Authors: Michelle Mankin
CHAPTER 11
Coleman was really torturing Marcus, alternating cardio and weights with little rest between sets. Stephen had insisted Marcus get a personal trainer after he came back from the Betty Ford Center. Marcus, never having worked out a day in his life, had almost run the other way when he
’
d first been introduced to Larry Coleman. Built like an NFL safety, all six feet of him solid muscle, Coleman was an intimidating dude, the kind who made you feel like you had to go into training just to start working out with him.
Ok, ok, he was actually really grateful to Stephen for the directive. He had been right about exercise being a healthy stress reliever. It helped Marcus channel his frustration when people inevitably didn
’
t measure up to his high standards.
Marcus could barely catch his breath. His arms trembled with exhaustion. Coleman
’
s workouts were a challenge on a good day, next to impossible on a bad one. Today fell into the latter.
Though physically worn out, his mind still raced. His thoughts kept coming back to the newest member of Brutal Strength. He wasn
’
t sure exactly what it was about Avery that intrigued him. He had meant it about the connection. They both felt the same way about music, that creating it was a compulsion, a passion, and not just a job.
There was something more, though. Something he couldn
’
t quite identify. Something so totally different from any of his previous friendships, that it puzzled him. Why did he want to be around Avery all the time? And why did he feel this overwhelming desire
…
to protect him?
“
Hey Marcus, pay attention.
”
Marcus swore Coleman had a maniacal gleam in his eye.
“
You still have five more minutes-plenty of time to do twenty more
burpies
!
”
Marcus groaned, dropped to the ground, and began the set of squat- thrust- pushups.
*****
Later that afternoon, Dalton caught Marcus just as Ray dropped him off at the studio.
“
Hey. I just heard
‘
Brothers.
’
Wow! It is wicked good. Queen Mary is salivating all over her royal self. She already has plans in place to release it as a single.
”
Marcus looked at him with chagrin.
“
I haven
’
t even heard the final version.
”
“
Well come on, dude. Come listen.
”
Dalton pulled him into the mixing booth, put the headphones on Marcus
’
head, and started the tape.
Marcus listened, transfixed. Avery
’
s opening guitar riff was immensely appealing, the lyrics were catchy, and as usual, Dalton
’
s arrangement was nothing short of masterful. Marcus ripped off the headphones, a big grin covering his face.
“
Dalton you are a genius!
”
“
I know. I agree.
”
He smirked.
“
But you guys aren
’
t half bad yourselves. You know Avery is here with Dwight working on
‘
Mother
’
s Gift.
’
Dude, you guys are scaring me with the stuff you
’
re doing.
”
‘
What the hell did he mean by that,
’
worried Marcus.
‘
Was it that noticeable?
’
“
What studio are they in?
”
he asked, thoughts unsettled.
“
Three.
”
Marcus walked quickly down the hall. Hearing Avery
’
s soft laughter through the open doorway, he
stopped,
surprised by the way the sound seemed to brighten his mood, which admittedly had been mostly dark this past year.
Avery had been watching for him, and her eyes lit up when he entered the room.
Dwight smiled.
“
What
’
s going on bro?
”
Before Marcus could answer, JR stumbled in.
“
Hey, man. Where have you been?
’
Marcus asked him, wrinkling his nose.
“
You smell like an ashtray.
”
“
Looks like you slept in your clothes,
”
Dwight added.
“
Killer party last night,
Rhianna
was in town,
”
JR said, looking directly at Marcus.
“
Sorry you missed it, dude.
”
“
I
’
m not. It
’
s not my thing anymore,
”
Marcus said tersely. He walked over and stopped in front of JR, getting right up in his face.
“
Are you drunk? You know we
’
re recording today.
”
“
Back off! My personal life is none of your business! Control freak.
”
JR muttered the last bit under his breath. Furious, he flopped down on the stool behind his drum kit.
“
It is my business when it affects the band!
”
Marcus shouted, not willing to let it drop.
“
Dude, please. You are such a hypocrite! You were so messed up last year at the Garden you couldn
’
t even remember the lyrics to
‘
Moon Rising.
’
Self-righteous prick.
”
He gave Marcus the middle finger salute.
