Rhythm & The Blue Line, Chapter Six by PennLady - 01/06/2012

Description: Time for the big show.


© 2011 All Rights Reserved


The next morning, Ryan stretched and rolled over in her bed, but Brody wasn't there. She blinked awake and frowned, wondering how late it was and why he would have left. So far as she knew, he had nothing going on today. She took a deep breath, smelled food cooking, and smiled. She rolled out of bed and pulled on a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt, then ran a brush through her hair and went out into the kitchen.

"Hey. A person could get used to this." She leaned against one side of the doorway.

He turned and gave her a mock-stern look. "Don’t get too used to it. I had to run up to my place to get stuff to cook. Do you guys ever go grocery shopping?"

Ryan laughed and stepped over, then leaned against the counter. "Yeah, we do, every week or so. Lara eats at her mom's about once a week and usually brings back some leftovers. A lot of the rest of the time, she's with Trout. I think they share the cooking."

He took a moment to kiss her, then went back to the stove. "Okay, that explains her. What about you?"

She shrugged. "I manage. I know I do fast food more than I should. I try to get decent frozen meals." She held up her hands when he frowned at her. "Look, I'm not much on cooking. Can't help it. I do the best I can."

"Well, at least you make the effort on the frozen stuff. That’s not so bad."

"So glad you approve." She gave him a wry look and went to get a drink. "Look, see? Orange juice."

"That's mine. Help yourself."

"Really? It's yours?" Ryan stared at the carton. "I could have sworn we had some."

Brody laughed. "You did. It smelled terrible. I tossed it and brought some down. Come on, sit, this is about ready."

Ryan got out plates and silverware and put them on the table, then poured two glasses of juice and brought them over as well. She sat down and took a deep breath.

"Wow, that smells great. Much better than the Pop Tarts I'd planned on."

"You're saying that just to bait me, and I'm not taking it."

Ryan laughed. "Okay, you're right. Thanks, I do appreciate it. It'll be a good start to a long day."

"Yeah, I meant to ask." Brody took a bite of eggs and then a drink of juice. "What do rock stars do on show days?"

She shook her head. "I'm not sure what rock stars do. I'll meet everyone at the club around two or so and we'll set up and go through a sound check. Then we'll pretty much be free until the evening, which means I'll have to distract myself from worrying about it. There'll be two acts before us."

"I saw that on the club's website. Are they any good?"

Ryan nodded and took another bite of her food. "Yeah, they are. I think you'll like them both. We'll be there in time for those shows; it's just polite, you know? And we know most of them. It's a small world, so we want to help each other out. That should all start by eight-thirty, maybe nine if things run late."

Brody gave a low whistle. "So, when will you guys be on?"

"Ten-thirty, eleven, maybe. We're quite the night owls."

"Sounds like a lot of hurry up and wait."

"Yeah, some. Just how it works, though." She finished and pushed her plate away. "Thanks," she said as she sat back in her chair. "That was great."

"You're welcome, and glad you enjoyed it." He slid his plate over and leaned forward. "What will you do today after the sound check?"

"I don't know. I thought I might see Evan, but he said he's got homework and a basketball thing and then he has to go the anniversary dinner, so he's going straight to the club after that."

"What about Lara and the others?"

"I don't know. Sometimes we hang together, sometimes not. Depends on what's going on. Mitch has a girlfriend, but she's not so . . . she doesn’t like us much." Ryan paused. "Her name's Valerie, and she seems nice enough, but she always seems a bit distant or something. Anyway, Lara will be with Trout, and he'll be handling the sound, and then Nate, I don't know."

"I guess I'll just have to keep you company, then." He sat back and shook his head. "I don't see any way around it."

Ryan laughed. "You really don't have to. I'll be fine. I've done this before. Not as the headliner, but I've done it."

"Yeah, I know, but what the hell." He shrugged. "I do have to go to a video session, but that won't take long. Maybe I can catch up with you for the sound check. And . . . maybe I can help with a bit more stress relief before the show."

Ryan giggled, then giggled some more and couldn't stop. Brody gave her a quizzical look.

"Nothing, nothing, sorry." She waved a hand as her laughter subsided, although her shoulders shook with residual chuckles. "I was just thinking that Lara said a relationship would be good therapy for me. It looks like she was right."

"I feel so used." He pretended hurt, then grinned. "Not that I mind."

Ryan stared and fell into another fit of laughter. "I think you really are good for me, you know that?"

