“What?” I had to hold the phone away from my ear as Lola screeched her concerns. They were all the same ones I had. “I know,” I said cutting her off so she didn’t waste her already scratchy voice. “But I have a solution.”
“What’s that?”
“I was going to have you sing the songs through once so he could get a feel for how they should sound.”
“Layne, you know I’d do anything to help you out but listen to me. My voice is shot. I’d sound like a dying cat if I tried to sing right now. Maybe by next week, but even then I’m not sure. I can’t suck down cough drops fast enough to soothe the fire in my throat.”
I brought my palm to my head feeling like an idiot for not having thought of that. “Right, of course. Sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.”
“No, honestly I’d love to sing right now. I just can’t. Check back next week?”
Next week would be too late. The competition was only two weeks away. In one week, I had to have one of my songs submitted so I could start earning votes on the event’s Facebook page. The popular vote counted for part of the score. But at the rate I was going, the only vote I’d be getting was the pity vote.
But I didn’t want to worry Lola. “Sure. We’ll muddle through it somehow. You just rest and get better so I can have my best friend back.”
“I will. You’ve got this, Layne. I have faith in you.”
I squeezed my eyes shut, my heart swelling at my best friend’s words. I didn’t deserve her. “I miss you, Lo.”
“I miss you, too.”
“Thank you for being so cool about this.”
“What are best friends for?”
“I’m serious. I know working with your enemy isn’t ideal.”
“It’s fine, Layne. Wyatt is so last year. I’m over him.”
“I’m glad. But I’m still not happy about spending time with someone who hurt you.”
“Which is why I love you.” She paused. “Just promise me one thing.”
“Anything?”
“Be careful, Layne. He’s a charmer. Don’t fall for his dreamy green eyes. I don’t want to see you get hurt, too.”
I laughed. “Trust me, Wyatt Nash is the last guy on earth I’d ever fall for.”
Chapter Twelve
Wyatt
Last guy on earth?
I was seriously wracking my brain wondering what I’d done to piss off these girls so royally. I barely knew them. I wasn’t naïve. I knew my revolving door of dates left quite a few disgruntled girls in my wake, but being despised by girls I hadn’t even dated wasn’t something I was used to.
I’d eavesdropped on enough of Layne’s phone call with Lola to know that whatever it was I’d done, it wouldn’t be easy to overcome. I was beginning to regret my decision to work with Layne. I wanted a distraction, not a death sentence.
Layne pushed through the door back into the practice room, her chocolate eyes simmering with frustration behind her glasses.
“I take it Lola won’t be rehearsing with us today?” I asked.
“Were you listening to my conversation?”
I shrugged. “Your voice carries. You should consider singing,” I added to get under her skin. I couldn’t help myself. Her pale complexion really was the loveliest shade of pink when she was angry.
“We’re just going to have to muddle our way through it,” Layne said, ignoring my dig.
She picked up her guitar and looped the leather strap over her head.
I cocked my head, studying her.
“What?” she demanded.
“Are you just going to ignore the elephant in the room?”
“You mean your ego?”
I laughed. “I mean, the I Hate Wyatt Nash Club. I’d like to know what I’ve done so I can defend myself.”
“If you don’t know, it only proves I’m right about you.”
“So, your mind’s made up, then?”
“Yep.”
“What happened to telling me to prove everyone wrong?”
“What about it?”
“Are you not included?”
“It doesn’t matter what I think, Wyatt. I’m only here for my music.”
“Clearly,” I muttered. “So, what are we doing about the music, since I can’t read it and you refuse to sing it?”
Layne sat down in a huff. “We’re going to muddle our way through.”
“Are we, now?” I asked, amused by her tenacity.
“Yes. I’m going to play the song and you can give the lyrics a whirl.”
“That sounds promising,” I drawled sarcastically.
“Look, either it’ll work, or it won’t. At least we’ll know one way or the other so we can stop wasting each other’s time.”
I snatched the sheet music and gestured to her guitar. “By all means.”
Layne met my smirk with a withering scowl before letting out a huff of frustration. But then her focus moved to her guitar. The moment her fingers strummed the first chord, she transformed. Her dark eyes slid closed, yet somehow this was the most alive I’d ever seen her.
I took a seat, mesmerized as music flowed through her like it lived in her blood. I leaned my elbows on my knees, resting my chin in my hands. I could’ve watched her play her guitar all day.
I’d forgotten I was there to do more than watch, but Layne had not. The music came to an abrupt stop and her eyes flew open, pinning me with an apprehensive stare. “I thought you were going to sing.”
I cleared my throat to hide my embarrassment. “Right, I thought I’d listen to it all the way through once before having a go.”
“Oh.” She seemed to buy it. “Okay.”
“From the top?” I suggested, looking back at the sheet music I’d forgot I was holding.
She nodded, closed her eyes once more and began to play, her unbridled talent once again carrying me away.
Chapter Thirteen
Layne
“This isn’t working,” I said, stilling the strings of my guitar for the umpteenth time.
We’d been through my first song so many times I’d lost track, but the results were always the same—disappointing.
It wasn’t entirely Wyatt’s fault. He actually did have a great voice and I could tell he was trying, but we were out of sync. He was early when I was late, loud when I was soft, fast when I was slow. We honestly couldn’t be more off if we tried.
I was beginning to think music wasn’t the only language that was foreign to Wyatt. It seemed understanding me and my style of songwriting was, too. Which made me miss Lola even more. I was beginning to realize I’d taken our effortless rhythm for granted.
Lola had a bright clear voice that suited my songs. Wyatt’s sound was much huskier. Not in a bad way, it just wasn’t really what I’d had in mind for my songs.
We were practicing Bent, one of my original pieces. It was meant to be a song about surviving the struggle of finding love and having the strength to move on when it wasn’t right. It had a haunting chorus that would be a natural fit for a voice like Lana Del Rey, but with Wyatt’s powerhouse pipes, it sounded more like I was being shouted at by Freddie Mercury.