Under the Lights (A Brothers of Rock - GONE BY AUTUMN - Novel) (8 page)

I guess not.

Tanner licked his lips and started
to play. He ran through the main riff once and looked to Blake and nodded.
Blake started to strum his guitar. After one more time, Asher came in with the
sad notes.

They kept playing over and over and
then Tanner called it off.

“
That
’
s a good intro to it,
”
Tanner said.
“
After the fourth time, hold the
main note and let it fade. Then I guess I
’
ll
start singing.
”
He looked
back.
“
You three try to
grab the chorus and sing when you can. Don
’
t
worry about throwing me off. Okay?
”

Tanner started to sing, pulling out
lyrics that were so old that, even in his mind, there was dust covering them.
It amazed him how fast they came back though. And it amazed him how much it
still hurt his heart to sing the words.

Tragedy.

Tanner closed his eyes and belted
out the chorus. It was just him, a 12-string guitar, and Blake strumming rhythm
on an acoustic guitar.

After the first run through, Tanner
stopped and backed away from the mic.

“
That
’
s good enough,
”
he said.
“
I got the rest. I
’
ll write it down for you, Ryan.
”

“
What
the hell?
”
Ryan asked.
“
That was pretty amazing, Tanner.
I think we can do this one together.
”

“
No,
”
Tanner said.
“
This is meant for the harmonies.
It needs at least one other voice. Not mine.
”

Ryan nodded and stood up.
“
Let
’
s work it out then.
”

Tanner and Ryan finished the
lyrics. He scribbled them on the paper and then dropped the pen when he was
done.

“
There,
”
Tanner said.
“
Fix it. Make it sound good.
”

“
It
does sound good,
”
Ryan
said.
“
We
’
re grown up now, man. That song
just needed time and life to help it grow. It's really good."

“
Yeah.
Sure. Just do what you want with it.
”

“
Hey,
man, you okay with things?
”
Ryan asked.

Tanner looked away.
“
All is right with the world,
brother.
”

“
Come
on, don
’
t bullshit me. I
can see it all over your face. Something
’
s
getting to you.
”

“
No.
Just had a weird night, weirder morning. I thought I would strum the chords to
the song and you
’
d sing it.
Didn
’
t expect to go back in
time.
”

Ryan punched Tanner in the arm.
“
Hey, we all came from the past.
Remember that. Yeah, we let it go, but we did come from it. That shit got us
where we are... together."

The band went back to work for
another hour before Sam left to take a call and came back holding his phone in
the air, shaking it back and forth.

“
Gentlemen,
”
he announced,
“
come check this out.
”

The band thanked the singers for
their hard work and told them to take off for the day. Tanner stared at Jules
while Sam spoke to the singers about their pay. He told them they
’
d have their first payment
within a day or two, and that there were terms being worked out for the tour.

All three seemed happy.

Jules smiled at Tanner and gave a
cute little wave as she left the loft. Tanner curled his hands into fists. She
made him feel crazy and he knew nothing about her.

When the door shut, Sam turned and
tossed his phone to the table.

“
Look
for the commas,
”
he said.

“
What?
”
Tanner asked.

“
The.
Commas.
”

“
In
what?
”
Ryan asked.

“
Your
next advanced payment, guys. Record company heard the new stuff and is pumping
more into it all. I know you guys were feeling good before. Money, cars,
apartments, women. The whole thing. But this
…
this is security.
”

Tanner looked at the phone and had
to do a double take. There was a seven figure number on the phone. Proof of
electronic payment made to what was now a company. Gone by Autumn wasn
’
t just a band. They were an
image, a brand, a business. And they just got paid.

“
Holy
shit,
”
Asher said.
“
That
’
s
…”

“
That
’
s a lot of money,
”
Gabe said.

“
More
than we ever got before,
”
Ryan said.

“
We
could quit and retire,
”
Blake said.
“
Done. Buy an
island. And enjoy booze and women until we drop dead."

“
Trust
me,
”
Sam said.
“
You
’
re not going to want to run away after this one.
There
’
s a lot more to come.
”

Tanner looked at Sam. For a second
he saw Sam as the young, geeky, punk kid he always was. Then he looked to the
band. The five of them used to sit around, drinking beer, strumming chords,
dreaming and writing music. Just to find a way to ease the different struggles
they each were going through back then.

“
Oh,
and if that wasn
’
t enough,
you guys are number one on every chart possible,
”
Sam said.
“
The new song is
perfect.
”

“
New
song
…
,
”
Tanner said.

“
Now
I
’
m lonely,
”
Sam tried to sing but butchered
it.

“
Christ,
”
Ryan said.
“
This is unreal.
”

“
It
’
s real,
”
Sam said.
“
I
need to go finish up all the details for this coast tour.
”

Sam took his phone and tucked it
into his pocket. He started to walk away and Tanner grabbed him by the back of
his suit jacket. Sam stumbled back and let out a yell.