"Hey, I do what I can."

x-x-x-x

For a while, Brody put Ryan and the show out of his head; he had to concentrate on the video. He and his teammates watched as the coaches pointed out flaws in the team's play, as well as times they'd failed to take advantage of flaws in the opposition's. Brody ground his teeth when he saw footage of himself out of position, leaving a winger open for a pass that might have been a goal but for the goalie's fast reflexes on a kick save.

"Now, this isn't going to happen again," the coach said. He looked around the room. "There are half a dozen games before the New Year, and I don't want to see this happen in a single goddamned one of them. This is sloppy!" He slammed his hand on a table. "And we don't fucking play sloppy! Sloppy doesn't get you into the fucking playoffs. Sloppy doesn't win you the fucking Stanley Cup."

Murmurs of "Yes, Coach," came from the team, and Brody nodded in acknowledgment.

"Now, get out of here." The coach tugged at the collar of his shirt. "Go Christmas shopping or something, get any distractions out of your system, and then I want everyone's mind on the game tomorrow."

The players drifted out of the room in twos and threes. Mark came up and nudged Brody. "So, how are you going to spend your afternoon? Pining—I mean, waiting until the show?"

"Dick." Brody shot him a glance and fought a grin. "Where are you reporting?"

"Oh, I'm going to meet Hilary at—" Mark glared at him as Brody burst out laughing. "You're an ass."

"Hey, I'm not the one who's 'reporting' to his girlfriend." Brody chortled. "And if you really want to know, I'm going to go over to the club, try to catch them during the sound check."

"Now who's reporting?"

"Jackass." Brody elbowed him. "I thought it might be neat, and Ryan said it would be okay. Then, I don't know, we'll hang out. She said she's got time to kill before the show, and knowing her, if she doesn't have something to distract her, she'll just stress about it."

"Right." Mark grinned and nodded. "That’s your story and you're sticking to it." He turned to Baxter, who'd followed them out. "Hey, guys, you hear that?"

"Oh yeah." Bax laughed. "I'm sure he's got all kinds of 'distractions' in mind." He paused. "What are you going to do after the first five minutes?"

"You've been away from your wife too long, Bax." Body shook his head. "Get your mind out of the gutter, man."

"Okay, guys, I'm out of here." Mark walked over to his SUV now that they'd reached the parking garage. "I'll be at the show, Brody. Hilary, too."

"Me, too," said Bax.

"Cool." Brody nodded. "Ryan will appreciate that, seriously. I'll see you guys later." He waved and strode over to his own car and got in.

The others watched him drive away. Mark spoke first. "Must be serious."

Bax chuckled. "Oh, it's serious. Even if he won't admit it."

x-x-x-x

At the sound check, Ryan found herself more relaxed than she'd ever been preparing for a gig. It almost made her laugh. Jason's absence was liberating, and added weight to the others' argument that perhaps they shouldn't replace him. She still wasn't sure, but had to admit the idea was appealing, especially if it meant reduced stress levels like this.

She looked up and saw Trout, who was nodding as he adjusted levels on the sound board. Brody was up there, too, standing back so as not to get in the way. She'd seen Trout explain a few things to Brody as they went along, and wondered what Brody thought of it all.

They finished the song and Trout gave them a thumbs-up. Ryan and the others acknowledged him with waves, then turned to pack up the instruments. Mitch broke down his drums, and Ryan and Nate gathered up their patch cords and effects pedals before putting their guitars in cases.

"Wow. I can't believe it's here." Nate shook his head as he snapped the case shut on his guitar, then moved to do the same for his bass.

"I know, and I can't believe how relaxed I am. Mostly," Ryan said. Lara held Ryan's laptop while the latter put the keyboard in its case, then put away her guitar.

"Funny how taking the asshole out of the equation makes things easier," Mitch said.

Ryan laughed. "I thought the same thing. Maybe not in so many words."

"So, you think maybe we stay this way?" Nate looked over at her as they walked back to the dressing room with their gear. They put everything inside and then locked the door.

Ryan shrugged as they walked back out front. "I don't know. It certainly sounds good. I mean, I'm a lot less stressed about this show than I was before. Let's face it: not having to worry about what Jason will or won't do takes a big load off."

"That it does." Lara nodded, then grinned. "I bet there's another reason you're less stressed."

"No. No, no, no." Nate held his hands up and backed away. "I can guess where this is going and I don't want to hear it."

Mitch made a face. "Me, neither. Go have your . . . I don't know, girl talk sessions somewhere else. Where I can't hear it." He gave an exaggerated shudder.

Lara and Ryan traded amused glances.

"You guys are such wusses," Ryan said.

"Careful, I'll go get Jason back." Nate just managed to keep a straight face and the women burst out laughing.

