THE BIGGEST STAGE (A Brothers of Rock - WILLOW SON - novel) (12 page)

Colby leaned over the table and
stared as Christie kept her eyes open very wide.

They weren
’
t exactly close, but maybe close enough.

Tessa felt her hands clawing at her
own shirt.

Another one of her questions from
last night was answered.

Yes, she was jealous. Because
Christie knew how to flirt better. Because Christie had picked out and
purchased her own chest. Because Christie had a fiery personality.

All Tessa had was herself. She didn
’
t know what worked and what didn
’
t.

“
Nah,
”
Colby said.
“
Sorry, sweetie. I mean, blue
fits you. But Tessa
…
she
’
s got the pretty eyes.
”

Christie pouted and blinked fast.

Tessa had to hide the urge to
smile.

“
Here,
”
Colby said. He stood up.
“
Sit, pretty eyes. I
’
ll get you some coffee.
”

Tessa took a seat and Christie
’
s eyes were wide. She mouthed
What
the fuck?
and smiled big.

When Tessa shrugged her shoulders,
Christie laughed.

“
How
the hell are you standing?
”
Tessa asked.
“
I mean you
were
…”

“
I
threw up,
”
Christie said.
“
That
’
s the trick. If you drink too much, get it out of
your system.
”

“
She
’
s right,
”
Colby said as he returned to the small table.

“
Oh?
”
Tessa asked.

“
Experience,
”
Colby said.
“
Not that I
’
m proud of it.
”

“
That
’
s why you stole that car,
”
Christie said.

“
What?
”
Tessa asked.

“
Your
friend seems to know a lot about Willow Son. And me. It
’
s kind of creepy.
”
He looked at Christie.
“
The
story of me stealing the car is a lie. A complete lie.
”

“
Online
…”

“
Lies,
”
Colby said.
“
I didn
’
t steal the car. The doors were unlocked. The keys
were in the ignition. The car matched the car I thought I had bought.
”

“
You
thought?
”
Tessa asked, not
interested in the story.

“
I
wasn
’
t drinking or
anything,
”
Colby said.
“
Just dead tired.  We spent four
full days and nights in the studio. I left the studio at two in the morning.
Got in the car and drove away. Got to my place and the garage door opener
wouldn
’
t work. Thought the
batteries were dead. Got out of the car, started to open the door, and then I
heard the sound of a police car behind me. Got arrested for stealing a car.
”

“
Holy
shit,
”
Tessa said.

“
Yeah,
”
Christie said.
“
The story online is way
different. I read something about a high speed chase.
”

“
High
speed,
”
Colby said.
“
The car was idling.
”
He laughed.
“
We worked it out.
”

“
How?
”
Tessa asked.

“
It
was the producer
’
s car,
”
Colby said.
“
So he stuck up for me. Nothing
happened.
”

“
Wow,
”
Tessa said. She sipped the
coffee.
“
This is, uh, good
coffee.
”

Colby laughed.
“
You don
’
t have to be shy around me. You weren
’
t last night.
”

Colby touched Tessa
’
s shoulder and she felt her face
and body burning. The color rushed to her cheeks at the look on Christie
’
s face.

“
Wait,
”
she whispered.
“
I remember
…
the bathroom
…
I thought there was a guy
…”

“
Stop,
”
Tessa said.
“
Stop.
”

Colby laughed.

His cell went off.

That was the cue that the night -
now
morning
- needed to end.

“
They
’
re going to send a search team
soon,
”
Colby said.
“
I have to meet up with the band.
Write some songs, find a label. Just another day in our life.
”

“
Sounds
much more exciting than ours,
”
Christie said.

“
Can
you check on the ocean for a second?
”
Tessa asked.

“
What
…”
Christie looked between Tessa
and Colby.
“
Oh, yeah, sure.
You two need a quickie to finish up?
”

Tessa groaned.
“
Just
…”

“
Go,
”
Christie said and stood.

She went outside.

