Night Shifts Black (27 page)

Luke agrees. “Yeah, I
like that.”

Casey quiets and
stares at the screen again before turning back to Luke. “I’d love if you could
help me with the vocal. You’d kill this one. You know you would.”

I hold my breath. The
look on Casey’s face. The look on Luke’s. I don’t know if I can handle watching
Casey’s hopeful expression shatter again. Or Luke’s pain at causing it. I
almost want to flee from the room rather than be forced to witness either.

There’s a long silence
that’s painful for all of us.

Finally, Casey looks
away and nods, and there it is. The heartbreak I didn’t want to have to see. I
swallow, my own heart aching for him.

“Yeah, sorry,” Casey
mumbles.

Luke draws in a deep
breath, and I see his fist actually clench in distress.

“Casey…”

Casey doesn’t look at
him and waves his hand. “No, I know. Sorry, it’s fine. I shouldn’t have asked.”
But we both know he’s hurt. Again.

Luke shakes his head
and steps forward. “No, it’s not fine, Casey. It’s not fine.”

Casey glances at him
in surprise, as do I. Luke’s face is a mess of regret and love and sadness, and
a host of other things I wasn’t expecting and can’t start to explain.

He draws in a deep
breath and picks up one of the microphones, examining it with an eerie mix of
awe and fear. There must be a hurricane thrashing around his head right now. And
Casey’s. I don’t speak, trying not to move for fear of ruining whatever miracle
might be occurring at the moment. Finally, he closes his eyes for a brief second
before focusing back on Casey.

“Can you run through
it with me a few times first?” he asks quietly. “I only heard it that once, and
I know you changed some of the melody anyway.”

Tears spring to my
eyes when I see the glisten in Casey’s. Then Luke’s.

Casey clears his
throat and blinks back at the screen. I can tell he’s trying not to let the
tears take hold. “Um, yeah, of course. Just...”

Luke nods, and places
his hand on Casey’s shoulder. Casey glances up at him still in shock, and I almost
choke when Luke pulls him to his feet in a solid embrace.

I slip through the
door and close it quietly behind me.

∞∞∞

I force myself to leave them alone the rest of
the afternoon. I can hear enough to know that whatever they’re creating is
something I want to witness more than anything, but I manage to restrain myself
and give them their much-needed time alone. What happened, what’s happening now,
is historic, and I’m not about to risk any kind of interference. Still, I’m
dying for more than the muted sounds of laughter, debate, and Luke’s iconic voice
filtering through the door. I consider hovering right outside, but convince
myself that acting like a creepy stalker fangirl after all of this is not the
way to go.

Instead, I lie on the
couch, staring at the ceiling, smiling like an idiot to myself as I listen to
what I can of the magic. After about three hours, the door finally opens, and I
bolt up to greet them.

Casey almost looks
startled when he sees my head pop up from behind the couch and laughs.

“What are you doing?”
he asks, and I rest my arms on the edge to face them.

“Not distracting you,”
I tease with a grin that he returns.

“Oh really?” he says,
and I love the light in his eyes.

“I’m gonna go chill in
my room for a bit. Nice work, Case,” Luke says, slapping his arm before
disappearing back down the hall.

“Want a beer?” Casey
asks me, heading toward the fridge.

“Sure,” I answer, and
he grabs a couple bottles. “Sounds like it’s going well,” I continue after he
pops the caps and hands me one.

He nods and drops
beside me. “We’re both pretty happy with the direction. It’s going to sound
awesome with our actual gear in the studio.”

“I can’t wait to see
you play drums,” I say.

He glances at me in
surprise, then laughs. “That’s right. I guess you haven’t even seen me play
yet.”

I shake my head. “Just
violins and that weird string-choir-air sounding thing.”

“Pads.”

“Huh?”

“That sound. It’s
called a pad.”

“Oh.” I lean against
him, and he puts his arm around me as I’d hoped. “How’s Luke?” I ask quietly.

“Good,” he says.
“Better than I’ve seen him in a long time. It was like…” he stops, and I can
hear the emotion rising in his voice again. I reach up and interlace my fingers
with his. He squeezes and lets me pull his arm tighter around my shoulders.

“It’s going to be
slow, but it’s going, Casey. I think it’s finally going.”

He nods and kisses my
hair. “You’re amazing, Callie. I don’t know how you got through to him, but you
did.”

I almost laugh at the
absurd comment. I’m amazing. Yeah, right. I’m still not even sure what I am
exactly, but I’m pretty sure it’s not amazing.

“All I did was force
myself into his life and refuse to let him hurt me.”

“Yeah, well, no one
else managed to do that.”

“How many people really
tried besides you?”

He quiets, and I sigh.
“It was timing, too, Casey. It was a lot of things. Sometimes it takes a
stranger. Friends know too much.”

“True. You hold on too
tight with friends.”

I nod. “Although,
let’s be honest. I’m the one who got the best deal out of all this.”

“Oh yeah?”

“No question.”

I turn to him and gaze
into his eyes. His expression softens, and I love the smile that spreads over
his lips. I kiss him gently. I have to. That smile…

“Promise me one thing
though, Callie.”

I grow serious when he
does.

“No matter what
happens with the two of us, we will always be there for him. I can’t lose him,
too. I can’t.”

I squeeze his hand.
“Neither can I.”

He seems to relax, and
the mood lightens again. “Want to hear what we’ve got so far?”

“Are you kidding?
Since the second I left the room.”

He grins and pulls me
to my feet.

∞∞∞

Casey keeps his promise, and by early evening
we’ve all assembled in the main living room. He’s converted his afternoon’s
work into an audio file that he can play through the entertainment unit’s
surround sound system, which only adds to the dramatic effect of the big reveal.
He hooks up his laptop, and we all settle back on the couches in anticipation.

