TANTRIC (Book 3 of the Soundcrush Series)

Chapter 13: Hippie Chics Are F*cked, Too

The song for this chapter is Landslide, originally by Fleetwood Mac, but this is a over by Gwyneth Paltrow. This is a good song for Ash. A song where the singer is asking questions of herself, and trying determine if she's going to rise to the challenges in her life, be buried by the landslide, or if the landslide will reveal new landscapes to her...

Ashlynn

Leed spends the drive telling me why he loves vintage sports cars—because they have a history, he says. He talks about the places they have been before he owned them, the people who have owned them, raced them, had highs and lows in them, made love in them, ran out of gas in them, gunned them down streets in anger and arrogance. He tells me every owner of this car. The celebrities aren't the one that impress him. He tells me about an industry guy who owned it back in the nineties, who walked away from it all. Sold everything he owned and went to live in an ashram in India.

"Think about what kind of shit went down with him...maybe in this very car...to make a life change like that. I don't know if he made the right choice, but I know he was brave as fuck. I think about that sometimes, when I have decisions to make. I sit in this car, and I try to make them from a place of fearlessness, you know?"

I twist in the suit, so I can watch Leed drive. He looks so sexy and aloof, shifting those gears as he checks the mirror in sunglasses. And he has no idea what it does to me, when he so very casually shows me his depth like that. So unafraid to be real. He catches me staring.

"What?"

"You're hot and incredibly talented. Yet you are amazingly kind and interesting and surprisingly deep. I can't figure it out how a guy that looks like you, with your talent that has had so much success so young, is...like you are."

"Oh that's easy. I'm an old soul. I'm not quite ready to tell you about my past lives yet, though." He bites his lip.

There's a silence for a minute and then the evil grin spreads across his face. I slap his arm with the back of my hand. "You are such a liar! I thought you were serious for a minute! I was ready to believe it, too!"

"I know. You are so gullible, baby. It's fucking hilarious to mess with you. But I'm gonna stop making up shit. I want you to know you can trust what I say, okay?" He reaches over in the tiny sports car and lays a casual hand on my thigh. It's such a small gesture but I like it more than I should.

I try to breathe. I can't let my body get ahead of me. That will get me in such big trouble with this guy. Because he's so sexual, and the last thing I want is to rush into things and freeze up on him. The idea of getting naked with him fills me with an anxiety like I haven't known since I left Seattle, almost nine months ago.

He pulls into Ravi's place and walks in with me, reporting to Ravi that he's been working on the poses Ravi gave him and that he's ready to resume practice. Ravi says that he can join us. Leed looks at me steadily for a moment then shakes his head. "This is about her path. I don't want to mess with her concentration. I'll call you for a time. I have something I want to discuss with you, anyway. Something fun."

Ravi smiles serenely at Leed. "Your heart chakra is open, now. Leed. Very good."

Leed bows to Ravi. To me he says, "I gotta head back to Tam's, but can you come over and stay at my place Thursday night? That's when I'm gonna have Ollie."

"Thursday? I can't... that's when I have that date Riley set up..."

He rolls his eyes at me. "Nice try Sunshine, but your poker face is terrible."

"Shoot." I snap my fingers, winking at him. "Fine was just trying to pay you back...a lie for a lie. Yes, of course I'll help with Ollie. See you Thursday."