“
So,
”
Colby said.
“
My car is waiting for me. Has
been for two hours.
”

“
You
didn
’
t leave?
”

“
Not
until I saw you.
”

“
Why
didn
’
t you wake me up?
”

“
You
were sleeping,
”
Colby said.
“
And I wanted to take a
shot at your friend.
”

“
What?
Seriously?
”

Colby winked.

“
You
’
re an asshole.
”

“
Yeah.
But she
’
s way too easy.
”

“
Ugh,
right?
”

Colby touched Tessa
’
s waist.
“
I like you better. So much better, pretty eyes.
”

“
I
’
m leaving this afternoon. Going
north.
”

“
Safe
travels then, right?
”
Colby
asked.

“
Yeah,
”
Tessa said.
“
I, uh, we
…
uh
…”

Colby leaned in and kissed Tessa.
She feared her breath would be rancid or her mouth wouldn
’
t taste appealing, but Colby
didn
’
t seem to mind. The
simple lip lock quickly turned into more. Colby touched the back of Tessa
’
s head, commanding their mouths
to open.

They kissed for a few seconds and
Colby pulled away.
“
See you
around.
”

“
Yeah?
”

“
Fate,
right?
”

“
Sure.
”

Colby walked to the door and looked
back.
“
Not that I want to
mess with fate here
…
but I
put my number into your cell.
”

Tessa watched Colby leave and felt
her heart tug. She knew the morning would come. She knew they
’
d split up like this. But she
didn
’
t think it would
actually
…
hurt.

Grabbing her mug, Tessa went
outside.

The warm air smacked her in the
face.

Christie looked at her.
“
You slept with him.
”

“
Yup.
”

“
A
rockstar. The lead singer of Willow Son.
”

“
Yup.
Yup.
”

“
I
…
I
’
m
jealous.
”

“
Yup,
”
Tessa said and smiled.

“
Just
…
it
’
s good he
’
s
gone, you know?
”

“
Why?
”

“
The
stories,
”
Christie said.
“
That band is all trouble.
”

“
Why?
Because he stole a car once?
”

Christie shook her head.
“
No, Tessa. That
’
s the fun story
…
the truth? He paid his way out
of a pretty serious thing once.
”

“
Oh
yeah? What
’
s that?
”

Tessa felt her heart racing, like
she was ready to fight Christie. To defend Colby
’
s
honor. It was a strange feeling.

“
Not
my business,
”
Christie
said.
“
You could look it
up. But he was charged with murder.
”

(12)

“
Walk
of shame?
”
Jett called out
as Colby climbed out of the car.

“
More
like
walk of fame
,
”
Colby said.
“
How many of
you ended up with two women in a hotel room last night?
”

“
Bullshit,
”
Ryker said.

“
Why
would I lie?
”

Out of nowhere, Harry came pushing
through. A finger pointed at Colby. His face red. Sweat collecting at his
hairline.

“
You
son of a bitch,
”
Harry
spat.
“
You really fucked
things up last night.
”

“
How
was your meeting with Portis?
”
Colby asked.

“
We
weren
’
t allowed to go,
”
Brantley said.
“
So we came back here and wrote a
song.
”

“
What?
”
Colby asked.

“
He
wanted you and me,
”
Harry
said.

Colby shook his head.
“
No way. Never. This isn
’
t a lead singer thing. No.
”

“
Colby,
”
Harry growled.

“
We
’
re a band,
”
Colby said.
“
The five of us or nothing. Let
me hear the new song.
”

“
Wait
a second,
”
Harry said.
“
We need
…”

“
Let
me hear the new fucking song,
”
Colby ordered.

He walked into the converted garage
and the band followed.

“
Bro,
”
Van said, walking side by side
with Colby.
“
I appreciate
the love here, but if there
’
s
a chance to get signed
…”

Colby froze.

He was already damn grumpy. The
last thing he needed was everyone up his ass. Seeing the look on Tessa
’
s face when he left stuck with
him. He knew he should have just woken up and left. But then Tessa
’
s friend started bugging him.
And each time he looked back and saw Tessa sleeping, he wanted to stay. To see
her when she woke up. To see her hair a little messy. To see her sleepy eyes.
To kiss her one more time, taste her mouth.

