“Really, Kat? You couldn’t have given me a courtesy charge before handing this over?”
She laughs. “Not my job, big boy.”
I roll my eyes. My charger is somewhere in my duffel bag, which is now by the front door as I wait for my ride to Ashmark, so I head inside with Kat following close behind as I make my way to the hall.
“I’m going to miss bugging you every day,” she says. “Getting inside that head of yours. Who will you confess your deepest, darkest secrets to now?”
I chuckle dryly. “Dax, I guess.”
She laughs and touches my arm, and I bend to find my charger, moving out of her reach.
“You’re really stuck on her, huh?” It feels very much like this is her way of asking if she has a chance.
The answer is a firm no.
I blow out a breath as I pull out the cord and stand. “I’m in love with her.”
“I saw the way you were fending off all those girls last night.” She shakes her head. “She’s one lucky lady.”
“Yeah, well, we’re not exactly together, so I’m not sure how lucky either of us are when it comes to our relationship.” I head to the kitchen to plug in my phone so I can get at least a little juice to power it on.
“Good luck to you, Gage, not that you’ll need it.” She presses her lips together, and I suppose in some twisted way, she did sort of become my friend through all this.
I give her a quick hug, and then Camille steps into the kitchen. “Your ride’s here,” she says, and I glance at my phone. It’s not even on yet.
“Thanks.” I issue a hug to her, too, and fist bump Ben and Miles.
And then I unplug my phone, grab my duffel bag, and head out the door to whatever comes next.
Tony awaits.
He’s taking me to my record label, where I’ll have a chance to sit down with a lawyer to review the terms of my contract. Then Tony will take me...wherever I want to go, I guess. Until I find a place to live, they’re putting me up in the same hotel Lexi and I stayed in before filming started, and I can’t help but wonder whether she’s staying there, too.
I can’t help but wonder what she’s doing right now. What she’s thinking and feeling. How she feels about me. If she meant those words last night or if she said them out of friendship because an experience like this bonds people for life in ways people outside of it could never understand.
There’s a USB port in the back of the car, so I plug in.
My phone lights up after a few minutes.
And when it finally powers on, I see a whole slew of missed messages and calls.
But I scroll through those messages until I find her name.
There’s a new message...but it’s an old new message.
It was sent the morning I powered my phone down. A reply to the last message I ever sent her.
I draw in a deep breath as I read the last words she had to say to me before we found each other in the same house competing for the same prize.
Lexi: If you’re in Los Angeles the first weekend of September, meet me at the lobby bar on Friday night at eight. That’ll be our second chance.
My chest squeezes.
I’ll be in Los Angeles the first weekend in September.
She will be, too, if she’s following the instructions from the producers to stay in town through the finale.
In fact, I might even be staying at the hotel where she wants to meet, presuming I’m not otherwise engaged with MFB at eight PM this Friday.
Will she be? That remains to be seen.
She sent this text long before we found each other in the house, long before we said words we can’t unsay.
Long before she said I love you seconds before I took the grand prize and she left with nothing.
Do I text her back? I assume she has her phone back, too, but I have no idea where she is or what her state of mind is.
What do I even say at this point?
The first weekend in September is only a few days away.
Do I hold out?
Will she even show up?
We pull up to Ashmark before I have any answers, and then I’m swept into the lawyer’s office, where she goes over every point of the contract in detail and waits for my questions.
I have none.
I’m ready to sign myself over to the band and to this label, and I do.
I sign on the line.
And then I bring the contract directly to Mark Ashton, the guy whose house I slept in last night and the CEO of this label. We toast with glasses of scotch, neat.
I’m introduced to a variety of executives.
I’m treated like a star.
And as the newest member of MFB, I am a star intrinsically and by nature even though it happened completely overnight.
Dax and Brody show up, and we meet in a smaller conference room with views overlooking the city.
“We wanted to talk about living arrangements,” Dax says.
“The four of us all have places in or around San Diego,” Brody says. “That’s where we’re based, and that’s where we have our meetings and practices, so that’s where you’ll need to find a permanent place.”
Dax picks it up from there. “You’ll have all sorts of shit to do here in LA with the show between now and when it starts airing, and we’re still technically on hiatus. Adam’s got a kid due in a month, Rascal’s still temporarily playing with Ruby Ray here in LA, Brody’s planning his wedding, and I’ve got a newborn who I haven’t spent nearly as much time with as I’d like to. But that’s all good news. That gives you time to find a place in San Diego, move your shit here, and study our catalog.”
“Rascal and Kane are renting a place together while they play with Ruby Ray, but it sounds like Kane is spending more time at Ruby’s place and less time with Rascal. Would you be interested in sharing that place for the time being?” Brody asks.
I nod. “Yeah, sure. If there’s a space for me there, that would work out great.” It would give me a chance to bond with at least one member of MFB before we really get started.
Dax nods. “Fantastic. Rascal can walk you through some of our mechanics when he has down time, and you’ll be here in LA so you’ll have a chance to rub elbows with the best in the business. Go to shows. Go to bars. Check out the local scene. Fucking live life. Go to the grocery store. And enjoy the hell out of all of it, because in a few months, you won’t be able to do that shit anymore.”
Brody laughs. “He’s not lying, man.”
Dax grins. “You ready for the adventure of a lifetime?”
I nod. “I’m ready.”
Brody drums his fingers on the table. “We’ll let the show air, and obviously we need it to happen fast so we can start playing gigs again and not spoil the end of the show. Mid-January, we’ll head into the studio to record new music.”
“That means we’re all writing now,” Dax says. “We’re always working on songs and riffs and lyrics, and if you’ve got something, you write it down. You call us. You’re one of us now, and we want your fresh take on the shit we’ve done for years.”
“That’s why we chose you,” Brody says. “We saw something in you that not a single one of the other contestants had, so even though we’re in down time now, this is where you prove yourself.”
“I’m ready,” I say. “I’m down for the challenge.”