Catch My Breath (25 page)

So the days and nights and places and weeks all blended together into one big confusing, tiring, fast-paced mix where the only thing that was real, the only thing Danny or any of them could count on was each other—five solid rocks in the middle of a swirling maelstrom. Sometimes he wondered when it would suck them under.

StaticBand @Official_Static

We’re in the top ten! Thank you so much everyone. Big Love!!

StaticFan#1 @Rateisgreat

@Official_Static Congrats to the boys!! We love you :) #Clingers

“C
AN
you believe you have a top-ten single?” the DJ asked.

She was female this time, although after a while it was hard for Elliot to tell them apart aside from an accent here and there. They were still reeling at the fact that “Fool for Love” had sold so well or sold at all. Elliot couldn’t believe that anyone cared enough to buy the music he and his friends made. Sometimes he thought that none of that even mattered. If it was just him with Danny and the guys sitting in someone’s garage and making music nobody would ever hear, he’d still be happy doing it. But people were buying their song and looking forward to the rest of the album. They
cared
. It blew Elliot’s mind.

“Okay, boys. We have some questions here that our listeners would love to know the answers to. You ready?”

“Of course.” Reece flipped her a sly smile and leaned forward. He was genius at flirting with the press. Elliot wished he could do half as well.

“Jenna from Lawrenceville wants to know if you were a girl, which member of the band would you date?” The DJ turned to him.

Elliot’s belly fluttered. He felt heat rise in his face.
If I was a girl… relax. It’s just a question.
“If I was a girl I’d definitely date Danny,” he said.
I shouldn’t have said Danny. I should’ve said Reece. Or Webb or Tate. Anything other than—

“Ouch!” Tate joked with a mock pout, saving Elliot from his awkward inner stumbling. “And here I was gonna say I’d pick Elliot. Maybe I have to date Reece then if I’m going to get rejected like that.”

“We
are
dating,” Reece corrected him. “Quit denying it. Right, Webb?”

Webb only laughed. “I think I’d have to pick Danny too. He’s my partner in crime, after all. Sorry, you two.”

The DJ laughed. “Keisha in Plum Borough asked what each of you is looking for in a girl.”

Tate took that one. “I have a girlfriend,” he rolled his eyes, “other than Reece, of course. I love her sense of humor and her smile. It’s important to smile.”

“I like a girl with little bit of mystery,” Webb said. “Don’t tell me everything about you all at once.”

“A girl who’s a good cook,” Reece said with a grin. “And if she beats me at video games, I’ll buy her a ring.”

“I… I like someone who’s funny,” Elliot said. “And a little sarcastic, and obviously if I can talk to him—uh,
her
, um, yeah, that’s what’s really important.”

I’m such an idiot.
Elliot seriously thought his life had flashed in front of his eyes there for a moment. Danny shot him a concerned look and jumped in quickly. “I like a girl you can have fun with,” he said. “And I really like big brown eyes. They get me every time.”

“Kind of like Elliot’s?” the DJ asked.

Danny laughed casually and slung an arm around Elliot’s shoulders. “You got me there,” he joked. “Elliot’s eyes are awfully pretty.” He fluttered his own lashes in Elliot’s direction and got a laugh from the radio-station staff.

Thank you for saving me… again.

Rebecca flashed Elliot a stern look from the side of the radio booth. He knew he'd be hearing about that little slip up later.

“E
LLIOT
.
Here’s the scene. This girl has just broken up with her boyfriend. She’s here at the resort with her friends, and they’ve been consoling her. Then she meets you, and you give her a rose, and you look like you’re about to kiss. Later in the video, she’s going to go back to her boyfriend and break your heart.”

Elliot wanted to roll his eyes. Really?

They’d landed up in the mountains outside Vancouver, BC, the night before. The snow and the gorgeous resort had been picked by the producers as a background for Static’s first ever music video. The boys had all been excited, but it turned out that filming a music video was harder than it looked—especially for the guy who had to “romance” the girl.

