Almost Home (NG2)

Angry women

Cayla set up a meeting with Nash and the songwriter. He was unsure about how the whole thing would work. Would she critique and pick apart his words? Maybe he should play the cowboy beach BS for her.

He was glad he never looked up Scarlett Hobbs because he'd be even more nervous to discover she was young and hot. He expected old and not hot. She was older than him, but not old. The writer wasn't tall, but she wasn't short like Cayla. Is he a pig to wonder how Rob gets it on with a short woman? Rob was taller than him by an inch or two. She had light brown hair, which looked like it was lightened by the summer sun and enough curves to make any man horny. He hadn't had a woman in months.

She greeted him in her studio with a warm smile and a handshake. He was afraid he might have held on a moment too long as he looked at her pretty face.

"I've heard you boys haven't let this town ruin you."

Tyler might have. "No, ma 'am. I'm the boy next door and..."

She laughed. "Tell me you never had the hots for the girl next door."

He laughed and shook his head. "You keep smiling and I'll have the hots for you."

Her face straightened up. "We're here to work."

They worked into the night and every day for the rest of the week. She sent him home with homework to work on later. His confidence was building, and he no longer feared crashing and burning.

Friday night, she said, "We should get a drink to celebrate."

"I'd rather not go out in public. It's not worth the hassle."

"Upstairs then?"

He had suspected she lived above her studio. Her apartment wasn't large, but people might be shocked because his place wasn't either. Clyde had a large house with lots of privacy, but he also had a wife and two kids. He and Tillie tried to keep their babies out of the public eye. Tyler didn't bother to stay out of the public eye. He lived in a swanky condo and partied every night they were in town.

"Drink?"

He rarely drank. He wasn't much for wine or those new drinks all the girls liked. White Claws and Bud which wasn't beer.

"What are you offering?" He smiled his 'make the girls drool' smile.

She giggled and touched her hair. He held his tongue but wanted to reassure her it looked pretty. She pulled out a few bottles of different beers. "I don't drink it. Friends leave them behind."

"I'll take the one in the clear bottle." It was a local microbrew.

Sure enough, she grabbed one of those fancy cans for her herself. "Hard lemonade. You wanna try it?"

"I'll pass. To a successful week." They clinked. "Do you want to hear the song we recorded recently? I should have tossed it instead of laying down tracks."

"Sure. I'm honored."

"You may not be."

He took out his phone and tapped play. He watched her face as she listened. She was serious, like a doctor examining a patient. It was her career, and he respected her for it. At the end, she smiled.

"I like it. How did you come up with it?"

"I got sand stuck in my boots. I nearly threw them out." Not really because well-worn boots were like walking barefoot.

"I think it has the makings of a hit. It's unique. No one wants the same old thing. You went out of the box on this one."

He raised his eyebrow. "Seriously, you aren't just buttering me up?"