Page 9 of Little Monster
He holds the door open for me, and we step into the studio. That same blond woman is sitting behind the desk. She barely glances at Sebastian as he walks up.
“Hey, Morgan.” He leans on the desk, and even I can tell he’s trying to casually flex his biceps at her.
She must notice it too, because one of her brows arches in the corner, and the expression she gives him is withering.
“Hey nothing. Get off my desk.”
“Damn, I said I was sorry. Can’t we just—”
“Hi, Nora,” the woman, Morgan, says. She seems a bit friendlier today. “The studio’s open, and you can head on in. Do you want anything? Coffee? Sparkling water?”
“A water would be great.” I tighten my hand around my violin case. “Thank you.”
Morgan stands up and pushes around Sebastian with disinterest. “It’s right through there.” She points. “I’ll grab you that water.”
“Thanks.” I head toward the open door, and voices drift out into the hall. Taking one more deep breath, I step through the doorway.
Two guys are already here, one on the couch and one on the rolling chair in front of the mixer. They both look over when I walk in, and the guy on the couch stands up to shake my hand.
“Hey, Nora. I’m Michael.” He has dark eyes and hair and dazzlingly white teeth.
I put my hand in his and give it a gentle shake. I’d ask how he knows my name, but I’m guessing not many violinists come through here.
“Hey,” I say, voice small.
The other guy rolls over in the rolling chair but doesn’t bother to stand up. “Lucas,” he says, and then he shakes my hand as well.
A brief silence falls over us, but thankfully, Morgan walks up behind me a second later. “Here you go.” She offers me a glass bottle of sparkling water—the expensive stuff—and I take it with a grateful smile. Then her eyes shift to Michael and Lucas. “Behave yourselves. All of you!” She raises her voice at the end, and Sebastian laughs from somewhere down the hall.
“Come in,” Michael says, stepping back to gesture at the couch.
I move into the studio and take a seat, setting my violin case down on the floor beside me.
“This place is cool,” I say as I take in the elaborate controls on the mixer and the booth beyond.
“Ever recorded in a place like this?” Michael asks. Beyond him, Lucas rolls around in his chair some more, looking bored and slightly hungover.
“No.” I shake my head. “I play onstage mostly.”
“Sweet. I’ve never played with a classical violinist before.”
Lucas laughs, and Michael cuts him a sharp look.
“Shut up. You know what I mean.”
My lips curl into a smile, and I crack the top on my water as Sebastian walks in. The three of them do some weirdhandshake while I take a sip. Then Sebastian plops down onto the couch right between me and Michael, crushing us both.
“Dude, fuck off,” Michael grumbles.
“Don’t hog Nora,” Sebastian says. “I wanna sit with her too.”
“You’re such an idiot.” Lucas runs a hand over his buzzed blond hair, looking disinterested.
Sebastian kicks his rolling chair and sends it zooming across the studio and crashing into the wall. A second later, Morgan yells a sharp reprimand from the front desk.
I think I’m starting to understand her a little better.
The three guys talk and mess around for the next ten minutes, trying to include me in their conversation where they can, and then a man and a woman walk in. They introduce themselves as Naomi and Wes and welcome me to the studio, and then Wes tells Lucas to “get the hell out of my chair.”
