Page 22 of I Need You Tonight
Chapter 9
Nicole
Mason and I stepped into the music store, and instantly his expression reminded me of a kid in a toy store during Christmas season. His eyes were filled with hopes, dreams, and possibilities, and I fought the desire to reach up and kiss his cheek. But with five teenage girls, all with cellphones, standing next to a drum set on the far side of the store, I didn’t want to risk ending up on the Internet, with everyone speculating on Mason’s new mystery woman.
And kissing him on the mouth was a definite no-no—even if the one earlier today had been the best kiss I’d had in, well, who knew how long.
Before heading over to the girls, Mason approached the sales counter near the door, where a man with long gray hair pulled back in a ponytail and a neatly trimmed gray beard stood. A well-worn Rolling Stones T-shirt skimmed his lanky body. His gaze was locked on Mason, his eyes slightly wide from shock. It would seem Mason had that effect on people wherever he went.
“Hey, man,” Mason said. “If it’s cool with you, can I show those girls over there a few things about drumming? One plays percussion in her school band, but she’d like some pointers. We’ll only be a few minutes.”
The man gave him a brief nod. “That’s fine. Go ahead. I’m Andrew, by the way.” He held out his hand and Mason shook it. “Let me know if you need anything.”
“Will do. Thanks, man.”
We joined the girls, and Mason climbed behind the drum kit and adjusted the seat. He then spent the next thirty minutes teaching Kylie various rhythms and techniques. All the girls looked on with awe, but Kylie’s expression seemed to have less to do withwhowas teaching her than withwhathe was teaching her. Gone was the fangirl. Now she was in serious musician mode, asking lots of questions and listening intently to Mason’s every word.
My cellphone pinged with a text from Zack. Just checking you haven’t broken your phone again.:) Are you able to chat for a second?
I grinned and texted back,Ha ha. Since when do you use smiley faces in your texts? :) :) And yes call me!!! As you can tell, my phone is still happy and in one piece.
When my phone rang, I stepped away from Mason and the girls so that I could hear Zack over the noise from the drums.
“Because I’ve been told girls like getting smiley faces in texts,” Zack said.
I laughed. “True. So what’s up?”
“Nothing much. Some of the crew and I are about to head out for a pint or two. But I just wanted to make sure everything’s good with you first.”
“Awww, aren’t you sweet? No wonder you’re my favorite brother.”
He chuckled, my favorite sound. During the darkest times with our father’s addiction, Zack’s laugh had been a rarity. “I’m not sure that means a lot, given that I’m youronlybrother. So, is Mason still around, or did he already head back to L.A.?”
“No, he’s still here. He decided to spend the day in Desert Springs.” Mason picked that moment to generate an impressive riff. “Hear that?” I held my phone up for a couple of seconds so that Zack could hear him. “We’re currently at the music store, where he’s teaching some teens how to play drums. Hey, you know how you love the wallpaper in my house?”
Zack snorted. “That’s one way to put it.”
“Mason has the same level of respect for it as you. We’re giving it a decent burial tomorrow.”
“Tell him I owe him. I was ready to slit my wrists if I had to look at it one more time.”
“My soon-to-be-ex-wallpaper loves you too.” I didn’t have the heart to tell him we were just doing the wallpaper in the kitchen and hallway. That would take long enough as it was—we wouldn’t have time to do the guest room too.
Zack and I talked for a few more minutes while Mason continued his lesson, and then we said goodbye.
“That’s really good,” Mason told Kylie after she had finished playing the rhythm he’d just taught her. “You have a good ear.”
The smile on her face was brighter than if she had been six years old and received a gold star on her artwork. “Thanks.”
After the girls had left—though not before Mason had signed their Pushing Limits albums—I told him, “You were really good at that.”
“What, at signing my name?” The corner of his mouth twitched; clearly he was fighting off the urge to smirk.
I rolled my eyes. “No, teaching. Have you done that before?”
“Not really. I went to a few drumming seminars in L.A. when I was first learning to play. Guess I might’ve picked up a few teaching tricks from those.”
His gaze briefly darted to a room near us where electronic keyboards and other instruments were kept. “Do you mind if we go in there?”
