Free Playing Autumn (Breathe Rockstar Romance Book 1) by Mina V. Esguerra

of the chairs that had been pulled into the room at the last minute. He chose instead to stand near the door and scanned the room for Haley, but didn’t see her.
    Victoria was handed a microphone, and she tapped it to check if it was working. “So this is the thing I say every year, when we start this.
    “Good morning, musical hearts and hands of Houston. Welcome to Breathe Music Festival, which for twelve years now has been connecting young musicians with established music pros. This began as a charity event, and is now, I’m proud to say, a staple in Houston’s music scene. Because of the students, who apply by the hundreds every year for a chance at one of the dozen slots available. Because of the mentors, who take time out to fly back home and share the wisdom they’ve gained from their colorful careers. Because of the sponsors, who pitch in not just money but passion and help make sure that you have a comfortable experience and not have to pay a cent for this.
    “We’re doing all of this with only one purpose: make music. Breathe music. Are you ready to do that now?”
    This actually made Oliver pause. He hadn’t thought about music this way in a long time, even as he was fighting for the right to make the music he wanted. Should he tell the kids then that it wouldn’t always be that way, that they were walking into an industry that didn’t want them as they were and instead were looking for the next lump of clay like Trey?
    He suspected that Victoria wouldn’t want that.
    She began to explain what the weekend had in store for them. Morning and afternoon mentoring sessions, leading to performances at midday and early evening where the students could show what they had learned.
    “Oliver Cabrera,” Victoria was saying. “You probably know him as a bestselling rock and alternative artist, but he’s also a classically trained musician, a Tomorrow’s Talent winner, and he grew up like five blocks from my house. Oliver, you will be mentor to the Ball siblings John and Kari.”
    It looked like he was the only mentor to get a duo, and he wasn’t sure if it was a good or bad thing. At the end of Victoria’s speech the mentors and students found each other, and he found himself looking down (and up) at the young people whose dreams he should be encouraging.
    “I watched Tomorrow’s Talent when I was a kid,” John said. “But it’s been cancelled, right?”
    Off to a good start. “Well, not yet.”
    Trey and his student, a girl who looked completely overwhelmed, showed up beside them. “I got dibs on the meeting room down the hall. Best acoustics, I promise you, and near the bathrooms. Let’s jam there?”

Chapter 12

    Trey wanted this. He really did. He could have anything in the world at this point, and he was stoked about being a mentor.
    “This is the beginning of the rest of your lives, I promise!” he said. “If you think you’ve got it in you, you should take the time to discover it here. And we’ll help you!”
    Oliver kept the impulse to gag inside him, deep inside, and left a mask of polite agreement on his face.
    And Trey went on.
    “…the first day is going to suck,” Trey was saying. “On my first day, my backup track kept skipping, and I forgot my lyrics, and someone else in the group sang the exact same song. It’s insane! So get it over with and let’s do our best. What were you all thinking of singing?”
    Oliver saw Kari Ball consulting a piece of paper, where a list was haphazardly scribbled. They had been told they could get to sing nearly anything (the performances were private, not televised, so there were no rights issues.)
    “ A Thousand Years ,” she said, referencing the Christina Perri song.
    “ Livin’ on a Prayer ,” John said at the same time.
    Oliver noticed the siblings shoot glares at each other and scooted his chair closer.
    “The two of you will have to figure that out,” Trey said. “How about you…?”
    Trey had turned his attention to his actual