Eli and Sweeny have a
look of stern concentration as Casey pushes play, but I can see Luke’s smirk.
It’s good and he knows it. He’s not worried.

Even though I had an earlier
preview, I’m still not prepared for the blast of sound that pours out of the
speakers into the room. I can’t believe Casey did all of this in an afternoon
on that little keyboard, but instead of being smug and arrogant, he seems
contemplative more than anything. I can see his mind considering each note,
each sound, as he studies the air with the same concentration as the others who
have never heard the song before.

Only Luke seems
relaxed as we listen, each person lost in their own journey with the sound
swelling around us. I’d love a glimpse into their heads as they decide the fate
of Casey’s efforts, and find it fascinating that even after all these years
together, all their success, all the hundreds of reasons why Casey Barrett
should be bursting with confidence, he still waits with such nervous tension
for the evaluation of his work.

The music dies, and I
hold my breath for the verdict.

“Play it again?”
Sweeny asks, and Casey clicks a few buttons to replay it.

This time I can sense
the change in their engagement with the music. I see the involuntary movement
of their fingers as they seem to work out their own contributions to the composition.

“There! Right there!
Stop it!” Sweeny cries. Casey obeys, and Sweeny closes his eyes, reviewing
something in his mind. “You’re going to hit the kick hard on that build, right
Case?”

Casey nods. “On the
bridge into the chorus? Yeah. Definitely a fill, too, at the end. I was
thinking Eli would come in hard with some killer run, too.”

Sweeny nods. “Ok.
Yeah. That lead guitar riff is sick. Wanted to make sure we were supporting
it.”

“Absolutely. You can
thank Luke for the riff.”

Sweeny seems impressed,
but Luke only shrugs.

“It’s nothing. Casey
did everything else.”

“And Callie,” Casey
corrects.

“And Callie,” Luke
echoes with a direct smile to me.

I’m pretty sure I’m
blushing, but hope it’s not obvious in the dim light.

“Love it, Case.
Really,” Sweeny says. “You know, I like that for an album title, too.
Greetings from the Inside
.”

“
Greetings from the Inside
,” Casey repeats, then nods in agreement.
“Yeah. I like that.”

“Luke, you slayed the
vocal,” Eli adds, and I have to agree. I love Casey’s version, but Luke’s voice
transformed the song into something entirely untouchable. Casey seems to agree,
and I wish I could bottle the look on his face.

“You sound like a rock
star or something,” Casey jokes, and Luke rolls his eyes.

“What are you doing?”
Casey asks as Eli starts dialing his phone.

“Calling TJ,” he
answers.

Casey seems startled.
“TJ? Why?”

“To see if he can get
our trailer here by tomorrow instead. I want my bass.”

∞∞∞

Casey and Luke make good on their promise to
take me to 49
^th
& Finch for dinner. I’m just thrilled to get
Luke out of the suite. Eli and Sweeny join us as well, and the five of us slide
into a booth that looks more like a lounge. When they said “bar food,” I had
expected bowls of peanuts and pool tables. I don’t know why I would. Nothing
else is ever as I expect with them.

Based on the reactions
of the host and staff, it’s pretty obvious they’re immediately recognized as high-priority
guests. There are bottles and glasses on our table before we even have our
jackets off.

“And I thought I got
VIP service at Jemma’s,” I mutter to Luke.

He smiles over at me.
“Just wait.”

“Shit…” I hear Casey
mumble, and glance over at him in alarm. He’s staring across the restaurant at
another table of glossy patrons, one of which looks very familiar. Luke must
notice as well.

“Oh, man. Sorry, Case.
You want to leave?”

Casey sighs and shakes
his head. “Nah, it’s fine. Maybe she won’t see us.”

Luke scoffs. “Jana
Furmali? That woman has a freaking radar for you.”

Casey glares at him.
“Yeah. And thanks for inviting her to your little get-together, by the way. She
practically tackled me.”

Luke gives him a look.
“Of course I didn’t invite her! She must have come with Davis and Kane.”

Casey grunts and
fingers his napkin. I reach over and grab his hand, which seems to startle him
out of his daze. He gives me a weak smile that tugs at my heart.

“Sorry. She’s just…”

“Persistent,” Eli
finishes for him, and Casey sighs again.

“Yeah, persistent. We
went out a couple times a few months ago and she will not let go. I told her it
wasn’t going to happen.”

“I picked up on that
at the party,” I comment. He seems concerned as he searches my eyes, but
relaxes a bit when I squeeze his hand. “I’m not worried,” I assure him, and he
gives me a quick kiss.

“Dude, she just saw
you,” Sweeny warns, leaning close.

Casey curses under his
breath, and now we’re all staring at her as she squints through the restaurant.
Her face ignites when she concludes it’s him, and she starts moving toward us.

“Can I kiss you?”
Casey whispers. “Please?”

I almost laugh, and
pull him into me. We put on a pretty decent show, and I can feel Luke’s
amusement to my right.

“Hey, guys! So good to
see you!” a voice interrupts, and Casey and I pull apart.

“Jana, how’s it
going?” Sweeny asks in a flat tone.

“Great! Good. Casey,
how have you been?”

Casey glances at her
and forces a polite smile. “Fine.” He holds up my hand clasped firmly in his. “Hey,
did you get a chance to meet my girlfriend Callie at Luke’s place last week?”
he asks, and we can all see the moment when her world crashes down around her.

“Um…no, I don’t think
so. Hi,” she says in a painfully unconvincing greeting.

“Hi,” I respond. “I
love your dress.”

I can sense the guys
holding in their laughs.

“Thanks. It’s a Bella
Amberosi.”