Page 48 of Composed
“You tried, baby.” Cole kisses my shoulder before he shuffles me to the unplugged amp in the corner of the room and lifts me on top of it. “Now, sit here and look pretty. We have something to show you.”
I purse my lips, kicking my legs back and forth as he swaggers backwards.
Saint ruffles my hair when he passes by to grab his favoured Fender. Axel winks at me as he straps his sleek, red bass across his chest. And Carter rolls his sticks against the snare before gracing me with a rare tilt to his mouth.
It’s Cole, though, who sends sparks searing through me as he curls his fingers around the mic stand and his lips kick up into the most devastatingly beautiful grin.
My heart skips a beat.
Then, Carter clicks his sticks together, counts down from four, and it fucking gallops.
They’re playing a new song.
They’re playingmysong.
I wroteReckless Abandonafter I heard them play for the first time. Cole and I tickled with a few of his ideas before then, but this is the first I wrote on my own. The one that really solidified my dreams of doing this for a lifetime.
I press a shaking hand to my chest, tears springing to my lashes.
Cole’s voice is heavenly.
Eyes locked on mine, he serenades me with the words I wrote.
I don’t look away.
Not when Saint shreds his strings, playing the riff I wrote just for him. And not when Axel opens his mouth and pitches the perfect harmony to Cole's voice. Not even when Carter smashes his cymbals, and drives the final chorus home.
Ican’t.
If I didn’t know it before today, I know it now.
They are going to fly.
Heis going to fucking soar.
Cole drops the microphone and rushes over to me.
A frown tugs his lips when he swipes a thumb under my eye and gathers a stray tear. “Didyou hate it?”
I open my mouth.
I close it.
Words fail me.
“Why are you crying, baby?” he asks, cupping my cheeks. He tips my face up until we're eye-to-eye. “We didn’t butcher it, did we? Saint did get a bit heavy handed, but I can kick him out of the band and we’ll get a better guitarist.”
Saint blares. “The fuck dude?”
“No.” My shoulders shake with a blend of sobs and laughter. “Don’t do that. He’ll follow me around forever.”
“There she is.” Cole smiles, thumbs dancing over my cheeks as he leans in and steals a kiss. Everything inside me melts. “Thoughts?”
“Incredible.” Awestruck, I poke my head around him and glance over at the others. “I can’t believe you learned my song.”
“Why wouldn’t we? It’s phenomenal.” Axel says, his head titling. “You’ve got a real gift, baby girl.”
“What he said, kiddo.” Carter echoes, his face a blank mask. Still, he sends me a wink that has my lips curling upwards.
