Please Don't Make Me Beg

Andi's eyes fluttered open at first light, and the first thought in her mind was the memory of seeing the Adeline Records sign from the car the night before. They were here at last!

The rush of adrenaline through her veins as she sat up in bed made her a little dizzy, but her nerves were steady and her mind was focused on the music they came to play.

Through her window, the city that had been no more than sparkling lights at night was now a bustling city coming alive. Just over the trees, to the east, she could see some of the campus buildings at UC Berkeley, and students with backpacks were already trudging along the sidewalks, coffee cups in sleepy hands.

She let the realization of where she was--not just the city itself, but sitting here in a room on
the opposite coast from her home--wash over her, and instead of fear, she felt incredibly free. It was as if her life was starting fresh, with infinite possibilities ahead of her, and she had never seen such a beautiful morning.

She could hear the television in Evan and Dan's room, and could hear their laughter
occasionally. As she showered and dressed--in her Adeline hoodie, of course, and a plaid skirt she'd saved just for the occasion--she kept reviewing their songs in her head, making sure she had every note firmly memorized.

She finished quickly, and knocked at the boys' door. "Anybody home?" she asked softly.

Evan opened the door and grinned at her. "Good morning, woman! How'd you sleep?" His good mood was painted across his face, and looking into the room, she saw that Dan wore the same goofy smile.

"Wonderful! Isn't this place great?"

Dan laughed. "Yeah, the room's perfect, except for Evan's snoring!"

"Oh really? Dude, I'll take my snoring over your farting any day!"

"I don't fart!" Dan said, indignantly. "I depressurize!"

"Well, your depressurizing just about ran me out of the room! What the hell do you eat, man?"

Andi giggled, loving the banter. Everything really was perfect again.

They trooped downstairs for the breakfast buffet, and after muffins and several cups of coffee, they looked at each other and heaved a collective sigh.

"Well, what do we do all morning?" asked Dan, already itching to get out and about. Andi couldn't help thinking that he reminded her just a little of Tre Cool--funny, easily bored, and with a flair for the ridiculous.

"Evan, what time are we supposed to meet Craig?" she asked.

"He said he'd be there around 11:00, so anytime after then would be good. You guys want to kind of drive around and check the place out before we head over?"

Dan nodded excitedly, as did Andi. They all wanted to get a feel for the city and see some of the landmarks they had heard about.

They headed back over to Telegraph Avenue, stopping for pictures at the corner where it met Stuart. Evan and Andi stood back to back against the sign, arms crossed, giving each other the middle finger and grinning, as Dan snapped several shots of them. Then he switched places with them and stood ripping up a receipt from last night's dinner in honor of "Stuart and the Ave."

They prowled through music stores, head shops, boutiques and art galleries, laughing like children at Christmas. Andi found a lingerie store and started inside, when she realized she had lost the boys. When she looked back over her shoulder, they stood at the entrance, shaking their heads sheepishly. Clearly they weren't going in there with her.

A few minutes later, she emerged carrying a lavender shopping bag, but she didn't see the guys anywhere. Sinking down on a bench in front of a coffee shop, she decided to people-watch as she waited for them.

The California sun was glorious on her face, warming her skin and bathing the streets in gold. She could smell a dizzying variety of delicious aromas from the restaurants preparing lunch, and hoped the guys would hurry back.

Just as the thought crossed her mind, she felt a hand reach around from behind her and cover her mouth, and another closed over her eyes.

A muffled gasp escaped her lips, and her hands instinctively tried to pull the hand away from her eyes. She heard a familiar low chuckle behind her, and looked up to see Evan's face suspended upside down above hers. Dan stood a few feet away, reading the back of the new 'I Am Ghost' CD he had bought.

"Did I scare you?" he grinned.

"Hell, yeah!" she said, laughing nervously with relief. "I thought you were some ganja-crazed maniac trying to drag me off to who knows where!"

"Nope, just me. And I have a surprise for you!" He stepped around the side of the bench and sat down beside her. Handing her a long, rectangular box, he draped an arm affectionately around her shoulders, and said, "This is to apologize for how I behaved the other day."

"You didn't need to buy me anything, Evan. We talked about it already and everything's okay."

"I know, but I want to give you this as sort of a promise that it'll never happen again."

She carefully slid the red ribbon off the box and lifted the lid. Inside was a thin silver chain with a small, heart-shaped ruby dangling from it.

"Now you have my heart forever," he said, and leaned closer to kiss her cheek.

"Wow, it's really beautiful," she said, pulling him close in an affectionate hug. She looked over his shoulder at Dan, a hopeful expression on her face, and he returned the smile, giving her an encouraging thumbs-up.

"Okay, you two, if you can pull yourselves away from each other long enough, we'd better grab some lunch and get over to Adeline. It's almost noon, and I don't think I can wait much longer."

Within the hour, they found themselves back in Oakland, and easing the car into the visitor parking space. As they opened the doors to get out, Andi was puzzled to hear the chorus of "Rock the Casbah," faint at first but growing louder, drifting up from her purse.

Evan looked over at her, then back at Dan. "Hey, dude, isn't that your phone?"

"Uh, y-yeah, that's mine," Dan stammered, his mouth suddenly dry.

"What's it doing in Andi's purse?" he demanded. The ringtone suddenly ended, kicking over into voice mail.

Andi couldn't help looking back at Dan, hoping that one of them could think of an explanation quickly enough. She kicked herself for not giving it back to him at breakfast, when Evan had gone back for more coffee. But the silence dragged on a moment too long, and Evan's face began to darken, his eyes traveling back and forth between them, waiting for an answer.

"Andi, what are you doing with his phone?" he asked with forced patience.

"Um, I must have picked it up by mistake when we left the cafe. I guess I wasn't paying attention." She hoped it would sound true enough.

"Well, you better see who it was," he said warily.

She dug the phone out of her purse, and her heart sank when she saw the number displayed was her mother's. How would she explain why her mom would be calling Dan's phone? And worse, what was her mother calling to tell her?

"So who was it?" Evan asked, seeming to read the hesitation on her face.

"I don't know," she lied, handing the phone back to Dan. "Do you recognize the number?"

Dan needed no prompting. "Yeah, looks like my dad. He's probably checking in on his lunch hour. I'll give him a call back as soon as we get done in here."

Evan pocketed his keys, and nonchalantly walked toward the front door of the studio. "Well, you guys coming?" he asked.

They followed him inside, breathing easier. At the front desk, they saw a beautiful, dark-eyed woman with a mass of luxuriant, wavy black hair. As they approached her, she flashed a dazzling smile at them. "You must be our new band, if Craig tells me right. It's nice to meet you. My name is Adrienne."

Almost immediately, the woman's eyes were drawn to the bruise on Andi's face that her makeup couldn't quite conceal. "You must be Andi."

The girl nodded, a little overwhelmed and, for a moment, unable to speak.

"Quite a run-in you've had there," Adie said, a motherly look of concern on her face. Andi self-consciously lifted her hand to cover the bruise, and saw Adrienne look pointedly over at Evan.

"How did a big, strong guy like you let her get hurt like that?" she asked him deliberately.
There was an edge of challenge in her voice, as though she dared Evan to try to manhandle her as he had his girlfriend.

Jesus, Andi thought, does she know?