My heart pounded in overdrive. I licked my lips and took the guitar strap off my shoulder.

I pushed open the door to the studio, feeling like I was walking through sludge, or underwater with ten pound weights on my ankles. Making sure the guitar didn’t knock on the door frame, I stepped out into the hallway.

He stood in the dim, silent corridor, the door to the sound booth closing silently behind him. He held my guitar case in his hand.

“How much of that did you hear?” My fingers flexed around the neck of the guitar. I held it between us like it could protect me from the embarrassment.

“Every note.” He took the guitar from me and crouched down, placing it in the velvet-lined case reverently, like even a bump would be a disaster.

The latches clicked closed and he glanced back at me with a small, sad smile on his face. Standing, holding the case, he wrapped one arm around me, pressing his splayed palm against my back.

“You’re going to blow them away someday.”

He got a little blurry and I blinked back the sheen in my eyes, my nostrils flaring and a small sound escaped from my throat.

“I wish you could feel the way your songs make me feel. It’s like you’ve cracked open my chest and you’re holding my heart in your hands.”

“That doesn’t sound like a good thing.”

“It’s the craziest thing, and it makes me forget how to breathe when I’m listening to you. There’s never been anyone like you before.”

I scoffed. “There are plenty of other people out there like me, trying to make it big. And that’s not my deal. I sing for who I want, about what I want.”

“I’m on that list.”

“It’s pretty much an exclusive list of one.”

His grin was blinding. Even in the dim hallway, it was movie-explosion loud, and the force of it slammed into my chest. Why was he the only one who made me feel this way?

Freddy popped out of the studio and handed me a CD of the session recording and said he’d clean up the audio files and send them to me digitally later.

“You did great, kid. Just say the word and I’ll pull every string I have to make something happen for you.”

I shook my head. “That world isn’t for me. But maybe I’ll do more studio work out in California.”

He grumbled like he wasn’t happy at all about it. “Have it your way, kid.”

Dare and I walked out to his car with me tucked under his arm.

“Let’s listen to it.” He took the CD and tried to stick it in his stereo.

I snatched it back and stuck it on the dashboard. “No freaking way. I can barely listen to myself when I’m in there, I’m not listening to it through your sound system.”

He laughed and threaded his fingers through mine for the rest of the drive back to my place.