"The hell you will." Mitch glared at him and punched his shoulder. "I'd have to hurt you, man. A lot."

Nate gave him a wry look. "Take a number. Allison is still pissed at me. Oh, which reminds me." He reached for a bottle of water and took a long drink. "Don’t be surprised if she and Jason show up tonight. She's got into her head that we're going to go down in flames in a big way."

"Is that so?" Ryan grinned. "Well, I think she'll be disappointed."

"Hell, yeah, she will." said Lara. "We're going to kick ass tonight, and that A&R guy will be begging us to join that tour."

"On that optimistic note, I'm out of here for a while, guys." Mitch grabbed his coat. "Mom said Maria was going to try to call on Skype, so I want to be there. Be back in plenty of time, though."

"How's she doing?" Ryan asked, and the others echoed her.

"Good so far." Mitch nodded. "It's quiet, for the moment. I did have an email this morning, and she said thanks for setting up the Facebook thing. The unit's been getting a kick out of the messages people have been leaving."

"Great." Ryan squeezed Lara's shoulders; her friend had done all the work setting that up. "Tell her we're proud of her and want her back soon."

"You're not kidding. I hope the deployment's shorter this time, but she's looking at a year, I'm sure." Mitch looked over as Brody came over to them. "Hey, Brody, what's up?"

"Not much." He shook hands with Mitch, then stepped over next to Ryan. "That was something. I had no idea what went on with the sound. I still don’t, but it was cool to watch Trout." Ryan looked over; Trout was still at the sound board as No More Trees, the second of the opening bands, set up for their sound check.

Before Ryan could say anything, she heard someone calling her name. She turned and saw Annette Kochanski, the drummer from the Trouser Minnows, coming in with part of her drum kit. Annette wore an eye-catching, if not eye-popping, outfit including torn fishnet stockings, short blue cut-offs, and a black camisole under a pink blouse. The Minnows would be the first act of the night.

"Hi, Annette."

Annette set her case down and they exchanged a quick hug, Ryan introduced Brody, and Annette said hellos to everyone else, then raised an eyebrow. "So, your guitarist got out quick again, huh?"

"Can't leave early if you don't show up." Ryan shrugged. "He quit."

"We fired him," Mitch clarified.

Annette's eyes widened. "He what? When?"

"Last week." Ryan explained what had happened.

"What a little shit!"

The others laughed. "Yeah, that's kind of how we felt," Lara said.

"Well, that tops our latest drama." Annette brushed her bangs back. "Michelle and her guy broke up and she was just impossible for most of the week. I'm hoping she channels it into the guitar tonight."

They caught each other up on the local scene, and watched as No More Trees worked through their sound check.

"Anyway, Lara, I'm glad we caught you guys," Annette said. "We wanted to ask if Trout could do our sound, too. He's the best, and the last time we were here, it wasn't great. Pretty please?"

"Yeah, Trout is the best." Ryan looked back at Trout, who was talking with someone on the club staff. "We keep Lara around for him, and vice versa."

"That's right." Lara tossed her hair back and grinned. "That was the plan. We're both indispensable."

"Annette, I can help you bring your kit in," Mitch said. "Then I have to be out of here."

"I can help, too," Brody added, and Nate echoed the offer.

"Thanks, that'd be great." Annette gave them all a grateful smile.

"Anyway, Annette, I'm sure Trout'd be happy to do sound for you," Lara said. "Just go on over and ask. He's already doing sound for No More Trees."

"Say hi to your parents and Maria for us, Mitch," Ryan said.

"You bet. Later, guys."

"Thanks, Lara. Thanks a bunch." Annette squeezed her hand. "Okay, let me talk to him and then I'll get all my stuff. Thanks, guys!" Annette grabbed her case and hurried over to the sound board.

Lara turned to Ryan. "So, what are you going to do with all your free time? As if I couldn't guess." She flicked a glance at Brody, who left with Nate and Mitch to help Annette with her drums.

"I don't know." Ryan shrugged, although it was hard not to smile. When Lara quirked an eyebrow, Ryan protested. "I don't. We haven't planned anything."

Lara shook her head. "You really are out of practice at the whole boyfriend thing, aren't you?"

"Not the whole thing." Ryan grinned and Lara widened her eyes.

"You, oh, you so owe me some talking time!" Lara smacked Ryan's shoulder. "You've been holding out on me."

"No, I haven't. You're just too involved with marine biology." Ryan laughed and turned to smile at Brody as he came back. "Hi."

Nate and Mitch called their good-byes and headed out, and Lara walked over to talk to Trout and Annette.

Ryan looked up at Brody after her friend left. "So, now what?"

"I have a plan."

