure of needing to produce an entire album weighing on me was enough stress on my plate without having to deal with his bullshit.
A flash of blonde hair caught my eye at the junction of the next hallway as I stepped around the corner. It looked a lot like Tris, but what was she doing?
I stopped and waited.
She slowly backed up into the hallway only ten or so feet from me. When she’d inched her way closer, I finally spoke. “Hey, gorgeous.”
“Shit!” she screeched as she jumped. Her hand lay over her heart as she whirled around to face me.
“Whatcha doing, James Bond?” I asked, unable to stop the grin that stole across my face.
“Shut up.” She whacked my chest and huffed. “I lied to Peter about where I was going.”
We walked side-by-side to the door of the studio. “Why?”
“He had a lot of questions about us,” she admitted. “He’s angry I haven’t called him back yet. He’s angry we’re together. I’m angry that he’s angry instead of being happy for us, and I haven’t confronted him yet about any of it. I’ve been letting Wendy deal with him because I don’t know what to say.”
I nodded, anger of my own burning through my veins that she hadn’t told Peter to stop being a dick and let her date who she wants.
But she was here now. With me. And I knew how hard it must be for her to skip out on Peter like that.
“Your daring escape deserves a reward, don’t you think?” I slipped my arm around her waist and tugged her off balance.
She gripped the front of my shirt, her eyes downcast and flirty. “I was very stealthy.”
I wanted to yank her up and wrap her legs around my waist, but instead I settled for a light kiss. The pout of her lips told me she’d hoped for a little more, too. “I’d think the big bad rock god could do better than that.”
“Oh, is that so?” I whirled her around, pressed her back to the wall, sliding my knee between her open thighs.
She whimpered as I nipped at her bottom lip. “You want more?”
“Yes,” she groaned, her hands fisting the front of my shirt.
My lips peppered the column of her neck, teeth grazing her pulse point. She sunk down the wall grinding her core on my leg.
“Let’s not give the cameras too much of a show,” I whispered in her ear, feeling her stiffen. “What if the security team was watching us right now?” I was familiar with dodging cameras in this place, and with the bulk of my body shielding her I knew they couldn’t see anything. But I wanted to see if I could tease out her inner exhibitionist again.
The hitch in her breath confirmed she didn’t completely mind. Knowing we needed to hurry though, I let my lips descend onto hers. I slid my hand up under her shirt and caressed her soft skin as her hands dug into my shoulders, likely leaving behind tiny crescents the same shape as her fingernails.
I fucking loved the idea of her marking me.
Tris let out a light humming sound that drove me wild as I swiped my tongue over her lips, coaxing them open, and deepened the kiss.
A throat cleared behind me and I shifted my body to shoot a glare at the employee who dared interrupt us. “I, uh, sorry, Mr. Hook. I just needed to get something I left behind.” He scurried past us and pulled open a nearby door.
Tris covered her face with her hands and giggled nervously. Her cheeks and neck were a fiery pink as we straightened up and completed the walk to the recording studio. It would be our little secret that the change of color in her skin wasn’t completely due to embarrassment.
I waved to Sam, a junior producer, who sat at the soundboard. Even though we weren’t recording the final songs today, we’d play around to get a sense of what worked and what didn’t. Sam would sit with Tink and let her practice mixing our songs.
After hearing that she gave up on her career, I wanted to help her see that her old dream was still possible, and that if she wanted to do this as a profession, there were options.
I also had another reason for her to be here today.
After yesterday and the way I opened up to her, inspiration had struck. Earlier this morning, I’d written like a man possessed.
“Sam,” I greeted the younger man when he waved from his chair.
We shook hands before he turned his attention to Tris. “I heard we have someone interested in the recording side of things. Nice to see you getting more involved Trissa. I’ve always thought your instincts and suggestions were spot on.”
Tink’s eyes grew wide and another pretty blush stained her cheeks. “Hi. It’s been awhile since I’ve done any of this.”
“No worries. You can play around while Killian and the guys sing.”
“Thank you.” Her face lit up with joy and excitement.
Sam gave a quick nod and gestured for her to take the seat next to him.
The thumbs up she gave me once he got her settled and set up with a pair of headphones tugged at my happy heart. With one last glance at Tris, I left the control room and joined the guys who were already warming up in the live room on the other side of the window.
I fist-bumped, Dante, our drummer, a big guy with thick muscles. He was quiet, yet fierce. If we needed security backup, just having him stand there was often enough to scare people off.
Isaiah, our bass player, greeted me with a fist bump and bro hug. This guy was anything but quiet, and often his lean body was bopping to his own beat.
It was almost by accident that the three of us had found each other. I’d shown up to one of the traveling amusement parks that featured live music on the weekends before I’d gotten big. He and Dante were arguing next to the stage about what to do since their lead guitarist flaked and hadn’t shown up. I had my instrument in the backseat of my car and offered to take his spot. They were so desperate to get on stage, they didn’t even ask if I was any good.
We’d been playing together for the last ten years now, since I walked away from Tris and Peter. And I couldn’t imagine doing music with anyone else.
