RockMySenses (7 page)

I raised an eyebrow. “Do you do this for all your partners?”

He smiled like a proud little boy showing off a drawing.
“Only the special ones.”

A true lover of music, Mike already had music playing
through the house. I didn’t blame him, I’d play music constantly as well if I
had this kind of setup. Glenn Danzig’s voice pumped from different speakers,
singing
I’m the One
.

We passed the other bedroom that he used as a study. I
peered in at a desk with two large monitors positioned side by side and two
bookcases overstuffed with books.

“Is this where you work?”

He nodded. “When I work at home.”

“Can I peek?” I asked.

“Knock yourself out.”

I scanned one of the bookshelves stacked with an array of
thick computer books on concepts I had no idea of.

I said “I have a feeling this book on Java has nothing to do
with coffee.”

He laughed. “Not even remotely. It’s a programming
language.” He rubbed his face. “Coffee. I need coffee right now. What a night.”

“And what a morning,” I added.

Two framed photos of a boy around ten and a girl around
seven were on his desk. “Who are they?” I asked.

“My niece and nephew. And godchildren. His face lit up as he
glanced at the photos. “They’re my sister’s kids.”

Peering closer, I saw the similarity in their features to Mike.
“I can see the resemblance. Especially the eyes.”

“The Harvey genes run strong, we always say. But there’s a
trace of their father’s side in them.”

So Mike was an uncle, a godfather to his sister’s kids. Each
time I saw him, I learned a little more about him, which piqued my interest. He
wasn’t just rock and roll fantasy I brought home for a fling months ago, but a
real person who drew me in a little closer each time.

Thinking that way was dangerous. I’d been burned before and
I wasn’t eager to experience that pain again. Changing the subject, I said,
“It’s a nice workspace.”

“I spend whatever time I can here. Between work and the
band, it isn’t much. Luckily, I work from home often.”

“Work from home? That’s a foreign concept for someone who
works in the fitness industry. Work in their home, maybe, but rarely your own.”

“There’s a big need for software engineers right now.
Companies are climbing over each other to find new hires. I get offers all the
time.”

“You’re not tempted to move on to a different company?”

“I like where I work and the work I do. Nico and I have been
working on software the past year to improve medical treatment. If patients have
better care, I feel I’m helping to improve and even save lives. All from my
computer. Also our company gives us a lot of leeway with flexibility, which is
what we need for the band.”

“It’s almost like you have two careers. How do you manage
it?” For someone who was about to juggle working at a gym while opening a
studio, I could use the time management tips.

“We cut down our hours at the company to have more time to
work on VC. The band takes a lot of time between writing music, practicing,
recording, playing shows, promoting.” He counted each one on his finger as he
named them. “We work more like consultants now, overseeing projects and
supervising junior software engineers.”

“VC keeps growing in popularity. Do you see a time you might
have to quit your day job?”

“You sound like an interviewer.” He laughed. “They ask us
that question all the time. And the answer we give them is we can do our jobs
from just about anywhere. Just need a laptop and occasional WiFi to check in.
So even if we’re on a tour bus one day, we could geek out instead of drinking
and passing out like the cliché of the rock star on the road. We have a tour on
the west coast coming up. Our biggest tour yet.”

“That’s fantastic!” I grabbed his arm in my enthusiasm. “You
guys deserve it.” When the idea sank in, I realized he’d be on the other side
of the country for an extended period. For some reason, that bothered me.

“It would be a game changer for us. But like the saying
goes, I’m not going to quit my day job yet.”

While hazelnut coffee brewed, Mike cooked us scrambled eggs
and I cut up a honeydew melon.

“I need to leave after breakfast,” I said.

“What’s the rush?” He gave me a naughty smile over his
shoulder. “I thought we could have breakfast in bed.”

“I thought we just did.” I smiled back. “I want to go by my
place and shower first.”

“I have water that flows through my pipes.” He extended his
arms to the walls in a dramatic gesture. “Behold, a shower!”

“You’re such a goofball.” I bumped his hip with my own. “But
I have to go.” When I saw a dark shadow pass over his face, I asked, “What’s
wrong?”

“Nothing.” He forced a smile. “Want me to drive you to the
studio? I’d like to check it out.”

