Rhythm and the Blue Line Ch. 06

She shook her head; however casual they'd meant to keep things, she wasn't sure she could for too much longer. Lara would have a good laugh over that, Ryan thought, along with a ringing "I told you so."

At last, it was in the oven, and Ryan huffed out a breath as she leaned against the counter and surveyed the mess. "I hope this is worth it," she said. "It's a lot less work to buy it frozen."

"This is better for you. And now comes the fun part." He wiggled his eyebrows.

"Oh, really?" Ryan turned towards him, one hand on the counter, the other on her hip. "And what's that?"

"Well, now that we've made a mess, and we're all sweaty . . . ."

"Yes?" Ryan bit back a laugh as he stepped closer.

"We're going to need a few things."

"Such as?"

"Some water . . . some soap . . . ." His body brushed up against hers.

Ryan laughed and slid her arms around his waist. "Sounds good so far."

"You think?" He lowered his head and nipped at her earlobe; she jumped.

"Yes, I think so."

He kissed her once, hard, then stepped away. "So, you want to wash or dry?" He held up a dishtowel.

x-x-x-x

Ryan's phone beeped as she and Brody walked to the club. She checked the screen and touched the icon to see Evan's text message. I had to promise to come to dinner with Mom and Dad next week. You owe me.

"Smart ass." Ryan shook her head with a smile and put her phone back in her pocket.

"Who is?" Brody asked.

"Evan. Oh, hey, I guess we're officially official, since you'll be meeting a family member."

He opened the door for her. "Yeah, but it's only your brother. You're starting me off easy."

Ryan laughed. "You'll thank me for it."

She took his hand as she wove her way through the crowd, saying hi to some familiar faces from other bands and other clubs. Nate, Lara and Mitch were clustered at one side of the bar, along with Lara's cousin, Ephraim.

"Hey, guys. Hi, Ephraim. Long time, no see." Ryan gave him a hug. "How was Corsica?"

"So cool, so very cool." He grinned. "I wish I was there now."

"Oh, stop rubbing it in." Lara smacked his shoulder.

"Hey. I am here to help you guys out, you know. That ought to get me a few less smacks."

Ryan grinned. Ephraim had agreed to help out and handle their merchandise at the show while he was in town, since Allison wasn't going to do it.

"Ephraim, this is Brody Lang. Brody, this is Lara's cousin, Ephraim."

The two men shook hands and exchanged greetings. Ephraim told them more about Corsica, making Ryan long for sun, warm sand, and palm trees. A few people stopped by, members of other bands and friends of friends, and all of them curious for the scoop on what had happened with Jason. Annette turned up again as well and hung around while waiting for her set to start.

Brody turned to Ryan. "I'm gathering no one thought much of Jason."

"Guess not. We'll just chalk it up to a lesson learned and move on."

"Annette! Annette!" A woman with platinum blond hair came up to the group. She waved at everyone and tugged on Annette's arm. "Come on, time to go."

"Gotcha, Cecily." Annette turned to the others. "Good luck everybody! Later!" She and Cecily disappeared into the crowd towards the backstage area.

"Those were some outfits," Brody commented. Annette had switched her cut offs for a bright green miniskirt, and Cecily's hair was outshone only by her metallic silver blouse.

Ryan laughed. "Those were pretty tame compared to some others I've seen them in."

"So . . . ." Brody studied her.

"What?"

"Do you ever wear outfits like that?" His expression was somewhere between teasing and hopeful.

Ryan smiled. "Guess you'll just have to stick around and find out."

x-x-x-x

When Trouser Minnows began playing, Brody was standing with Ryan in front of him, close enough that he kept one hand on her waist. He wasn't quite sure what to make of the Minnows, although he gave them points for enthusiasm. Ryan would lean back every so often to point out people she knew in other bands, or tell him the name of the songs, and he'd take advantage to pull her a little closer. When she looked down at his hand, then up at him with a grin, he knew she'd caught on.

When the set was over, Brody saw Mark, Bax and Hilary on the other side of the room. He pointed them out to Ryan as he waved them over.

"Hey, Ryan!" Hilary grinned and then gave her a hug. "I am really psyched about this! You guys will be great."

"Thanks, Hilary." Ryan smiled. "I'm really glad you could make it."

"There'll be more," Mark said with a grin. "Lena and Obie will be here, and Tolya and Sara, and Bax is here, too. Mina and Drew will come but she had to work a dinner shift and so they said they'd come later."

