“I’ve got the real thing, Drea. Don’t try too hard.”
“Do you prefer bright or dark ’verb? Probably bright, huh?”
He grinned. “You’re the expert.”
It felt weird to have someone watching me, seeing my process. Naomi didn’t seem picky, but what if Justin hated my style? What if I hated his?
Naomi came up behind Justin and rubbed his shoulders. She’d perched her sunglasses on top of her head. “And I have no clue what you two are talking about.”
He shut his eyes and smiled. For some reason, that really bugged me.
She leaned toward his ear. “Can I ask you a personal question?”
“Do you ask anything but personal questions?” He tried out a couple notes and nodded at me. “Not bad—I’ll give you that.”
Naomi leaned over and whispered something in his ear. I couldn’t quite make out what, but it had my name in it.
He pulled away from her touch and focused on the keys. “How about I give you something to dance to?”
She squatted next to him with a smirk. “You’re a virgin, aren’t you?” It sounded more like a statement than a question.
He played an E-minor chord. “Go dance, Naomi.”
I wondered if he felt embarrassed like I did when she asked those questions. Maybe he was like me and didn’t want people to know what a dork he was.
“It’s okay.” She pinched his cheek. “Drea’s a great kisser—I speak from experience. I’m sure she can show you a few other things too.”
“Naomi!” At that moment, I really wanted to die. Or maybe hit her with a baseball bat. “Would you shut up?”
Justin raised his eyebrows, an odd smile on his face.
Naomi rolled her eyes at me. “It’s not a big deal, Drea. It probably turns him on.”
“Not really,” he said, tapping the high keys gently. “Do you think you’re the first straight girl to kiss another girl for shock value?”
“We were by ourselves. And what makes you think I’m straight?” she asked.
“Because I’ve got amazing gaydar.”
“I don’t put labels on myself,” she said. “I just am.”
“Okay, so go be over there.” He waved toward the open space in front of my bed.
Naomi ruffled my hair before collapsing on the bed, her legs dangling over the side. I settled into my computer chair, hoping she’d be quiet for a while.
Justin began with a chord progression that instantly connected with me. My fingertips buzzed with anticipation, and I heard a billion different guitar melodies over the top. Maybe a gentle synth—bell-like without the piercing edge. He closed his eyes as each chord rang out, letting them bleed together and create the perfect mix of colors. Blue entwined with varying shades of gray. Like the drizzle outside. Comforting but a little sad. Then he played a fast, erratic melody with his right hand. Every note made me shiver, each one building into something even more amazing.
Naomi rolled off the bed, humming a melody of her own over the top. She walked up behind Justin and tapped his shoulder. “Can you play just the chords?”
“Sure,” he said, going back to the original progression.
She closed her eyes, fingers tapping against her ripped jeans. Her lips moved slightly with each chord change. “She smiles with grace, but no one recalls her face,” she sang. “Invisible… carved between the walls.”
I guessed at Justin’s tempo, setting it around 100bpm, and fished around for some drum samples. Most of the time I’d start with a loop that felt right—couldn’t explain why. Then I’d EQ the sound so it fit the tone of the song and add more drum samples from there. This song had a real trip-hop feel to it—slow, dark, and catchy. I found a bouncy beat and distorted the drums a bit. Naomi could play a live beat later, and I’d combine the two.
“I like that,” Justin said to me.
“Tempo okay?”
He nodded. “I can work with it.”
Naomi still had her eyes shut, nodding to the beat now. “She knows her place in this world. She can tear down its walls, and still nobody knows her name.”
Justin stopped playing and shook his head. “You’ve got an incredible voice, Naomi.”
She bit her lip, eyeing both of us. “Really? I don’t sound stupid?”
“No,” I said. “You’re giving me chills—both of you are.” I walked over and opened the case of my twelve-string acoustic. Another cheap and rare find from an online acquaintance.
Justin raised his eyebrows at my guitar. “Interesting choice.”
“Start again,” I said, setting the drums to loop mode and cranking the volume.
Layering the guitar chords on top of the piano gave the song a dreamy atmosphere. But Justin’s melody and Naomi’s vocals took the song to a place I could never go on my own. It tore at my gut and haunted my mind until all I wanted to do was get lost in it for hours. After our third time through, I decided to record the piano and guitar. Naomi insisted on reworking her lyrics before recording.
“Okay, Drea? If you don’t let Justin join our band, I’m seriously going to smack you,” Naomi decided.
I stared back at my computer screen, wanting nothing more but too afraid to ask. “You can join—if you want to.”
“Nah, I’ve got better things to do,” he said.
I swiveled to look at his grinning face.
“Smile, I’m only kidding.”
I didn’t find it very funny. He obviously had no idea how hard this was for me.
“But I’m only joining on two conditions,” he said. “One, I get to use my keyboard. And two, nobody shows up to practice wasted.”
“Fine by me,” I said.
“Hey,” Naomi pouted, “I sang better today than I ever have.”
“That’s what it seems like. Trust me, I’ve been in bands before. It always becomes a problem.” He looked down at his hands. “Anyway, I’m digging our sound so far. Reminds me a little of Portishead.”
“What did you play before?” I asked.
“You name it. Mostly metal, though.”
“With a piano?” Naomi picked up the water bottle and took a big gulp.
He shrugged. “Why not? Sounds like you need to expand your horizons.”
“She does.”
Naomi held her hands up. “Hey, I already told you I’m clueless, Drea.” She scanned the room. “So, why aren’t these walls painted yet?”
“I was going to pick up some paint this weekend and do it.”
“Okay, I’m so helping! I’ll bring Ferris Bueller—we’ll make a slumber party out of it.” She smiled at Justin. “Wanna join us?”
He chuckled and stood up. “No, thanks. I’ve gotta work.”
Her eyes widened. “You work?”
“Yeah, believe it or not. The rich boy works. Speaking of which”—he looked down at his watch—“I’m already running late.”
“How’d you score a job here so fast? I’ve been looking all summer,” Naomi said.
“My brother-in-law runs a computer repair shop on Lakeway. I’m his newest tech.”
I ejected his CD out of the computer and handed it back to him. “Well, um, thanks for the Black Lab and the ride and stuff.”
He studied me for a moment, his eyes intense with something I couldn’t even pinpoint.
“She’s kind of adorable, isn’t she?” Naomi asked.
I focused on his tennis shoes. Dirt was caked around the rims, and one of his laces was coming loose.
“Yeah, she’s kind of a lot of things.” His voice was soft, like he meant it as a compliment. But a lot of things could mean, well, anything.
“You should double knot your laces.” I pointed at his shoes.
Naomi giggled and plopped on my bed again, and Justin let out what sounded like a soft laugh. I looked up at him hesitantly.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” he said, smirking. “I’m off Friday, though. We should—”
“Make out!” Naomi shouted.
Justin rolled his eyes. “Practice. And come up with a name for our band.” He brushed his fingers against my arm. “See you later.”