Above the Noise Read Online Free PDF

the buds into my ear and one into hers. Music filled my head.
    “You listen to Yeah Yeah Yeahs?” For some reason I didn’t peg Becki as an indie rock fan.
    “Why does that surprise you?” She looked up at me with sleepy eyes.
    “I don’t know. I just wouldn’t have thought you’d like ‘Skeletons’.”
    “So, you’ve been pigeon-holing me? You think you know all about me, Mr. Calon whatever-the-hell-your-middle-name-is Ridge?”
    “James. My middle name is James. And, I’m shocked that, after all the time we’ve spent talking, you don’t think I could figure out some of your details on my own.”
    “What’s my favorite food?” She raised her eyebrow.
    “Vegetarian Chili.”
    “Nicely done.” She propped herself up on her arm, all full of herself and ready for a good challenge.
    I licked my finger and made a tally on her forehead.
    “Eww. That’s gross.” She kept her voice low and hushed and rubbed my spit away. “Let’s see… what’s my favorite band?”
    “Let me think about this one.” I thought back to all the times we were in her dorm. She always had music playing, but what band played the most? “The Cure.”
    “Dammit!” She was so cute when she was mad. Becki had this don’t-mess-with-me vibe that I think most people fell for. I knew better. I could tell someone had hurt her in the past. Her outward demeanor was just a tough front. “Where do I want to go someday?”
    “Los Angeles.” I knew that wasn’t the right answer, but I had no idea, and LA seemed like a good guess since we were there.
    “Exactly.” She rolled her eyes cluing me in that she was lying through her teeth. Her mouth flew open, and she sucked in a huge yawn.
    I laid my head on the pillow and pulled her into my chest. She snuggled in, as though it was a familiar position, and I kissed the top of her head. I really wished we had our own room. All this skin and closeness was driving me mad.
    “G’night, Becki.”
    “Goodnight, dork.”
    My phone blared an obnoxious alarm up through the pillow and into my brain. I flailed to shut it off. For a second I thought I was still in my apartment in Knoxville, but then I remembered I was in bed with Becki, and my dick flinched with morning wood accentuated by Becki’s presence.
    I looked down at Becki, still curled up tight against me. I ran my fingers through her hair and kissed her on the forehead. We hadn’t moved from the spot we fell asleep in. Everything that happened for the band over the last couple months had us all spinning. Slowing down was a nice change, even though everything was about to speed up again.
    There I was in a hotel room with the three guys I’d known since fourth grade, and we were getting ready to go on tour. We’d formed a band just so we could beat Alan Simmons in the talent show. He kept badgering us that he would win because girls loved the saxophone. He didn’t bug us much after we won first place with our original punk rock song “Say No to Sax”. That was the day I signed my first autograph, and Manny got his first kiss. I’d been through everything with these guys; we survived detention and some serious brawls together. We got drunk for the first time together with Spider’s older sister, Beth. And Spider, Manny, and Bones physically held me up seconds after Chloe died. We were closer than brothers.
    “What are you thinkin’?” Her voice moved me in a way I couldn’t begin to describe.
    “Are you a jealous person, Becki?” The words fell from my mouth before I could second-guess them.
    “I’ve busted up a bitch over a guy, if that’s what you’re asking.” She said it so calmly, like it would be no surprise to me, and it wasn’t. “Why do you ask?”
    “You asked what I was thinking. If you can handle it, I will always tell you the second you ask. But you have to promise the same.”
    “Deal. Hit me. I can take it.”
    “I was thinking about the day Chloe died.” My heart still stung when I said those words.