Page 54 of Love is a Drum Beat
And he certainly didn’t sit on the floor in lieu of the furniture.
Until now.
Dax lowered himself next to Jo with Ben’s question ringing in his mind.How long have you been in love with her?
Always.
At least, that was what it felt like.
He’d never been in love before, but he understood it from the unconditional love he’d always gotten from his parents. Loving someone didn’t always mean being with them, pursuing them romantically.
Sometimes, it was about giving them what they needed, not what he wanted.
And what did Jo need?
A friend. Someone who could make her believe in herself.
The kiss had snapped something inside him. Maybe it was the part holding him back. He’d never known what to say to Jo, how to be around her. But as he sat leaning against the blue wall, it came to him: the confidence.
Bumping her shoulder with his, he smiled. “You’re strange, Jo Jackson.”
She snorted. “If you’re only now coming to that conclusion, there’s something wrong with you.”
Dax had never talked to anyone about his music who wasn’t related to him or working for him. That came with the anonymity. But Jo had wanted to hear it so badly, she sat here for hours. “So…” He hesitated. “Are you going to tell me what you thought?”
“About what?” She grinned up at him.
“You’re a little evil.”
“More than a little. But yes, I like the song. Piper’s words are amazing, as usual. You have the guitar and piano bits perfect.”
“But…”
“When you have the true drum track from Conner, it needs intertwined with the music.”
“I thought it was.”
She shook her head. “Right now, you have the track I did playing separately. The beats don’t match up. It might help if you slow the vocals. Dax, a drum beat isn’t merely a part of the song. It’s the heartbeat in the same way the piano is the soul. Turn toward me.”
He did as she asked.
“Okay, I need you to close your eyes and start singing the song.”
The first words came out raspy, but he pushed on. Jo tapped out the beat on his chest above his heart like it was the heartbeat. “Do you feel it?”
He nodded and kept singing.
As his voice drifted off, Jo smiled. “Feels good, right? The beat of the song overpowered the beat of your heart.”
“That was…” He didn’t have words.
“You need to make the audience feel that too.”
Their eyes locked for a long moment, their breaths in sync.
Jo was the first to break eye contact. “Dax…” His name was a breath on her lips. “I want…”
“What do you want?”
