She longed to learn from him. That had been the deal she’d made with him when she’d contacted him for the first time in her life to ask him if he’d be interested in teaching her. She’d been clear about what she needed. Experience and a reference she could take to the bank.
He’d agreed.
But he was reluctant to live up to his end of the bargain.
Cerys wondered if the time here would boost her career forward or hold her back.
Jase stepped out of the Detroit hotel and felt the inside of his nose freeze over. The frigid air stung his lungs as he breathed it in. The wind cut a vicious stab straight through his coat and hoodie. He blew out a breath through pursed lips, watching it condense and steam as it swirled away.
Over breakfast, the server had told him it was too cold to snow, which still left him puzzled.
“Fucking colder than the walk-in freezer at the pub,” he commented to Alex, his best friend, cousin, and fellow bandmate.
Alex’s blond curls spilled out from beneath a grey beanie as he blew warm air into his clasped hands. “This is worse. When it said nineteen degrees Fahrenheit, I had no fucking clue what it meant. Manchester never gets this cold.”
Jase took in the snow piled up on curbs and on the garden borders that ran through the hotel parking lot. “Snow’s pretty fucking cool. Not sure it makes up for having to fly nearly four thousand miles to record an album we could have recorded in Manchester, though.”
Alex shoved his hands into the pockets of his coat, shoulders hunched up around his ears. “Mate, if someone handed you a million quid, you’d find a way to complain that the hundred-pound notes were crumpled.”
Jase gave Alex a sardonic smile. “It’s fucking true, though.”
“No. It’s not. Listen. I know you weren’t happy signing the recording contract because of Matt, but you did. You need to at least give this a fair go.”
A quiet voice inside told him Alex was right, but he shut it down.
“Stay out of things you don’t understand, Alex.”
Alex shook his head. “If the two of you fucking blow this for us, I’ll kill you both myself.”
Matt stepped out of the hotel with Ben, Alex’s brother, and Luke, Matt’s best friend from high school. The five of them made up the band that had gotten a lucky break after ten years of hustle.
Supposedly, they were going to meet the chick who’d used their song in a “break-up with your boyfriend” app video or some shit during their stay. Jase couldn’t imagine why millions of people would want to see that, but enough of them had liked the song to stream it, and here they were.
Matt nodded once in Jase’s direction, which Jase refused to acknowledge. They hadn’t spoken since Nan’s, had even sat in opposite sides of the lounge before their flight.
Alex’s laughter cracked through the air. “You can be such a stubborn dick.”
“Yeah. Well. He can go fuck himself. And so can Luke for forgiving Matt so easily.”
Alex gripped his shoulder and shook him, his blond curls bouncing. “Luke’s not forgiven him for hooking up with his sister. Far from it. But he’s putting their differences to one side so we get the most out of being here. Luke’s just being professional.”
Jase eyed them as they stepped into one of the two black town cars and, for a moment, wondered if Alex would prefer to travel with Ben.
He and Alex climbed into the second car, and Jase listened to Alex chat amiably with the driver as he looked out of the window. The landscape had a Manchester vibe. There was the same mash-up of mismatched buildings, some that looked over a hundred years old and others that looked as though they were finished yesterday. It had the same gritty glitter to it.
Everybody stooped forward, bundled up under twenty-seven layers that made them look like walking marshmallows. Perhaps after the day at the studio, he’d go shopping. Get some gloves and a thicker coat.
Luke’s just being professional.
Alex’s words swirled through his mind.
Could he? Could he be around his brother? And Luke? And participate in the band in a way that would create a good impression with Bexter? Could he put aside years of Matt never listening to him, just ploughing ahead with his suggestions?
He was going to look stupid.
Again.
“Fuck me,” he muttered.
“You okay?” Alex asked as they pulled up in front of an innocuous building.
“Totally mint.”
When they stepped outside, snow was finally falling. So much for being too cold to snow. Gentle flakes swirled in the wind.
“Not exactly what I expected it to look like,” Matt said. “Looks a bit like a doctor’s surgery.”
Luke pulled the door open. “I don’t give a fuck what it looks like as long as it’s warm inside. It’s freezing.”
For some reason, Jase didn’t feel the same. With his face upturned to the flurry, he experienced a rare and fleeting moment of peace.
“Welcome, guys. Come in.” The voice had a Welsh lilt to it, which sounded completely out of place in Michigan. “I’m Cerys.”
They all filtered in as Jase stared up at the sky, watching the snow swirl.
“Quick. It’s bloody freezin’.”
He turned to see who was talking to him and saw the eyes first. The most vibrant blue. Piercing, really. And dimples. Strawberry blonde curls bounced in all directions around her face. The rest was pure rock ’n’ roll. Layered silver necklaces, a vintage T-shirt tied on one side beneath an open blazer. Skinny jeans and Converse on her feet.
She danced from one foot to the other in the cold draft of the doorway.
Jase stepped passed her into the building, pissed they were now on someone else’s schedule instead of their own.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” she said, closing the door behind him. “Still makes me want to make snow angels, then drink all the hot chocolate in front of a fire afterwards to get warm.”
“What are you? Twelve?” he asked.
The smile left her eyes for a moment, and he felt like a shit. Then she composed herself, but that pure joy she’d had when she looked up at the swirling snowflakes with him didn’t quite make her eyes.
“Well. Welcome to Bexter Records. Jimmy is super excited to have you here for the next month. I’ll just take you on a quick tour. Here are passes for you to get in and out of the studio.”
She handed one to him. Their fingers touched, hers warm against the chill of his own.
“This whole place is next-level,” Alex muttered.
Jase took in the rich, deep orange sofas, the gold, the giant pieces of art on the walls. There was something to catch the eye and inspire everywhere he looked.
Yet somehow, he found himself glancing back at Cerys. How she stood on the balls of her feet and moved as if dancing to invisible music.
“Over there is food and snacks, and most importantly, coffee,” she continued. An old felt black board with white peg letters on the wall behind her caught his attention.
Don’t let your yesterday fuck with your today.
Cheesy sentiment.
Ever so slightly out of place in the state-of-the-art studios, but bang on the money as he thought about his own situation.
He followed Cerys and the rest of the band to Studio Two, which Cerys said they’d be using. Matt walked confidently ahead of him. He inhabited the space as if he’d been born into it. Somehow, it still felt foreign to Jase, like the first day of school.