Finding Orion (23 page)

The studio
inside was dim. It was almost as if we’d stepped into a bar, only without all
the smoke. A woman greeted us as we walked in, shaking hands with each of the
band members as they discussed their equipment, what amps they’d have to use,
how many songs and so on.

I tuned it
out, focusing on
Jace
. His expression was unreadable.
But if he was nervous, hell if I could tell the difference.
From where I was standing, he almost looked confident.

And damn him
for wearing a suit to this thing. They all did.
Except for Amy.
She was in a blue corset and a long, black skirt.

I stared down
at
Jace’s
wrists, but the bracelets I’d seen him wear
on the night he played in the bar were missing.
Doesn’t he always wear them when he plays?
I wasn’t entirely sure,
but the night he came over—the first time we had sex—he had them on.

I decided it
was done for appearances, but started to wonder if those bracelets were some
kind of security blanket for him. That possibility was dismissed when
Jace
turned back toward me.

He had a huge
grin on his face. His knuckles were white. "How do I look?" he asked
through clenched teeth.

I straightened
his tie and kissed him on the lips. "Way too attractive in that suit."

He coughed
until his face turned red. "Thanks?"

I kissed him
again, allowing my lips to linger on his until he pulled away.

"Wish us
luck," Amy said, grabbing at
Jace’s
arm. "Come
on, you don’t want to be late."

"But
we’re already h—"
Jace
began, almost stumbling
as Amy led him over to his little room.

I went to
stand in the lobby. From there, I could see
Jace
, the
recording area, and Amy. Kyle and Derek were in another room, but from what I’d
overheard, there were microphones in each room hooked up to the recording
station.

I studied the
monitors as an older woman moved dials up and down. She pointed at
Jace
, and he began to sing.

The bars on
the monitor moved as
Jace’s
voice went from his quiet
room to the computer and out of the speakers in the lobby. I smiled as I
listened to it, amazed at how different it sounded compared to when he sang at
the bar the other night. But the only difference now was that he had no
instruments to go along with the lyrics.

"He’s
really good," the woman said, turning a few more dials.

He is.

I told myself
not to stare, but as
Jace’s
voice vibrated off the
walls, I couldn’t help looking at him. His eyes were closed and he was holding
the headset to his ears. How badly I wanted to go in there with him, to listen
to him sing as if the words were only meant for me.

In reality,
it was more of a drinking song, but the melody…that was what I really wanted to
hear.

"That’s
fine,
Jace
," the woman spoke in to a
mic
, and
Jace
stopped.

He gazed in
my direction, and I quickly averted my eyes, crossing my arms behind my back. As
the band slowly went through their practice rounds, I made my way into the
small kitchenette, more for something to do rather than to get anything to eat.

I highly
doubted any of us were going to eat so long as they were recording. But at least
being in the kitchen meant I was out of
Jace’s
line
of sight. He could sing without getting distracted.

I bobbed my
head to the beat of Derek’s drums as they thundered in a room close by, echoing
down the hall moments later as the sound came through the recording area. It
was strange, hearing them like this—every element playing at a different time.

Amy’s voice
was next, and without the drums, the guitars, or
Jace
signing alongside her, she almost sounded like one of the lead singers from
Nightwish
or
Delerium
.
Haunting.
Ethereal even.
It was no
wonder she’d been the lead singer way at the start.

My heart
stopped when
Jace’s
voice came through the system
again. This time, he was joined by everyone else. Drums carefully played in the
background while a piano took the higher notes. After the quiet intro, Kyle and
Amy’s guitars joined in.

It was a
melody I hadn’t heard them use before, and as I walked out of the kitchen,
Jace
started to sing.

 
Wake up
in the morning / Shake the sleep from my head

Rather be safe underground /
Or
hidden under the covers of my bed.

No expectations / No way to get hurt

Go in thinking of nothing /
To
hide my disappointment

Yeaahhhhaa

I'm jaded / Guarded from the truth

Jaded / Jaded

I'm jaded

He looked
right at me then, and the smile he wore was the most sincere once I’d seen on
him since our first night together.
It’s
new.
It wasn’t an assumption, but something I realized when
Jace
came out of his room to check the monitors in the
recording area.

He grabbed a
set of headphones as the woman played back the song. Every now and again,
Jace
would have her stop, then he would go back into his
room to record it a second—sometimes even a third— time.

As he ran
back and forth, the rest of the band came out to join us. Amazingly enough, it
took more than four hours for them to get the song just the way
Jace
wanted it, and as we all sat in the lounge, we
listened to it one final time.

Exhausted,
and barely able to speak,
Jace
thanked the woman for
all her help and we left to get something to eat.

"So,
when do I get my copy?" I asked, having memorized the lyrics hours ago.

"When
everyone else does," Derek laughed. "It won’t be ready for a while,
so we can hop around the city a bit if you like."

As much as I
hate cities, the ferry wasn’t due back until later in the afternoon anyway. So,
after making sure their equipment would be safe back at the studio and locking
the van, we followed Derek into the city, past small shops, delis, and
eateries.

My stomach
turned when we passed a hot dog stand, but I resisted the urge to buy one. Kyle
on the other hand caved and bought one for
himself
as
well as one for Amy. The two of them scarfed down their newfound treasure, and
we kept walking.

