Chapter 23

Brian and I yawned and stretched as we lay our guitars aside. I glanced at the digital clock by Brian's bed. It said 2:30am.

"So what do you think of the guitar?" Brian asked curiously.

I grinned once again. "Love it! I can't wait to learn more!" I said enthusiastically.

Brian smiled and nodded. He was deep in thought again. I could almost see the little wheels turning in his head. "The others must be having a good time," I said.

This snapped Brian's mind back to the real world. He shook his head. "Huh?"

"They all must be having a good time. No one's back yet."

"Oh." He turned to look at the clock. "Yeah, a really good time considering the fact that they left at 7 o'clock."

"Speaking of comings and goings, where were you all that time?" I was being nosy again.

"Well, remember when we met in the recording studio you told me that Stacie and Deb were recording a demo?"

"Yeah."

"I went back and listened to the demo."

"Well……" I pushed.

"They're amazing! I dragged our producer in and made him listen to it."

How could he be calm about this? I was about ready to burst! "And……?"

"He wants to meet with them on Monday!"

I began to jump up and down excitedly, laughing because I was so happy for them. "Their dream's gonna come true!" I shouted as I flung myself at Brian. He wasn't ready for this at all and we both tumbled backwards onto the bed in a giant bear hug.

"Whoa!" said a surprised voice from the door.

"Bad timing!" I heard another voice exclaim.

I looked up to find Kevin and Howie looking at us with looks of shock and puzzlement on their faces. Laughing even harder, I managed to say, "No! You're sick! It's not that!"

"Yeah guys, it's not that! I thought you were supposed to be the mature ones!" Brian spoke up.

"Well, what is that supposed to be? Look at yourselves!" demanded Kevin. He was being the "big brother" again.

Finally calming myself, I realized that Brian and I were a tangle of arms and legs. I had to admit to myself that it did look pretty bad.

"I don't believe this! I expected better from you two!" Kevin began again.

"I feel a lecture coming on," I thought while beginning to untangle myself.

"How are we gonna get out of this one?" Brian silently questioned.

"Don't worry I'll handle this one," I replied still silently.

"Well? I'm waiting! What else is THAT supposed to be?" Kevin spat. Howie was still standing there silently with shock written all over his face.

"Since when has he turned into a mother?" I questioned Brian silently before walking calmly across the room to stand directly in front of Kevin. Brian went into a fit of giggles as Kevin glared at us. Looking up at him innocently I asked, "Would you believe a bear hug gone wrong?" I saw Howie choke back a laugh.

"No, I……" Kevin began. He stopped abruptly as I flung myself at him with the same force as I had at Brian and we both stumbled into the hall. Howie now laughed outright and Brian laughed twice as hard as he had been.

"Now do you believe me?" I asked. "I was so excited that I leapt at Brian and he wasn't ready to catch me. We fell back onto the bed. That's it. End of story."

"Yeah, that's all," Brian said coming to join us. "I gave her some really great news and she just about exploded." My mind turned back to Brian's previous announcement and I could feel my excitement start to rise again.

"Brian had your producer listen to Stacie and Deb's demo and he likes them! He wants to meet with them on Monday!" I squealed jumping up and down like a three-year-old.

"What?" Howie questioned. I had forgotten that they didn't know about the demo. Brian realized this too and began to explain.

"The day Lis and I met, Deb and Stacie were recording a demo at the same studio we use. I had gone there to pick something up and bumped into her in the hall. We talked for a while and she told me about Stacie and Deb wanting to get into the music business. I remembered this a couple of days ago and went down there to listen to their demo. You wouldn't believe it guys. They're really amazing."

"Stacie and Deb have wanted to sing for as long as I can remember. That's why we're all in Florida. They came in hopes of getting studio time to record a demo and hopefully begin a career. They both love to sing and perform. If this works out it will be the best thing to ever happen to them."

"When are you going to tell them about this?" questioned Kevin.

"As soon as they get home, if they even decide to come back," replied Brian.

"I'd wait until later if I were you. If you tell them when they get in they'll both be too excited to sleep. Then you'll be sorry," I said thinking logically in terms of what Deb and Stacie are like. They'd be jumping around for hours.

"Yeah, wait until later," Howie said yawning. "I want to see their reactions and I'm just too tired to stay up and wait."

"OK, I guess you guys are right," Brian agreed. "It would be fun for everyone to see their reactions, and it is very late. I'm getting tired now too."

"Definitely bed time," I said nodding.

"G'night," Kevin mumbled before shuffling off to his

room. He looked like he was going to fall asleep before he reached his room. I guess his energy was drained from lecturing us.

Howie started to walk away, then stopped. "Who left dirty dishes in my kitchen?" Howie asked turning to face us.

Brian gave me a look that said "I told you so!"

"Help!" I thought looking at him pleadingly.

"On the count of three," Brian answered silently.

At the same time we both raised our hands and said, "Guilty!" Howie just shook his head and walked away as Brian and I gave each other a high five. "'Night Lis," Brian said hugging me and tousling my hair.

"'Night Brian." I hugged him back and then went to my room.

************1/2 hour later***********

After half an hour of tossing and turning, I decided I wasn't going to fall asleep anytime soon. I was worried that Stacie and Deb still hadn't come home. Turning on my light, I reached for the novel I usually kept on the night table.

"Darn! I left it downstairs!" I thought to myself. "Oh well, I'll just have to go get it." I walked quietly down the hall so I wouldn't wake anyone, but as I passed Brian's door I realized that his light was still on and I could hear movement from within the room.

I knocked softly on the door. As the door swung open and Brian saw me he asked, "What's the matter Lis?"

"Nothing, I just couldn't sleep."

"Neither could I. You want to come in and talk?"

"OK," I said as he opened the door wider.

Brian put on some music quietly and we sat down on the floor leaning against his bed. Glancing at the clock I saw that it was 3:45am. "I'm starting to get worried. Stacie, Deb, Nick and AJ aren't back yet. It's almost 4:00 in the morning! I hope nothing happened……"

"I wouldn't worry," said Brian trying to console me. "They're with AJ. He comes in at all hours. Usually he wanders in around five or six in the morning when the clubs start closing."

"Are you sure?" I was still skeptical. Especially after what happened to me. I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to my friends.

"Positive," Brian said as he nodded. "They're just out having fun. It's impossible to not have fun when you're with Nick and AJ."

"So it seems. Deb and Stacie seem happier than ever.

I hope everything goes well for all of them."

"Yeah, me too." Brian and I had accepted our friends' relationship and were now happy for them. I convinced myself that my relationship with AJ would only ever be a brother-sister one. I had locked my real emotions out of my heart once again and was successfully keeping them at bay. I could tell from the look in Brian's eyes, however, that he felt more than friendship for Deb.

Our conversation wandered to other topics: basketball, guitar, school, and touring. As it got later our conversations became quieter. Our comments came spaced few and far between. At last we both fell into a deep sleep on the floor.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

<<--  Table of Contents  -->>