"Excellent." Brody beamed. "Hey, everybody, come meet the others." He took Ryan's hand in his as they introduced everyone. Bax came over a moment later and took his turn.

"So, you're Brody's musician," he said as he shook Ryan's hand.

She gave Brody a questioning look. He put his hands up in surrender.

"Hey, Bax said it, not me."

Ryan smiled and shrugged. "Well, I guess if I'm his musician, he's my hockey player."

Bax laughed. "I like that."

They talked for a while, greeting Lena and Obie when they showed up, and then the lights went down and No More Trees took the stage. Brody cracked up at the lead singer's t-shirt, which was burgundy with gold lettering that read "Save the Redskins—Fire the Owner."

They finished to a round of raucous cheers and left the stage. Ryan turned to Brody and gave him a nervous smile; he smiled. It was the first sign of apprehension she'd shown all night. He was about to say something when a man's voice called her name.

"Hey, Ryan! Ryan!"

Her face lit up and for a moment, Brody felt an unexpected flash of jealousy.

Then she turned and grinned. "Evan!" She laughed as her brother gave her a hug, and Brody chastised himself for the feeling of relief that swept over him.

"Evan, Amira, this is Brody Lang. Brody, this is my little brother and his girlfriend." Ryan made the introductions.

"Little is relative, I see." Brody and Evan shook hands and Ryan groaned at the pun. "Nice to meet you, Evan. And you, Amira." He hadn't seen her at first; Evan was close to six-foot-five, Brody guessed, and she'd been standing behind him.

"Hi, Amira," Ryan said. "It's good to see you again. I'm so glad you could make it."

"I wouldn't miss it." Amira smiled. "I've been looking forward to it since we saw you at Maryland."

"Great. Oh, and by the way." Ryan turned to Evan and poked him in the shoulder. "Sending me a link to a song about a 'disposable pop star' is not funny."

Evan widened his eyes. "It was that one? I mean, I just saw it was an SR-71 song and sent the link."

"You knew damn well what you were doing, you brat. Do that again," Ryan warned her brother, "and I'll show Amira the pictures from your thirteenth birthday party." When Evan scowled, Ryan smiled in satisfaction and Brody coughed to hide a laugh.

He got a kick out of watching them teasing each other, so much like what he remembered from home. Neither Carla nor Eileen had taken any crap from their brothers, and it looked like Ryan didn't either.

"Hey, Ryan. Looks like it's our turn." Lara came over and grinned. "Come on, let's rock this town."

"Rock it inside out," Ryan replied with a smile, then turned to Brody. "Guess that's my cue."

He smiled, tugged on a lock of her hair and leaned down for a quick kiss. "Go get 'em, rock star." He watched her go and turned to Evan. "So, you come to all her shows?"

Evan nodded. "Not all, but I come when I can. It's a little easier now that I'm at college and on my own schedule."

"I heard your parents aren't real crazy over her and the music," Brody said. He was curious to find out more about that particular issue.

"To put it mildly." Evan rolled his eyes. "It's stupid."

"It is," Amira said. "They were great at Maryland the other week. How'd you even get away from that party tonight?"

"I told them I was meeting some guys from the team. And who knows, there might even be some here." Evan shrugged. "It was easiest."

Amira shook her head and pushed her dark hair behind her ears. "You know that's crazy, right?"

Evan looked uncomfortable and scuffed his foot on the floor. "I know, but trust me, it was the best way."

Brody felt bad for Evan; it wasn't easy to lie to your parents. Not that he hadn't gone with the odd misleading sentence himself as a teenager, but even then, he'd known his parents weren't that dumb. Evan was probably torn, Brody thought, wanting to support Ryan and knowing his parents didn't approve. He was glad he'd never been put in that position.

"What do you think of it?" Brody asked. "I mean, about the band and all?"

Evan grinned. "I think it's fantastic. I told Ryan, I'm jealous. I wish I could do what I want without worrying what other people think."

x-x-x-x

Ryan and the others were quiet as they worked with Trout to set everything up. They didn't need to say anything—they'd done this so many times it was automatic—and Ryan had found she liked the time to try to clear her mind, or at least let her thoughts settle.

Tonight she wasn't having any luck with that, and so she stopped trying to force it. Instead she turned her attention to getting ready and going over the set in her mind. She frowned as thoughts of Brody kept breaking through; she wasn't used to anything taking her mind off a performance.

"You okay, Ryan?" Lara asked. She waved at Trout as he headed out to take care of the sound.

"Hmmm? Yeah, I'm fine." Ryan slung her guitar on and adjusted it. "Just a little distracted, I guess. Nervous."

