“You’re thinking of Brad. I’m tantric, remember?”
“Blue balls is not the same as tantric.”
“Sure feels like it,” Marius laments.
“Break’s over!” Dennis yells from his seat at the dining table, not bothering to look up.
Jez winks at me and I can’t help but giggle at the banter. The band has been so supportive during my first few rehearsals, patient with me stumbling through the new songs, some I haven’t even heard of before. But it’s been so exciting, I can’t wait for rehearsal days and stay up nights practicing my parts and thinking of ways to improve. It’s been so long since I’ve played in any sort of performance capacity and even longer as part of an ensemble, I’m almost drunk on the adrenaline of creating music.
This opportunity of playing on this album is so incredible, I feel like I’ve fallen under a lucky wishing star and all my dreams are being granted.
Except for one.
Sebastian has kept his promise so far, and since our one and only kiss, he hasn’t come closer than within a few feet to me. He is friendly and treats me like one of the guys but hasn’t touched me or said anything remotely suggestive to me. There’s no sign of the burning need from that night outside his hotel room door.
Well, they do say, be careful what you wish for.
“Cadence?” Sebastian says my name, and I wonder how long I’ve been daydreaming.
“Oh, sorry.”
“You OK? Why don’t you take a break?” He asks me, a little concerned.
“Hey! How come she gets a break?” Marius grumbles as he gets back on his feet.
“She’s just come straight from working with high school kids for eight hours. You woke up twenty minutes ago after a twelve-hour nap.” Jez reminds him.
“Also, she’s prettier,” Brad grins and winks at me.
“Ha, I don’t know about that,” I admit. I might be many things but I was definitely not as beautiful as these guys. “Do you all go to the same plastic surgeon or something?” I ask, it’d be hard to pick who was more good looking out of the four. But that doesn’t stop me from still having my favorite.
“Excuse me, this is all au naturel,” Sebastian huffs, sticking his nose up in the air and caressing his chiseled cheeks.
It sure does look God-given to me. I turn my focus back to the music to stop my thoughts drifting back to how it felt with his body pressed up hard against me.
“Did no one hear me when I said ‘break’s over’?” Dennis yells at us again and we try to hold in our laughter as long as possible before Jez breaks down and bursts out in a huge guffaw, sending the rest of us into a huge giggle fit.
These last few days have been the most fun I’ve had in years.
And then, just like that, it’s back to business. All jokes and messing aroundabout aside, these guys are truly hardcore, hardworking musicians and they take their art so seriously. It makes my heart sing to be learning so much from them.
***
An hour and a half later, we decide that we’ve done enough for the day. Hank, Sebastian’s assistant, hands me a bottle of water and I down it in almost one gulp. I hadn’t realized how thirsty I was.
“Fuck, it’s really coming down out there.” Brad says, leaning against the window, taking a big bite out of his routine post-rehearsal apple.
We all herd over to the window, watching the sky open up and spill a heaven of tears onto the Sydney metropolis. The layers of gray and white interweaving are mesmerizing and we stand in awe of the power of Mother Nature for a moment, feeling small and inconsequential.
“Nutfuckles!” The expletive breaks the mood and everybody turns to face me. It seems their creative potty-mouth tendencies have rubbed off on me.
Jez sighs and pats Sebastian on the arm. “And to think she was such a lady when you introduced her to us.”
Sebastian grins and winks at me, and for a moment we’re back in George’s music shop, crammed in the back with me chastising him for swearing. I blush at the memory and avoid his look by rushing over to the couch to grab my bag and phone.
“Wassup, potty-mouth?” The guys follow me.
“I forgot that my friend Sarah drove me here today and I was going to walk home because it looked like such a nice day.” I point to drenched sky. “I should work for the Channel 9 weather team.”
“Oh, one of our cars can take you home,” Dennis offers generously.
“Drivers are on their break.” Hank tells us.
“I’ll drive! I haven’t driven for aaaages, I miss it!” Marius stands up and nudges me with his elbow. “You trust me, dontcha?”
I’m not sure I do but I appreciate the offer, and Sebastian has suddenly turned eerily quiet, so I nudge him back and say, “Of course, you should be bright and alert considering you’ve been sleeping for the last two hours.”
“Nutfuckles, indeed,” he responds and pushes me out the door. In the corner of my eye I can see Sebastian watching me. I give him a small wave and mouth, ‘good night’. He barely smiles in response.
I guess he hasn’t had any problem leaving it all behind after all.
***
“So, just before we go, which one is the gas pedal and which is the brake again?” Marius asks me.
“Marius!” I cry out, horrified.
“Relax, just kidding! I’m from London, remember? We drive on the left as well.”
“Oh yeah, I forget you’re from all over the world.” I clasp my seatbelt and hold on probably tighter than I need to.
“Yup, Brad and I are from England, Jez is from Romania and Sebbie’s a stinky Frenchman. But we’ve pretty much all lived in the UK since we were pretty young.” He reminds me as he turns out of the parking lot and onto the main road.
“How did you all meet?”