Fuck.

Getting close was a big mistake.

At least she was leaving today.
There would be no more chances of running into her. If she called or sent a
text, that was one thing. That was fine. But soon enough, Willow Son would be
back on the road, in the studio, and all of these caring feelings would just
fade away.

Plus, if Tessa got too close
…
if she wanted to really get
into knowing the truth
…

“
You
hear me?
”
Ryker yelled.

“
What?
”
Colby asked.

“
Bro,
did you hear me?
”

“
No.
What?
”

“
We
recorded the song. Just to get a feel for it. I want to work on the solo a
little more. But it
’
s totally
solid. Jett really killed it with this riff
…
listen
…”

Ryker hit a button and sound poured
from speakers throughout the garage.

Colby stood, listening. His head
quickly started bobbing. The song was explosive. Almost like a big middle
finger to anyone who doubted the band. A minute into the song, Colby walked to
a table. He grabbed his bag and took out a notebook. With a pen to follow,
Colby was quick to start writing some lyrics. The pen flowed as fast as the
words did. Yeah, it was going to be choppy as hell, but the song was still in
its infancy.

The last chord rang out and Ryker
killed the sound.

Colby was still writing.

Words were easily coming to him.
The annoyance and slight anger worked magic sometimes. Annoyed that his night
with Tessa was gone. Angry that she could type his name into any computer and
get fed a lot of bullshit lies. Annoyed and angry that Portis wanted to talk to
just he and Harry. As if the rest of the band didn
’
t matter.

Pulling the guys apart would keep
them apart. That
’
s not how
Willow Son functioned. When the world turned away on Colby all those years ago,
the fours guys he called brothers - Van, Rkyer, Jett, and Brantley - were right
there with him. Through the trial, lawsuit
…

“
Fuck,
”
Colby growled.

He put the pen down and was almost
shaking. He stood up and the chair flew back.

“
What
’
s wrong?
”
Jett asked.

“
Get
your bass,
”
Colby ordered.
“
Brantley, get on the drums.
Ryker, Jett
…
it
’
s time.
”

“
Can
we talk for a second?
”
Harry asked.

Colby looked back.
“
No. If Portis doesn
’
t want to meet with Willow Son,
then he
’
s not signing
Willow Son. I
’
ll pay for a
show myself. Find a venue. Start planning it. Whatever we need to do. I
’
m not going to beg for anything.
Want to know why?
”

“
Why,
Colby?
”
Harry asked,
crossing his arms.

“
This
is why
…”

Colby got on the practice stage.

Jett and Ryker fired up their amps.
Their guitars were already growling. Brantley hit a few beats. Van slapped a
few heavy notes on the bass.

“
From
the top!
”
Brantley shouted.

He gave a four count and they
started to play the new song.

It sounded better, tighter right
now than on the recording.

Colby held the notebook and started
to sing. The words that were so easy to write were now so easy to sing. A few
words and lines really didn
’
t
mix in with the entire song, but it was a good start. A damn great start.

Standing there, Colby used a pen to
circle and scribble parts he didn
’
t
like. A few lines mentally connected with him that would work with an acoustic
song. Suddenly there were two songs in Colby
’
s
mind. This was just how things went. This was why he couldn
’
t afford to spend time with a
woman. No room for a relationship. Time right now was going to be spent
bringing Willow Son back to the front of the world. They were rockstars, they
were rich, but they weren
’
t
done yet.

As they finished up the new song,
Colby launched from the stage. He grabbed an acoustic guitar and plopped down
on a chair and started to pick at the strings.

“
What
are you doing?
”
Jett asked.

“
I
have something here,
”
Colby
said.
“
These lines don
’
t work with that song. Something
slower. Something raw. Give me something, guys.
”

There was silence for a few seconds
and then Ryker started to pick at his guitar. The clean, electric sound with an
echoey reverb effect worked.

Colby nodded, wanting more.

He watched Ryker
’
s fingers and started to play
what Ryker was playing.

