Page 30 of Hard Rock Temptation
“Everly,” I acknowledged, turning around.
A slim woman with long hot pink hair dressed all in black was raising an eyebrow at us. Everly was also in the music industry. She’d been a part of a popular indie band, Where Angels Burn, before it had broken up, and now managed a music store. The group members had recently reconciled, although I didn’t know the details, and I’d been invited to some shows they now played every so often.
“It took you two crazy kids long enough,” she said, a smile beginning to cross her face, “but can you maybe keep it in your pants until you’re someplace private?”
“Shit, everyone really did know, didn’t they?” I said ruefully.
“Sorry,” Kaylee said, her face red. “We got carried away.”
“Hey, I get it,” Everly said, spreading her arms amicably. “Just not in my store, hm?”
Kay gave her a sheepish smile.
“We’ll be good,” Kaylee promised.
I suppressed a smirk.
Kay didn’t know it yet, but I’d been waiting far too long for this.
Now that I finally had her, I had no intention of beinggood.
THIRTEEN
KAYLEE
My face was still flaming as Micah and I continued wandering through the music store. We’d gotten caught by our bandmates, and then we’d gotten caught by Everly, a woman in the music industry I looked up to. How embarrassing. Well, she was dating a musician herself, at least, so she must have known what it was like, wanting to keep your love life private while being in the spotlight.
Before we’d started dating, Micah had been worried about what people would think, but now that we were together he seemed to gotten over those hang-ups. I was eagerly awaiting the opportunity to get him alone.
The reality of kissing him had been so much better than anything my imagination had been able to come up with. I was nearly giddy at the thought of going further.
And from the way his hands kept finding their way to the small of my back, or caressing the curve of my hip, or burying themselves in my hair, it seemed like Micah was of the same mind.
I took a breath to steady myself. Although the urge to drag Micah home was growing stronger with every minute, I had to cool it. I distracted myself by examining all the various instruments that were on display, seeking inspiration for our latest song. I’d been stuck on it, not quite able to pinpoint where it was going wrong. Something just didn’t feel right, and it drove me crazy.
I wasn’t a perfectionist, per se. I just knew what I heard in my head, and I needed to see it translated into music exactly the way I wanted it. I supposed you could call that perfectionism, in a way, but to me, it wasn’t about being perfect. Nothing was ever perfect, after all. There was always room for improvement. I’d look back on old songs I’d written years ago and think of a dozen things I would do differently, even if they all felt right at the time.
I supposed that was exactly it. It wasn’t about perfection. It was about feelingright. It was about feeling complete. Like everything was as it should be.
I looked up at Micah. That was how it felt being next to him. Like everything was exactly as it should be, now that we were together. I leaned my head against his shoulder. He put his arm around my waist and tugged me closer. My stomach warmed and fluttered.
“Oh!” My eyes lit up as they fell upon a theremin. “I’ve always wanted to use one of these!” I ran my fingers along the metal pitch antenna and turned to Micah, beaming. “What do you think?”
“Usually I’d tell you we already have that instrument at home, but I think it’s one of the few we don’t,” he mused.
“Good enough for me,” I said, picking it up off the shelf. “I can just imagine how the sound of our latest song is going to change by adding this.” Excitement began to buzz across my skin at the thought.
“Kay, you don’t have time to learn a new instrumentandincorporate it into our song for the next album,” Micah said, expression amused. “Even you’re not that good.”
“Watch me,” I grinned, hefting the body of the theremin up into my arms.
“I’m serious,” Micah said, his amused expression dropping. “We don’t have time for last minute changes like that.”
“All I need is a few weeks,” I said breezily, taking the instrument to the front cash to pay for it.
My mind was already lighting up with ideas. I could hear the new arrangement in my head, could practically feel the vibration of the theremin in my bones. This was exactly what the song had been missing. It needed a new sound, something fresh, original. It had been weighing on me, an agonizing pang in my chest. And this was it. The pang was easing, something like bliss beginning to edge along my senses, not unlike the feeling of Micah’s kisses.
“He’s right, you know,” Everly said behind the counter as she rang me up. “You can learn how to use it in a few days, but it can take a year to get beyond the basics.”
