Unchained Melody (5 page)

Hunter smirked. The irony was that he had been as blind to Callie’s appeal as he had been to Meredith’s. He hadn’t spent his life pining over either girl, so it was weird that one almost hadn’t made her crush known because of the constant presence of the other!

‘No. If we’d left you alone, that would be bailing.’ He saw Callie’s shadow shrug. ‘I’m glad you rang though. I feel asleep in my clothes- that would have felt gross in the morning.’

‘Why did you leave?’ He asked, waiting expectantly at the window for her to turn around and open her blinds. More often than not, they looked at each other across their yards when they spoke on the phone. But Callie didn’t come to her window. Instead, he saw one of her hands move to her hip. The lighting in her room was low and had a purplish glow, which meant that only the lavender butterfly string lights which dangled over her dresser and bookshelf were on. Her hand began to ruck up her dress, and Hunter inhaled sharply and looked down at the flickering candles beneath him. Jesus! She had to be half-asleep not to turn and check her window before taking her clothes off!

‘We walked Marnie home and then Ryan walked me back here. What time is it anyway?’

‘Almost midnight.’ Hunter dared another glance up at the window, and then immediately wished he hadn’t, because her silhouette was glorious. And the way she was wriggling her hips to get her panties down reminded him of the way she had danced earlier that night to the hip-hop tracks and suddenly, he felt parched. He knew he should look away but he also knew he’d pour hot wax over his hand before he shut his blinds on the spectacle that was his best friend unwittingly doing a strip-tease for him.

It’s not wrong. It’s not like I can actually see her skin or anything, he told himself, even as he moved to the window for a closer look and prayed that she’d accidentally open her blinds as much as he prayed that she wouldn’t.

‘Wow, twelve?’ Callie’s voice lowered. ‘How long were you making out for?’

Hunter swallowed. Damn her and that voice! ‘Um, a couple of hours I guess.’

Callie laughed a low, throaty sound. ‘How many bases did you get around?’

‘Just the first.’ He sighed. As much fun as kissing had been, Meredith had kept him in a state of hyper-erection-awareness and lust for far too long. ‘Again and again…’

Callie clucked her tongue. ‘Poor Hunter. You must be feeling very frustrated right now.’ Hunter watched her reach behind her with one hand, unclasping her bra. She caved in her shoulders and the flimsy, lacy garment slid down her arms tauntingly-slowly. She tossed it, and the shadows of her breasts jostled from the movement. The effect that movement had on Hunter was instantaneous. He actually groaned and reached down to adjust himself where his jeans had become too tight. ‘That bad huh?’ Callie teased.

‘Huh? What?’ Hunter realized that he’d actually made that sound out loud just as Callie’s silhouette turned his way. He dropped to the carpet of his room like he was being shot at, silently mouthing: ‘Shit! Shit! Shit!’ Over and over again. His heart was going to fracture the floorboards beneath the underlay if it pounded any harder!

‘Eek!’ A squeak sounded down Callie’s end of the line. ‘Oh! Oh you’re not at your window- thank goodness!’ She giggled and he heard her breath pant as she moved quickly, most likely out of sight. ‘I left my curtains open while I changed! That could have been shame!’ He heard a self-conscious giggle and then the swish of her curtains sliding across their tracks. ‘Are you still there? What was that thud?’

‘I took off my shoes- I’m lying in bed.’ Actually, I’m just lying. He thought, supporting his head which felt twice as heavy as usual with his lecherous thoughts. ‘So… did you have fun tonight?’ He asked, trying to change the subject and pressing his back to the wall behind him. Callie Clay was his friend, and that was the only thing he wanted her to be. He’d never spy on her like that again, even if it meant that he had to shove his bookshelf across his window to ensure it.

‘It was okay. A bit weird- I’ll tell you in school on Monday.’

‘Oh... so we’re not going to Wolf’s Breath for the open mic thing tomorrow night?’ He was surprised at how disappointed he suddenly felt.

‘Nah I can’t. I have a rehearsal tomorrow and Sunday; eight hours all up, and an English paper due. Which is why I would have preferred to just stay home with you guys and listen to your music tonight, you know?’

Hunter grinned, knowing that she actually meant that. Callie never lied to them; if they were off or out of tune, she’d always just say it. Music wasn’t just what she listened to, it was who she was, and she didn’t let anyone wreck it for her, not even her best friends. If she said they were good, then it meant they were good.