"About the show? Or someone else?"

Ryan began to protest, but didn't; Lara knew her too well and she was right. "It's weird," she told her friend. "I'm really glad Brody's here, but it's a little unsettling or something. I don't know. Okay, doesn't matter." Ryan grinned and tossed her hair back. "We've got other things to think about."

"Come on, people. No time for drama." Mitch grinned and they all laughed.

"Speaking of which, did anyone see Allison or Jason out there?" Lara asked.

"Yeah, they're out there." Nate huffed out a breath. "She made sure I saw her when she came in. Good God, how can I be related to her?"

"Maybe there was a hospital mix-up and they brought the wrong baby home," Ryan suggested.

Nate laughed. "I should be so lucky."

"Well, I'd say we have some incentive." Mitch twirled his sticks. "You guys ready?"

"Just about." Ryan made sure her guitar was plugged in, and the amp, and tested her effects pedals. Trout had already made his way back to the sound board.

Ryan looked down as her stomach took a tumble as she heard the crowd milling around. She'd just been with them a few minutes ago, but it hardly felt like that now. At last they were set, and she looked at her friends. "Ready?" When they nodded, she let out a slow breath. "Well, then, let's do this."

They went to their spots on stage and the lights went down.

Mitch sat behind his drums, counted them in and Ryan hit the first chord of "My Last Mistake," one of their new songs. It had gone over so well at the college shows they'd decided to change up and open with it. Her nervousness disappeared as the lights came up.

x-x-x-x

"They're good, Langer," Bax shouted over the crowd. "Really good."

Brody nodded and watched his musician up on stage. She looked fantastic and the band sounded great. He wondered once more if she knew how happy she looked when she was performing. The first song ended and Lara thanked the crowd before they moved on to the next one.

Ryan moved over to the keyboards, keeping her guitar on but sliding it around to her back, and Nate switched his bass for a guitar. A moment later Ryan started playing, a fast little riff that Nate picked up, and then Lara began singing. The crowd cheered in approval and Brody saw more than a few people sing along.

When the song was finished, Mark leaned over to him. "Hey, man. That whole guitarist thing Ryan was worried about?" Brody nodded and Mark continued, "Tell her not to worry about it."

"I know. They sound terrific, don't they?" Brody half-shouted back.

"Better than the GW show," Hilary chimed in.

"What do you think, Evan?" Brody asked.

"Absolutely," Evan called back, and grinned. "Ryan always worries about stuff and then she figures out how to fix it, and it's usually better."

Brody had to agree. Ryan had explained, for example, that on a song like they'd just finished, where she took the keyboards and Nate played guitar, she would supply the missing bass line with the keyboards. She'd made it sound like no big deal, but to him it was impressive. It would be great, he thought, to tell her how all her changes had paid off.

They slowed things down a bit and dedicated "On the Far Road" to Mitch's sister and her unit and Ryan stayed at her keyboard. Then they sped up again with the next number and she went back to her guitar.

As far as he could tell, everything seemed to be going smoothly up on stage. He watched as Nate put a hand on her shoulder and leaned in to say something. Ryan nodded and patted Nate's arm, then went over to her laptop and tapped some keys. With a satisfied look, she brought her guitar back around front and nodded when Nate looked over at her. Brody wondered that was all about.

Whatever it was, it worked, and they went into the next song with no problems he could detect. He recognized the current number as "Skyline," and then they segued into the next song without a break, and the crowd cheered and whistled, Brody included.

Between verses, Lara said something to Ryan and the latter smiled and laughed, and Brody was struck once again at how perfectly at home she looked up on the stage. His sister, Carla, had once told him that he looked something like that himself when he was on the ice.

"You skate better than you walk," Carla had said. "You know what you're doing out there, and when you know what you're doing, you're happy."

And that was it, he thought, as he had when he'd first seen them at GWU. Ryan was happy up there, doing what she knew how to do.

There was a short break as Ryan the others downed some water and prepped for the next song. When it started, it took Brody a minute to recognize a guitar-heavy version of Modern English's "Melt with You," and then he laughed and clapped along with everyone else.

Three songs later, the set ended, they took a bow, and then walked off the stage.

Evan let out a whistle that had Brody covering his ears, and the crowd continued with the applause.

A couple of minutes later, the band took the stage again. They covered of Bad Company's "Rock & Roll Fantasy," and followed it with another original song. Evan leaned over to tell him it was one of the first songs Lara and Ryan ever written. When that was finished, they once again waved and left the stage, and once again the crowd cheered until they came back.

