Angels

Chapter 9: Star Records

The next morning I woke up pleasantly satisfied. The night had been a delicious mix of sex and sleep and the refreshing feeling I had inside of me left me glowing. I could smell food being made in the kitchen and the aroma of coffee. I turned to my left and saw that Adam was already out of bed. I pulled on the closest item of clothing, his shirt, and padded towards the kitchen. Adam was there in his boxers making pancakes and coffee.

"Hey..." he smiled, "I figured we could both do with some energy food."

I chuckle and move to grab some mugs. He plates the food and we eat in comfortable silence.

"We're keeping this a secret, aren't we?" he states.

"Yeah...I don't want anyone to know we've hooked up right now..." I reply quietly.

"I have my reasons, and I'm sure you can guess what they are," he replies, "but I'm curious as to what yours are."

I finish my pancakes and look him in the eye as I say, "I have 2. The first being I've just come out of a terrible relationship and I don't want to be seen as the girl who sleeps around to get over it because that's not who I am. The second being, I'm new to this band, and I still need to earn my place in the fanbase and not be seen as someone who screwed the members for a place in the spotlight."

He nods and takes a mouthful of coffee and almost seems hesitant to say something before shaking his head and saying, "I know that last night wasn't that, Devin, I know that you're not like that, but I understand where you're coming from."

I give him a smile and kiss him on the cheek, "Thank you, Adam. You're sweet."

"Only for you babe," he winks, grinning.

I laugh and start washing up.

"I'm gonna need my shirt back so I can head home to freshen up for the appointment this afternoon," he points out.

I grin and remove his shirt in one delicate movement and hand it to him. He seems surprised by my bold move and bites his lower lip nervously. I continue my task and slink away to the bathroom to get ready myself. I hear the front door open and slam shut and I know that Adam has gone. I wash my hair that is now fading in color and get ready.

I stand at my wardrobe; what to wear? After my late night adventures, I'm feeling bold and sexy. I put on a red bustier top that was becoming my signature wardrobe piece at this point, a denim button-down top which I tied at the front and a short black pencil skirt with sandals. I grabbed my shoulder bag and made my way to Star Records.

Colin was already there in the waiting room dressed in his casual clothes; a hoodie, skull t-shirt, and jeans. He looked at me and bit his lip nervously.

"It'll be fine," I smiled, sitting down next to him, "the show went great last night."

He looked away and mumbled something. I looked at him with confusion and he sighed heavily, "I'm sorry about last night."

I raise my eyebrows in surprise and cry, "Colin Spencer apologizing? Please tell me there's an explanation other than the apocalypse!"

He pouts a little, causing me to laugh and he continues, "Look, what I did last night at the bar and then later with the text was childish and unnecessary. I want you to forgive me and let us start over. I've been a dick to you and there was no need for it."

I nod, "You are a first class asshole."

He grunts in response and looks away, so I continue, "But it looks like you're capable of being nice, so I'll forgive you."

He looks at me in surprise and then grins, "How about we work on some songs at my place after this then? I'll order pizza and grab some beers."

I grin, "Sounds great."

We chat for a while longer and Adam turns up with Doris and we're guided into the producer's office.

"Alright guys, I'm gonna cut straight to the chase," the producer says to us, "we loved your show last night and we want to record the album immediately so we can send you on tour."

We sit in stunned silence and he continues, "I want you all in here 9 am sharp to start recording. That young woman Ashley who makes and sells your merch has volunteered to be your manager and I think that's a brilliant idea since thanks to her, you all made over a thousand dollars each in merch sales last night."

I nearly choke on my coffee and Doris hands me a napkin which I accept gratefully. We're dismissed and as soon as we're in the lobby I feel hands grab my waist, pick me up and spin me around and I hear Colin's laughter.

"You really are this band's lucky charm, kitten!" he laughs.

Doris laughs and agrees, "This is all happening right now because of you!"

Once I'm back down on the ground I hold onto Adam to maintain my balance and they all laugh. We head to a nearby bar for a celebratory drink and we each go our separate ways. I get my music sheets and guitar ready to head over to Colins tonight and play video games until it's time. I change into something warmer since the night is cold; I change my skirt for some black jeans and my denim top for a blanket shawl.

That night Colin answers his door wearing nothing but his sweatpants and lets me in. The pizza is already there and I set my stuff down while he grabs us both a beer from the fridge.

"You got changed," he comments.

"The weather got cold," I reply, tucking into a slice of pizza, "I didn't want to freeze my ass off on my way here."

He switches on the radio to play some quiet background noise and settles down next to me on his small couch. We discuss some general song ideas as we eat and drink and he slowly gets closer to me and I feel myself relaxing as I see this good side to Colin. He picks up his guitar and some sheet music and strums for inspiration as I rest my legs on his lap as I work on some lyrics.

"What about this one?" I say, handing him a piece of paper to look at.

He nods and we start working on the melody together. 2 hours go by like this and we've managed to finish a song and start work on 2 others we thought of while working on the first. We take a beer break and listen to the radio as we stand in his kitchen. Aerosmith's 'I don't wanna miss a thing' comes on as we stand quietly talking and he offers me a hand. I raise my eyebrow at him but take his hand anyway. We slow dance awkwardly in his living room, probably because he's not much of a dancer and I laugh.

"Shut up, it's the alcohol," he pouts.

I hug him while grinning, "You're a sweet guy after all, aren't you?"

"I prefer 'romantic'," he replies with a smirk.

I throw my head back in laughter and continue slow dancing with him with my head resting on his chest. I was pretty happy being with here like this. The song ended and we sat down on the couch next to each other to continue working on the songs. We were both so engrossed in it we didn't realize it was 1 am and we were both dozing off on the couch. I feel Colin move and a blanket was draped over us. Colin was warm and comfortable. I leaned back against him and I felt his breathing grow more ragged and I could feel his heart pound, but I was too tired to care about it.

In the morning, Colin shook me awake and we made our way to the studio. Adam is already there setting up his drums and Doris walks in hungover a few minutes later. We set up and do our sound check and get to recording. 3 hours later we've recorded 2 songs and we're all frustrated. The producer kept finding faults in the music, like missing notes or a drum being hit too hard. We had to take a break.

Another 12 hours go by and half of the album is created. We'll all be gathering after work during the week to finish it, as the company wants us out on the road by the 1st of June. Good Lord I'll need strength...but vodka will have to do.