Dante lifted his chin to point toward Tris. “So it’s true?”
They both knew about the animosity between Peter and me. It wasn’t a secret in the industry that the two of us couldn’t stand each other. And they’d clearly seen mine and Tris’s relationship being blasted on social media.
“Yeah.” I didn’t want to outright lie to them, or give them the full scoop right now about how Tris and I’d gotten here.
Isaiah ran his hand around his mouth and over his scruff. “Do we need to worry about Peter?”
I shrugged. “I can handle him.”
Dante eyed me like he wasn’t sure that was true, but eventually went back to his drums. The air in the room was tenser than usual. I knew the guys were worried about the upcoming album and the lack of songs.
I motioned toward the control room, and when I knew Sam and Tris were listening, I asked her what song we should warm up to.
She grinned and named one of Taylor Swift’s peppiest, most upbeat songs.
I rolled my eyes not admitting I liked the song too.
Dante busted out singing the main hook, surprising us all. After a laugh, he counted us in with the beat. Tris clapped along. Who knew he was such a Swiftie?
Isaiah and I picked up the tune on our guitars, and I begrudgingly sang the chorus into the microphone.
If this didn’t prove I’d do anything for my girl …
Trissa pretended to swoon, earning her an eye roll from me.
“That enough for you, babe?”
“For now.”
I grinned, and jumped into the first few cords to one of our earlier songs, ‘Fallen.’ It was our tradition to always warm up with our first big hit.
Each member of our band brought his own unique quality to the music, and when a song was working, we knew it almost immediately. We melded together poetically. Management had suggested bringing on another member and rounding out our sound, but we were hesitant to pull the trigger after ten years when everything had been working so well.
“Okay. Let’s get started on the new stuff.” I licked my lips, and took a few sips of water.
For the next hour, we worked on recording one of the songs we’d been practicing. Seeing my girl watch me from the other side of the glass motivated me to be at my best.
When Sam took a break, I told the guys about the tune I’d written earlier that morning.
I had a simple melody to go with the words, knowing the guys would have suggestions when it was over. I strummed my guitar and let it take over me.
Spotlights blind, cameras flash
A perfect smile, a rehearsed laugh
But behind these eyes, a story untold
Of a heart that’s both young and old
In the shadows of yesterday
A love I couldn’t convey
Now you’re here in the light
Everything feels wrong but I know it’s right
Smoke and mirrors, that’s what they see
But your touch feels real to me
Fame’s a game I’ve always played
Now I’m scared, I’m so afraid
That this love might not be made
To survive in this masquerade
Headlines scream, they paint our tale,
A reformed bad boy, found his grail
But they don’t know the lie we spin
Or the truth that festers from within
Memories of chances missed
Of a young love never kissed
Now we’re dancing on the edge
Of a feeling I can’t hedge
Smoke and mirrors, that’s what they see
But your touch feels real to me
Fame’s a game I've always played
Now I’m scared, I’m afraid
That this love might not be made
To survive in this masquerade
Is this real or just for show?
I don’t think I even know
You were always out of reach
Now you’re here, and I can’t speak
Authenticity is a choice I never made
Till you came and changed the game we played
I played the guitar solo and finally turned to face Tris. Our eyes met and held as I sang the next verse, singing directly to her.
Smoke and mirrors, that’s our facade
But my heart’s no longer flawed
Fame’s a game I’m tired of playing
With you, I feel like staying
In this love we’re co-creating
Real or fake, it’s still awaiting
In this world of smoke and lies
You’re the truth I recognize
Past and present intertwine
In this heart of mine
I gripped my instrument like it was a lifeline and mustered a glance at Dante and Isaiah, who volleyed their own gaze between Tris and me.
“What do you think?” I asked into the mic, because I was ultimately waiting for Tris’s reaction.
Her eyes were pooling with tears. Her lashes beat a steady rhythm against her cheek as she fought to keep them from spilling over. I made a move to go to her, and she gave me a gentle shake of her head. I knew that meant we’d talk later.
Well, fuck.
I wasn’t sure what I expected, but this wasn’t it.
The guys still hadn’t responded. I turned to them. “Well?” I barked.
They took my question as an invitation, shrugging off their shock and diving right in, offering suggestions to polish the composition, and share their thoughts for enhancing the sound with their own instruments. I wrote furiously, taking notes with fervor.
The guys had a lot to say about this one, and we all agreed the other songs could wait. This one had the potential to be the lead single, so we wanted to work on it while it was fresh. The song came together faster than any we ever had recorded.
Once we thought we had it the way it needed to go, we played through it for Sam and Tris. The looks on their faces was all we needed to know.
“Fuck yeah.” Isaish lifted his hand to high-five me.
“So, I’m thinking we should take a break,” Dante suggested.
“Yeah. It’s hot in here,” Isaiah joked. They were good guys, and I knew they were both giving me time to talk to Tris. They invited Sam to go with them. He gave me a quick thumbs up, like he was wishing me luck.
Tris and I stared at each other through the glass. She rose from her chair and I tracked her until she was at the doorway to the live room.
For the first time, I didn’t know what to say.