A Song For Us (Fallen Tuesday Book Two) (A Brothers of Rock Novel) by Karolyn James Page A

from his so-called roommate. At least there won’t be
anyone going in or out of the place.”
    Carina rolled her eyes. “Don’t bet
your life on that one.”
    “Why not? Did you see more people
in his place?”
    “No, I don’t even know who your
brother is,” Carina said. “I’m just… my apartment was broken into once before.
That’s all.”
    “Oh, Christ,” Gray said. “And you
still live there?”
    “Maybe I have no choice,” Carina
said.
    Gray reached across the table and
touched his pointer finger to her chin. “There’s always a choice, Carina.
Always. Now, tell me about the stage.”
     
    *
    “The stage,” Carina said. “Yeah.
The stage.”
    “What do you play?” Gray asked.
    His eyes were addictive and when he
half smiled, Carina wanted to spill her heart and soul to him.
    “I play keyboard,” Carina said.
“Well, piano. You know what I mean.”
    “You have a keyboard in your
apartment.”
    “Yeah. Can’t really play that much
because of the neighbors. The guy under me hits the floor if I play. I swear he
stands there all day and waits for me to start so he can hit the floor.”
    Gray smiled. “Headphones?”
    “Don’t have any,” Carina said. “Not
having them gives me an excuse.”
    “An excuse? For what? To not play?”
    Carina nodded. “Yeah.”
    “Why don’t you want to play?” 
    “I just don’t,” Carina said. “I
don’t think I’m very good. I don’t think my songs are good.”
    “Wait, you write your own music?”
    Carina’s mouth ran dry. Her mind
became flustered, and all she could think was, shit shit shit shit shit,
what did I just do? She didn’t want to do this, not with Gray, not tonight.
    “I write,” Carina said. “It’s just
for fun.”
    “Yeah, that’s what we do,” Gray
said. “We write music for fun. People like it.”
    “People don’t like my music.”
    “Have people heard it?”
    Carina didn’t answer. The silence
was the answer.
    “Oh, Carina,” Gray said. “You
shouldn’t hide.”
    “It’s hard with where I work,” Carina
said. “I see some seriously good bands on that stage. Solo acts. Actual bands.
My friend, Angie, she’s been on that stage.”
    “You don’t think you compare?”
    “I don’t know what I think,” Carina
said. “My life has been a little off track after caring for my grandmother.”
    “Is that so?”
    “She passed away,” Carina said.
    “I’m sorry.”
    “Me too. I came here to take care
of her. I couldn’t live with her so I did the best I could with the apartment I
could afford. She had nothing to leave behind, which is fine. I wasn’t caring
for her in the hopes of getting rich. Not at all. I cared for her because she
deserved it. I always thought that once she passed away, I would be able to
move forward with my life. It was this sense of freedom that waited for me that
kept me motivated. Now that the freedom is here, I’m frozen. I feel like that
person who gets their big break on stage and then stands there in front of
thousands of people and can’t remember the lyrics.”
    “Maybe you just need someone to
give you a nudge,” Gray said.
    Carina smiled. “Are you saying you
want to nudge me?”
    The band on the small stage was
playing. The music was solid. It was quiet and they played basic chords, but
the focus was on the wide range of the woman’s voice.
    “I’m saying you should take
advantage of the situation you have right now. Right in front of you.”
    “Oh, so you’re going to play the
rockstar card now?”
    “If it gets me more time with you, Carina,
then yes I am. I’m going to play the rockstar card until I hear you play. I
want to hear one of your songs.”
    “This is crazy,” Carina said. “I’ve
never played a show in my life. I’m just some woman who can play piano. I’m not
a musician. I’m not like you.”
    “You’re exactly like me,” Gray
said. “What do you think Fallen Tuesday did? It wasn’t that long ago we were
playing bars for ten people.