Page 54 of Rocked: The Price of Dreams

“Who wants to be the right guy?” Hunter shook his head. “We finish school in three and a half months. Think of all the fun we’re gonna have in the city. You don’t want a girlfriend. Trust me.”

I’d never seen Hunter so worried about Kyle dating before. Maybe he just knew what Vicki was like and wanted to protect Kyle from any fallout. I loved that about him. Underneath that ego, he cared about us with all his heart.

Kyle shrugged. “But I like her. Tomorrow, we’re going out to lunch and the movies ...then back to her place. Her parents are out of town.”

“It’s your death wish.” I opened my juice and took a sip. “You’ll miss out on our anti-Valentine date.”

“Your what?” He scrunched his nose.

“Hunt and I plan to outrace each other ice-skating, go axe-throwing, and watch violent movies. Everything will be unromantic but loads of fun.”

“Wait?” Kyle straightened. “You’re doing all those things without me?”

“Yep. Sorry, bud.” Hunter shrugged. “You can’t have everything. Gem and I will be living it up while you schmooze and snuggle your new girlfriend. Best thing is, we’ll still probably get laid tonight and on Sunday after our gig without all the bullshit Valentine’s crap. We win hands down.”

Yep. Total win. But our anti-Valentine’s fun wouldn’t be the same without Kyle. When the three of us weren’t together, my heart twanged. Why? And why did worry loom inside me every time Kyle or Hunter hook up with someone? I wasn’t jealous. Hell no. I’d had my own fair share of hook-ups. But deep down, I was afraid. Afraid that one day, they’d meet and fall for someone. That one day, their love for some girl would overrule their love of music.

My stomach cinched and knotted. Losing one or both of them would be like losing a limb. I wouldn’t be able to operate. I was so hungry for our career; I was sure I wouldn’t survive if we didn’t pursue music. I had no backup plan. I wasn’t applying to any colleges. My future was built around those guys. Was that stupid? No. I believed we had something special. One day, the world would know it.

I had to find a way to make it happen.

I had to.

A week later...I did.

***

Before heading to Kyle’s place for our bar gig in Princeton, I was killing time in my bedroom, browsing the Internet for more music events and competitions when something caught my eye. I read every detail on the website, three times. With each condition we met, my heart rate jumped. I hit print, grabbed the piece of paper off my desk printer, then rode to Kyle’s place as fast as I could. I was earlier than he’d expected for our gig tonight, but this couldn’t wait. No surprise, Hunter was already there.

With Kyle’s parents at work, I charged into the kitchen and plonked down on a chair. Excitement skipped through my veins.

“What’s got your panties all hot and bothered?” Hunter grinned over his cup of hot chocolate.

I grabbed the printout from my bag and slapped it on the table. “I found something. There’s this music competition being run by SureHaven Records. It’s called ‘Discovered-On-YouTube.’ If we’re one of the twelve bands selected, we have to progress through six rounds. Every two weeks, we have to submit one original and one cover song. Online viewers vote. Only the top artists make it through to the next submission.” My heart beat so fast, I struggled to breathe and talk. “If we make it to the top three, the final is filmed and streamed from SureHaven’s studios in New York. If we win”—I spun the sheet of paper toward them and jabbed my finger against the bottom line—“it’s a record deal, a trip to LA, and prize money of one hundred thousand dollars. We have to enter.”

“One hundred grand?” Hunter’s eyes lit up. “Think of what we could do with that kind of money. And a record deal?”

“Yep.”

We’d had no luck finding a manager. No booking agent would take us on because we were still in school. So we’d become our own little business operatives. I’d taken on the task of finding and scheduling our gigs. Kyle had focused on cutting and producing our tracks and videos for online. Hunter was our social media guru, posting endless photos and videos of us and our music. We made a great team.

Kyle pinched his brows together. “But aren’t SureHaven renowned for churning out manufactured artists? Factory-formulated hits?”

“They are.” I rested my elbows on the table. “But for a record deal and the chance to win some cash, I’d sign tomorrow.”

“And lose creative control of our music?” Kyle grimaced. “You want someone to tell us what we can and cannot sing?”

It would kill me giving up creative control if we won. I loved writing and playing our own music. We were good at it. But if we won, it’d open a world of opportunity for us. “It wouldn’t be forever. It’s only for one album—maybe two if they like us.”

“That’s not so bad.” Hunter shrugged. “I’d do it if it meant we got a deal and could perform.”

“It doesn’t matter.” Kyle slumped in his chair. “We’ve got no chance of winning.”

“We won’t know if we don’t try.” I stole Kyle’s hot chocolate and took a sip. He didn’t stop me. He just grinned and let me have it. I needed something to settle the butterflies soaring in my tummy. We could do this.

He flicked his hair off his forehead, revealing deep furrows in his brow. “We submitted to SureHaven last year. They sent us a rejection email.” Kyle didn’t need to remind me. “What makes you think we’ll stand out in a YouTube contest?”

“Because we’re better now. We have a great following. The viewers vote, not the execs.” My confidence never faltered. Failure wasn’t an option. If we didn’t win this contest, we’d enter the next one that opened. I’d never give up. I didn’t care if I had to work part-time in a grocery store and busk on street corners for the rest of my days to help pay the rent. As long as I played music, nothing else mattered. I clutched his hand across the table. “We can do this. We qualify to enter. We have the required followers and experience.”

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