Blood and Guitars by Heather Jensen

there for a bit.” I let out a sigh of relief.
“I thought I was going to have to get on my knees and beg.” He
waved a dismissive hand and took a drink while I leaned back in my
chair, reminding myself that I could relax. “Now we just have to
get the label on board.”
    “Let the adults deal with the label,” he said
matter-of-factly. “I’ll give Wes a call later. We’ll figure that
out.”
    “I can’t wait to see this new studio of
yours,” I added happily.
    “I can’t think of a group of guys I’d rather
have break it in,” he said.
    Mission accomplished.
     
     

Chapter 10
     
     
    Two days later I was so excited about getting
into the studio to do some more recording, that even getting lost
on the way to Karatz’s new place couldn’t put a damper on my mood.
(That’s saying something considering it was only eight in the
morning.) I called Karatz, pleaded guilty to being an idiot, and
got directions so I could find the place. He told me to pull around
to the side of the house since his studio was a separate structure
in the back. The last house Karatz owned had been a nice place, but
I could tell immediately that this one would put it to shame. I
also knew I was going to be jealous the minute I saw the building
that was supposed to be the studio. To start, there was enough room
for like eight cars to park around back. Chase’s car was parked
there, as was Jonas’s. The studio looked like a small house in
itself. I opened the door and walked inside the entryway. The
hardwood floors beneath my feet were immaculate and shining and the
ten foot ceilings made the space feel really open. I glimpsed a
door to the left that looked like it might be a bathroom, and then
continued on inside where I came upon the lounge area. Karatz and
O’Shea were sitting on a large sofa and Chase was texting on his
phone when I walked in.
    “Hey, you made it,” Karatz teased.
    “Barely,” I retorted. “A guy could get turned
around in your private parking lot back here.”
    Karatz shrugged and said. “Don’t complain if
you don’t want to have to walk in from the street.”
    I laughed and looked over at my best friend.
“Where’s your car?” I realized it hadn’t been in the parking
lot.
    “I caught a ride with Chase,” O’Shea said.
“And even he managed to find the place okay.” I stuck out my tongue
childishly and glanced around, wondering if I had missed Jonas
somewhere along the way.
    “He’s on his way,” O’Shea said, picking up on
my search.
    I nodded and said, “Do we have to wait for
him to get the tour?”
    “Do I look like a tour guide?” Karatz said,
“I’ll head into the kitchen and get everyone some water. You guys
can show yourselves around.”
    “Works for me,” O’Shea said. I watched Kratz
exit the opposite side of the lounge where I glimpsed a
refrigerator and a bunch of cupboards. That was when I realized the
studio had its own kitchen. I was already jealous. I followed
O’Shea down a little hallway where we found a spacious control room
with a top of the line soundboard. Across from it were the main
recording room and a drum booth, separated from the control room
only by a large window. Further down was a live room. If the place
would have belonged to someone else I would have pulled out my
check book and made an offer. It was just that great.
    “Can you believe this place?” O’Shea
mused.
    “I’m trying to decide why I don’t have a
house like this,” I said.
    “We’re not technically in the house. Besides,
your house is fine.”
    “Okay then, at least a studio like this,” I
corrected.
    “No idea. Maybe you should do some building
on.”
    Chase bumped into me from behind and stared
ahead, his jaw dropping at the sight of the live room we were
gazing into.
    “Hey dad, where’s my room?” O’Shea teased
when Karatz walked up from behind and found us standing around and
gawking.
    “Don’t act like you’re not going to fall
asleep all over the place,”