Total pages in book: 56
Estimated words: 54196 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 271(@200wpm)___ 217(@250wpm)___ 181(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 54196 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 271(@200wpm)___ 217(@250wpm)___ 181(@300wpm)
Oh, and yeah, we signed, with a real, honest-to-God record label. One of the big ones, too. We ended up going with the one that told us they didn’t want to change a damn thing about us. The rest of them had all sorts of ideas—one wanted us to be more “glam,” one wanted the guys to start wearing eyeshadow and be less “all-American jock types.” Another caught me kissing Carson—and thankfully not Anders and Griffin right before that—and wanted us to be a “couple band,” with Griff and Anders as our “backing band.”
Please.
But the one rep just said he wanted to represent us and wanted us to be exactly who we were. And that’s who we went with.
Yes, we’re staying in school. And yes, that’s going to be weird being in a band with national attention and an upcoming east coast tour. But we’re going to manage. Oh, and no, none of this happened without some fallout. At first, predictably, my parents said no. I mean, I can’t really blame them. What are parents supposed to say when their eighteen-year-old daughter tells them she’s going on a month-long tour with her new rock band that happens to consist of her and three hot football guys?
Thankfully, Griffin stepped up with a solution. See, his father and my father were actually tiptoeing around a merger between two companies they owned. Griff met with my father and promised him a few things: one, that he was excited to show his dad the wisdom in the merger happening, and two, that he and I were in fact boyfriend and girlfriend, and that he’d protect me from all the wickedness of the rock and roll lifestyle. And Griff can really clean up, especially when he dresses like a total dork with pleated khakis, polo shirt, fake glasses and everything when he meets parents, like he did when he met mine. So, yeah, with the assurance of “that nice boy,” as my mom called him, who also happened to be “cut from the same cloth” as us, and who also happened to be pushing seven feet tall and pure muscle promised to protect me, that did it.
…He also may have suggested without saying it outright that Anders and Carson were “an item,” which put my parents even more at ease.
None of us are quitting school. In fact, none of us is giving up college, either. That’s another reason we went with the label we ended up signing with. They also wanted us to stick to our educational plans. The tour is this winter, over school break, but then it’s right back to classes, and graduation. But while we’re away?
Well, while we’re away, I get five whole weeks alone on a tour bus with my three guys. And yes, please does that sound perfect.
I did end up telling Ramona everything. Ramona who still calls the band “Jock Rock,” by the way. She was suitably stunned at first, but never scandalized or judging or anything. She wanted to make sure I knew what I was doing, and that I wasn’t being hurt, but when she got past that and saw how happy I was, she was all in.
…Besides, at that point, trust me, she had her own scandal to deal with. On the “home front,” if you catch my drift.
She wasn’t the only one, either. I mean, there was a lot more to the story with me spotting Kempton holding hands with both Beckett and Porter. And later, after the guys told me about the oddness with Waverly Owens and the guys swim team duffel…
Well, that’s a whole ’nother story entirely. But trust me, I’m not the one to tell it.
In the end, we found our middle. We found the balance we all needed. We had each other, and music, but we also had our own stuff too. The guys kept up with football, and even went on to the all-division championships. I stayed in orchestra, and in the marching band, only now, I was much more keen to actually go to the game.
Will it get harder as life gets more real? Maybe. Will having this rock band dream get tougher when we have college and all of that to deal with? Perhaps. But personally, I’m ready for the challenge. Bring it. Because I know nothing can touch what the four of us have.
It’s not sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll, but I am so perfect with two out of the three. For us, maybe it’s more “sex, love, football, and rock n’ roll.” And maybe that’s a weird mashup, but that’s us. A weird mashup. The nerd, the jocks, and a love for music that transcended whatever dumb walls we like to put up to define ourselves.
We wrote our own love song, and trust me…
It’s a hit.
* * *
The End