Just for Tonight

32.

Chloe managed to take a few hours off every now and then to watch the guys record the album.

Matti was the first to be surprised.

"Are you ill? You are taking time off," he laughed.

"Not really." She looked at him with teasing eyes.

"I get it ! You are dating your mystery man. The one who, every time, makes you miss the best evenings with your beloved colleagues."

"You're getting close to the truth, Matti-Matt," she smirked.

"Oh boy, Chloe, we've been colleagues for a year and you never tell me anything. I have to guess everything." Matti turned serious again.

Chloe was a real enigma to everyone. She worked hard, she knew her job, she was lovely to everyone, but other than that... She never talked about her private life. He assumed she had been heartbroken at some point, because some days, make-up hadn't been enough to hide her red eyes.

"If you behave... Be kind ..." she teased back, "I'll explain everything... One day...".

----

She entered the recording studio. Ville was already at the microphone, singing "Into the night". He caught sight of her and smiled.

"Stop stop stop ! ", Ted yelled. "Ville, you can't smile while singing "you and I /torn and broken". We can hear in your voice that you are smiling! "

Ville pointed at Chloe." I've got a visitor... My lady". He took off his headset and stepped out of the small room he was in, sometimes called "the aquarium" because of the glass that encircled it.

" Welcome to this part of my life, honey", he whispered into her ear.

" Are you his lady ? The one who is supposed to record a song ?", Ted asked her, puzzled. She looked so small next to Ville.

" Chloe", she replied as she extended her hand.

Ted shaked her hand with a smile. She had given him the perfect answer : her name was Chloe, not Ville's girlfriend.

"This tall boy seems to be easily distracted in your presence. But he is going to explain some things to you and we're going to attempt the recording of Just for Tonight."

Ville showed her how the recording worked. The soundtrack was already pre-recorded. He explained that she could stand very close to the microphone, and put the headphones on her ears.

It took her a few tries before she managed to get her voice out and harmonize it with Ville's own. She apologized several times. "sorry... I haven't sung in so long...".

"It's nothing, honey. Do you think I only need one take? Ask Ted, he's going crazy with me...", Ville smiled.

She soon realized that Ville wanted everything to be perfect. It was a bit different from concerts, where the instruments and the singing audience could hide small imperfections. In this glass bubble, the slightest mistake could be heard, the slightest breath taken in the wrong place became perceptible. She concentrated. She wanted him to be proud of her.

"It's just the two of us. Look at me." He took her hands in his and she plunged her eyes into his. Then she forgot everything. The studio, Ted's presence, the pressure she was putting on herself to be up to the challenge. Her voice broke free and she saw Ville's eyes shine. This was the take.

" It was perfect," Ted exclaimed. "You two together is really something!"

"Can I stay a little longer while he records?", she asked.

"If he's not too distracted... Why not", Ted smirked.

"I'll do my best then," Ville laughed.

He sang "Into the night" and "All lips go blue". It only took a few takes. In Chloe's presence, he felt freer, his mind lighter, and the interpretation came more easily. He had written this album for her. And he dedicated it to her.

----

" Thank you so much for this experience, beautiful", she said, later that day.

"My pleasure honey, really. I still love singing with you. And now, the duet, which we have shared for a long time on stage, is recorded forever. It was something important to do".

Chloe attended most of the recordings. She felt it was something close to his heart. Soon enough, the album's first single was getting airplay. Tears on tape received positive reviews from all the fans, as did the other songs, which were released one after the other.

Ville had put his heart and soul into this album, remaining faithful to himself in the essence of the melody and lyrics. His signature sound was recognizable, with a little extra thing, a subtle evolution towards something else.

But the song that haunted Chloe was, without a doubt, Love without tears. In his own way, Ville was a storyteller. It was this talent that she admired most in him. His simple yet complex way of fitting an entire love story into a few sentences in a three or four minutes song, and making the listener feel so many emotions at once.

She had no doubt that the tour would be a success.

"You're a genius, you know. The way you create...", she told him as she listened to the album for the hundredth time. She was sitting in front of the stereo, cross-legged, looking serious.

"I assume your opinion is unbiased, honey, and that you're not guided by your feelings for the singer." He laughed. He'd never really known what to make of the compliments he received, and especially when they came from Chloe.

"Trust me, beautiful. You'll do great things again."

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Hi, dear reader!
I don't know a lot about how recording an album looks like, but I tried to figure it and I hope you enjoyed this chapter 😉