Marcus came unglued. He barreled across the room toward JR, hands balled into fists. Dwight dropped his bass and moved to break up the pending altercation. Somehow Avery got there first, stopping in front of JR
’
s drum set, and planting herself between the two of them. She grabbed JR
’
s forearm with one hand and swiveled around toward Marcus with her other hand out like a traffic cop. Marcus
’
chest came right into contact with her open palm.
Avery released JR, stumbling back a bit from the force of Marcus
’
momentum. Her brain shut down as her body went into sensory overload. He was so close and so warm. She could feel the tension in the muscles flexing beneath her fingertips. Her cheeks flushed, and her eyes flashed up to Marcus
’
face.
Marcus stood completely motionless, body taut as a bowstring, eyes flaring. He looked down at Avery
’
s hand on his chest, half expecting to see smoke erupting from the point of contact.
Avery pulled her hand back, cradling it to her chest like it had been burned. Her widened green eyes met his dilated blue, and her only coherent thought was,
‘
Move!
’
But there was nowhere to go, as she soon found out when she tried to back up and almost sat down on JR
’
s bass drum.
“
Whoa,
”
JR said, holding Avery up from behind so she didn
’
t fall. Marcus remained frozen, gaze locked with hers until she finally averted her eyes.
She pivoted around to face JR.
“
Thanks, man. I am such a klutz.
”
Dwight pulled Marcus over toward him and whispered,
“
Dude, what the hell was that?
”
“
What do you mean?
”
Marcus' voice was husky and he looked kind of dazed.
“
The way you almost took JR
’
s head off just now, what did you think I meant?
”
He glanced back over his shoulder at JR and Avery.
“
Nothing, I don
’
t know, man.
”
He raked fistfuls of hair through his hands.
“
Well, figure it out then. I think you and JR need to talk.
Seems like there
’
s some unfinished business there.
”
Dwight called to Avery,
“
Hey, Avery,
wanna
get a Coke while these two kiss and make up?
”
“
Sure.
”
She followed Dwight out of the studio, relieved to have a chance to regroup.
Marcus was the first to speak.
“
Dude, you're right. I shouldn
’
t have jumped your case just now. I know
I
really
eff
’
ed
up last year, I
’
m sorry.
”
“
No, it
’
s on me. I
’
ve got a terrible hangover and I took it out on you.
”
He extended his hand to Marcus, who grabbed it.
“
No hard feelings, man. Who am I to judge, you know.
”
Down at the break room, Dwight and Avery were just sitting down with their sodas when Beth walked in.
“
Hey guys,
”
Beth said, grabbing a yogurt out of the fridge.
“
Mary wanted me to let you know she
’
s called a tech crew in to shoot a video of
‘
Brothers.
’
The plan is to release a live performance of it to the internet as soon as possible. We think it
’
s going to be huge.
”
She leaned in, whispering conspiratorially,
“
She
’
s even trying to pull some strings to get Brutal Strength
’
s slot at the Grammy nomination concert moved up to be the grand finale. Where are Marcus and JR?
”
“
Working out some personal stuff,
”
Dwight told her.
“
We
’
ll relay the message.
”
“
Ok, sure. Tell Marcus to call me,
”
she said, sticking a spoon into the yogurt container as she left the room.
Avery
’
s thoughts were in a whirl. Holy cow, a music video and a Grammy concert! She wasn
’
t in Kansas anymore.
Striding into the room, Marcus told the two of them,
“
Hey guys, JR and I are cool. You ready to get back to work on
‘
Mother
’
s Gift?
’”
Avery and Dwight nodded. As they headed down the hall back to the studio, Dwight filled Marcus in on Beth
’
s news.
CHAPTER 12
The ringing of her cell phone jarred Avery awake. She fumbled around until she located it on the nightstand.
“
Hey,
”
Marcus
’
deep voice rumbled.
“
Hey, yourself,
”
Avery grumbled sleepily.
“
Aren
’
t you up yet,
bum
?
”
“
Marcus, it is eight in the morning. On a Saturday!" she growled out.
“
All decent people are still asleep. I haven
’
t even had my coffee yet.
”
“
Oookay
…
You without coffee is kind of scaring me. Hurry up and get some. I
’
m coming over to take you to Granville Island Market for breakfast.
