Bonus Scene
“There's my girl!” Zeke swept Ariel up in a tight hug and claimed her lips in a sizzling hot kiss. Later, after today's meeting, he was going to make more out of that promised kiss, but they had a big deal first, and she would sure as hell be surprised. Texts, phone calls, and video chats weren't enough, but they had to make do while he and the band worked hard in the studio.
“What exactly are we doing in L.A.?” Ariel asked after he set her down, her cheeks flushed.
“Music and business.” He slid her a grin.
“Oookaaaaaay ... Care to elaborate more?”
“Do you not like surprises?” Zeke teased.
“I'm terrible with them,” she admitted.
“Whaaaaat? How am I supposed to surprise you with stuff if you're terrible with them? This isn't good!”
“Oh stop!” Ariel giggled.
“You look really good.” He pressed another kiss against her lips, eager to have her to himself. “Today, you're going to meet the band.”
“Ooooh, are you serious? What do they know about me? Oh my God, why wouldn't you tell me this early on so I could prepare?” Ariel's eyes widened.
“Gonna be late. I'll explain on the way.” Zeke took her hand and led her out of the airport. Outside, the pick up service awaited her.
“A limo?” She raised a brow.
“I didn't arrange it,” he swore, escorting her inside. “Ever had any fun in the back of a limo with a rock star?”
Ariel laughed. “Me? I think you know the answer to that.”
He cupped her face in his hands. “We're about to change that.”
*****
“Zeke, it is about damn time you brought your girl around for us to meet!”
“You know Zeke. He doesn't share well. Looking at Ariel, I can see why.”
She didn't have much time to prepare for this meeting. Immediately after the limo dropped them off at a resort, the other members of Zinger pounced first thing when they spotted Zeke and Ariel walking in, and she still had no clue what they were all doing here in LA. Curiosity gnawed at her, but she swallowed her nerves and put on a bright smile. Her first impression with the band had to be good, damn it!
The reactions from Zinger's band members left her blushing and nervous. In a private room, away from crowds and onlookers, they'd been surrounded by curious looks. Now came the introductions.
Zeke kept a protective arm around her waist. “Can't blame a guy for wanting his girl all to himself.” He dropped a light kiss against the corner of her lips. “Gang, this is Ariel. Ariel, I want you to meet the band. Gage here is the drummer.” He pointed to the man with the long, dark black hair, the one who'd made a comment about Zeke not sharing. “Our bass guitar player Ryan.” A short, slightly pudgy guy with spiky red hair shot her a thumbs up, “El is our keyboard player. He's also the guy who will most likely try to hit on you today.”
“Hey! I've learned not to steal your girls, Zeke. Anyone else though, and they're fair game.” El grinned, showing off a row of perfectly white teeth.
“And our shiest guy in the band, rhythm guitar player and backup singer Colt. He's the one I could leave you with if I had to let you out of my sight.” Zeke pulled her closer. “So, this is my gang.”
“He won't though. So you're his distraction. Every time we're recording or working on something, this boy sneaks away to text you. I haven't seen Zeke this smitten ... like ever!” El chuckled. “What did you do to him?”
“Uhh...” Ariel fumbled over her words. “Siren's call?”
“Yeah, she's got that all right.” Zeke teased her neck with his fingertips. He sure had no problem with open affection toward her around his band. It helped ease the nerves just a little.
“How'd you end up with Zeke? He's obnoxious and loud, and you're so ... not.” Gage pointed a finger at her.
“If you get tired of him, you have plenty of options, Ariel,” Ryan teased.
“Man, you assholes. If we didn't have this meeting, I'd run outta here with her and never let you see her again.” Zeke laughed.
“Meeting?” Ariel asked.
“Oooh, he didn't tell you what we're doing today?” El raised a brow.
“No. He pulled the surprise act on me. I didn't even know I was coming out here until about twelve hours ago,” Ariel admitted.
“Well damn it, now I'd better say something.” Zeke shot her a grin. “We've been asked to write and perform a song for an upcoming movie.”
“What? Zeke, that's amazing!” Ariel exclaimed. “I'm so happy for you!”
“I umm...” He hesitated. “I want you to write the song with me, babe.”
“Me?” She squeaked.
“Yeah, you. I thought it would be a fun collaboration. We're meeting with the execs today, and I heard the lead actor Kevin Wright is joining him. One of the other big names in the movie, though we aren't meeting her, at least not today, is Belinda Wainscott.”
“Kevin Wright? You're serious? He's going to be here today?” Ariel wanted to faint. “And Belinda Wainscott? Those are some big names right there!”
“I take it you're a fan?”
“Uh, yeah. Kevin's only one of the biggest names in recent years. Belinda, well, she's amazing in everything she does!”
“Ooooh Zeke, you got competition, boy.” El snickered.
“Don't let her near Kevin,” Ryan added.
“You guys are relentless!” Ariel shook her head with a laugh.
“You'll get used to us eventually.” Gage shot her a grin. “You'll be cracking jokes and tossing back one liners along with the rest of us in no time.”
She faced Zeke again. “About that song...”
“One more thing.” He held up a finger. “Sing harmony on it with me. They're looking for a good song with a strong female voice, too. I think that could be us.”
“Zeke, I-” She reeled back. “You should ask someone who's got this down pat. Not me.”
“The guy heard us on Sing It!, babe, on duet night,” Zeke said softly. “When they contacted our team, they mentioned it. They want the band to write and perform a song, but they wanted the strong presence of a female singer.”
“They ... they want me?”
