The drums pound out the last few beats of the song and I grin as I look at my band mates. “Yeah! I think we finally nailed it!”
Sam, the drummer taps the high-hat with his drumstick. “Finally! It only took us fifteen tries. You have to stop being such a fucking perfectionist, Noel, or we’ll never have enough of our own songs to make a demo. We can’t keep spending more than a month on one song.”
“We need to have our shit together because after graduation next year we need to get on the road and find paying gigs like we talked about,” I answer and then run my fingers down the thread of the guitar.
“We need to play more covers,” Leon says, scratching the back of his shaggy head. “That’s what people want to hear.”
I stare at the two other guys in the band dumfounded. Sam pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose and glances toward Leon as they wait on me to say something. Don’t they see that originality is everything in the music business? Labels want bands that are different. We have to stand out and be the best.
I shake my head and smooth my dark hair back into my ponytail. “We’re going to practice our own shit until our fingers bleed. We have to be on point if we want a record deal. Don’t you guys want that?”
Leon shrugs and sets his bass in its case. “We do, but we aren’t obsessed with it the way you are.”
I open my mouth to protest, but Sam cuts me off. “Leon and I have been talking.”
I narrow my eyes. “About what?”
Sam shoves his fingers through his bright-red hair. “We aren’t going with you after graduation.”
I shake my head. Unbelievable. These two jackasses are supposed to be my best friends—the guys who have the same goal as me. “We’ve talked about this!” I throw my head back and growl. “What the fuck, guys? I thought we were taking Thunder Dome on the road as soon as school’s over?”
Leon sighs and his scrawny shoulders slump a bit. “I’m a senior, dude. My mom had me fill out some college applications, and I got into a few, some offered scholarships. I’m heading to Kentucky University next fall on nearly a full ride. I can’t pass that up.”
“Who gives a shit about college, man? We have a great thing going here with this band. We could really be something one day. Don’t you want that?” I argue. Why would anyone pass on the opportunity to become a rock star? Choosing college over that is so fucking lame.
“I know you don’t like it, Noel, but I’m applying to colleges as well. Music will always be there. You should think about going too, and maybe try once we get done with school.” I study the freckles on Sam’s face as he speaks and try not to completely lose my shit.
College will never be an option for me. Never. It takes me five times longer to read something than the rest of the kids in my L.D. class. Having Dyslexia hasn’t been a fucking picnic in high school. Things get so jumbled in my brain and I know there’s no way in hell I could make it through college courses.
I’m so glad Lane and I are on the same page about this.
“Whatever. You guys do whatever you have to do. I’m going on the road as planned as soon as we graduate next year. Lane will travel with me while I play solo shows until I find a band to hook up with.” Both guys look at each other with an expression on their face that almost looks like pity and it makes my blood boil. “You know what, fuck you guys!”
“Noel …” Sam tries to stop me as I unplug my guitar and flip it around to rest against my back. “Don’t be like that, man. We’re just trying to be honest with you. Do you know what the odds are of us actually making it in the music industry? Slim to none. I’m just trying to be realistic. We need to go to college. It’s the sensible thing to do.”
I throw my hands on my hips. ““You know what’s sensible? Following your dream when you have the talent and the drive. I know I’m going to make it. It’s okay if you guys don’t believe in me. Lane does, and she’s the only person I need.”
I turn to walk out of Sam’s garage just as Leon says, “You don’t know Lanie as well as you think. Seems to me like you two have different ideas about the future.”
I whirl around. “What’s that supposed to mean? I know my girlfriend—better than she knows herself.”
Leon shrugs indifferently. “Maybe you do, but that doesn’t explain why she was in the guidance counselor’s office getting college applications today. Why do that if she isn’t planning on going?”
I shake my head and storm out the door. “Whatever.”
I rub the back of my neck as I walk towards my black Chevelle and pull the strap from around my neck and lay the guitar along the backseat. Surely Lane would tell me if she had doubts about the plan we’ve had in place since we became official our freshman year? She wouldn’t just leave me hanging. We’re forever, and there’s no way I can spend years without her on the road.
I slam the door once I’m inside and fire up the engine. It roars to life and the only thing on my mind is finding out if Leon’s claim has legs.
A few minutes later I park in Lane’s driveway. This place has been like a second home to me since I was a little kid. I love her parents as if they are my own—another reason why we are perfect for each other.
