Straight from the Heart (3 page)

“Well that’s awfully nice of you…” I started
to say. “What happens after this?”

“How about we meet up sometime, maybe
tomorrow, and go over some details? I saw you had your guitar and I
would love to hear you play it.” He explained.

“Is maybe noon okay? I’m working in the
afternoon.” I told him.

“Where do you work at?” He asked
curiously.

“I’m helping out at Lozano’s downtown. The
owners are letting me stay in the next building over at one of the
lofts they rent out.” Wow, I was giving this stranger way too much
information about me! He could knock on my door at any second,
though I wouldn’t mind that. But who knew, he have been a stalker
and I would have no idea. What was I going to tell him next, my
life story?

“Now that I know where you live,” He laughed
again. “Sorry. Noon’s fine. I’ll meet you in one of the booths. It
will just be me though since the guys are working on a set list and
getting the equipment ready for tour.”

“Okay, I’ll see you then.” I replied,
hanging up. Feeling completely flustered as I walked back onto the
floor, I relieved Louisa from her waiting duties. All of this is
happening to me in one day? I must be full of luck.

“So did you get it, Miss Bryn?” Louisa asked
as I re-tied my apron.

“Yes I did. Lou, the lead singer, called me
back. We’re meeting here tomorrow so you can see him in the
flesh.”

Louisa hugged me and kissed me on the cheek.
“Congratulations, hunny! I knew you could do it!” Then she
whispered in my ear. “Is this guy any good looking?”

“Miss Lou!” I said in mock surprise, but
covered my mouth so I didn’t disturb the whole restaurant. “He
might be a little bit. But everyone loves the mysterious rock star:
shaggy hair, beautiful eyes…”

“Oh me oh my, I think you are smitten,
darling.” Louisa giggled, and went back behind the register by the
main door. I continued to take orders and wait on customers the
rest of the night until closing time.

“I never realized how crazy people get
around here when it comes to Italian food!” I exclaimed, sitting at
the counter and throwing down my order book. Louisa and Alberto Jr.
sat down next to me, drinking some water.

“I’ve seen worse.” Alberto Jr. replied.
“People have tried to fight my mama because they wanted extra
cheese on this, less sauce on that. But you’ll be fine.”

“Of course she will. She’s a tough girl, and
smart.” Louisa smiled at me and patted my hand. “You better get up
and get some rest, hun. You’ve had a long, busy day.”

I yawned and let out a sigh. “You’re right.
It’s weird, you know? This is the first night that I haven’t slept
in my own bed at home in years. Just to be on my own is a little
weird but it was bound to happen if I went to college anyway. I
don’t think this is any different, is it?” I was feeling all sorts
of emotions. I was tired, excited, nervous and happy all at the
same time.

“It’s all sorts of normal to feel this way
Bryn, because you know why? You’re young. You just graduated high
school, it's okay to feel all these different emotions. To try new
things and make mistakes. You’re human,” she said, and I felt a
weight lifted off of my shoulders. I was never able to have a
conversation like this with my mother or father. They would see me
cry and just walk away, drinking themselves into oblivion. They
never asked how school was, just demanding copies of my grades
every week.

“Thanks, Lou. I really appreciate everything
today from you guys. I’ll see you tomorrow!” I declared, giving
Louisa and Alberto Jr. a hug, and going next door to my new
temporary home.

Walking into the bedroom, I changed into a
baggy t-shirt and sweatpants. For something that the Lozano’s put
together in less than a day, it was already feeling like home. The
queen sized bed Louisa had just bought for me today had a purple
canopy above it, and a matching bedspread to go with it. Nearly
half a dozen pillows lay on top as well. First thing I did was did
a belly flop, sinking into the mattress and laying my head against
two of the small accent pillows. Safe to say, I slept like a baby
that night.

I woke up the next morning to ambulance
sirens zooming down the street. I opened my shades, taking in the
downtown view. I saw dozens of people on the sidewalks in their
typical business suits, drinking their coffees and carrying
briefcases. It wasn’t a spectacular view, but at least I was no
longer in a prison. I stopped at the local coffee shop and had a
bagel and iced coffee for breakfast before I met up with Cale at
Lozano’s.