There was one more song, then it was over and the lights came up.

Brody talked with his teammates as the band packed their instruments away, glancing at Ryan from time to time, anxious to talk to her. He held back as he saw her working and talking to Annette, Manny, and others from the first two bands. There'd be plenty of time to talk later, he thought. She looked so enthusiastic, and in her element, and he said as much to Evan.

Evan nodded. "Oh, yeah. I mean, even I can see it's what she should do." He laughed. "I've met her after work a few times, and it's always a little odd to see her in an office. She looks so much more comfortable up there."

"You probably look like that on the court," Brody said with a grin.

Evan shrugged. "Maybe. Sometimes."

"Hey, Brody, we have to go."

Brody turned to find Mark and Hilary, and Drew and Mina right behind them.

"It was fantastic," said Hilary, and Mina echoed her. "Tell her we said hi and sorry we couldn't stay, but I'm going to be falling asleep at work as it is."

Brody laughed. "No problem. I'm glad you guys could make it." Then began a series of good byes to his teammates, leaving him with Evan, Amira, and Annette from Trouser Minnows.

Annette's eyes were bright. "That was amazing, wasn't it? That's the best I've ever seen them. If they don't get on that tour, that A&R guy is in the wrong business."

"Your mouth to God's ear," Lara said with a grin as she walked over.

Annette laughed and leaned in for a hug. "Where's your fearless leader?"

"On her way." Lara jerked a thumb back to the stage. "Manny's over there."

"Uh oh." Annette tsked. "Is he in the cuddly drunk stage?"

Lara nodded. "Oh, yeah. He tried to hug Mitch, even."

Annette burst out laughing. "Sorry to miss that."

"Lara, you were great," Brody told her when Annette turned to talk to someone else. "You all were."

"Thanks, Brody. And thanks for bringing us a cheering section."

"You didn't need me, but happy to help." He shook hands with Nate and Mitch as they came over, and chuckled as Ryan made a beeline for them, leaving Manny looking befuddled.

"Ryan! You were great!" Evan pulled her into a quick hug.

Amira did likewise. "You were wonderful!"

"Everyone knew it," Evan said, and then grinned. "Allison and Jason left after the second song, I saw them. Even they knew you had it in the bag."

Ryan laughed. "Thanks, guys. I'm so glad you came. It means a lot." She turned to Brody. "You, too." She stepped over and hugged him, and held on tight.

He squeezed her against him and kissed her cheek. "You were incredible."

She held on for another moment then let go, although she stayed next to him. "Thanks."

"So, now what?" Brody asked.

"Beer." Ryan took a deep breath. "I need a beer."

"I got it, Ryan," Nate said. "Bar was my first stop." He handed her a bottle, then held two more out for Lara and Mitch.

"Where's mine?" Evan asked, earning him a withering stare from Amira and an elbow to the ribs from his sister, which only made him laugh.

"I've never seen you drink a beer." Brody looked down at Ryan. "I don't think I've seen you drink anything besides sake."

She shrugged. "I don't too often, but I deserve one now."

"Good show, guys," Mitch said, and they all clinked bottles. He took a long swallow, then rubbed the cold bottle on his forehead. "Damn, it was hot up there."

They talked a while more, with people drifting in and out of the group, until Ryan covered a yawn and looked up at Brody. "So, can I get a ride home? Or are you going to go on a bar crawl or something?"

He laughed. "I think I'm past my bar crawl days."

With that, they began taking their gear and instruments out to their respective cars, and it was after two a.m. when Brody drove out of the parking lot. Ryan leaned her head back and closed her eyes as he navigated the quiet city streets.

"You guys were terrific," he told her, and reached over to take her hand.

"Thanks." Her eyes stayed closed but she squeezed his hand. "I really am glad you were there. I don't usually have anyone there for me, you know? Well, Evan sometimes, but it's not quite the same."

"I have to say, I don't think I've ever been at anything like that before. I mean, watched someone perform when I knew them. It puts a different spin on it."

Ryan gave a quiet chuckle. "Now you know a little how Hilary and all the other girls must feel, watching you guys play hockey."

"What do you mean?"

She turned and opened her eyes. "Well, you know, they worry. They watch you guys down there and worry when you get hit, and feel bad if you don't score, but there's nothing they can do but watch."

"Well, at least I don't have to worry about you getting hurt," he teased.

Ryan laughed and closed her eyes again. "No, I managed not to trip over any patch cords tonight."