Page 98 of Tumbling Hearts

“I do like the song a lot,” she says, putting her hand back down in her lap, over her knee-length plaid skirt. “But since Ray is the lead singer, does that mean I’d be singing with him?”

“Well, yes, that would be the normal way to go about things,” Dennis says. “Ray, what do you think?”

Honestly, the idea gives him a giant headache. He never intended to sing this with a woman. Especially his best friend’s girlfriend. Just thinking about it makes him want to hurl. No, he wrote this song to sing with Gene—singing it with anyone else would take away the meaning they made with it, what impacts them the most in their hearts. He doesn’t even want to look at Toshiko. He gazes at Gene instead, who gives him a questioning look, his hazel eyes glassy and beautiful.

“I’m sorry, but… I—I wouldn’t want to sing this with Toshiko,” Ray says.

“She’s Gene’s girlfriend, man,” Santiago remarks, standing near Ray. “Wouldn’t that be awkward? Nothing against you, miss.”

Thank you, Santi, Ray thinks to himself.

“Oh, yes, I see how that’d be awkward. Don’t worry about it. I wouldn’t want to sing with Ray if he doesn’t want to,” Toshiko says, ever so politely. Phew.

“Well, how about another idea,” Dennis says, clapping his hands together once. “Gene himself has sung lead before on one of our songs. What if it was a duet between Gene and Toshiko, since you two are already dating?”

“Oh, uh… I don’t know about that…” Gene stutters, resting his hands on his guitar’s body, looking down toward the floor.

Gene, you wouldn’t do that to me, would you? Ray wants to ask, but can’t find the words to say out loud.

“Would you want to, Gene?” Toshiko asks him, setting her hand on his knee. Just the sight of it makes Ray’s throat burn. “I wouldn’t mind singing with you. In fact, I’d really enjoy it. But with how you wrote it, how you sang it with Ray, I worry I’d just be intruding on something. This is your song you wrote—I’ll only sing if you say it’s alright.”

Ray blinks at her, astounded. He can hardly believe she wouldn’t just jump at the opportunity to sing with Gene, being his girlfriend. But, to be honest, Ray doesn’t really know Toshiko. She’s a lot more considerate than he expected—understanding the value of his and Gene’s friendship, how they write songs together. She is a musician herself, after all.

But how will Gene answer her?

“I appreciate the suggestion, but… I’m sorry, Toshiko,” Gene says, shaking his head. “And sorry too, Dennis. But I really want to sing this with Ray. Toshiko is right—I wrote this with Ray, together with him. It doesn’t feel right to sing it with anyone else.”

“Are you sure?” Dennis puts a finger on his chin. “You aren’t worried about the… assumptions people might make? With you singing a duet with him?”

“No, I’m not worried,” Gene says. “Remember what I said about singing to our respective love interests? It could be like that, y’know. It could have a lot of different meanings.”

As he says those last words, he turns his head toward Ray, gazing into his eyes. Gene gives him a sweet smile, a smile meant just for him, dissipating the nausea in Ray’s stomach. Oh, thank you, Gene.

“Well, if you’re that dead-set on it, I guess we could record it, see how things play out,” Dennis says. “What’s everyone else’s opinion?”

“I want Ray and Gene to sing this together,” Santiago says, smiling at them both. Of course you would, Santi. You’re too good to us.

“Ray and Gene usually sing together anyway, for normal harmonies. They’re the Flare Twins! I think it’d be nice if they got to sing a proper duet with each other,” Pat says, smiling as well. While she doesn’t know the truth like Santi does, Ray is glad that she still appears to be on their side.

“Alright, all good,” Dennis says. “Stefan?”

“I don’t care who they sing with, as long as they’re good. I already know Ray and Gene are good,” Stefan says with a straight face.

“And that’s everyone from the band. Alright!” Dennis claps his hands. “You’re free to record it how you wish. I do warn you, however, even if we record it, it’ll still be up to the discretion of the label if it can get released. But if you all enjoy this song so much, I can do my best to convince them it’s worth releasing, even if it won’t become a single.”

“Yeah, that’s fine,” Ray says. “I guess I wouldn’t mind if it wasn’t a single, just as long as we’re able to sing it.”

“We could always try singing it live, see how the audience reacts,” Gene comments, leaning closer to Ray on the couch—their thighs now touching. The warmth sends a flutter throughout Ray’s body. “If the crowd loves the song, then RCA would have no choice but to release it.”

“Yeah, for sure,” Ray says. “But since the tour is over, it might be a while before we perform it live. Maybe it won’t be able to go on this album, but the next one.”

“I guess I don’t really care when it releases,” Gene says. “As long as I can sing it with you.”

Ray’s cheeks feel ridiculously warm. The flutters intensify as he looks into Gene’s hazel eyes, his handsome face giving him the sweetest of smiles. “Yeah, same. I want to sing this together,” Ray says.

“You guys are pushing it,” Dennis chuckles. “We only have about another week left in the studio, so make it count! I’m definitely going to need to schedule more time for you all. Don’t make me regret it.”

“You can count on us.” Ray looks up, smiling at his manager. “Thank you, for this.”