”
He hung up, leaving Avery staring bleary- eyed at her cell phone. She dragged herself out of bed and went into the kitchenette. Less than fifteen minutes later, Avery was caffeinated and dressed. A definite bonus to being a guy was the prep time.
Marcus called her from the lobby. Avery grabbed her jacket and room key and headed down. He greeted her as soon as the elevator doors opened, handing her a cup of coffee from Caf
é
Artigiano
. Smiling at Marcus gratefully, she opened the lid and inhaled the delicious aroma.
“
I had
‘
em
put a double shot of espresso in there. I wanted to make sure you were fully charged. Man, you
’
re a grump in the morning. Are you ready to go experience one of my favorite Vancouver attractions?
”
“
You said something about a market. I don
’
t quite remember. It was a pre-caffeine moment.
”
She looked over his shoulder.
“
Hey, where
’
s Ray?
”
“
It
’
s Saturday. It
’
s his day off. Besides, I wanted you to get the full local experience. Come on, let
’
s get going.
”
He motioned to the waiting taxi the bellman had called up for them.
Avery was enchanted by Granville Island, especially the Public Market. Early on a rainy weekend morning, there were very few customers.
Mostly just merchants beginning to quietly set up their booths for the day.
Rows and rows of goods stretched endlessly throughout the warehouse-like building. The front section held predominantly fresh fruits and vegetables with
some flowers, followed by bakery items, deli meats and cheeses, other prepared foods, and artisan wares.
Marcus grinned as Avery enthusiastically browsed up and down the aisles, enjoying the free samples, except for the candied salmon.
‘
Obviously not a fan,
’
Marcus thought. The puckered up face had been hilarious. Avery hadn
’
t wanted to hurt the seller
’
s feelings and had made a valiant attempt to chew and swallow, but in the end had discreetly spit it out in a trashcan.
Finally settling on some locally-made mozzarella cheese, freshly baked bread, and an assortment of fresh fruit, they had a picnic sitting at a bar in front of the floor to ceiling windows overlooking False Creek. Rain cascaded down the windows like a waterfall, blurring the view of the ocean and city skyline. They ate their makeshift breakfast in relative silence.
Avery was so glad that there didn
’
t seem to be any residual awkwardness between the two of them from the previous day. Once the band had returned to the studio to record her song, no one had seemed inclined to talk about what had happened. They had all immersed themselves in the recording process. Being the lead singer and guitarist on the piece, Avery had been more than a little overwhelmed. She
’
d been happy to return the vocal responsibilities to Marcus.
“
Did Dalton tell you if he
’
s finished with
‘
Mother
’
s Gift,
’
yet?
”
Avery asked him.
“
Yeah.
I
’
ve got a copy of it back at my apartment. I was thinking you might want to come over to hear it
…”
He paused, doing a drum roll on the bar.
“
And I
’
ve got an idea for another song I want to work on.
”
“
Yeah?
”
He nodded.
“
Cool.
”
Avery licked his fingers, an action Marcus found oddly fascinating.
“
Come on, let
’
s go,
”
she said, pushing back from the table.
“
But first I
’
ve
gotta
go back and get one of those chocolate Nanaimo bars!
”
Marcus groaned,
“
Dude, you are so going to be sick.
”
When they arrived back at Marcus
’
apartment, they were both soaked from the rain. Avery
’
s short hair was plastered to her head, making her eyes seem even larger than usual. The layers of clothes she wore felt like they weighed a hundred pounds.
Marcus dropped his keys and jogged to his bedroom, returning with some dry clothes for Avery.
“
These are going to be way too big for you, Ace. You look like a drowned puppy.
”
He headed back to his bedroom to shower and change.
Avery went to the guest bath she had used the previous day, checking compulsively to make sure the door was locked. When she came out twenty minutes later, warm, hair blown dry, Marcus was waiting. His wet hair was combed back off his gorgeous face, and he sat on the sectional with two steaming mugs of tea in front of him.
Seeing her outfit, he laughed and his blue eyes sparkled.
“
Now you look like Tom Sawyer with stolen grownup clothes on. You
’
d better throw your stuff in the dryer.
”
Even though she had rolled up the pant legs on Marcus
’
jeans half a dozen times just so she could walk without tripping, his shirt still hung below her knees.
“
I guess this beats the wet dog look.
