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She's my heart's desire She's an angel straight from Hell
"Ahem." The polite cough cut through their shared reverie, halting the heavy touches and stuttered breaths in its unexpectancy.
The situation had devolved with such expediency that it left Jake's head reeling. This had not gone according to plan. At all.
He'd had the best of intentions when slipping away to join Alex in the hall. They had things to discuss, and Josh probably needed saving from himself, but mostly they needed to determine where they stood after...everything. Granted, communication had never been their strong suit, they resorted to shouting and mocking one another more often than not, but there was no time like the present for making amends.
However, he'd grabbed her to avoid her fleeing, and that ever-present pull dragged them together again, like two magnets whose opposite poles couldn't help but be attracted to each other. Plus, their earlier encounter in the kitchen was still fresh in his mind, looping endlessly were the sounds she'd made and how eagerly she'd reacted to his touch.
Now, though, they stood frozen together against the wall, wide-eyed and noticeably ruffled, silently praying it was anyone but her father who had found them in such a compromising position.
Jake reluctantly relinquished his steely hold on the thigh wrapped around his hip, and Alex's leg slid back down to stand on two feet once again. The moment had been shattered like poorly tempered glass.
Slowly, they both turned to assess their interrupter.
Oh, thank God.
"Where's the bathroom?" Sam questioned casually, face flat as if he hadn't just caught his brother effectively mauling their friend in the hallway. He looked more bored by having to ask than perturbed at having caught them in the act.
Jake had never loved his youngest brother more than in that moment—his silence was a godsend. Albeit, Sam was probably too high, or drunk on mixed drinks, possibly both, to process what he'd stumbled upon anyway.
Alex sighed in relief and pushed Jake off her. The air that had grown hot between them became cold once more. "Two doors down and to the left," she directed, cheeks tinged in embarrassment.
Sammy, thankfully, meandered off in the indicated direction without a second glance. "Could have been worse," Jake mused in consolation, rubbing his chin in an effort to wipe away the lingering awkwardness.
Alex chuckled and worked on pulling her dress back into place. "I was hoping for Danny. He would have looked mortified enough for the both of us," she teased, no doubt imagining the horror-stricken face his bandmate made whenever circumstances grew too uncomfortable for his delicate sensibilities. "We should probably go back in," she suggested tentatively, working her fingers through the now tousled hair.
Yeah, they probably should, Jake reasoned with himself. Their second elongated absence in so many hours wouldn't be as readily excusable as the first, and who knows what Josh was spouting off behind closed doors. However, he remained hesitant. Alex was flighty, to say the least. Hadn't she just disappeared on them for the better part of a month at the mere suggestion of things they'd just done? If left to her own devices, there was no telling what notions she'd allow her head to convince her of next.
Perhaps this wasn't the right time or place to be contending with such onerous matters, though, so he agreed. "Ok, let's go. But, later?" The unfinished question hung in the stilted air between them.
Alex sharply nodded while avoiding his eyes, a sign that his worries were not misplaced. She was already overthinking, as expected. "Yeah, later," she agreed shortly, though the remark wavered in uncertainty.
So, the pair reentered the music room that loomed larger now, irresolution bouncing about the high walls and burrowing in its deep corners. "Oh good, you're finished," Josh commented, mirth and insinuation coating his falsely innocent observation. "Mr. Becker asked us to play something."
The older man smiled and corrected, "Robert is fine."
"Right, Robert." Josh beamed brighter at the prospect of being on a first-name basis with one of his heroes. His eagerness was nauseating, Jake felt, but if that's what it took to keep his tempestuous twin side-tracked, then so be it. "We're just waiting on Sammy now," Josh added as an afterthought.
The man in question appeared as if the call of his name had spoken him into existence. "I'm back. They've got, like, a billion different soaps in there," he announced enthusiastically—such a simple, simple man.
Each band member took to positioning themselves with their chosen equipment. Sam sat at the Steinway & Sons with Danny taking purchase behind the Musa. Jake strapped a Martin D-18e across his chest, shivering to think how much it must cost or who had had the privilege of playing it before him.
Danny rubbed his hands together excitedly before wielding his drumsticks. "Any requests?"
Alex had saddled up beside her father against the adjacent wall, whispering something that had her balking. Whatever was said, had the color draining from her face, the usual rosy porcelain of her cheeks turning sheet white. She looked like a deer caught in the headlights, but Danny's question must have distracted her enough to jump out of harm's way. "Um," her voice faltered briefly, so she cleared her throat to continue. "Play something I haven't heard before."
Jake fiddled with the strings on the unfamiliar guitar, testing its pitch. "Shouldn't be too hard. You bailed on our last gig," he remarked wryly. If she could harp on his tardiness, then it was only fair that he return the favor by mocking her penchant for ditching them without warning.
Her mouth set in a firm line, and her eyes narrowed to glare at him. "Surprise me," came the challenge.
And, Jake had every intention of rising to that challenge because if he could keep her distracted, keep her focus on him and the music, then that left no remaining room for her dwelling. "Alright, boys. 'Heat Above,"' he instructed.
Sam's fingers dropped to the keys, echoing the opening chords through the room.
