Rachel didn't believe in love. In fact she didn't believe in much. She didn't think she had to. She was very, very wrong. Her story began on a hot and sultry Tuesday afternoon in August. She was in her garage with her band as usual. It was a Tuesday ritual, after all. She and her angry girl rock band mates Serenity, Rebecca, and Ashleigh would meet in Rachel's garage and rock out for an hour or two until the neighbors got mad and called Rachel's parents. Then they would skulk to Rachel's "lair" and write music until they were shooed out. Things were going as usual. They were playing their hearts out and Rachel was providing vocals when someone appeared in the driveway. They didn't stop or take notice of him until he yelled something.
"Are you Rachel?" he called. She stopped and looked at him.
"Who wants to know?" she asked shortly.
"My name's Alex, someone told me I could find you here," he said.
"What do you want?" she asked.
"I heard your band was hot. I wanted to hear for myself," he said.
"Nobody thinks we're hot," Serenity piped up from behind the drums. "They think we're disturbing the peace."
"Yeah, everybody hates us," Ashleigh said.
"I dunno, my friend said you were hot," Alex shrugged. Rachel looked at him.
"Listen if you want, we'll be kicked out soon anyway," she said. She looked at her friends.
"Again," she said. Serenity tapped out the beat and they began. Alex stood there and listened intently, seeming to like what he heard. They finished the song and he looked at her.
"That was phat," he said.
"You think?" Becca said, caught by surprise.
"Totally, you chicks rock. What's your name?" he asked. They looked at each other.
"We don't have one," Rachel said finally. "Never thought about it."
"You might want to," he said.
"Why?" Ashleigh asked.
"You're gonna need one on your record," he said.
"Excuse me?" Rachel said. "Record?"
"Yeah as in like CD's," he said. "Little round disks, seen em?"
"Shut up," she said, insulted. Alex held up his hands.
"Cool it, do you want the deal?" he asked. They looked at each other. Serenity was nodding vigorously and Ashleigh and Becca were also in agreement.
"Sure," she said.
"Cool, have a name and a pen ready by tomorrow. I'll be back," he said, just as a car pulled up in the driveway. In it was a tall blond and smallish Hispanic looking guy.
"Hurry up man, we gotta go!" the blond called.
"I'm coming," Alex yelled back. "See you tomorrow."
"Yeah," Rachel said as he walked off. Alex got in the car and looked at Howie and Nick.
"Thanks for the tip," he said to Nick. "She's a hottie."
"Who? The singer?" Howie said. AJ nodded.
"Personally I wouldn't date a girl who wears a studded dog collar," he said. AJ rolled his eyes.
"Yeah D, whatever," he said.
"And all black in 90 degree heat," Howie added.
"It's her choice," AJ said.
"I told you you'd dig her," Nick said as they turned out of the neighborhood. "How'd you get to talk to her?"
"I told her a friend of mine told me her band was hot," he said.
"Nice BS," he said. AJ laughed.
"I offered her a deal on our label. She took it," he said.
"AJ, you know we have to be careful about stuff like that. We can't have a bunch of teenage girls who have no idea what they're getting into," Howie said.
"It worked didn't it? They had a cute bassist you might like," he said.
"Shut up AJ," he said as they turned to go back to their hotel.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"I can't believe we just got a deal," Becca said as they went up to Rachel's room.
"You sound like a teenybopper, you know that right?" Rachel said.
"Oh come on Rach, you have to be a little excited," Ashleigh said.
"We don't even have a name and he offered us a deal," she said.
"Because he thought we were good. We just have to think of one," Serenity said. "Stop being so pessimistic."
"I have a name," Ashleigh said. "Remember that movie Coyote Ugly?"
"Yeah, so?" Rachel said.
"Wouldn't that be a cool name?" she suggested.
"I guess so," she said.
"Well I like it," Becca said.
"Coyote Ugly it is," Serenity said.
"Hollywood here we come," Ashleigh said. Rachel just sighed.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"You did what?" Kevin said after AJ had told him he signed Coyote Ugly.
"You didn't ask us first?" Brian said.
"I had to do it then, I didn't see any other chances," AJ said.
"You have more balls than brains you know that, right?" Kev said. "You don't sign a band because you're hung for the lead singer!"
"Just listen to them, they're good," AJ insisted.
"How good can a bunch of seventeen year olds be?" Brian demanded. "Especially since you're the only one who likes that stuff."
"Hey, hey, everybody just cool it. We'll give the girls a chance to play for us. We'll vote on how good we think they are. The majority will rule," Howie said, stepping in to break up the argument.
"Okay," they all agreed. "We'll bring them in tomorrow to play for us."
