Chapter 19

CHAPTER NINETEEN

HENDRIX

We'd met with seven potential new guitarists already and still hadn't found one that fit yet. I worked hard in my free time to master guitar and vocals, but even I could admit I struggled. My guitar skills were more for keeping rhythm than all out leading. We needed someone new to round out the music better.

It was frustrating, to say the very least. I even considered for a minute asking my dad for help, but I squashed that down the minute it crossed my mind. Dad was a decent guitar player, but he wasn't serious. He was flaky and wouldn't want to play anything that didn't fit him completely. I wasn't going to even pretend that was an option.

"Thanks for coming. We'll let you know."

The guy who came to meet us, a quiet gargoyle named Aldrik, nodded his head politely and followed Laz out the door. After he was gone, we all let out heavy sighs, and I sank against the cushions of the couch.

"That was a no, right?" Duncan murmured, his face pressed into the pillows of the couch.

"That was a no," I agreed. "He's alright, but too shy. And his guitar skills need some work."

"He was better than that asshole from before," Ruby growled. The last interview we had was a cocky vamp who thought he was better than all of us. It felt a little like he thought this was an interview for us instead of for him. And he wasn't even that good.

Laz dropped onto the couch next to Ruby, sinking low into his seat. "Any chance Artie can play guitar? He seems to be our saving grace lately."

A smile bloomed across my face before I could stop it. Art really was worth his weight in gold. Since we were so busy with interviews, Art was calling around to some studios for us to find an opening that wouldn't cost us an entire month's rent. He started meeting us before shows, bringing us drinks and snacks so we didn't have to rush around, and he figured out our schedules so we had good times for interviews. I wanted to handcuff that man to me so he'd never get away.

"Not that I know of. I can ask tomorrow."

When I met Art after the show the night before, he asked me if I wanted to come spend time with him and Sophie on the weekend. She'd been trying to make friends with a paranormal boy at school and she had questions Art didn't know how to answer. It felt good that he was asking for my help and I looked forward to seeing Sophie again. It meant I had to pretend to just be friends with Art for a day, but I could handle that. As long as I got to spend time with him, I was happy.

Ruby let out a frustrated groan and shoved to her feet. "Well, I'm gonna go shower and get ready. I've got a date tonight. Hopefully, it'll turn out better than that interview."

She stalked off, and Laz watched her go with a heartbroken look on his face. Duncan muttered something about seeking spells for a good guitarist and headed off for his room, leaving me and Laz alone. Laz sighed dejectedly.

"Hey, Hen? I think… I'm ready to go to the club."

Relief flooded me, and I smiled at him. "Yeah? That's great."

His brows furrowed. He clearly didn't agree with me, but I could see how run down he was. He needed this. I was a little worried he'd chicken out, and his eyes kept straying toward the loft where Ruby was grabbing her things for her shower.

"Want me to come with you? Wingman it up?"

When Ruby disappeared into the bathroom, he nodded. "Yeah. My cousin said I was always welcome. I'll text him about bringing a guest. Are you staying the night at Artie's tomorrow?"

"Nah. Sophie's gonna be there, and we gotta play friends for the day. Art's not ready to introduce me as something more yet."

It took some work for me to convince him I wasn't offended by that. I had to point out that I was a kid of divorced parents for him to get that I understood. No one was going to judge him for being cautious. Introducing me as his boyfriend would suggest to Sophie that we were a permanent thing and neither of us were there yet. I liked dating him and I wanted to spend more time with him, but I didn't want to say forever when we'd only been dating a few weeks. Granted, the idea of not being with him made me want to break things, but we were still in the honeymoon phase. I'd seen what happened when couples went all in too fast. My parents were a prime example of that drama. I wasn't going to push Art for more right now.

"Think you'd be willing to meet me tomorrow? I'd wait longer but…"

But he was starving. Pushing to my feet, I moved to sit next to him and gripped his shoulder. "I get it. We'll go tomorrow. We could even go tonight if you wanted."

"No, I need to let my cousin know you're coming first. Tomorrow is fine." His eyes strayed towards the bathroom again. "I'm… I'm gonna go call him now. The reception in here sucks, so I'll be on the roof."

That was a lie, the reception was fine. I got the feeling he didn't want to see Ruby dressed up for her date. He'd hide on the roof until she was gone and I'd spend the rest of the night comforting him. I really hoped this worked, because I was worried about him.