"Okay." Ryan shrugged into her coat but didn’t bother zipping it, although she did wrap a purple striped scarf around her neck. "Lara's mom made it for me," she told Brody. "It's a good luck charm."

He smiled. "More original than a rabbit's foot."

"They always creeped me out when I was little." Ryan made a face as they walked outside. "I had images of all these little three-legged rabbits hopping around. I figured it wasn’t real lucky for them; how lucky could it be for me?"

Brody laughed as he led her to his car. "You never say what I expect."

"Just keeping you on your toes."

They got in the car and Brody eased into the flow of traffic. "So, you nervous?"

"Of course, some." Ryan nodded. "On the other hand, I realized how much easier it was without Jason around, so I'm not so bad. Yet."

"That's good. So, how much time do you have before you need to be back?"

Ryan pretended to be shocked. "God, Brody. Haven't you had enough?"

He shot her a glance and shook his head. "Not yet, but that's not what I'm talking about. Come on, I'm serious. How much time?"

Ryan looked at her watch. "Well, it's going on three. I need to be back by eight. What are you planning?"

"We're going shopping."

"Shopping? You hate shopping. I hate shopping. What kind of shopping?"

"You'll see."

An hour later, Ryan was in her kitchen staring at the array of purchases. Ground beef, ricotta cheese, tomato sauce, frozen spinach, noodles and more covered the counter. "Just what do you expect me to do with these?"

Brody took her by the shoulders and turned her to face him. "I told you. You, Miss Bancroft, are going to make a lasagna."

She shook her head; he'd told her that in the store and she still didn't believe him. "Brody, I'm not much of a cook."

"Yes, I know. However, this is pretty simple."

"Why do you want to teach me to make lasagna? And how can it be simple?" She swept her arm at the counter, indicating the array of ingredients. "Nothing made with this much stuff can be simple."

"For one thing, you can't live on macaroni and cheese alone." He shuddered. "For long, anyway, and if you insist on having that, I'll teach you a better way to make it. But for now, lasagna is a good place to start. It's easy, filling, nutritious with the spinach added in and you'll have leftovers. Besides." He brushed her hair back. "I can't be worrying about what you'll eat while I'm away on road trips."

Ryan smiled and clasped her hands behind his neck. "You worry about me? Aw. You big softie." She tried to cover up a sudden surge of feeling with humor.

He gave her a mock glare, then kissed her. "Yeah, I know. Don't let it get around. You ready?"

She took a deep breath. "I guess so. You sure we have everything here? Lara and I hardly ever cook."

"I checked, and we're fine. No more stalling. First, we brown the ground beef."

For the next hour, Brody showed her how to cook. It wasn't that bad, she realized. She could handle browning ground beef, and the rest was mostly mix and pour. She did like the no-cook noodles. Brody agreed they were a lot less hassle, but admitted that he preferred to cook the pasta when he had the time.

"So, tell me about these other bands." He said as they mixed up the ricotta cheese and eggs. "I have to admit I did a double take when I saw a group named Trouser Minnows, although Annette seemed very nice."

Ryan chuckled. "They're fun; an all-female punk-ish band. Nate dated their lead singer for a while, and she's really nice. They broke up, but it was one of those things where they just realized it wouldn't work. No hard feelings."

"And what about No More Trees?"

At that, Ryan laughed. "The full name is No More Trees on the Potomac. Remember a few years ago when Dan Snyder got rid of those trees along the river? He wanted an 'unobstructed view' from his mansion." Ryan rolled her eyes. "The guys got really ticked and picked that for their name. They're Redskins' fans and well, you know how they've been doing lately. We call them No More Trees for short." She gave the mixture one last stir. "Okay, now what?"

"Now we layer it in the baking dish."

"I'm going to make a mess," Ryan warned him.

"No problem. Messes can be cleaned." Brody was unfazed.

She listened and followed the directions, spilling only minimal amounts of sauce and cheese on the counter, and contemplating her feelings about Brody. He was fun, and she enjoyed that, but under all the jokes, she'd come to see he had a serious side. He would tease, but he never aimed to hurt. Even when he had tried to spin her mom's guilt trip the previous week, she knew it was to try to make her feel better, not to defend her mom.

She shook her head; however casual they'd meant to keep things, she wasn't sure she could for too much longer. Lara would have a good laugh over that, Ryan thought, along with a ringing "I told you so."

At last, it was in the oven, and Ryan huffed out a breath as she leaned against the counter and surveyed the mess. "I hope this is worth it," she said. "It's a lot less work to buy it frozen."

"This is better for you. And now comes the fun part." He wiggled his eyebrows.