Just thinking of the fact that I was going
to be sitting down with him for lunch gave me chills. Good chills.
I only met him yesterday and already he wanted me in the band. I
already wanted to get to know him more; learn what secrets he held
behind his amber eyes. As I was getting up to leave the coffee
shop, my phone rang.

Without checking the number I answered “This
is Bryn.”

“You’re alive!” Shouted Gina, my best
friend. The sound of California traffic at 5 a.m. was muffling her
energetic voice. “I was wondering about you since your parents
called me late last night when I was trying to sleep.” That was
unexpected. I wanted to vomit. Why would my parents call my friends
asking about me, and how the hell did they even have Gina’s
number?

“They really called you?” I asked her.

“Heck yes. Your mother sounded panicked, but
I lied and said you took a flight out to California to be with your
best friends, no big deal.” I couldn’t help but laugh. Gina always
had the sense of humor I wish I had. She had laid back parents who
let her do anything and everything she wanted. Pretty much had the
life I wish I could’ve lived.

“Aww you always have my back, girl. Thank
you,” I replied. “Truth though? I left yesterday morning, took my
suitcase and guitar. I’m never going back there.”

“Wow, I never ever expected you to do that,
Bryn. So what are you going to do now? You could always come out
and stay with us you know.”

“Well, I actually just auditioned for a band
and I got in. I’m meeting up with the lead singer today to discuss
the details.” I explained my experiences from the last day or so
and heard a squeal on the other end of the line.

“Bryn Schaefler, in a band? Oh that is
amazing. I knew you’d go far, hun. Whenever you come out to L.A.
you better get me front row tickets to your shows!” Gina demanded,
and I laughed.

“Gina, you’ll be the first person I call.” I
promised her, and we said goodbye.

I cleaned up a little bit around the loft
and sorted through my clothes, when I realized it was almost noon.
I didn’t want to be late for our little “meeting” or whatever you’d
call it. I put on the only other dress I packed. It was like the
yellow one I wore the day before, but a royal blue with baby blue
ribbon around the waist. I put on my diamond studded sandals and
grabbed my purse, calming my nerves before I made myself look like
a fool.

Walking into Lozano’s, Tracy, one of the
older waitresses, greeted me at the door.

“Hey Bryn how are you doin’?” Tracy waved
from the counter.

“Well rested, how about you?”

“Good. Your guest is back at booth #10. He
came early, and might I say, he looks very yummy.” Tracy smirked,
and I shook my head. There’s no way a woman in her late 40’s should
say a guy probably in his 20’s looks yummy. I maneuvered through
the tables and found my guy sitting in the far back corner, with a
dozen white lilies sitting in a vase.

Wow. He cleaned up pretty well. His hair was
slicked back and was wearing a black polo shirt and blue jeans. His
outfit looked like it cost him a couple hundred bucks at least. “I
hope you like those.” Cale pointed to the lilies. I picked them up
and smelled them, letting out a sigh.

“How did you know I liked these? They’re my
favorites.” I admitted, and set them in the corner of the
table.

“I actually didn’t know. I just saw them on
the way here and thought they looked nice.” Cale shrugged his
shoulders and smiled as he studied the menu. “So tell me more about
you, since we’re going to be bandmates now.”

I didn’t know where to begin. It was
probably best to save the juicy details for a drunken night
backstage. “Ahh, to put it in as little words as possible, I just
graduated, had rich snotty parents, an older brother who skipped
out on us, and that guitar you saw me with is my lifeline.” I took
a quick breath after telling him my story under a minute, and I
could tell he was trying not to laugh so hard.

“Sounds like an interesting family.” He
replied, causing me to roll my eyes.

“I guess you could say I’m the ‘normal’
child in the family but I still packed up and left.”

“You don’t look like the ‘pack up and leave’
type.” I cocked an eyebrow at him as he rested his elbows on the
table. “Were you the goody two shoes girl in high school?”

“You’ve been right about me so far. Except I
was the goody two shoes who snuck out of her prison cell to have a
life.” Cale gave me a questionable look. “Don’t ask. That’s a long
story you don’t want to hear right now.”

After making small talk for the next couple
of minutes, Tracy brought out heaping plates of lasagna and a foot
long piece of garlic bread smothered in butter. I was about to gain
5 pounds from this meal, and today I didn’t care.

