Claire (Hart University Book 2)

Read Online Claire (Hart University Book 2) by Abigail Strom - Free Book Online Page B

Book: Claire (Hart University Book 2) by Abigail Strom Read Free Book Online
Authors: Abigail Strom
Ads: Link
that feeling going.
    “I don’t want you to pick my next girlfriend, but you can tell me what you think about any prospective dates.”
    She looked skeptical. “How would that work? Will you be sending me their resumes?”
    “We’ll figure something out. Maybe you could casually stop by when they’re here or something.”
    She chewed on her lower lip for a moment. “Do you have someone in mind?”
    Only you, and that’s not happening.
    “No. But if I find someone I’m interested in you’ll be the first to know.”
    She started to smile. “All right. It’s a deal.”
    “Great. Now I’m going to take this ice pack off before I freeze solid. And then we’re going down to the party. Apparently I have a flock of female admirers waiting to—”
    “Admire you?”
    “Exactly.”
    “Just remember you have to run any serious contenders by me first.”
    “I’ll remember.”

Chapter Eight
    A few weeks after Will’s season opener, Milton came up to me after band practice.
    “You should think about writing some solo stuff,” he said. “And performing it.”
    I frowned at him. “You don’t like the stuff I’ve been writing for Sugar Lane?”
    He sighed. “No, moron, that’s not it. I’ve just been noticing something new in your lyrics. Your songs are getting more thoughtful, you know? I was just wondering if you’d ever thought about doing a coffeehouse-style gig sometime.”
    Milton was the least coffeehouse-style musician I knew.
    “Is that an insult? Are you saying I’m not rock and roll enough?”
    He mimed smacking me upside the head. “Will you cut that out? There’s no subtext here. I’m not looking for a subtle way to say you suck. I think you’re awesome. I was just noticing this other side to your style and wondered if you’d thought about exploring it. But I will never, ever bring it up again.”
    Later that night I was still thinking about what he’d said, and I called Jenna to talk about it.
    My stepmother was always my go-to person for musical advice. She’d left home when she was seventeen to start a rock band, and she was still going strong almost twenty years later. I’d sent her a demo of Sugar Lane that she’d really liked, and she’d brought up the possibility of us maybe opening for the Red Mollies when they played a Boston club in February.
    “Do you think I’m rock and roll?” I asked her.
    “As opposed to what? Country? Maybe you’re a little bit country and a little bit rock and roll.”
    “Very funny.” I told her what Milton had said after practice that day. “I don’t want to be some kind of folk singer. I don’t see myself that way.”
    “You’re nineteen,” Jenna said. “You shouldn’t see yourself any one way. You should be open to trying new things. Plus, all the great artists reinvent themselves on a regular basis. Sometimes they fail spectacularly, of course. But it helps them grow.”
    I felt a qualm. “I don’t want to fail.”
    I hoped she’d say something comforting. Something like, Don’t worry, you won’t. But being Jenna, of course she didn’t say that.
    “You should want to fail.”
    “What?”
    “Failure is important. It means you’re taking risks. Isn’t that what you wanted when you decided to be single for a while?”
    I’d told Jenna about my pledge.
    “I guess so.” I was lying in bed, and now I closed my eyes. “If I’m being completely honest, I think I’ve been hoping there’s a safe way to take risks. Which I know is stupid.”
    Jenna laughed. “Not stupid, just human. How’s this for advice? Instead of worrying about the labels, just follow the music and see where it leads you. It sounds to me like that’s what Milton was saying, too.”
    “All right,” I said. “I think I can do that. Sometimes when I get an idea for a song, I—”
    My phone vibrated. I opened my eyes and saw Will’s name on the screen, and a little shiver ran down my spine.
    There’d been two games since the season opener, one at home

Similar Books

The Last Mile

Tim Waggoner

Voices of Islam

Vincent J. Cornell

Back in her time

Patricia Corbett Bowman

Whisper Death

John Lawrence Reynolds