"Oh, really?" Ryan turned towards him, one hand on the counter, the other on her hip. "And what's that?"

"Well, now that we've made a mess, and we're all sweaty . . . ."

"Yes?" Ryan bit back a laugh as he stepped closer.

"We're going to need a few things."

"Such as?"

"Some water . . . some soap . . . ." His body brushed up against hers.

Ryan laughed and slid her arms around his waist. "Sounds good so far."

"You think?" He lowered his head and nipped at her earlobe; she jumped.

"Yes, I think so."

He kissed her once, hard, then stepped away. "So, you want to wash or dry?" He held up a dishtowel.

x-x-x-x

Ryan's phone beeped as she and Brody walked to the club. She checked the screen and touched the icon to see Evan's text message. I had to promise to come to dinner with Mom and Dad next week. You owe me.

"Smart ass." Ryan shook her head with a smile and put her phone back in her pocket.

"Who is?" Brody asked.

"Evan. Oh, hey, I guess we're officially official, since you'll be meeting a family member."

He opened the door for her. "Yeah, but it's only your brother. You're starting me off easy."

Ryan laughed. "You'll thank me for it."

She took his hand as she wove her way through the crowd, saying hi to some familiar faces from other bands and other clubs. Nate, Lara and Mitch were clustered at one side of the bar, along with Lara's cousin, Ephraim.

"Hey, guys. Hi, Ephraim. Long time, no see." Ryan gave him a hug. "How was Corsica?"

"So cool, so very cool." He grinned. "I wish I was there now."

"Oh, stop rubbing it in." Lara smacked his shoulder.

"Hey. I am here to help you guys out, you know. That ought to get me a few less smacks."

Ryan grinned. Ephraim had agreed to help out and handle their merchandise at the show while he was in town, since Allison wasn't going to do it.

"Ephraim, this is Brody Lang. Brody, this is Lara's cousin, Ephraim."

The two men shook hands and exchanged greetings. Ephraim told them more about Corsica, making Ryan long for sun, warm sand, and palm trees. A few people stopped by, members of other bands and friends of friends, and all of them curious for the scoop on what had happened with Jason. Annette turned up again as well and hung around while waiting for her set to start.

Brody turned to Ryan. "I'm gathering no one thought much of Jason."

"Guess not. We'll just chalk it up to a lesson learned and move on."

"Annette! Annette!" A woman with platinum blond hair came up to the group. She waved at everyone and tugged on Annette's arm. "Come on, time to go."

"Gotcha, Cecily." Annette turned to the others. "Good luck everybody! Later!" She and Cecily disappeared into the crowd towards the backstage area.

"Those were some outfits," Brody commented. Annette had switched her cut offs for a bright green miniskirt, and Cecily's hair was outshone only by her metallic silver blouse.

Ryan laughed. "Those were pretty tame compared to some others I've seen them in."

"So . . . ." Brody studied her.

"What?"

"Do you ever wear outfits like that?" His expression was somewhere between teasing and hopeful.

Ryan smiled. "Guess you'll just have to stick around and find out."

x-x-x-x

When Trouser Minnows began playing, Brody was standing with Ryan in front of him, close enough that he kept one hand on her waist. He wasn’t quite sure what to make of the Minnows, although he gave them points for enthusiasm. Ryan would lean back every so often to point out people she knew in other bands, or tell him the name of the songs, and he'd take advantage to pull her a little closer. When she looked down at his hand, then up at him with a grin, he knew she'd caught on.

When the set was over, Brody saw Mark, Bax and Hilary on the other side of the room. He pointed them out to Ryan as he waved them over.

"Hey, Ryan!" Hilary grinned and then gave her a hug. "I am really psyched about this! You guys will be great."

"Thanks, Hilary." Ryan smiled. "I'm really glad you could make it."

"There'll be more," Mark said with a grin. "Lena and Obie will be here, and Tolya and Sara, and Bax is here, too. Mina and Drew will come but she had to work a dinner shift and so they said they'd come later."

"Excellent." Brody beamed. "Hey, everybody, come meet the others." He took Ryan's hand in his as they introduced everyone. Bax came over a moment later and took his turn.

"So, you're Brody's musician," he said as he shook Ryan's hand.

She gave Brody a questioning look. He put his hands up in surrender.

"Hey, Bax said it, not me."

Ryan smiled and shrugged. "Well, I guess if I'm his musician, he's my hockey player."

Bax laughed. "I like that."

They talked for a while, greeting Lena and Obie when they showed up, and then the lights went down and No More Trees took the stage. Brody cracked up at the lead singer's t-shirt, which was burgundy with gold lettering that read "Save the Redskins—Fire the Owner."

