Out of Rhythm (Face the Music Book 1) Read Free

it was pulling them further apart.
    The Gemma she knew was confident and happy — and her hair was always something cool. Now the red had faded, the regrowth was showing and the fringe was grown out, as if she hadn’t bothered to do anything with her hair since the last time Kirsten had coloured and cut it. She’d been doing Gemma’s hair for years; it had been their thing during high school. Back then Gemma had always trusted her. This woman was closed off and reluctant to be here.
    Gemma sipped her beer and looked at her, hair hanging over her brown eyes as though she didn’t want to be seen. ‘I’m sorry about what happened. I was out of line.’
    Kirsten shook her head. ‘You caught me by surprise and I overreacted. I’m sorry about everything I said. We were both fairly drunk...’ She’d been working herself up to talking about this to Gemma all day and now all she could manage was limp excuses. The I was drunk line. She hated it when guys used it. ‘I shouldn’t have acted that way.’
    ‘Yeah.’ Gemma took another swig. ‘So we move on, it happened. It won’t happen again. Promise.’
    That was part of the problem. She kind of wanted it to happen again. To see if the memory she had and the imaginary follow-on were as good in the flesh as they were in her mind. While she’d never admit it to anyone, thoughts of Gemma had gotten her off. Which was as confusing as hell considering she’d never looked at a woman that way, ever. Six months ago she’d have said she exclusively liked guys. Now she wasn’t sure.
    Was it a drunken thing for Gemma or had she kissed other women? Kirsten glanced at her best friend since kindergarten. If Gemma were into women, she’d have realised…wouldn’t she? Gemma would’ve said something…maybe.
    As people wandered into the house and retrieved more drinks or snacks, Kirsten bit her tongue. It wasn’t her place to ask, but if Gemma trusted her enough to talk she wouldn’t freak out. ‘So has it been fun travelling around Australia?’
    Gemma rolled her eyes and tipped her head back against the chair. ‘It’s not very glamorous when you play and move on straight away. I was praying for the times we got more than one night in a place.’
    ‘But you’re doing what you wanted.’
    ‘It’s harder than it looks. Once that contract comes in and people’s expectations rise and…’ Gemma shook her head. ‘It’s not how I expected.’
    ‘But you guys are working on the next album.’
    She nodded cautiously, then sighed as if she were shedding a great burden. ‘We suck.’
    ‘What?’ That wasn’t possible. Kirsten and Gemma had spent their early teens listening to Ed’s songs at home. It was Gemma who’d suggest a few changes and it was then she’d realised that Gemma was far better at music than she seemed. She may have arranged a set-up so Ed could listen and talk to Gemma. It had worked…although then she’d had to share her best friend with her brother — at one point she was sure Gemma and Ed would hook up, but they never had — and his friends.
    ‘Everything we are writing is a giant pile of suckiness.’
    ‘I’m sure you’ll get there.’ That explained why Ed was so antsy.
    ‘At the moment, the odds of writing a second album are about the same as one of us cracking and killing the others. My money is on Mike. You got to watch the quiet ones.’
    Kirsten laughed, but it felt kind of forced and hollow. ‘It’s not that bad.’
    ‘It is that bad.’ Gemma drained her beer. ‘And I know I sound so whiny. I have what people would do anything for and I’m bitching about how hard it is.’
    ‘Yeah, must be tough sleeping until lunchtime and then playing for sixty minutes.’
    Gemma tossed a cushion at her, but she was smiling. Her first real smile for the day. Kirsten didn’t want her to lose it. She wanted things to go back to how they were and she knew one sure way to start back on that path.
    ‘Why don’t I do your hair?’ Just like it