The white Cape Cod with a red roof, shutters and door fits perfectly into the scenery next to Cedar Creek lake. It looks happy, like Lane. I love living on the water, and someday when I’m a famous rock star I’m going to buy a place on a lake for Lane and I to live in and start a family. She’ll love that.
I knock on the door and step back as Lane’s dad opens the door. He grins the moment he sees me. “Hi, Noel. How are you, son?”
I shove my hands in the pockets of my jeans. “I’m fine, Jim. Is Lane here?”
Jim scratches his dark bearded jaw-line and nods. “She’s down at the dock, fishing, I think. You’re welcome to grab a pole from the garage if you like.”
“Thanks. I think I’ll do that.”
Jim steps out of the house, closing the door behind him, and pulls a set of keys from his pocket. “Let me unlock the man-door for you.”
I follow Jim inside the garage. It’s funny—as a kid I thought he was a huge man, but now at seventeen my height nearly matches his six-foot frame. Time really does change everything.
He hands me a black rod. “She should have bait down there.”
After I thank Lane’s dad, I make my way down the hill to the dock. There’s always a certain level of comfort that falls over me when I come out here. Most of the major events in my life have taken place on this very dock—bonding with Lane, telling her I loved her, and even our first time together has all happened out here. This is most definitely our spot.
I lay my pole down and sneak down to where Lane sits on the edge, dangling her feet over the end. I place my hands over her eyes. “Guess who?”
She grins. “Um, Ryan Reynolds?”
I laugh and kiss her cheek. “Fuck Ryan Reynolds. You’ve got Noel Falcon, and I’m much better.
“I don’t know …” she trails off in a singsong voice.
“That’s it,” I growl and tackle her down to the dock and straddle her.
Lane squeals as I tickle her ribs and kiss her neck. “Stop! You’re going to make me pee.”
I laugh. “Never. Not until you tell me I’m the best.”
She tries to catch her breath. “A little conceited, aren’t we?”
“Only when it comes to you. I know I’m the best man for you.”
She adjusts her back against the wood and I smooth her hair back from her face. “You’ll get no argument from me.”
I grin and lean in and kiss her lips. “That’s good to know.”
As much as I want to take this to the next level I know I can’t. Her parents could be watching us out of their back window and that would be awkward for all of us. I pull back and push myself up so I can sit next to her.
After helping her back up to a sitting position, I grab my pole and begin to poke around in the tackle box for some plastic bait.
“How was band practice?” Lane asks.
I stiffen a bit, that this conversation will probably lead to an argument, and I hate when we fight. “Not good. The guys are both punking out on going on the road after graduation. Looks like it’ll just be me and you.” I cast my line into the water and I notice Lane fidget a bit. The best thing to do is get things out in the open. “Leon has this crazy idea that you don’t want to go either. He’s not right, is he?”
She doesn’t look at me as she cranks her reel. “I want to go with you. You know that. But, I think maybe going to college first is a pretty good idea.”
I roll my eyes. “Not you too. Come on, Lane. We’ve talked about this a million times. Don’t you want freedom? The chance to go on the open road together before we have to face all that grown-up shit that people always bitch about.”
Lane sighs. “It’s not that easy, Noel.”
“Yes it is, Lane. Do you want to be with me or not?”
Her head snaps in my direction. “Of course I do. Why would you even say something like that?”
“Because if you want to be with me, then we have to be together.”
“Then why don’t you enroll in a college with me.”
I shake my head. “You of all people know I can’t do that.”
“I’ll help you.” She places her hand on my thigh. “We can get through school together just like we do everything else.”
“Not college. I’m not cut out for it and I can’t go. Not even for you.” The words leave my mouth and I instantly regret them.
Lane’s face twists. “You’re an asshole.”
She shoves herself up from the dock and takes off, sprinting towards her house.
“Fuck,” I curse myself as I break into a full run to chase her down. She makes it halfway up the hill before I grab her from behind and spin her around in my arms. Her breath is ragged and her olive skin flushes. “I’m an idiot. I’m sorry. You know I didn’t mean it the way it sounded.”
A tear streams down her cheek. “I don’t get you, Noel. Is music so important to you that’d you’d throw everything we have a way to get it?”
I shake my head, but I know it would be a difficult choice. “No. You’re all that matters to me.”
“Then show me,” she whispers.
I wipe away her tears with my thumbs before I press my lips to hers. “I will.”