“Do you guys eat like this on tour?” I asked
him, watching him wipe his hands on a napkin.

“Hell no. It’s usually fast food or a local
diner by the venue. I mean sometimes we’ll stock up on easy
sandwich stuff. But you can never tell because we thrash around the
stage for an hour during our set, so it comes off pretty quick.”
Cale explained. “Are you afraid you’re going to gain weight or
something?”

“Obviously, I’m a girl; can you handle
living with one for months on end in a bus?” I asked him. He got a
look in his eye as if it was a challenge. I could get used to
seeing that look every day.

“I lived with my mom for 22 years of my
life, and 3 sisters. I’ve seen it all. Question is, can
you
handle all of
us
?” He questioned me, and I already knew the
answer. But whether he meant that as living with them in closed
quarters, or something entirely different, I didn’t care.

“So you wanting me in your band isn’t just
for the sex?” I enquired, catching myself off guard because
normally the word “sex” would never come out of my mouth, let alone
anything remotely close to that. Cale shifted in his seat and
lowered his head for a minute, then met my gaze.

“You’re 18 and talking about sex already?
Don’t get me wrong, that is completely hot but believe me B, tours
aren’t for the faint of heart. You’ll see the stereotypical sex,
drugs, and rock n’ roll. Shit will go down unexpectedly and it will
change you, for good or ill.” Then he took one last bite of his
lasagna. “And, I’m a guy.”

I threw my head back and laughed
sarcastically. “Obviously.”

Cale brought his face closer to me and
whispered “Keep up your humor and everyone’s going to find out how
I screwed my new lead guitarist so fast and so hard she couldn’t
walk straight.” My mouth formed an O shape, and I sat back as
straight as a stick. “I have needs, you’ll find out. If I want to
fuck, I’ll gladly take a groupie backstage, with pleasure. This is
eye opening shit B. You’ll shed that 18 year old shy vulnerable
skin the first night on tour.”

After he went over some basic ground rules
about the bus, and told me a little more about  the guys, I
had a feeling I was going to be in for a life changing experience
whether I liked it or not.

Cale ended up paying our bill, after a five
minute debate, and walked me outside. He had a good 5 inches on me,
topping 6 feet. Being this close didn’t help me any, since he
smelled like a mix of Italian food and expensive cologne.

“Thank you for the lunch.” I said, putting
my hands in my pockets and watching pedestrians run down the
street.

“It’s all good. I’m glad you’re a part of
the band now. You’ll fit right in with us, don’t worry. No one will
hit on you or try anything. If they do, I’ll hurt them,” Cale
promised, causing me to smile.

“Well, it’s nice to know you have my back,”
I replied.

“But we leave for the tour with
The Nemesis and Ignite the Flames
next Thursday so
we’ll get together in a couple of days just to practice with you,
so you can learn the stuff we play. It’s basic stuff, nothing too
difficult.” He explained, then held his arms out to the side. “I’ll
see you around, B.” I guessed that was his new nickname for me, but
I kind of liked it. I stepped another inch toward him and gave him
a hug. His arms circled around my waist. His arms were firm and
muscular.

“Okay bye, Cale.” I waved, and went upstairs
to take a quick nap.

Over the next couple of days, I worked open
until close at Lozano’s, saving up extra cash before tour. Cale
texted me here and there during that time with random questions
like what my favorite TV show was, my favorite bands, favorite
color, favorite movie. I answered back without getting too
suspicious: True Blood, Breaking Benjamin, Purple and Magic Mike.
He gave me shit over my favorite movie, but I threatened to play it
for all of the guys when we went on the road.

He called me on Monday, just three days
before we left, and wanted to meet up at an old warehouse where
they usually practiced at, so I grabbed my guitar rushed out of my
loft and caught a taxi. The warehouse he gave me the address to was
just outside of town, about 15 miles away from downtown. It was in
the middle of nowhere! It was surrounded by a field and woods
across the street. I saw a couple of cars parked in front and I
opened the wide metal door.

“Yes she made it!” Shouted Victor, who was
sitting on an amplifier tuning up his bass. The rest of the guys
waved and said called out greetings as I walked towards them
holding my acoustic.