By My Side, Always

That sent a ripple of excitement through them.

"Let's get into formation. It's time to move!" She flashed her brightest grin at them and felt their excitement levels rise again.

Emma started the class with Gary and Selina's song as it was slow and soulful. She took them through their stretches slow and deep and saw smiles on every face. She gave a few encouraging words as the song reached its end and the pace increased.

She gradually increased the energy until they were all moving hard and fast in sync. Emma poured her power into them, and they ate it up and asked for more.

Forty-five minutes later, she brought the session to a close with Selina's new song again and eased everyone into a calm state.

"Thank you for your energy. You were awesome!"

The group cheered for her, and she gave them all a huge smile and bowed.

As the class broke up, one of the clients approached her with a wide grin on her face. "You added more than a little energy to our session! That was wonderful! You managed the class so well!"

Emma beamed a grateful smile. "Thank you!"

"I hope Dennis gives you as good a contract as Yvonne negotiated with my help. I'm Nancy Delaney. I'm a partner at Kirkman, Douglas, and Delaney. I specialize in contracts. If this temporary replacement looks like it might become permanent, give me a call."

Emma was surprised when the woman handed her a business card. It was waterproof!

Nancy smiled. "Protected to maintain its integrity, like me." Emma giggled and nodded to her.

The lawyer's friends began calling her, so she smiled once more at Emma and left with a wave over her shoulder.

Emma gathered her stuff and put it into the small duffel she carried into these sessions. The business card went into the side pocket.

When she left the studio after the crowd, she met Dennis, and he was pumped with excitement!

"I knew you had it in you! I was watching, and you did an amazing job in there! I received glowing reviews of your performance from the clients as they left. They said that your vitality made a huge difference, and they enjoyed the session more than Yvonne's. They want me to keep you!

Emma's grin couldn't get any wider, and he picked her up and spun her around. Her face was bright red as he set her on her feet, and she struggled to contain her giggles. Tingles raced up and down her spine as she waved and headed to the showers.

Her first outfit went into her laundry bag in her locker. She took a quick shower, but her mind repeatedly flashed back to the memory of Dennis' big muscles against her. Finally, with a growl of frustration, she got out, dried off, and pushed the thoughts from her head as they confused her. She pulled on her second set of workout clothes and checked to ensure she had her third set in her bag. She spotted the business card but smiled and shook her head. This was only an interim replacement. Once Yvonne was better, she'd take her classes back.

When she began to do her rounds on the floor, she became aware of more clients smiling at her, and Emma recognized some from the session she'd just done. They complimented her in front of the other clients. Word of mouth was getting around.

Dennis was also on the floor, and he was grinning and doing high fives with her each time they passed. He was acting like a kid, and that made her laugh.

When it was time for her second session, she greeted the group and noticed how excited they seemed. They must have heard good things about her earlier class.

She felt their positive mood filling her with power, and she was ready to feed it right back.

"Let's begin!"

Chapter 4

"That was delicious! Thank you so much for the meal and the wine!" Gary said with a grin to his host.

"I won't tell anyone if you don't," Selina added with a grin of her own.

He'd nursed one glass through the dinner to be social. It was nice, but he preferred water and sipped at that too.

Jasmine had two glasses but showed no ill effect from it at all. She was just as effervescent as she typically was.

Selina and Greg were excellent hosts, and they'd kept the conversation away from anything business-related during the meal. They'd talked about travel, family, living in the city and listened attentively when Gary or Jasmine spoke. Of the two of them, Jasmine was definitely the talker.

As they were enjoying a light dessert, Selina looked at Gary with a twinkle in her eye. "I truly enjoyed our session at Rocky's. Doing the new version of My Soul, Your Sanctuary was inspiring and generated a lot of interest. I've been thinking of releasing an album of my other most popular tracks with the same style. What do you think?"

Gary looked at her in surprise. "You're asking me?"

Selina grinned. "Yes! What you did for My Soul, Your Sanctuary was beautiful. I'm hoping you might lend your talent to update ten to twelve of my favorites."

He thought about that and nodded. "It's possible, but wouldn't it be better to include one or two new tracks to increase the demand?"

Greg grinned. "Now you're thinking like a businessman! Are you sure you haven't worked in the biz before?"

