Rhythm and the Blue Line

Part 6

© 2011 All Rights Reserved

The next morning, Ryan stretched and rolled over in her bed, but Brody wasn't there. She blinked awake and frowned, wondering how late it was and why he would have left. So far as she knew, he had nothing going on today. She took a deep breath, smelled food cooking, and smiled. She rolled out of bed and pulled on a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt, then ran a brush through her hair and went out into the kitchen.

"Hey. A person could get used to this." She leaned against one side of the doorway.

He turned and gave her a mock-stern look. "Don’t get too used to it. I had to run up to my place to get stuff to cook. Do you guys ever go grocery shopping?"

Ryan laughed and stepped over, then leaned against the counter. "Yeah, we do, every week or so. Lara eats at her mom's about once a week and usually brings back some leftovers. A lot of the rest of the time, she's with Trout. I think they share the cooking."

He took a moment to kiss her, then went back to the stove. "Okay, that explains her. What about you?"

She shrugged. "I manage. I know I do fast food more than I should. I try to get decent frozen meals." She held up her hands when he frowned at her. "Look, I'm not much on cooking. Can't help it. I do the best I can."

"Well, at least you make the effort on the frozen stuff. That’s not so bad."

"So glad you approve." She gave him a wry look and went to get a drink. "Look, see? Orange juice."

"That's mine. Help yourself."

"Really? It's yours?" Ryan stared at the carton. "I could have sworn we had some."

Brody laughed. "You did. It smelled terrible. I tossed it and brought some down. Come on, sit, this is about ready."

Ryan got out plates and silverware and put them on the table, then poured two glasses of juice and brought them over as well. She sat down and took a deep breath.

"Wow, that smells great. Much better than the Pop Tarts I'd planned on."

"You're saying that just to bait me, and I'm not taking it."

Ryan laughed. "Okay, you're right. Thanks, I do appreciate it. It'll be a good start to a long day."

"Yeah, I meant to ask." Brody took a bite of eggs and then a drink of juice. "What do rock stars do on show days?"

She shook her head. "I'm not sure what rock stars do. I'll meet everyone at the club around two or so and we'll set up and go through a sound check. Then we'll pretty much be free until the evening, which means I'll have to distract myself from worrying about it. There'll be two acts before us."

"I saw that on the club's website. Are they any good?"

Ryan nodded and took another bite of her food. "Yeah, they are. I think you'll like them both. We'll be there in time for those shows; it's just polite, you know? And we know most of them. It's a small world, so we want to help each other out. That should all start by eight-thirty, maybe nine if things run late."

Brody gave a low whistle. "So, when will you guys be on?"

"Ten-thirty, eleven, maybe. We're quite the night owls."

"Sounds like a lot of hurry up and wait."

"Yeah, some. Just how it works, though." She finished and pushed her plate away. "Thanks," she said as she sat back in her chair. "That was great."

"You're welcome, and glad you enjoyed it." He slid his plate over and leaned forward. "What will you do today after the sound check?"

"I don't know. I thought I might see Evan, but he said he's got homework and a basketball thing and then he has to go the anniversary dinner, so he's going straight to the club after that."

"What about Lara and the others?"

"I don't know. Sometimes we hang together, sometimes not. Depends on what's going on. Mitch has a girlfriend, but she's not so . . . she doesn’t like us much." Ryan paused. "Her name's Valerie, and she seems nice enough, but she always seems a bit distant or something. Anyway, Lara will be with Trout, and he'll be handling the sound, and then Nate, I don't know."

"I guess I'll just have to keep you company, then." He sat back and shook his head.

"I don't see any way around it."

Ryan laughed. "You really don't have to. I'll be fine. I've done this before. Not as the headliner, but I've done it."

"Yeah, I know, but what the hell." He shrugged. "I do have to go to a video session, but that won't take long. Maybe I can catch up with you for the sound check. And . . . maybe I can help with a bit more stress relief before the show."

Ryan giggled, then giggled some more and couldn't stop. Brody gave her a quizzical look.

"Nothing, nothing, sorry." She waved a hand as her laughter subsided, although her shoulders shook with residual chuckles. "I was just thinking that Lara said a relationship would be good therapy for me. It looks like she was right."

"I feel so used." He pretended hurt, then grinned. "Not that I mind."

Ryan stared and fell into another fit of laughter. "I think you really are good for me, you know that?"

"Hey, I do what I can."

x-x-x-x

For a while, Brody put Ryan and the show out of his head; he had to concentrate on the video. He and his teammates watched as the coaches pointed out flaws in the team's play, as well as times they'd failed to take advantage of flaws in the opposition's. Brody ground his teeth when he saw footage of himself out of position, leaving a winger open for a pass that might have been a goal but for the goalie's fast reflexes on a kick save.

"Now, this isn't going to happen again," the coach said. He looked around the room. "There are half a dozen games before the New Year, and I don't want to see this happen in a single goddamned one of them. This is sloppy!" He slammed his hand on a table. "And we don't fucking play sloppy! Sloppy doesn't get you into the fucking playoffs. Sloppy doesn't win you the fucking Stanley Cup."

Murmurs of "Yes, Coach," came from the team, and Brody nodded in acknowledgment.

"Now, get out of here." The coach tugged at the collar of his shirt. "Go Christmas shopping or something, get any distractions out of your system, and then I want everyone's mind on the game tomorrow."

The players drifted out of the room in twos and threes. Mark came up and nudged Brody. "So, how are you going to spend your afternoon? Pining—I mean, waiting until the show?"

"Dick." Brody shot him a glance and fought a grin. "Where are you reporting?"

"Oh, I'm going to meet Hilary at—" Mark glared at him as Brody burst out laughing. "You're an ass."

"Hey, I'm not the one who's 'reporting' to his girlfriend." Brody chortled. "And if you really want to know, I'm going to go over to the club, try to catch them during the sound check."

"Now who's reporting?"

"Jackass." Brody elbowed him. "I thought it might be neat, and Ryan said it would be okay. Then, I don't know, we'll hang out. She said she's got time to kill before the show, and knowing her, if she doesn't have something to distract her, she'll just stress about it."

"Right." Mark grinned and nodded. "That’s your story and you're sticking to it." He turned to Baxter, who'd followed them out. "Hey, guys, you hear that?"

"Oh yeah." Bax laughed. "I'm sure he's got all kinds of 'distractions' in mind." He paused. "What are you going to do after the first five minutes?"

"You've been away from your wife too long, Bax." Body shook his head. "Get your mind out of the gutter, man."

"Okay, guys, I'm out of here." Mark walked over to his SUV now that they'd reached the parking garage. "I'll be at the show, Brody. Hilary, too."

"Me, too," said Bax.

"Cool." Brody nodded. "Ryan will appreciate that, seriously. I'll see you guys later." He waved and strode over to his own car and got in.

The others watched him drive away. Mark spoke first. "Must be serious."

Bax chuckled. "Oh, it's serious. Even if he won't admit it."