They finished to a round of raucous cheers and left the stage. Ryan turned to Brody and gave him a nervous smile; he smiled. It was the first sign of apprehension she'd shown all night. He was about to say something when a man's voice called her name.

"Hey, Ryan! Ryan!"

Her face lit up and for a moment, Brody felt an unexpected flash of jealousy.

Then she turned and grinned. "Evan!" She laughed as her brother gave her a hug, and Brody chastised himself for the feeling of relief that swept over him.

"Evan, Amira, this is Brody Lang. Brody, this is my little brother and his girlfriend." Ryan made the introductions.

"Little is relative, I see." Brody and Evan shook hands and Ryan groaned at the pun. "Nice to meet you, Evan. And you, Amira." He hadn't seen her at first; Evan was close to six-foot-five, Brody guessed, and she'd been standing behind him.

"Hi, Amira," Ryan said. "It's good to see you again. I'm so glad you could make it."

"I wouldn't miss it." Amira smiled. "I've been looking forward to it since we saw you at Maryland."

"Great. Oh, and by the way." Ryan turned to Evan and poked him in the shoulder. "Sending me a link to a song about a 'disposable pop star' is not funny."

Evan widened his eyes. "It was that one? I mean, I just saw it was an SR-71 song and sent the link."

"You knew damn well what you were doing, you brat. Do that again," Ryan warned her brother, "and I'll show Amira the pictures from your thirteenth birthday party." When Evan scowled, Ryan smiled in satisfaction and Brody coughed to hide a laugh.

He got a kick out of watching them teasing each other, so much like what he remembered from home. Neither Carla nor Eileen had taken any crap from their brothers, and it looked like Ryan didn't either.

"Hey, Ryan. Looks like it's our turn." Lara came over and grinned. "Come on, let's rock this town."

"Rock it inside out," Ryan replied with a smile, then turned to Brody. "Guess that's my cue."

He smiled, tugged on a lock of her hair and leaned down for a quick kiss. "Go get 'em, rock star." He watched her go and turned to Evan. "So, you come to all her shows?"

Evan nodded. "Not all, but I come when I can. It's a little easier now that I'm at college and on my own schedule."

"I heard your parents aren't real crazy over her and the music," Brody said. He was curious to find out more about that particular issue.

"To put it mildly." Evan rolled his eyes. "It's stupid."

"It is," Amira said. "They were great at Maryland the other week. How'd you even get away from that party tonight?"

"I told them I was meeting some guys from the team. And who knows, there might even be some here." Evan shrugged. "It was easiest."

Amira shook her head and pushed her dark hair behind her ears. "You know that's crazy, right?"

Evan looked uncomfortable and scuffed his foot on the floor. "I know, but trust me, it was the best way."

Brody felt bad for Evan; it wasn't easy to lie to your parents. Not that he hadn't gone with the odd misleading sentence himself as a teenager, but even then, he'd known his parents weren't that dumb. Evan was probably torn, Brody thought, wanting to support Ryan and knowing his parents didn’t approve. He was glad he'd never been put in that position.

"What do you think of it?" Brody asked. "I mean, about the band and all?"

Evan grinned. "I think it's fantastic. I told Ryan, I'm jealous. I wish I could do what I want without worrying what other people think."

x-x-x-x

Ryan and the others were quiet as they worked with Trout to set everything up. They didn't need to say anything—they'd done this so many times it was automatic—and Ryan had found she liked the time to try to clear her mind, or at least let her thoughts settle.

Tonight she wasn't having any luck with that, and so she stopped trying to force it. Instead she turned her attention to getting ready and going over the set in her mind. She frowned as thoughts of Brody kept breaking through; she wasn’t used to anything taking her mind off a performance.

"You okay, Ryan?" Lara asked. She waved at Trout as he headed out to take care of the sound.

"Hmmm? Yeah, I'm fine." Ryan slung her guitar on and adjusted it. "Just a little distracted, I guess. Nervous."

"About the show? Or someone else?"

Ryan began to protest, but didn't; Lara knew her too well and she was right. "It's weird," she told her friend. "I'm really glad Brody's here, but it's a little unsettling or something. I don't know. Okay, doesn't matter." Ryan grinned and tossed her hair back. "We've got other things to think about."

"Come on, people. No time for drama." Mitch grinned and they all laughed.

"Speaking of which, did anyone see Allison or Jason out there?" Lara asked.

"Yeah, they're out there." Nate huffed out a breath. "She made sure I saw her when she came in. Good God, how can I be related to her?"