I showed up at Art's house bright and early Saturday morning. Art said Sophie rose with the sun and I wanted her to like me, so I brought donuts for everyone and coffee for me and Art. Sophie opened the door when I knocked, beaming at me when she saw the box in my hand.

"Daddy! He brought donuts!"

Art poked his head out of the kitchen, surprise written on his face. Both he and Sophie were still in their pjs, Art's hair adorably disheveled. He normally looked so put together, unless we were fooling around. I pushed the reminder out of my head before it could take and have embarrassing consequences in front of a little kid.

"Hey, I wasn't expecting you so early," Art said as he came to join us. He didn't look upset about me being here, a teasing grin on his face when he added, "I thought rock stars slept until noon."

Chuckling, I shrugged my shoulders. "Had some inspiration this morning, so I was up early."

That was putting it lightly. I was pouring out music like no one's business lately. The band was excited, it'd been a while since I was this inspired, and I left the notes I took this morning with them before I left to meet my muse. There was no question that the reason I was so inspired was because of Art. He brought back my excitement and joy and I looked forward to every moment I spent with him, knowing it'd inspire something later that night.

Art smiled brightly, nudging Sophie out of the way so I could come inside. "Really? That's exciting. When do I get to hear it?"

"It's still too raw. I'll show you later."

Sophie scrunched her nose adorably. "Music can be raw? Like cooking?"

I snorted, following her and Art into the kitchen so I could put the food down. "Sort of. I call it raw because it's unfinished. The entire song doesn't just pop into my head the minute I think of it. I gotta work it out and make sure it sounds good. Sometimes it sounds good in my head, but when I sing it out loud, it's not as great as I thought. It's a process, kind of like cooking, I guess. And my bandmates help a lot."

We all sat at the little table in the kitchen, and I passed out donuts for each of us. When I put the pink one covered in sprinkles in front of Sophie, she beamed at me, and I felt like I just conquered the world. She really was the cutest kid on the planet.

"So, your dad told me there's a new paranormal at your school?"

Sophie nodded, wiping the frosting off her nose with a napkin. "His name is Dante. He's in the same grade as me."

It was surprising that little kids were being integrated into human school systems. I thought it would take longer since humans didn't always welcome us. Kids could be cruel sometimes, and I would've been worried about subjecting my kids to an uncertain environment like that. Not that I ever thought I'd have kids. I wasn't against them, but I didn't really have the lifestyle for them.

"What kind of paranormal?"

She frowned, setting her donut down. "He looks like you, but I don't know if there are more that look alike. He's the first paranormal in our school."

Art shook his head. "No, he isn't. He's just the first one who can't blend in. I got a letter from the school when the paranormal children started attending. There were five, I think, and they all started on different days to not overwhelm the students."

"As for him looking like me, he's probably a demon. There aren't many other paranormals who look similar to us. Gargoyles, maybe, but their skin is gray and they are a little broader built. And not all of them have horns. The girls don't. But all demons have horns, boys and girls," I added.

Sophie pursed her lips thoughtfully. "Do demons have bad tempers? He's kind of grouchy and sometimes he says not nice things."

That made Art straighten, worry in his expression. He wasn't discriminatory against paranormals, but I could tell just by his face that he'd go to war for his daughter. I answered her question, hoping to put him a little more at ease.

"Sometimes, yeah. But that's true for humans too. If I were him, I'd be defensive, being surrounded by so many people that weren't like me. It'd be scary, for sure."

"You don't have to force a friendship, Sophie," Art interjected. "If he's not being nice, then don't play with him."

I winced internally. He was right that Sophie shouldn't force herself around mean kids, but I didn't want her to write this kid off just because he was defensive, either. It'd be terrifying to stand out like that in a new school. Isolating him wasn't going to help.

Sophie seemed to agree with me because she shook her head. "He looks sad sometimes. I don't want him to be lonely." She turned back to me. "Is there a way demons make friends?"

"Uh… Nothing too different, I guess." I paused, thinking about how I met my friends. My eyes lit up. "Oh! Demon children exchange trinkets to make friends. I forgot about that. I loved marbles when I was a kid and I gave one to each of my friends when we met. They each gave me back something they loved, too. My friend Mal liked cooking even as a kid, so he brought me a cupcake he made with his dad. I'm not sure if kids still do that now, but it's worth a shot."