Chapter Four

I decided that it was best to keep my feelings to myself. I didn't even tell Ashly. I wouldn't be able to deal with her told-you-so-attitude. And I wasn't going to tell Tom either. I didn't want to risk losing him as a friend. Beside it was only a tiny crush; it's not like I was in love with him.

Tom and I had talked about writing a song together if we ever met in person. A week after the coffee shop gig, Tom and I had decided to meet up at my apartment when Ashly wasn't around. I didn't want her bothering us. We needed to work with no distractions. And Ashly was a huge a distraction. I usually wrote my songs late at night while she was asleep. So when Tom arrived, he was surprised it was so quiet.

"Wow, I don't think I've ever been somewhere this quiet. It's never peaceful when you have the three stooges around. Dougie has to be the worst though, with his porn."

I covered my eyes with my hand and groaned. "I didn't need to know that."

Tom wrapped his arm around my shoulder, "Be thankful you don't live with him."

We headed into my bedroom where we got setup with our guitars, microphones and a notebook. I jotted down a few lines of lyrics that were running through my head at the moment.

'Tell me who should I be to make you love me

Tell me what does it mean to be alone.'

Tom liked them and added his little part to it.

'Can't you see me standing staring out from a distance

Hear my cry if you'd only listen

Out of focus into me and you.'

Soon enough the chorus was down. The rest of the song took a little time to figure out. We couldn't seem to agree on a main idea for the song. We knew it would be a love song, but we just weren't sure on how to convey our point. I started to get stressed out. If I can't think of anything to put down to finish a song, I start to get frustrated. I had a habit of tossing my hair when I got annoyed. Tom noticed right away. He put down his guitar on my bed and stood up behind me. He took my hands and held them up so he could take my guitar from off my shoulder. He eased my arms down to my side and he started to give me a relaxing massage. He worked his hands on my neck and shoulders. My eyes fluttered closed and I started to hum lightly. And as the massage got a little better I started to sing what was to become the first verse:

'Kiss me fool, if you care
If your words have any meaning.
Playing it cool is so unfair
Why this veil of secrecy?
God forbid, your friends found out what we did
Why can't someone like you be someone like me?'

Tom laid his chin on my shoulder and whispered lightly in my ear, "Feel better?" I nodded my head and opened my eyes to start to add the lyrics onto the chorus. Tom went back to his seat and pulled it up to my laptop. "Hum the song again for me Audrey." I looked at him and knew what he wanted. I closed my eyes and started to hum the way I thought the song should sound. He started clicking and typing away on the computer as I sang. As I finished humming, Tom stopped typing. I opened my eyes to see Tom's lips curled into a smile toward me. His eyes were bright and I could see the pride he had in me.

"Let's listen to it," I said wanting to hear what we had so far. Tom pressed the play button and I closed my eyes letting the music fill my mind. I started to sing the lyrics that we wrote. When I stopped singing, I couldn't help but have a huge smile on my face. "I really like it."

"Me too. You sound great." His smile was warm and I felt the butterflies in my stomach.

We spent about another two hours writing the song. We knew what the song was about so it wasn't so hard, but finding the right lyrics can be tricky. The music was done we just needed to make a bridge. It ended up being my favorite part of the song.

After finishing the song, Tom and I decided to make ourselves something to eat and watch a little TV. We were sitting on the couch in my living room watching Law & Order when the phone behind us rang. I wasn't in the mood to answer the phone so I sat there and ignored it.

Tom looked at me weird, "Aren't you going to answer that?"

"No, I'll let the machine get it. If it's important they'll leave a message, otherwise they won't."

Tom and I sat there waiting for the machine to click on. As my voice ended our outgoing message to the caller, the voice of the caller took over. "Hey Ashly, it's Danny. I wanted to call you and let you know that Harry, Dougie and I are planning a surprise party for Tom. But then we realized Audrey's birthday is only a few days after his, so it's for both Audrey and Tom. It's going to be at that bar in Times Square, the 12 Inch Bar. It's only going to be the four of us and you and Audrey. But don't tell Audrey or Tom because then it won't be a surprise…" Tom and I looked at each other and started laughing.

I turned around and pressed the speaker phone button and started to talk to Danny. "Hey Bolton boy."

"Oh, hi Audrey. You didn't just hear the message I was leaving, did you?"

I laughed and Tom and I said at the same time, "We both did."

We heard him sigh and finally added, "Okay, well you both know so I guess its not a surprise anymore. Could you just let Ashly know?"

"Yeah, and next time you're planning a surprise party don't call the person's house that you're planning the party for, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'll see you soon. Bye," he said as he hung up.

Tom and I laughed for the rest of the night talking about how dumb Danny could be at times. We knew he meant well, but sometimes we felt like we couldn't help me. By the end of the night, it was hard for me and Tom to say good-bye. We had gotten so used to being together that it got harder to say bye. When we finally did say good-bye it was the same kiss-on-the-cheek-I'll-call-you-tomorrow good-bye. But I knew that this was going to be one good birthday.