Elliot turned back toward the others, who are all snickering at him. Why did he have to play the romantic one? With a flower? He’d never given flowers to anyone in his life, and now he was going to have to hand some chick he’d never met a rose and act like he wanted to make out with her? Talk about cheeseball city. Elliot’s neck got hot. He thought of trying to convince them that Webb should be the romancer, that it would be better if Tate or Reece smiled at the girl and made her swoon, that he’d do much better if it was
Danny
he kissed.
Yeah. They’d take that pretty well.
He figured there wasn’t much hope for it. He was better off just sucking it up and kissing the damn girl.

So, time to make a fool of himself. Literally. It helped that Reece and Webb were wearing matching sweaters and Tate had on these ski goggles that made him look like an idiot. At least he wouldn’t be the only one. Danny, of course, looked gorgeous. He had on a cable-knit sweater and ski pants, his cheeks were pink and his hair was swept perfectly off to the side. If anything, the fresh snow and the chill only brightened his colors, made him more vibrant. Elliot sighed. Time to quit looking at Danny. There was an actress waiting over by the benches, where other extras waited with skis and poles for when the shot panned to them.

The director waved her over. She approached slowly. At least she looked sweet. She had a big smile and a friendly face.

“Hi, I’m Elliot,” he said, sticking his hand out. Might as well be nice.

She giggled. “I know. I’m Emma.” She flipped her hair over her shoulder and smiled again. “This is a little awkward, isn’t it?” she asked.

“Just a bit.” Elliot rolled his eyes. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay. You just have to pretend I’m the most interesting person in the world for a few minutes, then lean in to kiss me.”

“Yeah. I got it.”

Five takes later, Elliot wasn’t so sure he did have it.

“You’re looking at her like she’s your little sister, Elliot,” the director called. “Remember, you want to
kiss
this girl, not take her shopping.”

“Okay,” he called back. He gave the director a thumbs-up sign for emphasis. Elliot didn’t want to be difficult. It would suck to get that kind of a rep on his first shoot. But he couldn’t look at her that way. He was awful at acting. “One more take. I’ll get it this time.”

Emma smiled at him. “I understand, you know.”

“Understand what?” Elliot panicked.

She tilted her head. “You don’t want to kiss me. It’s fine. My feelings aren’t hurt.” She winked. “If it helps, pretend I’m him.”

“What do you mean?” Elliot knew his voice squeaked. He tried to play it off as a cough.

“Danny,” she whispered. “I’ve been watching you two all day.”

“You’ve been… watching us?” His heart started to pound fast and hard and panicky.

“Yep.” Emma grinned. “Bromance, my ass. I know love when I see it. I’m sorry you have to do this.”

Jesus. Is there anyone who can’t tell?
Elliot wondered why he and Danny even bothered to hide. It sure seemed like the most un-secret secret he’d ever kept.

“We’re not—” he couldn’t even spit it out. He had plenty of experience not saying anything at that point, but to actually deny it out loud? It didn’t sit right.

“Hey, it’s okay. Don’t freak out, I’ll keep quiet—even though I don’t know why you bother.” She smiled. “You guys are so sweet with each other. It’s… I just hope someone looks at me that way someday.”

Elliot didn’t bother trying to deny it anymore. She knew. Everyone who came within fifty feet of them knew. It was probably going to get him and Danny in a lot of trouble someday very soon, but until then there was no point in playing any games.

“Thanks, Emma. I’ll do my best, okay? And really, don’t take it personally.”

“I won’t.”

The director called another take, and Elliot leaned forward, mouthing the words of his solo as he handed Emma a rose and went to steal a kiss. He thought of Danny, the way they’d kiss in bed at night, the way Danny’s lips felt, soft and sleepy in the morning, his skin, his taste…. Elliot let his eyes drift closed and smiled.

“Cut!” the director called. “That’s what I wanted. You got it, Elliot.”

“T
HIS
place is sick!” Webb crowed into the huge emptiness of the cabin the label had rented them at the ski resort. It more than made up for a long day of filming.

The place was gorgeous, with soaring timber ceilings and glamorously rustic furnishings. Danny dropped his bag by the front door and wandered over to one of the huge plush couches, where he dropped down onto his back and stared at the ceiling. He was nearly dumped to the floor when Reece plopped down next to him.