‘I would have liked that too,’ he admitted, and it was only half a lie. He would have liked to spend the night with his mates as always, but he’d enjoyed making out with Meredith too. Oh well, it looked like he’d have some free time to hang out with her over the weekend, if Cal was going to be so busy.

Callie yawned for the third time. ‘Anyway, I’m going to go to bed, okay?’ He heard her bedsprings squeak. ‘Sweet dreams.’

‘Sweet sleep.’

She chuckled at his standard evening farewell. ‘Thanks buddy.’

Hunter disconnected the call then immediately turned and looked over at her window, relieved to find it dark. And yet he was preoccupied by thoughts of Callie all the same as it occurred to him that though she had taken her clothes off, he hadn’t heard her open a drawer to grab something to put on. His face went hot. Was it possible that his tomboy friend, actually slept in sheets and nothing else?

Hunter groaned and pegged the phone onto a pile of dirty washing under his lava lamp, knowing that his dreams were probably going to be so sweet that he’d never be able to hear the song Too Close again, or look Meredith or Callie in the eye for days.

4.

Ryan and Callie were sitting silently across from one another at their usual table a few weeks later, both eating the sandwiches they’d brought from home, and both glancing across the campus to the concrete terrace seats with murderous gazes. After ten minutes, Callie sighed and turned down Garbage’s I would Die For You piping through her walkman.

‘Eighteen days in a row.’ Callie said, taking a sip of her Fanta. ‘Eighteen days, Ryan. I don’t know why we’re even looking over there- he’s officially crossed over.’

Ryan looked up at her, and a wry smile curved his lips. ‘Were you just plotting Meredith’s death as well?’

‘I was going to make it look like an accidental drowning at the gorge.’ Callie took a nibble of her silverside and pickle sandwich and then swallowed. ‘You?’

‘Kidnapping. That way we’d be able to ask for Marnie’s tuition in ransom.’

‘Ahh.’ Callie smiled appreciatively. ‘Clever.’

‘I thought so.’ Ryan put down his sandwich and rested his chin in his folded hands. His fingers were long; musician’s fingers, and a turquoise ring sparkled on his pinkie. He fixed his own eyes on her, which were the palest turquoise themselves- eyes that seemed shocking against his tanned skin and black, glossy waves which had to be a hand-down from his Japanese mother. He had it pulled back in a low ponytail that day, and Callie couldn’t help but notice the slight shadow along his sharp jaw. ‘This sucks, Cal.’

‘I know.’ But neither she, nor Ryan, had broached the subject of their missing third until then, and she didn’t want to talk about it now. So she leaned across the table and ran her hand along the fuzzy knot of his jaw, smiling in amazement. ‘In breaking news: have you started shaving?’

He wriggled his eyebrows at her, which had a gentle arch despite their thickness. ‘Have you?’

‘Oh!’ She threw the straw from her drink at him, but he batted it away before the juice dribbles could splatter his face. ‘That’s not an okay question!’

‘Why not?’ He challenged her, shrugging. ‘You’ve been peppering Hunter and I with equally embarrassing questions since his voice broke. Why can’t you answer them too?’

She rolled her eyes. ‘Because I’m a girl. Duh.’

‘I can see that.’ His smile was sly, his eyes heavy-lidded in a teasing way. ‘Now.’ He gestured to her upper body. ‘By the way, you’re outgrowing your uniform. ’

Callie looked down at her white, pressed Horizon High button-up blouse, not seeing anything out of the ordinary. ‘It fits me fine!’

‘You won’t hear me argue otherwise,’ Ryan stuck the tip of his tongue out at her between perfect white teeth in a cheeky poke then leaned forward and whispered: ‘But the problem is that all the guys are talking about how fine your uniforms are fitting now, Cal- when they think Hunter and I aren’t in earshot anyway. At some point soon, I’m gonna want to break my new bass over Reece Langtree’s head, so if you don’t buy a bigger shirt, you’re paying for the damages.’

‘Ryan!’ Callie was mortified, and also sort of delighted to know that guys were talking about her. But it was Marnie she would have maybe discussed it with, not Ryan. She scooped up her blue vinyl three ring binder which was covered with the band logos Reece had been scribbling onto it during Science. They were actually pretty good. Now, she used it as a Heavy Metal shield against herself. ‘Happy now?’

‘Yeah put band logos on your chest- that makes the view less appealing.’ Ryan’s eyes were still greener than blue, lit at her expense. Callie blushed furiously, not knowing what to say. Ryan was so naturally charming that almost everything he said while in a good mood struck her as flirtatious. But despite her discomfort, she was glad that he was making a joke about the way they were changing, lightening the issue.