”
She shuffled back over to sit down, holding up the pants by the waistband.
“
Do you have a belt or something I can use to keep these things up?
”
“
Sure, I
’
ll be right back,
”
Marcus snickered as he walked back to his bedroom. He returned with a tension hiking belt that could be tightened enough to work. When Avery lifted her shirt to thread it through the belt loops, a sliver of her white skin became visible. Marcus looked away, feeling suddenly voyeuristic. Clearing his throat, he turned his attention back to the laptop on the coffee table in front of him. He pulled up the file that held the newly mastered recording of
“
Mother
’
s Gift
”
so they could listen to it.
When the song finished playing, Avery couldn
’
t believe what she had just heard. She had never believed her voice was anything special. But on the recording, she had to admit, it sounded amazingly smooth and sultry. She glanced over at Marcus to see what he thought.
Marcus smiled smugly and was just about to open his mouth to say
‘
I told you so
’
when Avery reached over and covered up his mouth with her palm. Marcus
’
steel blue eyes widened as unbidden heat rocked throughout his body.
Avery yanked her hand back, realizing her tactical error immediately.
Stupid, stupid girl.
She turned her back to him, once again hiding her flaming face from view. Her thoughts remained fixated on the incredible way his lips had felt beneath her palm- warm, smooth, and firm- a delicious contrast to the rough texture of his jaw.
Keeping her back to him, she strove for a teasing tone.
“
Ok. Don
’
t say it. I will. You were right. I was wrong. The overdubs probably have something to do with it, though.
”
Marcus stood, barely registering what Avery had said. He grabbed his empty mug off the coffee table and headed to the kitchen with it.
Avery heard him get up, and turned around, heart still thundering in her ears. His sudden departure gave her a chance to get her raging hormones under control. It was becoming harder and harder to continue playing this role with him.
Hidden from Avery
’
s view, Marcus scrubbed the palms of his hands over his face. He threaded fistfuls of hair through his hands, pulling hard until the resulting tension made his eyes water.
‘
Get a grip,
’
he told himself, denying with every fiber of his being that his body had reacted in any way to Avery
’
s touch. He took a couple of deep stabilizing breaths and rinsed out his cup before returning to the living room.
“
Overdubbing can
’
t make a mediocre voice good, Ace,
”
he told Avery after a brief shuttered glance her way. He strategically chose a seat on the opposite end of the sectional.
“
You have a strong voice. You could sing lead if you wanted.
”
Eager to change the subject, she asked,
“
You mentioned you had an idea for another song?
”
“
Oh yeah.
The deal with JR yesterday made me think about the danger of loving the wrong type of things- like alcohol and drugs. What if we did a song where the sirens from Greek mythology were a metaphor for those things? You know how they lured sailors to their deaths with false promises to fulfill their deepest desires?
”
When Avery didn
’
t respond, he glanced over. Her eyes were closed.
“
A-
ver
-y,
”
he sing-
songed
, snapping his fingers.
“
What? Oh yeah, I love this idea
…
we could call it
‘
Siren Call.
’”
She straightened up and reached back to retrieve her journal from the sofa table.
“
I
’
ve got the words to a chorus. I just need to write it down before I forget.
”
Avery scribbled furiously in her journal while Marcus watched.
The Siren calls, its voice so strong
Taking me places I do not belong
Oh how its power lulls me to play
I need the strength to find my way.
“
That thing looks pretty old,
”
he noted.
“
How long have you had it?
”
She stopped writing, and looked up at him from underneath her long auburn eyelashes. Her expression turned thoughtful.
“
A long time.
A school counselor recommended I journal as a way to deal with my mom
’
s death and
…
stuff.
”
“
You never told me what happened to her.
”
Her mouth turned down.
“
She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and died six months later.
”
“
So you and your brother leaned pretty heavily on your dad, I guess?
”
Avery let out an aggravated snort.
“
Not hardly
…”
She stood abruptly and almost tripped on her rolled up pant legs. Moving to the window, she stared out blankly.
Marcus walked over and stood next to her, puzzled by her response.
She snuck a sidelong glance and hesitated. Her childhood was a secret only she and Justin had shared. Marcus was the only person she had ever considered telling. She let out an uneven breath.
“
You sure you really want to know this?
”