“I need to go alone. Get my head straight and see what mess
I’ve gotten myself into.”

“Fine. But promise me a private tour later.”

I paused my cutting. “I don’t think that’s wise.”

“Why not?” He scooped some eggs onto two blue china plates.

I took the time while I added the melon to the plates to
formulate a response. “Because we said one night, Mike. No empty promises.”

“It’s not an empty promise. I want to see what your new
venture is. After all, I toasted to it last night.”

“It doesn’t sound like a good idea for either of us.”

“How so?” He opened a drawer and pulled out silverware.

“It hints at something, I’m not exactly sure what. But I
have no brain capacity for anything else right now.”

“I get it.” He carried the plates into the dining room. “No
more bandwidth.”

“Excuse me?”

“Geek talk. Never mind.”

Mike

This is weird.

After Allana left, I should have felt content to have my
space to myself again. It was New Year’s Day and I had a rare day off. No work
and nothing with the band. The perfect day to chill out, maybe play some video
games without thinking about what else I should be doing.

But no, I thought about her. How was she doing in her new
studio? Why was she reluctant to let me visit it?

Because you’re a jackass. After blowing her off and
forgetting her name, she knows better than to expect anything more from someone
like you.

When I entered my room and saw the bed messed up from our
activities last night and this morning, I thought about all we had done there.
I thought about washing the sheets, but then wondered if I could discern her
scent still lingering when I went to bed tonight. For some reason, I wanted to
hold on to that memory for one more night.

You need to man up. You’re acting insane. How many girls
have you banged without getting all soft like this? You know you’re only doing
it because
she was the one who put the limits on this thing, not you.

Was that what it was? If she had insisted I call her, would
I feel the same way right now?

One part of me thought I might actually like the idea.

No, this is all Nico’s fault. All his parading around in
a relationship with Lily. It’s rubbing off on me. I’m going to kill him.

Allana

After I signed final paperwork, the landlord gave me the
keys and left. For the first few minutes, I walked around in awe with a huge
smile on my face, touching one wall after another, trying to convince myself it
was real. It finally happened.

This was my new place, my future. After the elation rose and
fell, reality set in. My grin evaporated as I appraised it with a critical eye.
The studio needed a ton of work. It needed mirrors on one of the walls and the
floors replaced, which I’d arranged for ahead of time. The contractors would
get started tomorrow.

I spent the next few hours focusing on one task after
another. Opening a new business required so many decisions. Every little detail
had to be decided on. So much more than I ever would have expected. By late
afternoon, I’d worked myself up into a panic and called Lily.

“Happy New Year,” she rang. “And congrats on your new
place.”

“That’s why I’m calling. I’m here now. And I’m starting to freak
out.”

“Why?”

“There’s so much to do. Not only with getting the place set
up in time, but all the marketing and advertising, the web site, accounting,
business decisions, getting people in. I don’t know if I’m cut out for this. I
think I’m over my head.”

“I’ll be there in half an hour,” she said.

“You don’t have to do that,” I said. “You probably have a
ton to clean up after the party. I’m sorry I’m not there to help.”

“Nico and I cleaned up this morning. And you did enough
beforehand. Thank you so much for all your help. Now it’s my turn to come help
you and don’t try to talk me out of it.”

When Lily arrived, she found me sitting on the floor, my
head in my hands, elbows on my knees.

“There’s no way I can do this. I’m only twenty-four and I
know nothing about running a business.”

“So you’ll learn,” she said. She handed me a tall French
Vanilla coffee.

“You must have been sent from the gods,” I said. “You know
what I need to power through.”

She sat next to me, put her coffee beside her and opened her
laptop.

“We’re going to come up with a list of what you need to do
and when. I like lists to stay organized. With your tasks in a timeline, you
can visualize what you need to do to get where you want.”

I took a sip of coffee, letting the hot liquid warm my throat.
Amazing how such a small thing could bring such comfort. “Is this what you did
when you began consulting?”

“Sort of.” She tapped away on her laptop. “I started a home
office out of my condo, though, so I didn’t have to deal with contractors and
setting utilities, stuff like that. But the business part’s essentially the
same.”