She wanted to come up with a flippant retort to prove that she was just as casual about it, but Ryan stretched forward, gently tugging the ear bud out of her ear. Garbage faded away. ‘Actually Callie, speaking of chests, I need to get something off mine. Or, well- I need to ask you something...’

Callie instantly knew what he was talking about; she’d seen the perplexed expression on his face every time he looked from her, to Hunter for weeks. ‘You’re going to ask me to sing your song with you, aren’t you?’

‘My song?’ Ryan blinked, frowned, then nodded. ‘Right. Yeah… the duet that’s not.’

Callie smiled sadly at him. Ryan had been working on a new song for months, one he’d hoped to play with Hunter when they had their open mic that Friday night. But the problem was, Hunter was skipping every other practice to hang out with Meredith, and the song had been written for a harmony and usually, when one of the guys was absent, Callie stepped in- both in rehearsals and when they performed. They knew she wasn’t a huge fan of singing in front of people, so they tried not to ask, and she could tell that Ryan was trying to ask that now. She felt bad for him, because he was afraid to admit just how much it meant to him. She reached across the table and loosely wrapped her fingers around his.

‘Don’t worry, I already saw it coming.’ She smiled tightly. ‘I’ll do it, okay?’

Ryan looked up from their hands, then to her. ‘You will?’

Callie shrugged. ‘Well, you’ve given him the lower part, which isn’t really in my range…’

Ryan beamed, squeezing her fingers more tightly. ‘Sing it how you want. Go up a key if need be- it might sound even better that way.’

Callie looked down at the table, shielding her pleased smile behind the brim of her cap. She knew she could carry a tune- well. She just didn’t get the rush from singing in front of people that she did when she was alone, or singing along to the songs of great artists. She was afraid that her voice would let Ryan’s beautiful music down. ‘I’ll try.’ She repeated. ‘But I need heaps of practice. Your place, this afternoon?’

He nodded eagerly, everything about him had opened up like a flower to the sun. He sat taller, and ran his fingertips along the back of her hand. ‘We’ve got a week to nail Are You Game then. It’ll be easy.’ He kissed her fingertips gently. ‘Thank you. But we should probably practice every day, right?’

‘I’m game to nail anything!’ A jovial male voice called and suddenly, Callie felt a warm body press up against hers and slide her along the bench seat. She looked to see Reece Langtree grinning at her, tugging down on the brim of her cap. ‘Hello miss: ‘I’m too good to answer my phone.’

‘Actually she goes by Callie, usually.’ Marnie sat on the other side of Ryan and slid a disproportionate stack of books onto the table in front of her. Along with a Math and Science textbook, there was The Encyclopedia Of Mythology and a bunch of notebooks and another, slimmer book titled The Ancient Olympics. Callie thanked her stars that she’d taken social studies instead of ancient history! The course load looked intense!

‘Hello to you both too.’ Callie said, but she felt a twinge in her stomach as another name popped into her mind: Calliope. What was it about that name that tweaked at her so? Four weeks since the dance had passed and yet she could remember the altercation with Mr Bank’s girlfriend as clearly as if it had just happened. She pulled her fingers out of Ryan’s hand and it took him a while to let go, as though he’d mistaken it for a guitar pick or something.

Mr Bank’s had been in a grouchy, despondent mood since that night, and Callie wondered if the girl had left, and then never returned. He spent more time in class making them read while he stared out the window with a listless expression. When he got over his sulk, Callie was going to ask him about the girl- if she could work up the nerve.

‘So what’s going on at your place this afternoon?’ Reece asked.

‘Huh? Oh nothing.’ Ryan nodded to Callie. ‘We’re working on a song for our gig night next Friday.’

‘Are You Game, right?’ Marnie supplied the answer as perkily as she responded to teacher’s when called upon.

‘That’s right.’ Ryan said with a bemused smile. Did he sense Marnie’s interest too?

‘Oh yeah, Hunter was telling me about that last week.’ Reece said, nodding thoughtfully. ‘We’re all coming.’

Callie cleared her throat: ‘We?’ She parroted.

Reece’s hand slid behind her, so that he was bracing himself on the back of her seat. ‘We,’ he said the word quietly into her ear, then smiled lazily over at Ryan, gesturing towards the crowd on the terrace with a swing of his arm. ‘All of us.’

Callie and Ryan exchanged a look; his ecstatic, hers terrified, she was sure. Getting a huge crowd into Wolf’s Breath for their slot was a coup and a half, but that also meant that if Hunter ditched rehearsals, it was Callie who was going to have to sing for him in front of more people than ever! Everything inside her withered, but Ryan’s delight was so apparent that she merely smiled and and nudged Reece with her hip.