“
Not
that easy,
”
Tanner said. He
put an arm around Sam and pulled him close.
“
Come
on. All of us. Bring it in here. This is unreal.
”

The entire band - and Sam - hugged.

“
That
’
s so much money,
”
Asher said.

“
We
should give something to Maya again,
”
Blake said.
“
It
’
s only fair.
”

“
Everyone
will be taken care of,
”
Ryan said.
“
We
’
re not greedy
…”

Tanner closed his eyes and thought
of Richie. That shithead lurking around, trying to get into Tanner
’
s head.

“
Well,
to be fair,
”
Sam said.
“
That number is before taxes. And
my cut. So it
’
s not all
that much.
”

“
Okay,
get out of here,
”
Gabe
said.

They all laughed and Sam left.

Clarity hit Tanner and he excused
himself from the band. He needed to catch up to Sam. Maybe he could give him
Richie
’
s card and have him
get the guy off his back. Sam would be able to do that.

Tanner left the loft and made a
turn down the hall before he stopped in his tracks.

There was Jules, standing at a
window, looking out. Her back was to him. It instantly left him wanting to
touch her waist, like he
’
d
done the night before. To grab her, turn her around, and pick up where they
left off. There was definitely enough time to enjoy each other a number of
times the rest of the day.

As Tanner closed in on her, all
thoughts of Sam, Richie, and the band slipped away.

“
What
are you thinking?
”
Tanner
asked.

Jules gasped and spun around. She
looked at him, and her face was instantly red.

“
Hey,
”
she said.

“
Whoa,
sorry. Thought you would have heard the door shut or my footsteps.
”

“
No.
I was
…
thinking.
”

“
Try
me,
”
Tanner said.
“
What
’
s on your pretty mind?
”

Jules blinked fast.
“
Nothing. Music mostly.
”

“
I
do music. Tell me.
”
Tanner
closed in. He leaned into her and put his hands on the wall on either side of
the window, boxing Jules in.
“
You
bailing on the band?
”

“
No,
”
Jules said.
“
This is a lifetime dream come
true right now. I was thinking about that song you played
…”

“
Forget
about it,
”
Tanner said.
“
It
’
s
old. I just like the riff.
”

“
No.
The song is great. But, what if
…”
Jules bit her lip.

“
Go
ahead. It
’
s just us."

“
I
keep hearing the song,
”
Jules said.
“
What if there
were two vocal parts. Guy and girl? Trading verses? Like they
’
re singing to each other?
”

That was the exact reason why the
song never worked to begin with. It was almost too whiny for just one guy to
sing. The guitar parts were so raw that a woman
’
s
vocals would cut to the core and make it that much better.

“
Pretty
and smart,
”
Tanner said.
“
We
’
ll
have to try that one out.
”

“
Seriously?
”

“
Yeah.
Why not? You and me. What are you doing right now?
”

Jules opened her mouth but didn
’
t reply.

Tanner's body was on fire. Christ,
he didn
’
t want to just take
her to bed for one night. He wanted to tie her down and keep her there. Explore
her. Have her. Forget about the damn world. Maybe forever.

*

Jules could only smell sweat and
soap. Some kind of musky, manly soap and sweat from playing guitar for almost
four hours. Her eyes were focused on Tanner as he was just inches from her
face, but it was her ears and mind that refused to believe this was real.

What are you doing right now?

You, Tanner. I want
…
to do you
…

The color rushed to Jules
’
face again as she tried to
figure out her reply to his question.

“
I
’
m, uh, meeting my roommate,
”
Jules said.
“
She had a band meeting. She
’
s trying to form a band. She
wanted to meet me and talk about everything that happened today. With you. I
mean, the band. Practice. Uh
…”

“
So
you have plans,
”
Tanner
said. He pushed back off the window and backed up.
“
Too bad I guess.
”

No
…
no
…
don
’
t walk
away
…

“
I
didn
’
t mean it like that,
”
Jules said.
“
I live with Tara. I
’
ll see her later. Or tomorrow.
Whatever. Just
…
don
’
t
…”

“
If
I wanted to stalk you, where would I find you around nine tonight?
”

Jules looked at her cell. It was
already past seven. She hadn
’
t
even gotten to meet up with Tara yet.

“
The
Jack,
”
Jules said.
“
The potential guitarist for Tara
’
s new band is playing there. So
she wants me to hear it and give her my thoughts.
”

“
The
Jack,
”
Tanner said.
“
I guess I could visit the scene
of the crime again.
”

“
Crime?
”

Tanner grinned. He put a finger
under her chin.
“
Where you
tried to steal something from me. Came close, darling.
”