Page 14 of Another Postcard

Levi gestured to Simon, who began adjusting his equipment while Levi asked Sasha a couple of questions. I scooted over to Kristi and asked her opinion on a section where she was backing me up and we tweaked our syncopation so it was a little smoother through the transition into the last refrain. Simon played a few notes, then tuned a couple strings a little more precisely until it was exactly what he wanted. I was in awe of these musicians, their work ethic, their passion, their skill. Each one had their own abilities and styles, all unique, but they respected each other’s knowledge and opinions and then blended it all together to form one entity. They were what every band should be, what they needed to be in order to last beyond the glitz and glamour that were often nothing but a smoke screen.

Simon began to play, and just like I had been with Matteo, I was blown away by the direction he had taken his solo. It was what we’d written but . . . it wasn’t. Just as he reached the end, he was joined by the harmonic strains of a violin. They did a little back and forth before the base faded out and Sasha fell into the music. Her eyes closed and she held the instrument lovingly, reverently, as she lightly swayed side to side. Then, without warning, she launched into the melody of the hard rock verse. A fast and hard beat. Her eyes opened as the bow flew across the strings. Her green eyes were burning with an inner fire, it was an intoxicating sight and it captivated her audiences. For those who weren’t close enough to see her soul through those emeralds, the depth of emotion seeped through every pore.

I’d been wrong. The violin was perfect—the music wouldn’t be complete without it. Simon joined her once more, and after a moment, Matteo jumped in. As they approached the chorus, Sasha faded out. I glanced over at Levi and saw him staring back at me. He beamed at me, looking excited and monumentally pumped. He crooked a finger at me, and I found myself walking over to him, as though he were reeling me in like a fish on a line. He picked up his guitar, slinging the strap over his shoulder and then added another layer to the already gorgeous composition. When the music reached the right place, Levi and I opened our mouths and laid ourselves bare. As the music crescendoed, I belted out the notes, the harmony tight against Levi’s beautiful baritenor. Something was different this time. It was more. More than it had ever been. And it wasn’t the drums or bass, or Kristi’s descant. Tears sprung to my eyes as the emotion threatened to crash down and pull me under.

We faded out and that’s when I noticed what was different. My head whipped around and I stared at Sasha who was now sitting, a cello propped in front of her and her bow creating the most lush and opulent strains. We’d both been right. I didn’t know why I was surprised. Just like the crazy changes in style, it would make sense that different instruments would complement different parts of the song. After another couple of bars, everyone faded out and we found ourselves grinning at each other like lunatics.

“From the top,” I breathed and flipped around to face the mic.

We went from beginning to end, then picked it apart for a couple of hours. Noah had slipped in at some point, listening quietly from a stool set near the door. It was after midnight when he called it for the night. Energy was pumping through us, and if he hadn’t interrupted, it’s possible we would have gone head first down the rabbit hole, losing all sense of place and time, lost in a world of our creation.

“I’ve already put off security and the janitors twice,” he informed us. “They want to clean and lock up.”

We all groaned as though we were little kids being told they had to leave the adult party and go to bed. He laughed and put hands out in an “I’m sorry to be the party pooper” gesture. “You know you do this for a living, right?” he teased. “But, I’m about to turn into a pumpkin, so let’s get out of here.”

Levi tossed an empty water bottle at Noah who dodged it with a laugh. “We’re right behind you, old man.”

“Fuck off, Matthews,” Noah shot back with a silly grin.

We gathered all of our shit and straightened up. Since this was Stone Butterfly’s local studio, Noah had also commandeered a storage closet along with the office space he used while the band worked out of there. They were able to lock up all of the instruments so they didn’t have to lug them back and forth on the subway or in a cab. While in recording mode and tour prep, they spent so much time there that it just made more sense. After securing everything, we stumbled out the door into the cold, all of us still buzzing, high on the incredible energy that had been pulsing through our veins for hours.

Sasha stepped to the curb and lifted her hand. The next bright yellow cab with its taxi light lit screeched up to the curb. Sasha threw open the door and turned back to us, waving at the interior. “Dublin House! Who’s in?”

“Fuck yeah!” Simon shouted as he dove into the cab, grabbing Sasha’s waist along the way and dragging her in behind him, both of them laughing their asses off. “I’m completely wiped out,” I said reluctantly. “Next time.”

“I’ll hold you to that!” Sasha’s disembodied voice yelled. “Matteo?”

Matteo shrugged. “I could go for some Guinness.” He looked back at Levi and me expectantly and raised his eyebrows in mild disbelief when Levi shook his head.

“Don’t be a pussy, Matthews!” Sasha yelled from inside the car. “Get your ass in here!”

Simon’s voice carried from inside the cab next. “Yeah! Otherwise you’ll turn into Noah!”

Noah rolled his eyes. “Oh, for fuck’s sake,” he grumbled as he walked over and slid into the back seat.

Matteo gave Levi one last questioning glance. I pushed on his shoulder. “You should go, Levi,” I encouraged. I went up on my toes and whispered, “Don’t be a pussy, Matthews.” I chuckled but he froze, not even breathing.

Then after a second he relaxed and called out, “Go on guys, I’ll meet you there.”

Matteo nodded and squeezed in before slamming the door shut and the cab sped off.

Levi whirled around and grabbed my face between his chilly palms before slamming his mouth down on mine. After thoroughly rocking my world, he pulled back a centimeter and mumbled against my lips, “If you don’t want me to drag you to the nearest dark space and fuck your brains out”—I sucked in a breath, suddenly burning hot despite the weather being in the negatives—“then don’t ever say the word ‘pussy’ around me.” His voice was gravelly and strained. “I can’t even think of dirty talk coming from your sexy mouth or I’ll lose all control.”

I had no words. Well, I did, but they were all really filthy, and it seemed like a bad time for word vomit of a sexual and naughty nature. He rested his forehead on mine, waiting for his breathing to level out. When he seemed calmer, he stepped back, brushed a strand of my hair over my shoulder, then kissed my forehead. He turned and flagged another cab, giving me his hand when one stopped for us. He helped me into the car and then slid in beside me. “What are you doing? Dublin House is the opposite direction.”

Levi shut the door and threw his arm around me, hauling me into his side as he spouted off the address of my apartment to the driver. He kissed my forehead and hugged me a little closer. “I won’t be able to relax unless I know you got home safe, and I won’t know that for sure unless I take you there myself.”

I fought a sigh but gave in to my desire to burrow deeper into him. His embrace was the one place in the world where I felt the safest.Friends can snuggle, right?I could almost hear my inner self’s epic eye roll.Denial much?

Before long, we were in front of my apartment. Levi asked the cabbie to wait and jumped out to help me from the car. He took my hand and brought me close.

“Have dinner with me tomorrow night.”

Yes!But, what I actually said was, “I need to learn more ways to say no, because clearly English isn’t getting the job done.”

He adopted a ridiculous, and extremely adorable, puppy dog expression. “There’s a seafood place around the corner of the studio that has the best food.”

“Do they have shrimp?”

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