‘That’s great.’ She looked over at Ryan pointedly. ‘So we’ll be practicing all night then.’

‘Yeah that’s okay. Mum and dad are in Cairns anyway so-’

‘Hold up!’ Reece interrupted, raising his hand in front of Callie’s face. He then dropped it and leaned eagerly towards Ryan. ‘You have that big ‘ole place to yourself tonight? Pool and everything?’

How Ryan managed to look nonchalant while sipping from a Just Juice popper evaded Callie. ‘It’s no biggie- the folks are always away.’

‘Yes!’ Reece clapped his hands together, green eyes bright with intrigue. ‘Can I come by? Maybe listen to you guys jam?’

Callie looked at Ryan and cleared her throat, then did it again as words got clogged in there. ‘It’s not my place. But I don’t think Ryan’s parents would be thrilled to have a party-’

‘Sure,’ Ryan said easily, sliding his gaze back to Callie. ‘We do need to practice though, so if you hold off until about eight we could barbecue or something?’

Callie swallowed, wondering if he was asking her permission. She didn’t know why on earth Ryan suddenly wanted Reece and his obnoxious friends at his place, but she supposed it had something to do with buttering up their future fans or... pissing Hunter off, giving their sell-out mate a taste of exclusion which suddenly, sounded like a pretty good idea to Callie too. She glanced over at Hunter’s table, to where their mate was still completely oblivious to them and smiled. ‘Sure.’ She finally said, deciding to trust Ryan on this one. Then she noticed Marnie’s excited expression and looked from her to Ryan thinking: Ohhhh… does Ry want a hook-up? Is that why he’s opening his doors? It made her feel slightly ill, but she included Marnie in her grin. ‘You’re coming right?’

‘I’m game.’ Marnie said softly, blushing at Ryan. And Callie looked away before she could see his expression thinking: And then there was one.

*

‘Burning me like lava/ Blood’s on fire. Her eyes are aflame/ my hearts on the pyre.’ Ryan’s husky voice was caught by the microphone in front of him, and every chord he strummed on the guitar was so perfectly executed that Callie shivered before singing:

‘She knows it too/ her sights on you/ you’re hers for the taking and though it’s love you’ll be making…’

‘It’s your heart that is breaking-’

‘But you’re body will be aching-’

‘If you’re not game… if you’re not game…’ Ryan’s voice reduced the final chord to velvet and Callie almost swooned from the utter joy of hearing their voices rise and fall and intersect like an invisible dance.

When the final note faded into the air, Ryan looked at Callie with glowing blue eyes and whispered. ‘Rocked it darling- in one.’

Callie squealed and let her guitar strap catch the Fender as she threw her arms around Ryan. ‘Oh my...!’ She could feel his heart pounding with excitement against her own. ‘We did it, didn’t we? That sounded-’

‘You’re a goddess,’ Ryan’s lips brushed her cheeks and he hugged her so tightly against him that she could barely breathe. ‘Thank you Callie.’

Callie heard the croak in his voice and she pulled back, grinning at him with teary eyes of her own. ‘You too?’ She asked, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye.

‘When I sing something that moves me?’ He asked, grinning gently. ‘Every time.’ He caught her chin with the tip of one finger, and lifted her gaze to his. ‘Your voice...’ He shook his head. Tears were caught on his thick eyelashes. He shook his head and swallowed. ‘Epic.’

She bit her lip and tilted her head to the side. ‘It was your song, not my voice that made that music beautiful.’ She hugged herself and stepped away from his arms. They always lost their shit when an original song of Ryan or Hunter’s creation went well; there was always hugging and laughing and usually, Callie hid the tears which clogged her throat. In fact, those tears were the very reason she usually shied away from singing in front of people, because they strangled her vocal chords. If the music was too beautiful, it was like her heart couldn’t stand it and her voice couldn’t translate it clearly.

But the band-bonding, in absence of the entire band- meaning without Hunter- felt almost too intimate a thing to share with Ryan alone, like it meant something else and it was making her aware of just how alone she and her beautiful ‘buddy’ were. Ryan had always been very affectionate with her and Hunter both- always hugging Hunter or kissing Callie on the top of her hat- he’d been like that since they were kids- but now, when he pressed his lips against her skin, she felt something other than friendliness- she felt butterflies. She glanced down at her watch. ‘Well it’s only six. We’ve got ages to get that perfect-’