“Gig,” corrected Chris. “God help me if I ever had to do a recital, I think my head would spin off.”
Gig. Right. I had to remember that.
“I gotta take Paige out,” Rafe muttered as he sat down at his drums. “She’s in a mood today.”
Oh…yeah…because she’d been given the boot to make space for me. I could imagine she wasn’t giving Rafe all the love today. I cleared my throat and made a point of leafing through the sheet music. It wasn’t my fault, and I wasn’t going to feel bad about Paige. Yeah, that’s why my stomach hurt at the mention of his girlfriend. Guilt. Not jealousy or anything stupid like that.
We started off with a new song, the one Rafe had shown me the melody for. I messed up the first time. I grimaced, hearing Crusty’s voice in my head about how I had to try harder. “Sorry.” I didn’t look up and I tried it once more, screwing up the notes again. “Sorry.” Oh, God. I was a failure already.
“Hey, Lily.”
I looked up at Rafe. “What?” He was going to kick me out, wasn’t he?
He smiled at me. Not a mocking smile, but a real smile, but it didn’t help my stress. “You’re doing great.”
I shook my head. “No, I’m terrible. I know I’m messing you guys up, and I promise I’ll get it. I’m trying, I really am.”
“Chill out, Lily,” Chris said.
I glanced over at him, surprised by the easy tone in his voice. He didn’t sound mad.
He grinned. “It took Paige a month to even figure out what key it was in. Trust me, you’re already way ahead of where she ever was.”
I frantically pushed my hair out of my eyes. “It doesn’t matter. I’m better than this. I’m letting you guys down and--”
“Okay, gang, we’re switching songs,” Rafe interrupted. “The new JamieX song. Everyone on board?”
I almost cried with relief. I knew I could do that one. I didn’t need music for it. I gave Rafe a look of thanks, and he winked at me.
Rafe began the drum intro to the song and I felt the beat inch into my gut, past my embarrassment. Nash and Angel started playing their guitars, and I felt the song roll over me.
Chris nodded at me.
I took a deep breath and started playing. I kept my attention focused rigidly on the notes dotted across the sheet music. I hit each note carefully and precisely, making sure to get all the notes right, determined to get through it without mistakes.
Rafe veered off the sheet music and started challenging me the same way he had the last time we’d played together. I shook my head at him. I couldn’t do that tonight. I had to concentrate.
He kept playing. Challenge flashed in his eyes, and I finally stuck my tongue out at him.
He grinned and amped it up even more.
Fine. Be that way. I ditched the sheet music and started improvising with him.
The rest of the group stopped playing, as Rafe and I played harder, throwing ourselves into the music. I closed my eyes and let the song invade my body as my heart crashed in rhythm with Rafe’s drums. We plowed through the song without stopping, ending in a battle between Rafe and me that shook the walls. He ended with a brilliant drum solo and then threw his sticks up in the air with a whoop, catching them perfectly.
I leaned back on my heels and grinned, adrenaline rushing through me.
“If you two are done showing off, we could try that again as an actual band,” Chris remarked dryly.
“Or you guys could try to keep up,” Rafe shot back.
“Or we could throw you out the window,” Chris said.
Angel grinned at me and rolled her eyes. I returned the smile.
I took my complaints back. This was way better than piano lessons.
After Rafe and Chris finished knocking each other around, we started to practice seriously. We’d been working on JamieX for almost an hour and I was having a total blast when Miss Jespersen stuck her head in the room.
My fingers immediately stumbled over the keys. Rafe shot me a questioning look, then he followed my gaze to the door and frowned.
Crusty walked into the room and sat down in the corner, folding her arms over her chest. I messed up and she made a grunt of disapproval. My throat tightened up and my fingers stiffened.
No! I would not let her ruin this for me! I jerked my eyes away from her and concentrated on the music, and then screwed up again.
“I need a break,” Rafe said suddenly. He tossed his drumsticks aside with a clatter. “Lily. Come with me.”
I clenched my fists and tried to calm down. Why did I let her get to me like this? So what if her disapproval was so thick I could barely breathe? What right did she have to judge me?
Rafe walked up behind me, his chest brushing against my back. “Lily.” His voice was quiet, for my ears only as he leaned over my shoulder, his cheek almost against mine. “Come on.” He wrapped his fingers around my wrist and tugged my hand. “I have soda in my car,” he said to the rest of the band. “We’ll be right back.”