This One Moment (Pushing Limits, #1)(6)

She also shook hands with each of the guys, not once flinching at how sweaty they were, and indicated for us to follow her, away from the backstage craziness.

Pretending to listen to her glowing review of the concert, I fought back the need to remove Hailey’s picture from my pocket and examine it. It wasn’t as if that would save the girl I loved. All it would accomplish was to let everyone know she existed.

A few minutes later we were sitting in a room with nothing more than a table and several plastic chairs. Nothing like where Remar had been waiting for me. But as sparse as the room was, life and energy weren’t taking a vacation. They were all around me, doing their best to soothe my agitation at being here instead of being on the phone with the airline.

Jodi placed her iPhone in front of her on the table. “Is it okay if I record the interview?”

“Sure, go ahead,” I said. Not that it ever made a difference. Even when they recorded the interviews, reporters still kept quoting us out of context.

My knee began bouncing, counting away the seconds the interview was delaying my escape.

“First off, thank you for agreeing to let me interview you guys.”

I almost snorted at that. The way I saw it, we hadn’t been given a choice.

The interview proceeded as they normally do. Jodi first asked us about our musical influences. Next came the questions about our pasts, which I faked as usual.

“Have you always lived in L.A.?” She looked at each one of us, but paused on me for what felt like the longest.

“Yes.” I practically held my breath at where this could possibly be going, but she apparently took what I said at face value. Jared, Kirk, and Mason replied the same.

“I’m from small-town Illinois,” Aaron said. “But I moved to L.A. when I didn’t get into Juilliard.”

“Do you ever regret that you didn’t make it in?” she asked him.

“Hell, no. Originally I wanted to compose movie music, but rocking the stage night after night is way more fun.”

“And more likely to get him laid,” I said with a chuckle.

The rest of the guys laughed. My knee bounced faster. C’mon, end the interview. I kept silently repeating the words to myself, hoping to send her a subliminal message.

Jodi rolled her eyes. “So, what was the spark about each of you that made you want to put together the band?”

“Jared and I had known each other for a few months,” I said, trying not to groan out loud at my failed attempts at subliminal messages, “after the girls we were seeing at the time decided we should meet. We were both musicians playing the L.A. scene, but neither of us was in a regular band. We were just jamming around with other musicians. I’d been writing my own songs for years, but I’d never played them for anyone.” Other than for Hailey. “It was only with Jared’s encouragement that I finally played them for him.”

“I knew Tyler was a great singer and not a bad guitar player,” Jared explained, “but I had no idea about the depths of his talent. Not until I heard his songs. That’s when I knew he shouldn’t be wasting his time playing with cover bands. So I told him as much.”

I burst out laughing. “Actually, what he really said was that we had a chance to make it big if I’d stop screwing around with covers. But I realized he was right. I already knew we worked well together onstage, and once we started collaborating on songs, we knew we had what it took to get where we wanted to be. But we needed a bassist and drummer. We’d seen Kirk and Mason playing around the circuit with numerous other bands. None of the bands seemed right for them. I knew Kirk was a business major, and figured he’d bring more to the table than just his musical talent.”

Kirk snorted. “Face it. You only asked me ’cause you guys needed a manager.”

I grinned at him. “Damn straight.” I looked back at Jodi. “It was the best decision Jared and I made. Without Kirk, we would be just another band trying to be heard in the crowded L.A. music scene. He got us seen.” Mason slapped his buddy on the back.

“Aaron joined us after he approached us one night at a gig,” I went on, “and told us we needed him. We were skeptical at first when we heard he was a classically trained pianist, but we gave him a chance to audition and he proved himself right.”

Aaron chuckled. “I’m always right. Eventually you guys will realize that.” He high-fived Kirk, his biggest supporter in the band.

The interview continued with some thought-provoking questions about our lyrics and ambitions for future projects.

“Right now we’re just focused on writing songs for our next album. Beyond that…well, who knows,” I said, biting back the urge to check the time. I could practically hear the seconds ticking. And as each second passed, my restlessness climbed a hundredfold. If this interview didn’t end soon, I’d have to feign a sudden illness.

“More and more singers have dabbled in Broadway and Hollywood. Have you considered becoming an actor, Tyler?”

Considered? I am one, every freakin’ day. I shook my head. “It’s all about the music for me.”

“What about the rest of you?”

They just shrugged. I doubt it was something that had entered any of their minds.

Then came the questions I always dreaded: the girlfriend ones.

“Of the five of you, only Tyler has a girlfriend. Tell me, Tyler, what’s it like to be dating Alyssa Graham?”