Gary chuckled but shook his head. "I'm a complete newb."

Greg looked over at Selina, who was deep in thought. "What do you think, babe? Any platinum singles rolling around in that pretty head of yours?"

"I have some lyrics I wrote last year that I just can't find the right sound for," she said quietly and looked at Gary.

He stared back at her until a smile suddenly appeared on Selina's face, and she ran upstairs to the second floor. She came rushing back with her journal.

"This one is my favorite," she said and read the words to them as they listened intently.

Greg hopped to his feet, went into the next room, and returned with a portable keyboard and stand. He plugged it in next to his chair. "This is what it made me think of," Greg said as he played a few bars until Selina shook her head.

She looked to Gary. "What do you think?"

He looked back at her awkwardly. "If I'd known we'd be doing this, I'd have brought along my guitar."

"You have something, though, don't you," Selina asked eagerly. Greg rushed from the room once more.

Gary nodded cautiously. "But first, how do you feel it should sound."

Selina smiled. "For me, it feels more like a sweet but sad ballad because it's about lost love."

Gary smiled and nodded as that was more in tune with what he was thinking. Greg's version had been a little too mournful.

Greg returned with an apologetic look on his face. "We don't have any functional acoustic guitars. I do have this really sweet electric. Can you play one of these?"

"I've played one once, and that went well," Gary admitted.

Greg smiled and handed him the guitar. As Gary adjusted the strap and familiarized himself with the instrument, Greg returned with a practice amp and plugged it in. He connected the guitar to the amp, turned the guitar's volume dial to max, then turned the amp on and turned up its volume before nodding to Gary.

Plucking a string, Gary was surprised by the sudden volume. "Isn't that too loud for your neighbors?"

Selina grinned. "We had the place soundproofed before we moved in. The noise that does get through isn't much, and most of our neighbors are seniors with poor hearing."

Gary nodded and practiced a little on his favorite flamenco piece, getting the instrument's feel. "The sound is a little bright. Can we make it warmer?"

Greg was grinning at Selina as he was impressed so far. He nodded quickly to Gary. "Sure!" He adjusted the amp, and the new tone immediately brought a smile to Gary's face.

"Yeah, that's much better. Thanks!" he said as he nodded to the man. He looked at Selina. "This is what your lyrics brought to my mind."

He started off soft, with an almost hopeful intro, drawing his audience closer. He allowed the notes to become gently melancholy but still tinged with hope. When he reached the chorus, the tone changed again as his heart ached, recalling Selina's lyrics revealing the loss.

"YES!"

Gary jolted out of his music at Selina's exclamation. He looked at her in concern, but she was grinning wildly. She suddenly seized his head between her hands and kissed him. Before he could react to that, she released him and rushed over to jump into Greg's arms laughing in delight. Gary stared at them in confusion as Greg looked back at Gary in surprise.

Selina was still clinging to Greg, but she turned her gaze to Gary. "That's the sound I've been looking for! It's perfect!"

"Oh! Okay," Gary mumbled. He looked over at Jasmine, who was staring at him in awe. He rolled his eyes as he sighed.

Selina released Greg as she got her feet on the floor again. "Get the recorder!"

Once more, Greg disappeared into the next room. He returned with a rolling cart with various pieces of electronics piled on it. The cart was plugged into the wall, then Greg disconnected the cord from the practice amp and plugged it into a patch panel on the cart. He ran a second cable from the cart back to the amp. His keyboard was next to be plugged into the board, then he handed Selina a microphone.

Gary watched all of this with fascination, but he wasn't sure what some of these cables were for. He caught Selina's eye as she turned back from the cart with the mic in her hand.

"A-are we going to do the studio album now?" he asked hesitantly. "I haven't signed anything yet."

Greg grinned at him. "There's that business mind again. So good to see that in someone with a strong creative side."

"Hey!" Selina exclaimed in mock pain.

"Sorry, babe, but you know you don't have a lick of business savvy in your brilliant and pretty head," Greg teased.

He looked back at Gary as Selina pouted. "This isn't for the studio. Whenever we jam, we have the recorder going to capture ideas we might otherwise lose. We can come back and review bits and decide to incorporate them into the tracks we finally decide to record in the studio. This machine will faithfully record what you and I play and lets Selina's lovely voice blend in on a separate track."

