contract. “Three weeks? It’s so… fast.”
“You guys were a last-minute addition. Good news is it’s filming here in Los Angeles. Santa Monica, actually. You won’t have to go far.”
“Cool,” Webb said. Danny noticed that Tate looked relieved too. He wondered why he didn’t feel more relieved too, and that’s when he realized it was the first thought he’d given to Katie in over twenty-four hours.
Katie. His girlfriend. Shit.
You’re such a jerk.
All it took was a new friend at his house and the possibility of, well, not just a possibility anymore. It was really freaking happening. Danny vowed to call Katie on his way home.
“So, guys, take these home, have someone look over it, get it back to me by next Wednesday. Cool?”
Everyone nodded.
“Fantastic. Keller wants to see you in the studio tomorrow, but he says to take today off, do whatever you need to do. Oh, and you’ll need to come up with a name. Start thinking.”
Danny was disappointed. He wanted to stay and sing, hang out with the guys. The thought of going back to his parents’ big empty house sucked. If it didn’t seem really weird, he’d have asked Elliot to come back with him. But that would be weird, right? They were about to see each other nonstop for months . All the guys stood and shook Sasha’s hand, contracts clutched against their sides. It wasn’t until they were standing in the parking lot staring at each other that it really started to hit.
“Shit, guys. Shit .” Reece’s pale skin flushed a little. He looked around the group, grin growing.
“We could really do this. Make it big,” Tate added. His eyes were wide. They all had to be feeling it. Terror, wonder, with a big dash of “Holy hell, is all this really happening to me?”
“I think we can do it.” Elliot smiled slowly.
“All for one, one for all, right?” Webb asked. He stuck a fist into the middle of their little circle. One by one, the other four of them joined until their fists were connected at the knuckles. All for one, one for all. Danny had one of those moments, one of those few times when you become aware that everything is changing. His life was changing. And these guys, they would become a part of it. Tate, Webb, Reece, Elliot. They were his new family.
E LLIOT practiced what he was going to say on his way home. “Mom, Dad. I have a recording contract. I met these guys and we sing together. I’m in a… boy band.”
He laughed at the last one. His habit of blasting Pearl Jam and Muse in his bedroom probably wouldn’t have led either of them to believe he wanted to be the next Backstreet Boy. It probably would’ve been better if he’d told them where he was going the past few days. He’d had to get as much sun as possible during their short breaks, so his story of going to the beach with Sara would be convincing. He’d already known his dad wasn’t going to like it. Even his mother, supportive as she usually was, probably wouldn’t like it too much either.
He was right.
“W HAT about college, El? You’re already all signed up for classes.”
“Mom, if this works out, I could make so much more money than I ever did from any job I got after college. Nobody gets chances like this. Nobody .”
“I don’t think it’s a good idea, son,” his dad added. “This contract is extensive, and it’s for two years. That’s a long time.”
Elliot was exasperated. “What else would I be doing? Going to class? Drinking beer in the dorms? C’mon, guys! This is the opportunity of a lifetime, and you know it.” He was getting to the point where he was tired of talking about it. “Can’t you just have Uncle Kevin look over the contract and tell me if there are any inconsistencies?” Elliot’s uncle was a lawyer in the city. As far as Elliot knew he didn’t specialize in entertainment, but he had to know a typical contract when he saw one.
His parents both hesitated.
“Listen, Dad. Mom. I’m going to do this. I