Fool Me

Chapter Eighteen

Fool Me

Chapter Eighteen

The members of Rust the Nail are sitting in a booth shaped like a half-circle when Lauren and Camila arrive at the tavern. Three of the four are laughing about something the other member said before the "couple" is close enough to overhear. When Jennel spots them she smiles and waves. She is sitting toward one of the ends and scoots over, making more room for the guests. Camila sits first, placing her between Jennel and Lauren, before a waitress appears and asks about their drink orders. Lauren asks for a White Russian but Camila orders a Shirley Temple, preferring to avoid putting alcohol in her system if she is really going to attempt a professional conversation tonight.

"Hey Camila, you gonna introduce us to your friend?" Jennel asks, nodding toward Lauren.

"Oh erm..." Camila tries, but is held back by her failure to bring up on their ride over the concern she had about how Lauren wants to present their relationship.

"I'm Lauren. We've actually met before. I was a big fan of Wounded Dreams," she reveals, saving Camila from potential embarrassment.

Jennel peeks around Camila to get a better look at Lauren before expressing her recognition.

"That's right. I remember you. You caught our final show at The Well."

"Yeah. You're Isaac, Taylor, and...Zac, right?" Lauren inquires, trying to remember the details from their band page as she looks over the rest of their company.

The guys take turns raising their hands and confirming who is who, which Lauren is thankful for considering she honestly has no clue. When the waitress returns with their drinks, they order a basket of fries to share and ease into a friendly conversation about the other bands they heard and the overall experience of the day. Once the topic shifts to the rest of their tour plans, Lauren notices Camila's growing nerves and nudges her softly.

"You got this, Camz," she whispers in her ear softly, making sure Jennel won't overhear as her attention is focused across the table while Zac is talking about being excited to play the same venue where he saw his first concert as a preteen.

"If you don't mind me asking, what's your label status right now?" Camila brings up casually between dipping a fry in ketchup and popping the tasty shred of potato into her mouth.

"We're not signed at the moment. We paid for the studio time to record our album from Isaac's trust fund," Taylor explains.

"We're going to run out of support soon though. I'm limited on how much I can take out per year," Isaac adds.

"I know of a label that might be into your sound. But I didn't want to approach them about it without your permission first. If you give me the nod, I'll have your album on an insider's desk by Monday," Camila proposes.

Jennel turns to face Camila with a raised eyebrow.

"Are you legit? Which label?"

Camila pulls out her employee ID card and slides it across the table so each member of the band has the opportunity to look it over.

"HYPE-R Records? No way," Jennel replies, obviously familiar with the company and surprised. "You were holding out on us during the festival," she accuses.

"There wasn't much time between sets as you know, and I didn't want to promise too much in haste. I can put a good word in, but the final decision is up to someone else," she elaborates.

"I say we toast to it," Taylor suggests, waving to get the waitress's attention to bring them a couple pitchers of beer.

"To what exactly," Zac questions.