Read Love Song (Rocked by Love #2) for Free Online

guy wearing an old Fury concert t-shirt approached his
table. "I'm Hugh."
    "Hey, man." He
shook hands. "Want anything to drink?"
    "How cool is this,
Luke Thompson is buying me coffee." He smiled at Ivan and introduced
himself. They exchanged hellos and Luke made sure they were both fueled with
coffee.
    "We're going to one
of the conference rooms at the hotel. We'll hang out and talk and then listen
to you sing. Okay?"
    Hugh nearly bounced on
his toes. "Sure. Yes. Fine. Thanks."
    Luke laughed and clapped
him on the back. "Relax, man. It's too early for that much energy."
He led the way into the harsh sunlight and back to the hotel. When they arrived
in the conference room, he nodded to Ivan to start rolling.
    Luke stood next to Hugh
at the table and waved to the camera. "Hi, Fury fans. Luke here, with our
first singer contestant for the New Band Contest. Everyone, meet Hugh. Hugh,
say hello."
    Hugh blushed deep red.
"Hey, guys."
    "How long have you
been playing music?"
    "Since I was a kid.
Age five for singing, and ten years old for guitar."
    "Cool. And the song
you submitted in your demo was Lights Out . We're ready to hear you rock
it." He took a seat. "Show me what you've got."
    They waited a full
minute. Hugh's hands were shaking and his cheeks flushed scarlet. He opened his
mouth but no words came out. Then, he shook himself. "Sorry, guys."
    He rubbed his hands over
his face. Took another quick breath, and opened his mouth, but again no words
came out.
    Luke nodded. "Relax,
bud. It's cool. Try again."
    And... Hugh looked at
him, took a breath, opened his mouth, and... nothing.
    Luke exchanged a glance
with Ivan and frowned. How serious was this case of stage fright? "You
okay, Hugh?"
    "Sorry, I guess it's
nerves." Hugh shoved his hair out of his face. "I don't usually get
like this. But you're you . I didn't even get this nervous when I met Rob
Hawke at his show last month."
    At Rob's
name, Audrey flashed into Luke's mind. Just the mention of Rob nearly set him
off. If it weren't for Rob, Audrey wouldn't be jaded against him. He had to fix
what had happened. Right now. Luke bolted up out of his chair and two sets of
eyes pinned him in place. Much as he wanted, no needed, to make things right
with Audrey, he couldn't run out on Hugh. Not when the kid reminded him so much
of himself.
    "I'm... sorry."
The young singer stood at the center of the room, shoulders hunched, staring at
the floor.
    Luke murmured to Ivan,
"Cut the recording."
    Setting aside his coffee,
Luke rose. Zander had recently begun mentoring a young guitarist. Luke was more
than happy to do something similar here. "Hugh, you're fine, bud. Take a
deep breath, hold it for four counts and then let it out in eight counts. And
then do it again. Do you know the words to Cut Down ?"
    One of The Fury's most
well-known songs, thanks to use in commercials and a popular video game, it had
a good beat and would suit Hugh's voice well.
    In the midst of the slow
exhale, Hugh nodded.
    "Cool. We're singing
it together." He queued it up in his phone, joined Hugh, and patted his
shoulder. "If you get nervous, just close your eyes. That always helped
me. Then, it isn't any different than singing in the shower."
    "Do you still
get nervous?" Interest overtook embarrassment and Hugh looked Luke
straight in the eyes.
    "Hell, yeah. I have
to do breathing exercises before every show to calm down. Hook me up with your
email address and I'll send them to you. I'll also show them to you when we're
finished for the day."
    "Thanks, man. I
really want this opportunity. I don't usually get nervous, but it's you .
You're my idol." Hugh's grateful smile touched off one of his own. Being
able to fix something made him feel better.
    When their cue came, he
started and Hugh joined in, eyes closed for several beats. The kid had a decent
voice. Halfway through, he relaxed enough to look at Luke. Luke smiled and
nodded and gave him a thumbs up. Nerves still lurked, but not enough to freeze
him. By