Page 37 of Battered Moves

I make my way up to my apartment, feeling the weight of the day on my shoulders, but as I unlock the door and step inside, I feel a sense of relief wash over me. This is my safe space, my sanctuary, and I can finally let myself be vulnerable. I collapse on my bed and close my eyes, taking a deep breath, letting the tears fall.

CHAPTERFOURTEEN

Ryder

I take a sip of water as the soundcheck comes to an end. All we have to do now is wait for Liv. Tom absentmindedly twirls his drumsticks, his long black hair falling into his eyes, while Brian tunes his guitar for the umpteenth time, a nervous habit he always gets before a gig. He’s a towering figure with a face full of metal, but at least as anxious as River. The fucker sure knows how to play though. I’m no slouch myself, but I’ve never quite reached his level.

Cara strolls over to me.

“Is your girlfriend standing us up?” she asks, a hint of irritation in her voice, and I roll my eyes.

“Relax, Cara. It’s only been five minutes,” I reply. Just then, my phone buzzes with a text from Liv.

Outside, sorry for the delay.

“She’s here,” I tell Cara before heading up the stairs from the basement, which doubles as our band room.

Tom, Brian, and Cara are roommates who share a rental house. They asked me to move in, but there’s no way I’m giving up my room at Jaxon’s house to live with those smelly dudes. I already see enough of them as it is.

Liv is parked in the driveway, leaning against her car.

“Hey, baby,” I say, and she greets me with a smile. I pull her into a kiss, tempted to deepen it, but I don’t want to ruffle Cara’s feathers. She can be a real bitch when she’s irritated. “Thanks for coming,” I say as we part from the kiss.

“Sure, I’m excited,” she replies, her grin widening. She opens the trunk of her car and retrieves a large backpack.

“What’s that?” I ask, my curiosity piqued.

“Equipment,” she responds simply.

Okay then.We head down to the basement, and I introduce Liv to Tom, Brian, and Cara. She smiles and waves.

“Hey, guys. Don’t mind me fangirling over here. You were unbelievably good at the bar last month. I wish I had taken a video to listen to afterwards,” she says, andin just three sentences, Liv manages to win them over. I don’t know how she does it, but there’s just no way not to like this girl.

“Thanks, Liv,” Cara says with a chuckle. “Wait until you hear the music we really play. All those mainstream covers are getting us gigs, but we’re only good when we play rock songs.”

“Oh, I can’t wait,” Liv says, beaming.She places her backpack in front of her and unzips it, revealing a collection of expensive-looking cameras, microphones, a gimbal, a tripod, and other filming equipment.

“Where did you get all this?” I ask, a little shocked.

“I bought it,” she says with a shrug. “That’s why I’m a little late. I had to charge the batteries first, but we can start now.”

“You didn’t have to go through all this trouble, Liv. I thought you were just going to do a video on your phone,” I say. I can’t believe she bought all this just to film us.

“Don’t insult me, Ryder. I’m a professional, and I seem to remember you saying that money shouldn’t be a problem for me,” she teases.

I grimace.Yeah, I did say that.

“What, you a gold digger, Davies?” Cara asks, chuckling behind me.

“Shut up,” I tell her, feeling embarrassed as I watch Liv expertly assemble the equipment. Once she’s done setting up, she explains her plan to us.

“I hope it’s okay that you guys have to play the song a few times. First, I’m just going to listen so I can assess what setup I need to use for the takes, then I’ll start filming. We’ll do the whole song from the beginning, and after that, I’ll get some detail shots of you guys playing the instruments and singing.”

We’re all impressed by her professionalism and stare at her for a moment. She starts to squirm.

“Uh, yeah, okay… You guys can start,” she says, and I chuckle before pecking her on the lips.

“You heard the lady,” I tell the band, and we get into our positions.

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