Page 134 of Code Word
He grinned at me, and as the entire studio went silent, we began to play.
“Hola, hola,”I said, opening the door. “Por favor, pasen. Come in, come in.”
Maddox and Roscoe were the last to arrive, walking in to join Jeremy and Steve on the patio, watching Wes and a very pregnant Amy on the beach with Benny.
“Well, this is terrible,” Maddox said, taking in the view.
“Yeah, abysmal,” Jer said. “I can’t see why you wanted to live here at all.”
I snorted because this place was stunning. Nothing but clean sand and blue skies directly overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Alma didn’t want to sell her place, but she let us know when a house two doors up went on the market. It was bigger than her place but still cozy. We could have bought some massive mansion, but that wasn’t what we wanted. We didn’t want Hollywood in Mexico.
We wanted unassuming and personal with an authentic,honest feel. We wanted downsized with a wooden patio, thatched villa vibes, and that was exactly what we got.
“There’s a bar at the end of the beach,” Luke said. “Their pizzas are wood-fired and amazing. Tacos like you’ve never had.”
“Are those your mopeds parked out front?” Roscoe asked.
“Yep. We ride into town every couple of days,” I answered. “Go to the markets. And I’m telling you, no one here gives one fuck who we are.”
“Well,” Luke amended. “They know who we are, but they don’t care. We buy local, support local businesses, that kind of thing. So they leave us alone.”
Maddox looked around. “It’s kinda like the cabins but better.”
I laughed. “No, the cabins are awesome but totally secluded, which is perfect for that. This is just... different. We can spend a coupla weeks here. It’s a total vacay lifestyle.” I shrugged. “Then we go back to LA for reality.”
“Speaking of the cabins,” Luke said. “Did you get the approval through?”
Maddox grinned. “Yep.”
“Yes!” I clapped Maddox on the shoulder. “Great news.”
He wanted to run a music camp, of sorts, for up-and-coming artists who had a stack of talent but no means, no opportunities. He’d host them at the cabins, they could use the barn studio to jam and record, then they’d produce the finished product at the Point-Four studio.
Maddox had wanted to give something back and maybe help them navigate the first few steps of the music industry. It was going to be filmed for a Netflix special, and it was going to be awesome.
“Yeah, I can’t wait,” he said, grinning. “Callouts and audition processes start next month.”
“We saw your interview on TV,” Roscoe said. “You guys were great.”
“Felt kinda weird being interviewed by him with just us two,” Luke said. “Normally we bounce shit off the five of us. It’s different with just two.”
“Aww, do you miss us?” Jer said.
“I did,” I deadpanned. “Until you got here.”
He shoved me. “Thanks, dickbag.”
“I take it you haven’t seen anything online since the interview,” Steve asked.
“Nope. We did the interview, played our song, drove straight to the airport, and came here. Haven’t seen a thing because I deleted those apps off my phone.”
Maddox snorted. “How can you have a completely digital career but not have social apps on your phone?”
I grinned at him. “It takes a certain kind of skill.”
“It takes a special kind of social media manager,” Luke said, and they laughed.
“Anyway,” Steve said. “The song’s a hit, but the Bluke-shippers are at war over who the song is about.”
