Page 56 of Steady Stroke
“I know.” For the first time in ages, hearing that it would be several weeks before he saw Dominic again didn’t hurt. Because he wasn’t alone anymore. “It’s okay. Hey, did you and Benji have any luck with a song?”
“We’ve tossed a few ideas around, but Benji is stuck on one that I’m not sure is indie-rock enough for Emily.”
“What idea?”
“Do you remember Disturbed’s cover of ‘The Sound of Silence’?”
Lincoln shivered at the memory of that cover, which he’d only discovered last year, thanks to a YouTube reaction video, and he’d adored the grittiness of it. “Of course. Wait, Benji wants to do that?”
“Yes. I mean, Disturbed is metal, but they took a classic song and made it their own. He wants to take a similar route, but obviously his vocal range is way different than David Draiman’s.”
Draiman’s voice was perfect for the hard metal his band generally performed, and he’d given Lincoln goose bumps singing the final chorus of “The Sound of Silence,” but Benji’s range was more Zac Efron. He and Danielle had done a killer “Rewrite the Stars” tribute a few months ago.
Lincoln closed his eyes and imagined Emmett’s face, listening to XYZ cover his favorite song in a new way. “Let’s doit,” he said. “Tell Benji to arrange it, and then we’ll set up a FaceTime date to practice.”
“Sounds good. So is Roxy behaving herself?”
“Far as I can tell.” He hadn’t seen much of her the last two days, but when he did she was always smiling. “I’m sure she misses her big brother. So do I.”
“I miss both of you, too. Listen, I have to head out for a gig soon.”
“Sure.” For once, knowing the conversation had to end before he was ready felt . . . okay. Less like he was being cut off, or made less important in Dominic’s life. “Break a leg.”
“Thanks. Good luck with Emmett, yeah?”
“I’m pretty sure luck’s finally on my side, Dom. Later.”
Lincoln ended the call, his confidence buoyed by their new plan for Unbound. The only thing that would make it completely perfect would be to get Emmett up onstage to sing with XYZ. He doubted Emmett would want to, given his anxiety and lack of public performance experience, but the dream kept him smiling on the way back downstairs.
He picked a spot at the bar near Van’s station, and he hung out there nursing a Coke while the space filled with customers. Every time Emmett passed, they made eye contact, Emmett somehow always meeting his gaze despite the shades—and even though they couldn’t have any real conversation while Emmett was working, the proximity helped.
Melody joined him a few minutes before Beatrice called the first act. Van delivered a vodka sour without being asked, and the warm smiles they shared made Lincoln take notice. And wonder. He’d never been able to peg Van, but after his flirty comments this morning, Lincoln had shifted him closer to the gay end of the scale. Except the eye contact with Melody shifted him right back to bi.
When Van’s attention was snagged by a multi-drink order,Lincoln tugged Melody closer and whispered, “Did you and Van hook up?”
She grinned. “Totally.”
“Good for you.” He meant it, too. Van wasn’t even close to the type Melody always seemed to flirt after, but they’d obviously had a good time. “You guys doing it again?”
“No.” For some reason she seemed to get shy about the whole thing. “I mean, it was great. Best I’ve had in a long time, honestly.”
“So what’s the problem? Van doesn’t do girlfriends?”
“Bingo. Boyfriends or girlfriends. Which I knew going into it, so it’s not like I’m going to turn into a sobbing mess. It was just really nice being with a guy like him.”
“Tall, skinny, and totally hot?”
She laughed. “That too. Accepting.” After another swig of her drink, Melody spun her stool to see the stage better.
The conversation was apparently over, but it didn’t stop Lincoln from wondering what exactly Van had been accepting of that other men apparently weren’t. Scars? Birthmarks? Weird hairy bits?
Whatever. Melody’s hairy bits were not his business.
Most of the open-mike acts were okay. No one that Lincoln would pay money to see, but he did enjoy the burst of confidence many of the performers seemed to get after a roar of applause. His favorite performance memory was the sound of the crowd after XYZ finished their set at Unbound last summer. He’d vibrated with applause and shouts and the overall love of their music.
Enough love to send them to New York City for the national competition.
Yeah, and we all know how that turned out.