I sat upright and inched closer to see her laptop screen.
“How so?”

“You need a sound plan to know what you’re going to work
toward. What you need to consider is who you’re trying to reach, what problem
you’ll solve for them, and how you’ll resolve it.” She pulled up my business
plan on the screen, one we started months ago.

“Easy. We discussed this already. People who want to find or
improve their mind-body balance.”

“And how are you going to solve this need for them?”

I scrunched my face. “You know this already. We’ve gone over
this before.”

“Yes, but you need to remember your goals back when this was
just an idea. Now that it’s becoming a reality, it’s easy to lose the bigger picture
and freak out.”

“Okay.” I took a deep breath. “I will offer a variety of
classes for different levels and offered at different hours to accommodate my
clients. I’ll also be available for private sessions for those who prefer
one-on-one practice rather than part of a group.”

“Yes, that’s a good start. But why should they choose you?
Convenience is one thing, but there are other studios around.”

“Because I care about this, I’m passionate about it.
Otherwise I wouldn’t have dumped all my time and energy into opening my own
place.”

“Nope. That’s about you. What about them. What are you going
to do for them?”

“I will offer them a mind-body experience that not only fits
their lifestyle, but grows with them. Rather than becoming bored by stale
routines, they will constantly grow and develop through new challenges.”

“Okay, we’re getting there.” She opened a browser and
frowned. “I forgot we don’t have Internet here yet.” She opened a new document
and typed “Task List” at the top of the page and “January 2nd” underneath it.
Then she created a bulleted list with the first item: “Call to set up Internet
and phone.”

“You can cross that one off,” I said, feeling triumphant. “I
called them last week and they’re coming tomorrow afternoon. They gave me a
four-hour window.”

“There you go. You already crossed one thing off your list.”

We worked on my task lists over coffee and then ordered
soups and salads from the health food restaurant four units down. It was one of
the reasons I picked this location. People who were interested in health and
fitness would go there for a bite to eat and maybe they’d be curious about
finding out more about the new studio.

While we took a break to eat, Lily steered the conversation
to her party. “Did you have fun last night?”

“Yes.”

“That’s it?” She raised an eyebrow.

“I had a great time. Is that better?” I forked my salad with
vigor. I knew what was coming, but didn’t want to discuss it yet since I
already had mixed emotions about last night.

“You’re not going to tell me what happened with Mike?”

Erotic pictures of our night flashed in my mind and I
shifted my cross-legged position on the floor. “What’s to tell? We hooked up.”

“You brought him home?”

“No, we went to his place.” I fought to keep my tone even.
“I left this morning.”

“You sound rather nonchalant about the whole thing.”

The morning returned to me. Not only did the sensation of
waking up in his arms feel so right, so did just being around him. Listening to
music in his living room was like spending time with a friend, only one who was
deadly attractive.

“Well, I need to be. It’s no big deal. We already hooked up last
summer so it’s not like it counts as something new.”

She raised her eyebrows. “Oh really? The way you two were
all over each other made it seem like a much bigger deal than you’re letting
on.”

My cheeks burned. “Whatever do you mean, Ligeia darling?”

She flashed me a look when I used her real name.

“Come on. Nico and I noticed you in the hall, all over each
other.”

“Oh, that.” I waved my hand. “Just a flirty little kiss.”

Lily smirked. “Little? We thought we might have to usher you
two into a room.”

“Um. Uh.” My body heated to combustion levels. “Sorry if we
made a scene.”

“No, no. That’s not what I mean. I doubt anyone else noticed
but Nico and me. We were wondering what would happen so we kept our eyes on the
two of you.”

“Oh?”

“Mike seemed to devour you with his eyes.”

“He did?” My eyes widened. “What was I doing?”

She laughed. “Enjoying every moment of it.”

I shook my head. “It doesn’t matter. It was one night and
that was it. It’s not like we’re going to see each other again.”

“Why not?”

“Because I’m not a dummy.”

“Ally…”

“I’m serious. He’s not the kind of guy to get hung up on.
Both you and Nico warned me about that. If I didn’t learn that the first time,
then I’m asking to get screwed over the second time. I went home with him last
night, but that’s it.”

“Does he know this?”