“Can you believe this? I’ve never been anywhere so nice.”

Danny had, of course, but it didn’t mean he couldn’t appreciate it all the same. “It’s gorgeous.”

“Wonder why Blue Horizon shelled out like this?”

“Rebecca said they had some news for us. Maybe it’s good.” Their new publicist had barely been able to contain her grin. The news had to be good, Danny felt it.

Elliot, Tate, and Webb grabbed seats around the huge stone fireplace that took up nearly one entire wall. They sat there grinning at each other for a few long silent moments while Rebecca puttered around putting papers in her bag, whispering with Peter, their manager.

“You two are killing us over here. What is it?” Webb tossed a pillow at Peter and Rebecca. Danny felt sorry for them sometimes. It couldn’t be easy to be in charge of him and his unruly friends. He imagined they were both paid well for their efforts, though. Rebecca’s phone rang.

“It’s Sasha,” she said with another barely concealed grin. She put the phone on speaker. “Gather round, boys.”

“Gentlemen,” Sasha said, his voice tinny and faraway through the speaker of Rebecca’s cell. “I have some news.” None of them spoke, just leaned forward, breathless, and waited. Danny’s heart sped up, tried to wriggle its way out of his throat. “Congratulations,” Sasha continued. “‘Fool for Love’ hit number one today. You boys are a hit!”

“What?” Elliot squeaked. “That’s… are you for real?”

Sasha chuckled. “I’d never joke about something like that. The cabin is yours for the night. Celebrate, have fun. We’ll see you at home in a couple of days.”

Rebecca beamed at them as she ended the call. “I know I haven’t been with you boys long, but I’m really proud,” she said. “You deserve it.”

“You do,” Peter added. “Congratulations.”

Danny didn’t know what to say. Their song.
Their
song. It had really happened.

“We’re going to head down to the hotel, boys, but we’ll be back at eleven tomorrow to get you. Have a good night. Please don’t do anything irreversibly stupid.” Peter cringe-smiled and backed toward the door of the cabin, Rebecca in tow.

“’Night, Becks,” Webb called. Danny wondered sometimes if their flirtatious brother had a bit of a thing for their pretty young publicist. “’Night, Peter!”

“’Night!” Elliot, Reece, and Tate echoed. Danny waved, the grin still threatening to break his face in two.

When the door closed, they all turned to each other. None of them spoke. If they were feeling anything like Danny, nobody knew what to say. He sure didn’t. He didn’t know who moved first, who reached out, who grabbed, but the next thing he knew, Danny was in the middle of a five-way hug, tight arms, foreheads resting against each other, even some shaky shoulders.

“Love you guys,” Tate muttered into the huddle. “I wouldn’t want to be here without you.”

“Me too,” Reece added. Murmurs and nods went all the way around the circle. “Holy shit, can you believe it?”

“All for one?” Elliot asked. One by one, they pulled back and stuck their fists into the circle, just like before.

“One for all,” Webb said quietly.

“Fuck yeah!” Reece shouted, breaking the somber moment. “Let’s have a good time!”

“W
HERE
’
S
Danny?” Elliot realized he hadn’t seen him since their toast nearly a half an hour before.

Webb shrugged. “I don’t know. I thought he was with you, but here you are.”

Reece and Tate were playing with the foosball table, and Danny was nowhere in sight.

“Weird.”

Elliot was about to go back to see if he’d fallen asleep in their room when Danny emerged into the cavernous living room. He stopped for a moment to talk to Reece and Tate, smiled at Webb, then slid into place next to Elliot and ran his hand lightly down Elliot’s spine until it was in its customary place right where Elliot’s jeans hung.

“You tired?” Danny asked.

Elliot wasn’t tired, but he was pretty damn sure that’s not really what Danny was asking anyway. “Yeah,” he answered. It was hard to bite back a grin.

“
Jesus
.” Webb tried to look disgusted, but he still chuckled.

“’Night, guys!” Danny called. Then with a giddy laugh, he dragged Elliot off toward their bedroom.

Chapter 14