Page 72 of Doc Rock
“That’s where you disappeared to?”Ford exclaimed.“We couldn’t do our last two songs as you’d vanished.”
Mai put her hand over her mouth to stop herself from giggling at the self-satisfied smile on the drummer’s face.
“What can I say? I’m very charming, and I’ve always told you that the band is nothing without their drummer; it seems I was proved right, as you couldn’t play without me.”Scotty chuckled and swigged his beer again.
“And now she won’t talk to you?”Ford guessed.
“She claims that as I’m in a band, I’m unreliable.”A frown pulled at Scotty’s face.
“You’re not!” Joel said.
At the same time, Ford asked,“Did she notknowwho you were at the party?”
“Who the fuckknowswhat the drummer in a band looks like! She had no idea.”Scotty grinned smugly, then his face fell.“Although now she won’t agree to go on another date with me. She claims I have too much baggage.”
“And if the band cleans up their image?”Donnie prompted.
“Maybe she will,”Scotty murmured.
“So how do you vote?”Donnie said.
“I feel bad,” Scotty said hesitantly.
“Your vote?”Donnie asked again.
“Fuck. He’s not going to be happy.”Scotty finished his beer.
A grin broke over Ford’s face when Scotty said that.“You’re making the right decision.”
“I vote to revoke Ryan’s contract,”Scotty said quietly, hitting the final nail into Ryan’s coffin. He would no longer be playing with Midnight Thunder.
Mai’s hand shot to her mouth again, this time to cover the gasp. She hadn’t really thought they would vote out one of their members, well, long-term session musician.
For a second, she wondered if they would offer her the spot; it hadfeltsublime to play with them again. Then she remembered her stage fright.
She'd spent years seeing a psychologist about it, but performing in front of a small group, like at Clara’s baby shower, was one thing. She didn’t think shecouldplay for a big crowd, however much work she’d done.
“Great, I’ll call Sonia andgether to handle the contract side, then I’ll phone Ryan.”Donnie’s smile was unmistakable. This conversation had led to exactly what he wanted.
“Can I phone her?”Scotty asked.
“No!”Donnie rolled his eyes.
Mai’s gaze locked with Ford, and her heart skipped a beat. The gravity between them increased.
“Sie,”he said and reached out for her hand.
Maiwatchedas his fingers inched towards her, almost in slow motion.
Then her phone rang.
That was weird. No one ever phoned her when she wasn’t on-call.
Dropping her gaze from Ford, but still aware that he was standing very close to her, she snatched her phone out of her bag.
The screen showedit wasSadie calling. Mai was immediately worried; her new friends always texted, unless it was an emergency—or they wanted her to go to a Midnight Thunder concert.
“Hi, Sadie. Is everything okay?”
