Page 34 of Places I've Never Been

LT muttered something Adam couldn’t quite hear, and Cooper’s attention was focused on Tina.

“Without the melody, the words are useless.” Adam shifted, a little uncomfortable with the direction of the conversation.

She frowned up at him. “Words don’t need a melody to tell a story.”

“A melody doesn’t need words to tell a story.” He started humming a random melody. He let it dip, then soar, and finally he sang out the last few bars. “Ba-ba-bum-bum-da-dum.”

The guys cheered, and several servers clapped in polite appreciation.

Mattie rolled her eyes. “And what story was that little snippet trying to tell?”

“It’s the story of a man who’s hungry and needs a drink.” Adam smiled victoriously at her. “The last bit was announcing that food is here at last.”

“That’s not the story I heard.” Her expression turned crafty. “I heard the story of a man so filled with ego that he lives his entire life alone until finally he throws himself on the mercy of the ocean. The last bit was the ocean, telling him there is no mercy for a man who does not know love.”

He stared at her, dumbfounded. “That wasn’t what I had in mind when I sang it.”

“But it’s what came to my mind when I heard it. Without words, the listener will always make up their own meaning.” She took a smug sip of her cocktail.

Her insistence on doing it backwards was going to cause problems. His mind didn’t work that way. “The melodyhasto exist first, otherwise there’s no vessel to hold the words. They’d just be poetry sitting on a page that nobody gets to hear. With the melody worked out first, we can be sure of having a catchy hook that people will hum to themselves in the shower or on the subway.”

“Without the lyrics, there’s no direction. The music has no point. It’s just background noise. The lyrics are what they’ll quote to their friends. Lyrics are what make the song truly memorable.”

“We’ve done just fine making memorable songs so far.” He couldn’t believe how utterly and completely stubborn she was being.

Her smile challenged him. “If you want to work with me, we’ll need to work on the lyrics first. Then the melody.”

“You’re not serious.” He ran his hand through his hair. “I’ve always done the melody first.”

“Well this will be a nice change for you, then.” Mattie shrugged. “You hired me for words, so that’s what you’ll get. Words.”

Brandon looked delighted. “This should be fun.”

Adam shot his brother a dirty look. “Don’t laugh. If we do the words first that means you’ll have to figure out the melody that fits them instead of running off into the forest to frolic with whatever mood strikes.”

Brandon shrugged. “Challenge accepted.”

Mattie glanced around at the group. “Look, I’m not saying that melody isn’t important. Of course it is. Inspiration comes from all kinds of places, including the little bits of chords you play on the piano or the guitar. I’m just saying that to make a cohesive whole, I—we—need to really focus on the words and how they join with the melody.”

Adam wanted to keep the argument going. It was both fun and frustrating to get a real glimpse at how her mind worked.

Then he realized what she’d just said.

We.

He pictured the two of them, sitting side by side on one of the love seat like they were now. He could feel the warmth of her body next to his. Her hair might fall across his arm. His hand might accidentally-on-purpose brush against hers. The fantasy killed most of his frustration.

They could debate how they’d approach the songwriting later. For now, he’d heard the magic word, and that’s all he really needed. “That’s exactly what I’m saying. Together, we’ll make magic.”

Flynn groaned.

Brandon rolled his eyes.

Mattie’s eyes sparkled with amusement. “Do you always give up an argument so easy?”

“No,” Cooper said dryly. “Not normally.”

Adam glared at Cooper. “I’m starving, let’s eat.”

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