Broken Record

Chapter 30: Stevie and Aero

"Should I just come directly to your studio?" Olivia questioned Stevie though the phone, the background noise of LAX making it hard to hear.

"Yeah, I texted you the address."

"What do I wear? I mean, are there famous people everywhere?" Stevie laughed and rolled her eyes, adjusting a dial on the mixing board as Aero glanced over at her.

"You're always dressed perfectly, Olivia, I'm sure whatever you flew in wearing is just fine." As opposed to Stevie's eclectic style that either consisted of neon colors or all black, her sister was the epitome of trendy fashion. It was actually one of the reasons Stevie had been looking forward to her visit. She wanted some advice about men. What men want. How to dress for a real, adult date. Not that Benton had even remotely mentioned the possibility of anything resembling a date but Stevie still had a sliver of hope. She felt conflicted by the girly rush of nerves swirling in her stomach at the thought.

"Okay fine, I'll see you soon. We're still going out to dinner tonight right? You're not going to blow me off and wear your headphones the entire time I'm here?" Normally it was Olivia who couldn't stand Stevie and her quirks. But something in her voice sounded needy and genuine. Stevie stifled another yellow flag that something had been off about her perfect sister but she couldn't imagine what it was.

"Yes. My friend got us in at Nobu."

"Nobu!?" Stevie pulled the phone away from her ear at Olivia's practical shriek and Aero let out a low, masculine laugh. He was the said friend. The one with all the connections. Stevie mouthed 'thanks again' at Aero before returning the phone to her ear.

"Okay I gotta get back to work, see you soon, sis." She hung up and returned to the dials since she and Aero were already heads down on another remix for Jelena Kingston.

"You and your sister seem pretty different, huh?" Aero took a swig of his beer, Stevie momentarily worried by the fact that it was only 10:00 AM on a Wednesday. Not that she hadn't had her own moments of alcohol abuse.

"Ha, that's an understatement. She's all girly and preppy and perfect. Every guy falls for her on the spot, I swear. She and her husband are practically Barbie and Ken."

Aero nodded slowly, pursing his lips before drinking again. "I know the type."

"You know every type." Stevie laughed, teasing him like a brother. He smiled wistfully, pulling on his head phones.

***

A few hours later, Cortland poked his head into the studio, waiting for the song to break before speaking.

"Stevie, you got a minute?" Stevie turned toward Cortland, the overweight ruddy lawyer powerhouse she'd initially hated. She'd come to like the guy, respect him even, after their first encounter. He had the same obsession and sense of joy from his legal work that she got from her music. They were both artists, just different mediums.

"Yeah, sure." Stevie set her headphones done, turning toward the door.

"Want to craft your legal update, let the Fed know you've been following the rules." Cortland winked and Stevie let out a laugh. It had been easy for her to forget she was basically serving out a sentence and not just making art in this place. Aero gave her a quick head nod as he got back to work on the mixing board.

The music pouring through Aero's headphones was so loud that when he saw a flash of blonde hair from the corner of his eye, he assumed it was Stevie. He kept mixing, his focus on dropping out the chorus as he pulled his beer to his lips. He was so in the zone that he nearly jumped when he felt a light tap on his shoulder. He turned and stilled. Standing in front of him was a fucking goddamn angel. Long, flowing platinum hair and emerald green eyes. He scanned lower, a slender but sinfully curvy body highlighted perfectly by a pale pink floral dress and strappy heels. He swallowed his beer, pulling his handphones off of his head.

"Hi! Sorry, I'm looking for my sister, Stevie Marlowe. Reception told me she'd be back here." The girl smiled brightly, the perfection of her beautiful face slamming like a knife into Aero's chest.

"You must be Olivia."

"Yes! Hi, that's me." She offered her impeccably manicured hand. Aero paused, noting the bright diamond and attached wedding band on her ring finger. Lucky bastard, he thought to himself.

"Hi," he shook her hand, noting how Olivia's eyes widened just a fraction at their touch, "Aero."

"Oh, cool, like bow and arrow?" Aero choked past a laugh, realizing she was dead serious. She didn't know who he was. Fuck, how long had it been since he'd met a woman who didn't recognize him. Not since he was seventeen years old, over ten years ago. Something about it appealed to him a little too much.

"Yeah, something like that." Olivia nodded brightly and looked around the room, marveling at the space. She and Stevie definitely looked alike, and while he'd always found Stevie attractive, he'd never thought about her like that. She was too similar to him. One of his platinum hits, Opposites Attract, had been a banger for a reason.

"So, um, are you a producer too? Like Stevie? I think that's what she does but honestly I don't know the first thing about music." Clearly, Aero thought to himself. Or else this angelic woman would realize how much she'd just insulted one of the top charting, most celebrated DJ producers in the industry. But it made sense. Olivia was clearly a Jelena Kingston, Taylor Swift pop girl. Not a deep music fan. Probably didn't even have a Spotify account.

"You could say that." Olivia nodded and sat in the chair next him, crossing her legs like a goddamn princess.

"Will she be back soon?" Olivia glanced over at Aero and he watched her eyes trace his tattoos with something like awe or wonder. He knew how he must look to her. Like a law breaking drug dealer. Tattoos covering nearly every inch of his taut, muscular skin, even over the backs of his hands and his shaven head. She must be fucking terrified behind that makeup ad worthy smile. Especially if her man was really like a Ken doll as Stevie had mentioned.

"Should be." Aero picked up Stevie's headphones and offered them to Olivia. "Here, put these on." Olivia timidly took them from him, their fingers brushing against one another again as she situated the headphones over her perfectly styled hair. Aero hit play and watched Olivia's eyes light up, her hand going over her mouth when she realized it was a Jelena Kingston song.

When the track finished she carefully pulled the headphones off. "Wow, oh my god, have you ever met her? Like, do you and Stevie really work with her? I didn't believe it when Stevie told me." Aero laughed again, enjoying her ignorance. Even though he didn't sing on many of his tracks, he had more platinum records than Jelena.

"Sometimes."

"Wow." Olivia shook her head in disbelief, "I'd be so nervous."

"You get used to it." Trust me sweetheart, Aero thought to himself, this life gets old quicker than you can imagine. Before he could say anything else, Stevie popped into the studio and Olivia jumped up to give her a hug.

"Hi, sis! Wow I had no idea your job was actually this cool." Stevie grimaced slightly and Aero realized that in addition to her sister having no clue who he was, she also didn't seem to know that this gig wasn't exactly a job, but more like a plea deal. Aero winked at Stevie and she mouthed 'I'm so sorry' as if Aero had been annoyed having to deal with her sister for a few minutes alone. Far fucking from it.

"You cool if I head out? Was going to show Olivia around the city a bit." Stevie reached for her backpack looking at Aero.

"Of course, have fun." He took another pull from his beer, his eyes tracking over Olivia's curves and angelic face one last time.

"It was lovely meeting you, Arrow." Olivia smiled before turning to follow her sister out of the studio and Aero heard her last few words to Stevie as he chuckled to himself.

"Stevie, your coworker has so many tattoos!"

** Are you loves picking up on the not so subtle hint of a future story?!? <3**