“
Yes,
”
Jett yelled.
“
Go with it.
”

Jett came in with a soothing and
subtle bass line, adding more life.

Colby started to belt out the lines
that didn
’
t work with the
first song.

They worked with this song
though. Goddamn, they worked.

The even newer song only lasted all
of a few more bars before Colby ran out of lines. He waved the song off and
stood up. He put the guitar down and ran a hand through his hair.

“
That
’
s good.
”

“
That
’
s great,
”
a voice added.

Colby spun and saw Portis standing
in the open door to the garage.

“
You
here to sign the band?
”
Colby asked.

“
No.
”

“
Then
get out.
”

“
Colby,
”
Harry said.
“
Take a goddamn breath, man.
”

Colby walked toward Portis. Dressed
in a suit, looking killer sharp, Portis had that look of businessman asshole
that pissed Colby off.

“
What
do you want?
”
Colby asked.

Portis touched his jaw and lip.
They were still swollen from where Colby punched him.
“
I came by for two reasons. First, I wanted to
apologize for my comment. I deserved to get smacked for what I said.
”

“
Okay,
”
Colby said.
“
And?
”

“
Second
…”
Portis looked around, looked at
the rest of Willow Son.
“
I
have an offer for you. For Willow Son. I don
’
t
think you
’
re going to want
to refuse it. Want to hear it?
”

Colby looked back at the band. They
were all nodding.

“
Yeah,
”
he said.
“
What
’
s the offer?
”

**

“
When
did you move up here?
”

Tessa tried to remember the last
time she talked to Anna. It hadn
’
t
been that long. Last time they talked, Anna was in Colorado. Working and
saving, waiting for ski season to start where she claimed she could make a
killing working at the resorts.

Now Anna sat across from Tessa in a
small corner coffee shop an hour north of Sacramento. Anna looked strikingly
beautiful with her dark blonde hair pulled to the left in some kind of sloppy
yet cool artsy looking fashion. She wore black glasses that were too big for
her small face, but, again, they looked cool on Anna.

Anna was always the smart rebel.
The one who could mouth off, skip school, and still become valedictorian. The
one who could have gotten any scholarship she wanted - to any art school across
the country - yet she decided on just traveling and making friends for a while.
That
for a while
stage was still going
…
Anna was now twenty-five. She was a grown woman. Simply beautiful, yet still a
wanderer.

Part of Tessa dreamed of Anna going
to school, settling. Finding a good guy and having a good life. The death of
their mother was hard on everyone, but Anna was the youngest -
the baby
- and that terrible void of not having a father or mother lingered in her.

She was a free spirited woman for
sure, but there was always a sense of hurt in her eyes. The worst part? Anna
would never talk about it. She just went along with life and waited for the
next opportunity to present itself.

Anna sipped her coffee and grinned.
She had the same damn dimples as their mother did.

“
Last
week,
”
Anna said.
“
My friend, Carlie, got the
chance to stay here for six months for free. We have no rent.
”

“
How?
”

“
We
’
re painting some murals. For a
local park project thing. They
’
re
restoring some stuff and Carlie got a call from a friend of her family. She
suggested I come too and when they saw my work
…”

“
Anna!
”
Tessa said.
“
That
’
s amazing. I
’
m
so happy for you.
”

“
Yeah,
”
Anna said.
“
So I should get this done and
then go back to Colorado for ski season.
”

“
That
’
s not going to happen though,
”
Tessa said.
“
You never go back.
”

“
I
know,
”
Anna said.
“
I
’
ll
see where I go from there.
”

“
You
know how uneasy that makes me.
”

“
That
’
s why I didn
’
t tell you about it.
”

“
So
you just surprise me by asking to meet for coffee?
”
Tessa asked.
“
I
had to GPS this place and you
’
re
just sitting here, waiting.
”

“
Hey,
you travel more than I do.
”

“
I
get paid to travel, Anna.
”

“
I
’
m getting paid for this.
”
Anna then smirked with devilish
eyes.
“
At least you don
’
t have to worry about me calling
for rent money.
”