"If you have any say in it they'll do more than play for us," Nick said.
"Shut up," AJ snapped.
The next day Coyote Ugly came out to the studio to play for their future bosses. Kevin and Brian we're going in with no expectations. Howie and Nick were keeping open minds and only AJ was dead set on having them signed.
"This is so exciting," Ashleigh said as they were setting up.
"Yeah Ash," Rachel said as she plugged in the amp and tested the sound.
"Be nice, if we make a bad impression they might revoke the offer," Serenity reminded them.
"She's got a point," Becca said.
"I'm just a little stressed right now," Rachel said. Especially about Alex, she added to herself.
"Okay," Ashleigh said. "Here they come." Rachel stood up and looked flustered for a moment. Alex didn't seem to notice as he and the other four sat down.
"What will you be playing for us today?" Howie asked, trying to ease the tension.
"Two songs we wrote, "Broken" and "Little Angel with Horns"," Rachel said. The boys snickered at the title of the second song. That made Rachel mad and she was determined to make an impression on them they would never forget.
"Ready?" she said. Serenity nodded and started the beat to "Angel". Rachel did the best job she had ever done with the song. She'd always had trouble growling out the chorus and she surprised herself and everyone else in the room when she nailed it. That's when Kevin and Brian sat up and took notice. AJ was enraptured of Rachel. He watched every move she made and every part of her. From her nails scraping against the mike to her Doc Marten clad foot keeping the beat he missed nothing about her.
Rachel could feel Alex's eyes on her and she used that to her advantage. She knew at least one of them was on their side. She would sway him as best she could. "Broken" was a slower song and she knew she could grab them with this one. She already had Alex's vote, but she knew she had to sway the others. By the time she was done, she had all the votes she needed.
"You have a deal," Howie said. The girls squealed and hugged each other. Even Rachel joined in the hugfest. They signed the contracts and then began disassembling their setup. AJ walked over as Rachel was wrapping cords.
"You did a kickass job today," he said.
"Thanks," she said, not looking up at him.
"Yeah, can I be honest with you right now?" he said.
"Sure," she said, tying the cords together.
"I really like you and I was wondering if you would want to go out with me," he said.
"No," Rachel said flatly.
"No?" AJ repeated. "How can you decide that fast?"
"If you were me, it wouldn't be such a shock," she said, getting up and still refusing to look at him.
"Well, I'm not you so can you explain this a little?" he asked, following her.
"Frankly I don't think you need it or deserve it," she said. "You can leave me alone now."
"What are you so scared of?" he asked. Rachel looked at him with hurt and fire in her eyes.
"Nothing," she snapped and walked off. AJ just stood there watching her and looking hurt.
Coyote Ugly's first gig was opening for BSB at their show in Richmond. The girls did a spectacular job and had the teenies silent for their twenty minute set. Once BSB took the stage the noise level went back up and they were left backstage, covering their ears.
"How do they stand this?" Ashleigh asked.
"I dunno," Rachel said. "I'd go insane."
"Me too," Serenity agreed. One of the crew members came back to their dressing room and looked at Rachel.
"They need you on stage," he said. Rachel looked at Ashleigh and she shrugged.
"Well go," Serenity said. Rachel got up and followed the man to the stage. AJ was standing there. She started to back away.
"I don't think," before she could finish AJ was introducing her. She had no choice but to walk out on the stage. She stood there glaring at him and he kneeled in front of her.
"This is for you," he said and began singing "I'll Never Break Your Heart". Rachel turned her head away from the audience's view. This was the most embarrassing moment of her life. What an ass, she thought. He must have been desperate for a date. The other four joined in as backup. She could feel herself blushing and she turned and ran off the stage. She'd had enough. She grabbed her jacket and headed toward the back door. What she hadn't counted on was AJ blocking her way out.
"You're supposed to be onstage. Get out of my way," she demanded.
"I'm not letting you get away so easily," he said. "I…I love you."
"If you think I feel the same, you're dreaming," she said.
"Then why don't you? Have you always hated the world this much?" he asked.
"Getting hurt is a good way to learn. I'm not making the same mistake twice," she said.
"I'm not a mistake," AJ said.
"You're quite the egotist aren't you?" she said.
"Watch this," AJ leaned over and kissed her. Rachel thrashed around and fought. She tried to bite him, but to no avail. He just kept kissing her and she finally stopped fighting. She had given up. He was too strong and too good.
"I don't wanna fall in love again," she said. "I hate love."
"Then don't think of it as love," AJ whispered. She looked at him.
"I can't," she said. "I just can't." She pushed past AJ and walked out into the night. As much as he wanted to run after her, but instead he could only close the door and cry.