"Maybe there was a hospital mix-up and they brought the wrong baby home," Ryan suggested.

Nate laughed. "I should be so lucky."

"Well, I'd say we have some incentive." Mitch twirled his sticks. "You guys ready?"

"Just about." Ryan made sure her guitar was plugged in, and the amp, and tested her effects pedals. Trout had already made his way back to the sound board.

Ryan looked down as her stomach took a tumble as she heard the crowd milling around. She'd just been with them a few minutes ago, but it hardly felt like that now. At last they were set, and she looked at her friends. "Ready?" When they nodded, she let out a slow breath. "Well, then, let's do this."

They went to their spots on stage and the lights went down.

Mitch sat behind his drums, counted them in and Ryan hit the first chord of "My Last Mistake," one of their new songs. It had gone over so well at the college shows they'd decided to change up and open with it. Her nervousness disappeared as the lights came up.

x-x-x-x

"They're good, Langer," Bax shouted over the crowd. "Really good."

Brody nodded and watched his musician up on stage. She looked fantastic and the band sounded great. He wondered once more if she knew how happy she looked when she was performing. The first song ended and Lara thanked the crowd before they moved on to the next one.

Ryan moved over to the keyboards, keeping her guitar on but sliding it around to her back, and Nate switched his bass for a guitar. A moment later Ryan started playing, a fast little riff that Nate picked up, and then Lara began singing. The crowd cheered in approval and Brody saw more than a few people sing along.

When the song was finished, Mark leaned over to him. "Hey, man. That whole guitarist thing Ryan was worried about?" Brody nodded and Mark continued, "Tell her not to worry about it."

"I know. They sound terrific, don’t they?" Brody half-shouted back.

"Better than the GW show," Hilary chimed in.

"What do you think, Evan?" Brody asked.

"Absolutely," Evan called back, and grinned. "Ryan always worries about stuff and then she figures out how to fix it, and it's usually better."

Brody had to agree. Ryan had explained, for example, that on a song like they'd just finished, where she took the keyboards and Nate played guitar, she would supply the missing bass line with the keyboards. She'd made it sound like no big deal, but to him it was impressive. It would be great, he thought, to tell her how all her changes had paid off.

They slowed things down a bit and dedicated "On the Far Road" to Mitch's sister and her unit and Ryan stayed at her keyboard. Then they sped up again with the next number and she went back to her guitar.

As far as he could tell, everything seemed to be going smoothly up on stage. He watched as Nate put a hand on her shoulder and leaned in to say something. Ryan nodded and patted Nate's arm, then went over to her laptop and tapped some keys. With a satisfied look, she brought her guitar back around front and nodded when Nate looked over at her. Brody wondered that was all about.

Whatever it was, it worked, and they went into the next song with no problems he could detect. He recognized the current number as "Skyline," and then they segued into the next song without a break, and the crowd cheered and whistled, Brody included.

Between verses, Lara said something to Ryan and the latter smiled and laughed, and Brody was struck once again at how perfectly at home she looked up on the stage. His sister, Carla, had once told him that he looked something like that himself when he was on the ice.

"You skate better than you walk," Carla had said. "You know what you're doing out there, and when you know what you're doing, you're happy."

And that was it, he thought, as he had when he'd first seen them at GWU. Ryan was happy up there, doing what she knew how to do.

There was a short break as Ryan the others downed some water and prepped for the next song. When it started, it took Brody a minute to recognize a guitar-heavy version of Modern English's "Melt with You," and then he laughed and clapped along with everyone else.

Three songs later, the set ended, they took a bow, and then walked off the stage.

Evan let out a whistle that had Brody covering his ears, and the crowd continued with the applause.

A couple of minutes later, the band took the stage again. They covered of Bad Company's "Rock & Roll Fantasy," and followed it with another original song. Evan leaned over to tell him it was one of the first songs Lara and Ryan ever written. When that was finished, they once again waved and left the stage, and once again the crowd cheered until they came back.

There was one more song, then it was over and the lights came up.

Brody talked with his teammates as the band packed their instruments away, glancing at Ryan from time to time, anxious to talk to her. He held back as he saw her working and talking to Annette, Manny, and others from the first two bands. There'd be plenty of time to talk later, he thought. She looked so enthusiastic, and in her element, and he said as much to Evan.

Evan nodded. "Oh, yeah. I mean, even I can see it's what she should do." He laughed. "I've met her after work a few times, and it's always a little odd to see her in an office. She looks so much more comfortable up there."

"You probably look like that on the court," Brody said with a grin.

Evan shrugged. "Maybe. Sometimes."

"Hey, Brody, we have to go."