Gary nodded with a smile as that made a lot of sense to him.

"Can we do that again, what you were playing?" Selina asked Gary with a hopeful smile.

He grinned at her. "As long as you don't shock me out of the song again."

She grinned playfully, and Greg started the recording, nodding to her. She lifted the mic to her mouth. "Saturday the fifteenth, Selina, Greg, and special musical guest Gary Truman. Audience of one, Jasmine Goldman. Recording Untitled Song 376."

"Not the most romantic name," Gary teased.

"Pffft! I'll come up with a name later. Take it away, Gary!"

He smiled and made himself comfortable once more. He began playing, and his eyes closed as he opened himself to the melody.

He didn't see Selina and Greg grin at each other, then Jasmine. Greg picked up the tune as Gary finished the intro, and Selina's voice eased into the song as she held her journal in front of her to see the words.

When she reached the chorus, Selina's voice caught in her throat slightly at Gary's guitar, soulfully weeping for lost love. She just managed to keep singing through it and then continued into the second verse.

After her second pass through the chorus, Gary obviously felt flush with inspiration as the sounds from his guitar swelled like his heart was being torn in two. Greg did his best to accompany him, but the guitar ruled the bridge. As the tone aching softened, Selina returned with the chorus then Gary eased them out with a gentle outro.

-=-

Jasmine was stunned.

She'd just witnessed the creation of a song, from lyrics to completion in two steps.

She knew it wouldn't have been possible without Gary's emotional connection to his music.

They'd been going to school with each other for months, and Gary never demonstrated any outbursts of emotion.

Today, Jasmine spent the entire day with the man, and she'd come to the conclusion that he was the most cool and level-headed young man she'd ever met. He could be funny and enjoyed laughing, but nothing really riled him up enough to demonstrate strong passions. Gary was the antithesis of every member of her family. She'd almost begun to think the man was somehow disconnected from his emotions, or perhaps he just didn't have any real emotional depth.

Then this.

She'd watched his face closely as he played, and it was clearly apparent that he was intensely connected to his emotions while he played. They were deep and rich, and he could express them so clearly with a guitar in his hands.

She fought back the tears as she was so moved.

If only he wasn't so head over heels in love with Emma.

-=-

Selina watched Greg, who reached over and turned off the recording. He checked the file and confirmed it was good.

Gary blinked as he came out of the music and smiled at Selina. "Was that okay?"

Selina burst into giddy laughter and rushed over to give Gary a hug. It was an awkward effort with the guitar between them, but Gary grinned happily, just the same. "So, you liked it."

"Gary, it was beautiful!" she sighed. She glanced over at Jasmine. "Don't you think so?"

The young woman forced the lump in her throat down and nodded quickly.

"She's speechless! That's the highest level of achievement for her! I'm honored!" Gary teased her.

Jasmine finally rallied. "I was going to say nice things about your playing, but now I don't think I will!" she harrumphed. She might have pulled it off if her voice hadn't wobbled so badly.

Selina and Greg chuckled.

"That right there is a guaranteed money maker!" Greg asserted, pointing to the recorder.

There was a thump on the front door, and Greg hopped to his feet.

When he returned, Stefano was with him. Gary picked up immediately that the man was uncomfortable being there and wondered if it was him.

"You have to hear this!" Selina gushed, and Greg played the song back for him.

Gary could tell there was a definite quality difference between this recording and the polished product that he'd hear on the radio, but it was still pretty damn good.

Selina's smile was threatening to split her face. "What do you think?"

Stefano was clearly impressed and stared at the recorder with a hungry look, then glanced over at Gary before turning to Selina. "I've never heard that one before. I thought you said you'd be redoing your hits."

"It's new! I sang the lyrics once to Gary, then we recorded it in one take!" she said excitedly.

"Shit!" Stefano exclaimed quietly and glanced at Gary again.

Gary was definitely picking up that it was him that Stefano was uncomfortable with. It had to be guilt from making the bootleg.

"Listen, I can't stick around, but I brought the standard contract for Gary to sign," Stefano asserted.

