Page 28 of The Heartbreakers
“Fine, whatever,” he said and crossed his arms. “What’s the last movie?”
“Well, if I have to pick a Disney movie, I’ll go withHercules. Oh, orMulan. She’s badass,” I said.
Oliver shook his head. “Jeez, I don’t stand a chance with you, do I?”
“Why do you say that?”
“Well, your ideal man is a vampire-werewolf hybrid who’s as swift as the coursing river and mysterious as the dark side of the moon.”
I giggled. “And the son of Zeus,” I added, but I supposed Oliver deserved some credit for being able to quoteMulan.
He ran a hand through his hair. “And here I thought being in a band counted for something…”
• • •
In the end, we settled on watchingSkyfall, which Oliver said was his favorite movie. When we first started watching, there was a good foot of space between us, but somehow it slowly disappeared, shrinking to a half foot, a few inches, and then nothing. I didn’t remember either of us moving; it was more like the couch dwindled between us.
I didn’t really pay attention to what was happening on-screen—Oliver’s knee was touching mine, and I was hyperaware of the contact. Tingles shot up my entire leg.
He must have been distracted too, because twenty minutes in, he cleared his throat and asked, “So where are you from?”
“Minnesota,” I said, tilting my head so I could see him. For the first time since starting the movie, I was able to relax back into the cushions, because talking took my mind off how close we were sitting. “Minneapolis originally, but my family moved to Rochester a few years ago.”
“We just had a show in Minneapolis.”
“Yeah, my sister really wanted to go,” I said, and then I realized that Oliver might ask why she couldn’t, so I quickly returned his question. “What about you? Where are you originally from?”
Oliver’s eyebrows shot up, like he couldn’t believe I didn’t actually know the answer to my question, but there was an excited gleam in his eyes.Hisfansmustknoweverythingabouthim, I realized.Heprobablydoesn’t have conversations like this very often.
“JJ, Xander, and I are from Oregon,” he said. “We grew up together and formed a band in high school.” Oliver smiled to himself at a funny memory. “We called ourselves ‘Infinity and Beyond.’”
“I really like that.” If I ever stumbled across a band with that name, I would definitely check them out. “That’s cooler than the Heartbreakers.” As soon as the words left my mouth, I realized what I’d said and winced.
“We didn’t pick that,” he said, his mouth twisting slightly. “That was all the record label’s idea. Apparently we needed to ‘appeal’ more to teenagers.” He used air quotes around “appeal.”
I stared at the TV as I processed what Oliver had said. I had always been so critical of the Heartbreakers, and my cheeks got warm as I wondered if I had been too harsh. From what Oliver had just told me, the band didn’t seem to have any control over its own image.
“Well, I suppose it worked,” I said. There was no denying that the record label had known what they were doing when they renamed the band. The Heartbreakers had cast a spell on millions of teenage girls.
“Maybe,” Oliver said, a grin slowly creeping onto his face. “But I’ve always liked to think that my adorable smile won everyone over.” He winked and I rolled my eyes.
“So if you three grew up together, how did you meet Alec?” I asked, changing the subject before Oliver’s cocky side could make an appearance.
“Alec is actually how we got our record deal,” he said. “He’s from California and his dad is the CEO at Mongo Records. Alec always wanted to perform, but his dad didn’t think he had the right personality to be in the industry.
“That’s when JJ got an email from Alec saying he liked our music. He found us on YouTube and promised he could get us in to see a producer if we didn’t mind adding a fourth member to the band. So we—”
“Wait,” I interrupted. “Let me get this straight. Alec emailed total strangers and asked if he could join your band?” There was no way. I hardly knew Alec, but I could already tell that he was way too shy to ever do something so assertive.
Oliver nodded his head. “Surprising, huh? I think his love of music outweighed his fear.”
“Wow, good for him.”
“Right? Well, anyway, we were totally excited about Alec’s email, but we didn’t really know what to think about him joining the band. I mean, we didn’t even know if he could sing. So we told him that we wanted to meet and see what he could do. Alec was on a flight to Oregon the next day. Not only could he sing, but he played bass, which was perfect since Xander and I both play guitar and JJ’s a drummer. Everything just fell into place,” Oliver said, finishing his story.
His gaze was focused on the TV, but I could tell by the half smile on his face and his glazed-over eyes that he was in a different place, reminiscing over memories. After a few seconds, he shook his head and looked down at me. His lips tweaked up into a grin, and then he reached out and pulled me against his chest.
It was a bold move, something only a guy with real confidence could do, and Oliver didn’t hesitate in his execution. My back and shoulders grew rigid, and suddenly I could feel the rise and fall of each breath he took. Resting my head on his chest felt so personal, like something only a real couple would do, but I couldn’t make myself pull away.
