Page 16 of What Happened Last Night

As if I didn’t know who Denver was. “Yes, Denver, hi.” I managed to sound halfway casual. “Are you looking for Will? I can put you through.” I hadn’t been given specific instructions about phone calls from Denver, but I assumed Will would want to talk to him.

“I’m not looking for Billy,” Denver stunned me by saying. “I’m looking for you.”

“Me?” There was a high whistling sound in my skull. “Do you need something?”

“Isn’t Billy out of town?” Denver said. “You’re working by yourself, right? Come to the studio.”

“The studio?”

“Yeah. Come hang out.”

I could not stop sounding stupid, even though I was trying. “Hang out? With you?”

Denver sounded amused. “Well, not just with me. Though I do like you, don’t get me wrong. The band’s here, Callie’s here, I think Brit’s coming later. Officially we’re rehearsing, though we probably won’t do much of that. Don’t be alone. Come work here instead.”

Callie was Denver’s girlfriend. Brit was Axel’s girlfriend. I hadn’t met them, though I knew that Callie was a pianist and Brit ran a hair salon. Callie had played keys on their last album, and Brit cut the band’s hair. It had never occurred to me to bring my laptop to the studio to work.

Still, one of the first things I’d learned about rock stars is that they have no concept of time. “Denver, it’s five thirty. I’m done work for the day.”

“Is it really that late? Even better,” he replied. “Come hang with us, then, and don’t do any work at all. That’s pretty much what we do.”

Spend my evening with rock stars? Was this real? “Are you sure this isn’t a ploy just to get me to fetch something for you?”

He laughed, and I was a scientific marvel, because suddenly my entire skeleton had been replaced with warm jelly. I nearly slid off my seat at the sound. That voice. “I, Denver Gilchrist, solemnly swear that I am just asking you to hang out with no ulterior motive. Want to?”

“Yes, I do,” I said. I had never wanted anything more.

“Great.” He sounded pleased. “See you soon.”

SEVEN

Luna

“Someone left their jeans in Iso Two,” Callie Whitmer said as she walked into the songwriting room, twisting the cap off a bottle of water. “Anyone?”

I looked around. Everyone in the room was fully clothed. Still, all eyes went to Axel, who was on one of the sofas. He looked up from his phone.

“What?” He looked offended. Then he shrugged. “Okay, it was me. I was wondering where they went.”

It seemed that no one else was going to ask the question, so after a beat of silence, I did it. “You took them off?”

Callie sat on the sofa next to me. “Axel has a hard time keeping his clothes on,” she explained.

“I do not.” He tried to sound dignified. “I have my pants on right now. But I was here late the other night, trying some stuff out. I was alone. The pants were getting in the way of my creativity.”

“Why are they in Iso Two?” I asked, genuinely curious. “And did you go home without pants?”

He gave me a rakish grin. “I had a spare pair of sweats in my duffel bag,” he explained. “When I couldn’t find my jeans again, I put them on. I don’t remember taking my jeans off in the iso booth, but I guess I did.”

“That’s disappointing,” Callie said. “I was hoping the story would end with you going home in one of Brit’s skirts.”

I liked Callie. She was the quiet type, subtly beautiful, a casual dresser, a talented piano player. She had such understated confidence. When she and Denver were in the same room, they didn’t have to speak or touch to be in sync. The first time I saw him look at her—it was only for a second—I knew everything I needed to know. His eyes lit up in an unmistakable way. He adored her, and so did the rest of the band.

“You think I wouldn’t wear a skirt?” Axel asked Callie, waggling his eyebrows. “How much would you care to wager?”

“You would absolutely wear a skirt,” Callie replied. “Which is why the story is disappointing.”

Axel stood. “I really like those jeans. I’m going to go get them before I forget.” He left the room.

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