“Yes, I told him.” I gathered my trash from lunch and
searched around for a place to toss it. No trash can or recycling bin. Two more
things to add to my shopping list. Stuffing everything into the paper bag, I
added, “I have enough going on in my life that I can’t deal with any guy drama
right now. From what I already know about Mike, one solitary night with a woman
is exactly what he’s looking for as well.”

After we cleaned up, Lily returned to professional organizer
mode, dropping the inquisition about Mike.

“Once you get the floors and mirrors set up, I’ll come in
and take a few photos of you and the studio for the website and your social media
accounts.”

Lily was divine with a camera. She had black and white
photos in a gallery in Rockport and shot some for publicity for the Velvet
Cocks and Vamps. “Thank you so much. Just keep track of what I owe you.”

“Absolutely not. We made a deal. Classes for marketing
help.”

“But you’re giving me so much more than I’m offering you
right now.”

“I don’t have much work right now or as much income coming
in regularly. It means I have more time to help you out and work out with you,
but I don’t have the funds to pay for all these classes. If you like my work,
you can refer me to your clients. We end up helping each other out.”

“I like that idea. And of course I’ll like your work. I’ve
seen what you can do. Mike had one of your VC photos framed at his place. It
looks awesome.”

She smirked, I imagine because I brought up Mike again, but
she didn’t call me out on it. “Much of my work is initially setting up the
website and social media sites, but once everything is up and running, the
maintenance doesn’t take as much time. It will be easier to set up ads and
promotions once we have the basics.”

Lily worked with me for a couple more hours. By the time she
left, I felt buoyant. Rather than sinking to the floor under the workload, I
was optimistic with my plan on how to get the major things done.

When I went home, I collapsed on my couch in exhaustion and
searched for something mindless to watch. I didn’t have the brainpower or—what
was that word Mike used—the bandwidth to focus on anything requiring thought.

Don’t think about him, Ally. The more you do, the more
difficult it will be to forget him.

I settled on a rerun of
The Big Bang Theory
. For some
reason, it made me think of Mike. Even though they weren’t rock stars, Mike was
a proud nerd at heart. I pictured all his collections—
Star Wars, Star Trek,
Lord of the Rings
, and who knows what else—and I couldn’t help but smile.

Mike

Three days went by and I was ashamed to admit the number of
times I picked up the phone to call Allana. But I had to forget her and respect
her wish to be alone. She wanted a New Year’s Eve fling and nothing more.

I still thought about her often, wondering how she was
doing, especially at night. First there was the night we met several months
ago. Nico introduced us and I noticed how smoking hot she was. We kissed before
we even left Vamps and ended up at her place. The sex was fantastic, no
awkwardness like I’d experienced with other women, but so what? That didn’t
mean I should call her.

Seeing her at Vamps with the other woman was some freaky-ass
shit. From that point on, I sensed something between us, even if she hated me
that night and it was only in my own mind.

Lily stopped by our practice space a few days after New
Year’s to pick up her yoga mat, which she left in Nico’s car. We were finishing
anyway when she arrived so Nico called it quits.

“Hold on, Lily,” I said, following her out into the hallway.

“What’s up?”

Crap, I hadn’t planned this out and was winging it. “I just
wanted to thank you for the party. It was a much better night than watching old
TV reruns.”

“You’re welcome. But Ally is the one to thank. She did most
of the planning. It would have been a disaster without her.”

Yes—she segued right into the topic I wanted to discuss.

“How’s she doing, by the way?” I kept my tone casual, as if
this was the most natural follow-up question. Small talk was never my thing,
but I thought this was a perfectly acceptable response.

“She’s doing okay. A little overwhelmed with the new studio,
but she’ll be fine.”

The idea of her in distress hit me with a pang. “Perhaps I
should call her. See how she’s doing.”

Lily didn’t say anything at first. “Maybe.” Her tone was
cautious.

My radar went up. What had Allana said about me that made
Lily react with caution?

Man, this sucked.

“So what’s her deal anyway? She doesn’t have a boyfriend?”

“Hard to believe, but no.”

This information thrilled me. Even though she’d slept with
me, that didn’t mean she wasn’t taken. A few of the women I’d slept with I’d
suspected may have been cheating on their guys.