"I'll need you to explain it to me as this is the first musician's contract I've ever seen. I have questions," Gary said with a smile.

"I don't have time tonight," Stefano blustered.

Greg scowled at the man. "Did you not hear the magic we just played? We're sitting on a goldmine!"

The older man forced the contract into Greg's hand. "You explain it to him and get the signature then. I've got places to be! I'll be back for that in the morning."

Everyone watched as Stefano quickly walked back to the front door and left. Greg followed and locked it. When he returned, he shrugged at Selina's pissed expression.

"What is wrong with that man?" Selina griped.

"Was it something I said?" Gary asked in confusion.

"I'll speak to him in the morning," Greg said and dropped the contract on the coffee table. He knew what would bring Selina's good mood back. "What classics of yours were you thinking Gary's style might work best with?"

Selina's mood instantly lifted back to joy as she flipped through the pages of her journal. Greg shared a grin with Gary.

They agreed. There was nothing better than putting a smile on your loved one's face.

-=-

Emma was exhausted but also ecstatic. Her last session had been the best of the three, and everyone cheered loudly as they finished. Behind the glass at the back of the class, other clients had stopped their own workouts to watch the high-energy synchronized movements of her session. After, there were so many happy faces that her cheeks hurt from her constant smiling. The rest of her body was pretty pooped too.

She'd put so much energy into her routines, or rather Yvonne's routines but with a kick up from her.

The clients ate it up and asked for more!

Her skin was prickling with the excess adrenaline still circulating through her. She was also starving! She hoped Gary didn't have trouble finishing the grocery run after she left.

She stepped from the shower and dried off once more. She put on her going home clothes and stuffed her laundry bag into her gym bag. She'd have to wash these items tomorrow morning to prepare them for her next classes.

She'd get to do this all over again!

Another thrill rushed through her.

As she walked toward the locker room door, she came to a sudden halt.

Selina Moreno! She was supposed to visit the woman with Gary tonight! She'd gotten so wrapped up in herself that she'd forgotten completely!

She instantly felt bad. She dialed Gary's cell, but it immediately went to voicemail, which likely meant he'd gone on his own and didn't want to disturb his hosts with its ringing.

"Sorry, Gary. I just realized I was supposed to go to Selina Moreno's home with you. I hope you went and are enjoying yourself. I'll see you at home. I love you!"

She didn't like leaving messages as they always felt so empty.

Emma left the changing room and walked toward the exit. She spotted Dennis waiting for her with his silly smile in place. He was dressed in a dark jacket and an open-necked white dress shirt over charcoal grey slacks and black loafers. Due to his large muscles, he looked a little intimidating until you saw the delighted little boy smile. Her face hurt a little more as she answered that smile.

"What are you still doing here?" she asked. He was normally gone before the last session as he was in so early.

"Who could leave and not witness that incredible performance? You had them all screaming your name at the end!" he gushed.

She giggled. "Don't be ridiculous! They were not!"

"Okay, but they were all cheering loudly, which I haven't seen happen since the early days when Yvonne and I opened the club."

"What happened to her?" Emma immediately asked as her stomach grumbled.

He looked at her. "How about I buy you a meal before you starve, and I can fill you in."

"You don't have to do that!" Emma exclaimed.

"You really saved our asses today, so please accept my thanks in the form of a meal. It's the least I can do."

Emma thought about going home to the empty apartment and making herself dinner. A free meal would save on their grocery bill, so she nodded.

He gestured for her to lead the way, then joined her on the sidewalk. "There's a really nice restaurant at the Hilton a few doors down. They make an exquisite Caesar salad with grilled chicken."

That's what she and Gary had planned to have for lunch today, so she nodded happily.

It didn't take long to get to the hotel, and they went up to the restaurant on the second floor to get a cozy table for two by the window. This allowed them to watch the people going by down below.

Dennis ordered two glasses of white wine. Emma protested, but he insisted a toast was required this evening as he had big news.

Curious, she held her tongue, and the wine was delivered.

"There were so many clients who stopped to tell me how impressed they were with your energy, spirit, and friendliness. You really won them over. I was so impressed I'm considering doing an ad campaign with you as the focus," Dennis said seriously.