Brody turned to find Mark and Hilary, and Drew and Mina right behind them.

"It was fantastic," said Hilary, and Mina echoed her. "Tell her we said hi and sorry we couldn’t stay, but I'm going to be falling asleep at work as it is."

Brody laughed. "No problem. I'm glad you guys could make it." Then began a series of good byes to his teammates, leaving him with Evan, Amira, and Annette from Trouser Minnows.

Annette's eyes were bright. "That was amazing, wasn't it? That's the best I've ever seen them. If they don’t get on that tour, that A&R guy is in the wrong business."

"Your mouth to God's ear," Lara said with a grin as she walked over.

Annette laughed and leaned in for a hug. "Where's your fearless leader?"

"On her way." Lara jerked a thumb back to the stage. "Manny's over there."

"Uh oh." Annette tsked. "Is he in the cuddly drunk stage?"

Lara nodded. "Oh, yeah. He tried to hug Mitch, even."

Annette burst out laughing. "Sorry to miss that."

"Lara, you were great," Brody told her when Annette turned to talk to someone else. "You all were."

"Thanks, Brody. And thanks for bringing us a cheering section."

"You didn't need me, but happy to help." He shook hands with Nate and Mitch as they came over, and chuckled as Ryan made a beeline for them, leaving Manny looking befuddled.

"Ryan! You were great!" Evan pulled her into a quick hug.

Amira did likewise. "You were wonderful!"

"Everyone knew it," Evan said, and then grinned. "Allison and Jason left after the second song, I saw them. Even they knew you had it in the bag."

Ryan laughed. "Thanks, guys. I'm so glad you came. It means a lot." She turned to Brody. "You, too." She stepped over and hugged him, and held on tight.

He squeezed her against him and kissed her cheek. "You were incredible."

She held on for another moment then let go, although she stayed next to him. "Thanks."

"So, now what?" Brody asked.

"Beer." Ryan took a deep breath. "I need a beer."

"I got it, Ryan," Nate said. "Bar was my first stop." He handed her a bottle, then held two more out for Lara and Mitch.

"Where's mine?" Evan asked, earning him a withering stare from Amira and an elbow to the ribs from his sister, which only made him laugh.

"I've never seen you drink a beer." Brody looked down at Ryan. "I don’t think I've seen you drink anything besides sake."

She shrugged. "I don't too often, but I deserve one now."

"Good show, guys," Mitch said, and they all clinked bottles. He took a long swallow, then rubbed the cold bottle on his forehead. "Damn, it was hot up there."

They talked a while more, with people drifting in and out of the group, until Ryan covered a yawn and looked up at Brody. "So, can I get a ride home? Or are you going to go on a bar crawl or something?"

He laughed. "I think I'm past my bar crawl days."

With that, they began taking their gear and instruments out to their respective cars, and it was after two a.m. when Brody drove out of the parking lot. Ryan leaned her head back and closed her eyes as he navigated the quiet city streets.

"You guys were terrific," he told her, and reached over to take her hand.

"Thanks." Her eyes stayed closed but she squeezed his hand. "I really am glad you were there. I don't usually have anyone there for me, you know? Well, Evan sometimes, but it’s not quite the same."

"I have to say, I don't think I've ever been at anything like that before. I mean, watched someone perform when I knew them. It puts a different spin on it."

Ryan gave a quiet chuckle. "Now you know a little how Hilary and all the other girls must feel, watching you guys play hockey."

"What do you mean?"

She turned and opened her eyes. "Well, you know, they worry. They watch you guys down there and worry when you get hit, and feel bad if you don't score, but there's nothing they can do but watch."

"Well, at least I don't have to worry about you getting hurt," he teased.

Ryan laughed and closed her eyes again. "No, I managed not to trip over any patch cords tonight."

"You say that like you've done it before." He guided the car on to 395, which was all but empty at the late hour. It was an odd feeling to be so alone on a road so often choked with traffic.

"Once. Managed not to hurt anything but my pride, although I had a pretty good bruise on my leg for a few days."

"Think you can get inside without tripping over anything?"

"Maybe. I'm pretty tired. Maybe I should sleep in the car."

Brody shook his head with a laugh. "No, I think we'll get you upstairs. Your place or mine?"

Ryan opened her eyes and gave him a baleful look. "If you think I'm going to do anything but sleep once I'm in a bed, you need to think again."

"I'm pleased you think I have such vast energy reserves, but I was referring to sleep myself." Brody took the exit and stopped at the light at the bottom of the ramp. "So," he said again, "your place or mine?"

"Yours," Ryan said. "You have better breakfast options."