It didn’t
take long for us to find a place we all agreed upon.

"Pizza,"
Derek said as if he’d just discovered the best thing in the world. "It’s
simple, fast, and tastes awesome."

"Yeah,"
Kyle said, "But what kind should we get?"

We all
shouted out our favorites, which all happened to be very different. It was
Jace
who pointed out that the pizzeria also sold pizza by
the slice. It was the best from both worlds. I got my chicken and broccoli,
Jace
his pepperoni and onion, Derek ordered plain, then
Kyle and Amy each got buffalo chicken.

After
stuffing our faces, we sat back to digest.
Jace
and
the others went over
Jaded,
the song
they played back at the studio one last time, and remembering a shop I saw not
too far down the road, I excused myself and headed back outside.

Knowing they
wouldn’t be leaving the pizzeria so long as they had free refills, I took my
time getting to the shop of odds and ends. It was something I’d seen in the
window when
Jace
and I walked by earlier, and was
happy when it was still there. Inside the front display was a silver raven’s
claw on a piece of long chain.

It might not
have been covered in beads or made from leather, but after seeing the crow on
Jace’s
back and learning the name of their band, I had to
get it.

A gentleman
greeted me as I stepped through the door, and after pointing out the raven claw
up front, he wrapped it in a box and dropped it in a black bag.

By the time I
got back to the restaurant, the guys were outside enjoying the cool weather.
Amy smiled when she saw me, and
Jace
cocked an
eyebrow.

"What
did
you
get?" he asked. "And
when in the world did you have time to shop?"

I rolled my
eyes. "You didn’t see me leave?" I glanced at Derek. "You saw
me, didn’t you?"

Derek
shrugged. "I thought you were in the bathroom."

The entire
group was laughing when I glared at them.

"So,"
Jace
prodded. "What is it?" He cocked his
head to the side. "Such a small bag, too."

"Here."
I handed the bag over to him, and he gave me a puzzled look. "What?
Haven’t you ever gotten a gift before?"

He glanced at
the bag, then at me. "Snakes aren’t going to fly out at me, are they?"

"That
would be pretty funny," Kyle said. "Seeing as you’re terrified of
them."

"Oh,"
I began, reaching for the bag. "Then maybe I should take it back."

"You’d
better not!"
Jace
hugged it to his chest, and
when he was sure we wouldn’t take it from him, he removed the box. His eyes lit
up when he opened it. "
Bree
…I don’t…
I
…"

"What is
it?" Derek asked, staring at it from behind
Jace
.

"It’s
a…a
raven
claw."
Jace
looked up at me as he clipped the chain around his
neck, admiring the small pendant when it rested on his chest. "How did
you…
where
did you find this?"

"A small
shop we passed," I said, pointing down the way. "It’s cast from white
bronze. You like it?"

"Do I
like
it?"
Jace
hugged his arms around me. "It’s amazing."

Amy took the
pendant in her hand, probably to test its weight. "Did they have any more?"

"I don’t
think so. This one was in the front window," I explained, hoping it really
was the last one.

"It’s
very fitting,
Bree
." She crossed her arms over
her chest and glared at Kyle. "Now, if only someone would get me a nice
piece of jewelry."

 
I was about to say something when she smiled.

"Relax.
I was just joking. Besides…" Amy turned a circle. "Kyle got me this
outfit before we came out here."

"Okay,
lovebirds," Derek groaned.
"Time for us to head
back if you want to catch the ferry.
Otherwise we’ll be stuck here all
night."

"And
that’s something none of us needs."
Jace
pulled
me in close and kissed my ear. "Thank you."

"What
for?"
I walked with him in front of the others, keeping my voice
down.

"For
today.
For giving me a chance."
He held up the raven
claw.
"For this.
I knew today was going to be
like a dream, but I never imagined it would be anything like this."

"Well,
you did surprise me with that new song of yours. When in the world did you have
the time to write it?"

"You
noticed, huh?" He straightened his posture, obviously proud of himself. "I
wrote it when you were asleep, before I left for work that morning."

"And
everyone else just went along with it?"

He nodded. "After
they saw the lyrics and the crappy notes I’d written down, we all worked on it
and agreed it was our best piece to date."

"It’s
softer than your older stuff."

"It is,
and weren't you the one who told me you liked the newer stuff anyway?"

"No, I
said it was different and that you should do it more often."

"Uh
huh."
He smirked and kept walking. "Turns out you aren’t the
only one. For starters, it doesn’t rip my throat to shreds, and it’s a lot
easier on the equipment. That’s not to say we won’t have our hard days, but I
can definitely see the perks to doing some softer, down to earth stuff. Hell of
a lot easier to write, too."

"It’s
catchy." I hummed the melody to him. "I should’ve taped it on my
cell."

"Oh,
God, I’m glad you didn’t. I don’t need anyone to see me in a glass box like I
was in today.
Too damned hot!"

"You
know, you could’ve worn something a little less…" I gestured to his suit.

"Formal?
And miss that look you get when you see me in a suit? Not a chance."

We laughed
the last handful of steps to the front of the studio and went inside.