Page 57 of Rocked: The Price of Dreams

My heart did a strange stumble in my chest. That was why he’d been acting weird. He loves her. This wasn’t just an I’m-getting-some-action fling like he’d had with Laura or the quick flings he’d had with a few girls he’d picked up after our gigs. He’d fallen for Vicki.

I placed my hand on his arm and gave it a gentle squeeze. “I’m happy for you.” I really was. I’d never been in love, so I didn’t understand the allure. Never wanted to. But Kyle was ecstatic. Seeing him smile filled my heart. I wanted nothing but the best for him.

I turned and walked backward in the direction of our bicycles. “So let’s take all this lovey-dovey shit and go write a song. Hurry up.”

“Nope. No love songs today.” Following me, an adamant sternness shot through Hunter’s tone. “I haven’t had sex in over a week. My balls are aching. I need a total distraction. I wanna rock. Jam hard. Play party tunes and get excited about our gig this weekend.”

Oh yeah. “That sounds like a much better idea.”

“Majority wins.” Kyle laughed, scurrying after us. “Let’s jam.”

***

On Friday after the school bell rang, Hunter and I waited by our lockers for Kyle so we could head home together. We wanted to run through our new set list a couple more times before we played tomorrow night. Just when I was about to send out a search party, Kyle sprinted down the hallway.

Hunter held his hands arms out wide. “Where the fuck were you?”

Kyle skidded to a halt in front of us. “Sorry. I was in the library waiting for the printer but gave up when I saw this.” He panted, swiped his cell phone on, and turned the screen toward us.

“What is it?” I skimmed the email, but Kyle’s hand trembled so much I couldn’t read a word.

“We made it into the SureHaven contest.” Kyle’s voice pitched so loud, the roof lifted. “Our submission was selected. We’re in the first round of voting.”

“Argh! I screamed, jumping up and down. “Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! That’s incredible.” My mind spun. We’d made it into the contest. To be selected was a huge achievement. Thousands if not millions of people would hear our music.

“I honestly didn’t think we’d make it that far.” Bewilderment blazed in his eyes.

“I did because we’re fucking awesome.” Hunter hooked his arm around my neck and tussled my hair before he grabbed Kyle to join our hug. “We’re in. So many people are going to know our name by the end of the contest. This is freaking wicked.”

Butterflies swooped and swirled in my stomach. I hoped the flutters were a good vibe and not a bad omen. No. My intuition had never let me down. I had a good feeling about this. ButI didn’t want to get ahead of myself. We had a long way to go.

“I’m so freaking stoked.” Kyle stuffed his cell phone into the back pocket of his jeans. “This is the first company to show interest in us.”

The notion of qualifying slowly sank in. We’d captured the attention of a huge record label. Now all we had to do was make our music stand out from every other competitor. How the hell would we do that?

Ideas bombarded my head as I swiped my backpack off the ground and slipped my arms through the straps. “Let’s run a few merchandise giveaways to encourage people to share our videos. Like us. Follow us. Tweet us. Oh. My. God...this is insane.”

“I’ll help.” Kyle fetched his bag from his locker. “I’ll also make a new graphic for displaying on the screens at the gig tomorrow night. This is so sick.”

My heart wouldn’t stop pounding against my ribs. Would our hard work pay off? Were we any better than the other entrants? I’d have to research them once the list of artists was published.

Hunter tied his hair into a ponytail. “I’ll ramp up our social posts to spread the word for our followers to vote.”

Oh yeah. He never missed an opportunity to post on social media.

Kyle wrapped his arms around me again and rocked me from side to side. “You’re the best. Thanks for finding the contest and entering us.”

“Thank me when we win.” I twisted out of his hold. Too much excitement zipped through my veins to be contained. “But for now, we have to rehearse. No rest for the wicked.”

The air hummed like an amp. We were on an adrenaline-fueled high as I hooked my arms around the guys’ backs. With our strides in perfect sync, we headed along the corridor. But as we hit the intersecting hallway that led to the tennis courts and Cougars Stadium, down the far end of the passageway, Vicki dashed past at lightning speed and disappeared toward the sports locker rooms.

Drawing to a halt, Kyle called out, “Vicki?”

But she mustn’t have seen us...or heard Kyle.

Kyle grinned. “Give me a minute...or five.” Changing route, he walked backward in Vicki’s direction. “I’ll just say goodbye to her quickly, then I’m all yours.”

“You have it bad for this girl.” Hunter shook his head.

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