Zeke turned to his band mates. “Give us a few, guys?” he asked quietly.
“Yeah, sure.” Goofing off and swapping jabs at each other, the others left the room, filing into the other suite.
“This is why I don't do well with surprises.” Ariel clutched her chest. “Like, seriously. This is insane, Zeke. Why would they want me?”
He stepped close and rested his hands on her shoulders. “Breathe. There we go. That's my girl. I shouldn't have laid this on you the way I did, but I didn't know you hated surprises this much. This isn't me suggesting you go for a music career. This is me asking you to work on a project with me because you caught the eye of some big names while you were on the show. It happens often. They loved our chemistry and sound, and the music exec for this movie says we are perfect for the song idea they want.”
She took all of this in. Whoa. Holy crap.
“And hey, it gives us a chance to spend more time together. Not as much distance.” There went his sexy as hell grin.
“My job though. I can't just quit, write and perform a song with you, and go back to it.” Ariel knew she sounded like a kid, but she couldn't help it.
“We've got time. They're barely going to start shooting, then there's post production. We will come to you if need be. You won't have to disrupt much of your normal routine. I promise.” Zeke took her hands in his. “Another perk: you'll get paid big for this, especially if they release the song as a single.”
She let out a sigh before speaking. “Next time, prepare me for this. Don't bombard me with the news and meeting your band members at the same time. Please?”
“You got it. Is that a yes?” Zeke's lips curved upward.
“It's an 'I'll listen in on this meeting and see what it entails', but fine, maybe ... okay, you've got me. I'll probably do it.” Her heart raced at the idea of this. “But I'm a novice at songwriting and performing compared to the rest of you.”
“No comparing.” He kissed her. “Everyone has to start somewhere. Thank you, Ariel. I don't think you'll regret this, and it'll be fun!”
She sure as hell hoped so. It made her more nervous than anything to work in the big leages with names like Zinger, Kevin Wright, and Belinda Wainscott.
*****
“I'm really excited you all are meeting with me today,” Kevin Wright stood in front of the room, making sure to make solid eye contact with everyone. “I'm here with Lane, our music director today, because I want to be as involved with this movie as I can.” Kevin gestured at a blonde woman, who slowly approached him. “See, this is a script I co-wrote with my girlfriend, Sasha. We were goofing off one day, and it turned into an idea neither of us can ignore. It's neat to be on this side of things, and I can't wait to get this project started. I've never had such a vision, and I'm lucky the director we have is letting me work so closely on this. I mean, it's down to where I know where I want the songs to play in the scenes and what type.” Kevin rubbed his hands together.
“I know exactly how that is,” Zeke said. “It's how I feel about the songs we do and the videos we make for them.”
“A guy after my own heart.” Kevin shot him a thumbs up. “There's this pivotal scene in the movie where things change for the couple. The song I'm imagining would fit right along with the scene, sung in by a male and a female. It needs to show distress, but end up with a solution. I've got the scene here on paper, and I'll give it to you. Look it over, and get back to me within a week or so if you're interested in writing and performing it for this movie. If you are, I hope you'll let me be a part of the process as much as possible.”
Zeke skimmed over the scene to get the basics, then handed it to Ariel. Her eyes widened when she finished reading, then passed it along to El.
“I want this song to make an impact. Between the events of the movie and the music, I want it to hit people in the feels, right where it counts. This is a different type of movie for me. Usually it's action or comedy, but this one, this has a gut wrenching, you won't know what hit you type of reaction. It's very new to me.”
“I think we'd be crazy to say no,” Gage said to Zeke.
“I agree.” He nodded, touching Ariel's hand. “You in?”
Her eyes were full of wonder when she glanced up at him. “I'm in.”
“Are we all on board?” Zeke asked his band.
“Dude, this is epic. We aren't passing it up,” Ryan said, looking through the script. “One hell of an opportunity.”
“This is exactly what I like to hear. Thank you for taking a chance on this with me. I'm meeting with a few other songwriters and artists today, otherwise I'd love to stay longer, but I do want to say I'm a big fan. It was a shot in the dark asking some of my favorite performers to do this, but so far, we're getting the ones we want.” Kevin shook hands with Zeke, then Ariel, and the rest of Zinger. “We'll be in touch. I can't wait to hear what you come up with!”
After Kevin, Sasha, and the music director left, Zeke faced everyone. “Did that really just happen?”
“Hell yeah it did! We're getting a song in a movie!” El jumped up and down like a hyper kid.
“And we were picked specifically for a major song. Crazy wild!” Ryan slapped a high five with Gage.
“See what happens when you're in with the band?” Zeke teased Ariel, who still seemed to be in shock. “Hey guys, let's meet up later. I'm going to spend some quality time with my girl without your prying eyes around.”
“Ooooh, he doesn't want us to watch. Booo. Thought we were best buddies,” Gage teased.
Ariel's cheeks reddened and she gasped. “What?”
“Get the hell out of here!” Zeke pointed, stifling a laugh. “Quit scaring her away!” Once alone, Zeke kissed the nape of her neck. “Ignore them. They're fairly harmless. It means they like you.”
She giggled and wrapped an arm around his neck. “I like them too, even if they do say things that shock me.”
“This is only the beginning, babe,” he warned.
“I'm ready,” Ariel whispered, her eyes full of warmth and amusement. “This is going to be amazing.”
“I already knew that.” Taking her hand, Zeke put his hat back on and led her out of the conference room. “Let's go celebrate our new venture alone, before we don't get a chance to. The next few months are going to be one hell of a wild ride.”