and sniffed the liquid inside it.
“When you started the band. How did you know you were going to get along?”
“Well, I didn’t start the band. John did. I just joined in. I didn’t know if we were going to get along and we didn’t — all the time, he kept us together.”
“Hmm,” Audrey took a sip of her whiskey and pondered. “Weren’t you worried John wasn’t going to reciprocate your…efforts?” Audrey bit her lower lip, wishing she could stuff those words back into her mouth, because Matt’s expression was torn between amusement and incredulity.
There was a moment of silence, long enough for Audrey to knock back her drink and wish to burst in flames.
Matt’s expression turned contemplative, then he said, “I suppose we never know what other people will do, that’s why we can’t worry about it. What we can do is not let fear keep us from living the best life we can.” He paid for the beer the bartender had placed in front of him, then intertwined his long fingers on the bottles, two in each hand. “I can tell you one thing for sure, John is the best person to share your efforts with, because he always does what’s in his power not to let anyone down.”
Chapter 9
“Want to go on a hike?” Matt asked John, as he and Audrey stepped on the curb and made their way to the hill behind their hotel the next day. They ran almost daily, before they got in the bus or after getting out. No matter when, Matt was the one who insisted on running, he had explained he was built like Jon Favreau, always on the line between fit and fat. Audrey didn’t mind. She pushed herself to exhaustion, so she could fall into bed and be unconscious before a veil of troubled thoughts covered her like a wet blanket.
“Nah.” John regarded them with mild attention, sitting under a tree on the curb beside the bus with his guitar cradled on his lap.
“Are you working on a new song?” Audrey thought she’d seen a flicker in John’s eyes when he looked at her and felt her cheeks heat up. Oh, hell. She wanted to pinch those little traitors.
“You can say that.”
As they started their hike, Matt told her the band had hundreds of songs composed by John. However, not all having earned his approval, he continued to work on them endlessly.
Matt and Audrey hiked hard; embarrassment can be a huge motivator, she discovered. Usually, she and Matt talked quite a bit, but she dreaded he was going to ask her about their conversation at the bar the night before, so she kept a steady pace. She didn’t have any excuse to give him besides being drunk, which Matt wouldn’t accept easily. He’d seen her drink much more without losing her composure. She could handle her alcohol and he knew it.
“Am I being punished for something?” He asked, bending over with his hands on his knees.
Turning back to look at him, she couldn’t help but laugh. “What’s the matter Charlie Brown? Don’t think you can make it?”
“If I had known today was boot-camp day, I would still be in bed.”
“Oh, come on. No pain, no gain, remember?”
Matt’s flushed face and ragged breathing told her words of encouragement wouldn’t work. Obviously, he didn’t have any troubling thoughts to distract him from the exertion.
“Let’s head back.” She marched down the trail and patted his back as he gave her a grateful smile.
Nearing John again, still sitting in the same position as they had left him, she bit her lips and took in the view. The very sight of him wreaked a havoc of emotions inside her; she could barely recognize herself.
“How is it coming?” Matt asked John. “Do you need an audience?” He teased, but John responded with a contemptuous look.
John and Matt were the two people she didn’t need to be around. The last thing she wanted was John to find out about her feelings through a petty attempt to undermine a joke or smart-ass remark Matt could make.
“Okay, then. I’m off to town, I need some things.” Audrey walked
“When you started the band. How did you know you were going to get along?”
“Well, I didn’t start the band. John did. I just joined in. I didn’t know if we were going to get along and we didn’t — all the time, he kept us together.”
“Hmm,” Audrey took a sip of her whiskey and pondered. “Weren’t you worried John wasn’t going to reciprocate your…efforts?” Audrey bit her lower lip, wishing she could stuff those words back into her mouth, because Matt’s expression was torn between amusement and incredulity.
There was a moment of silence, long enough for Audrey to knock back her drink and wish to burst in flames.
Matt’s expression turned contemplative, then he said, “I suppose we never know what other people will do, that’s why we can’t worry about it. What we can do is not let fear keep us from living the best life we can.” He paid for the beer the bartender had placed in front of him, then intertwined his long fingers on the bottles, two in each hand. “I can tell you one thing for sure, John is the best person to share your efforts with, because he always does what’s in his power not to let anyone down.”
Chapter 9
“Want to go on a hike?” Matt asked John, as he and Audrey stepped on the curb and made their way to the hill behind their hotel the next day. They ran almost daily, before they got in the bus or after getting out. No matter when, Matt was the one who insisted on running, he had explained he was built like Jon Favreau, always on the line between fit and fat. Audrey didn’t mind. She pushed herself to exhaustion, so she could fall into bed and be unconscious before a veil of troubled thoughts covered her like a wet blanket.
“Nah.” John regarded them with mild attention, sitting under a tree on the curb beside the bus with his guitar cradled on his lap.
“Are you working on a new song?” Audrey thought she’d seen a flicker in John’s eyes when he looked at her and felt her cheeks heat up. Oh, hell. She wanted to pinch those little traitors.
“You can say that.”
As they started their hike, Matt told her the band had hundreds of songs composed by John. However, not all having earned his approval, he continued to work on them endlessly.
Matt and Audrey hiked hard; embarrassment can be a huge motivator, she discovered. Usually, she and Matt talked quite a bit, but she dreaded he was going to ask her about their conversation at the bar the night before, so she kept a steady pace. She didn’t have any excuse to give him besides being drunk, which Matt wouldn’t accept easily. He’d seen her drink much more without losing her composure. She could handle her alcohol and he knew it.
“Am I being punished for something?” He asked, bending over with his hands on his knees.
Turning back to look at him, she couldn’t help but laugh. “What’s the matter Charlie Brown? Don’t think you can make it?”
“If I had known today was boot-camp day, I would still be in bed.”
“Oh, come on. No pain, no gain, remember?”
Matt’s flushed face and ragged breathing told her words of encouragement wouldn’t work. Obviously, he didn’t have any troubling thoughts to distract him from the exertion.
“Let’s head back.” She marched down the trail and patted his back as he gave her a grateful smile.
Nearing John again, still sitting in the same position as they had left him, she bit her lips and took in the view. The very sight of him wreaked a havoc of emotions inside her; she could barely recognize herself.
“How is it coming?” Matt asked John. “Do you need an audience?” He teased, but John responded with a contemptuous look.
John and Matt were the two people she didn’t need to be around. The last thing she wanted was John to find out about her feelings through a petty attempt to undermine a joke or smart-ass remark Matt could make.
“Okay, then. I’m off to town, I need some things.” Audrey walked
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