That Blue Gibson

CH 14

"I don't know, man," Taylor shook his head and leaned onto the table in front of him. "I was cool with it before you starting talking about, like, hanging out with her and shit. Pretty sure that's how Yoko rolled onto the scene, you know? Then before you know it she's at every gig, every recording session and has... opinions."

Dave eyed him over the rim of his glass, taking a long drink of beer. "You're the one that ran through Silva's party screaming like you were on fire because I was missing her little jam session," Dave reminded him.

"Yeah, she's a fucking kickass drummer, but that's what I mean about opinions. You really want her at the board with James, telling him what would 'sound best'?" Taylor threw up some finger quotes and slumped back in his chair.

Dave made a face, "That doesn't seem like something she would do."

"Okay, besides that, she seems nice enough, but the whole Depp thing throws me," Taylor added, picking at the label on his bottle.

Dave set his glass on the table while considering Taylor's words. "I'm inviting her Thursday night," he said.

Taylor visibly cringed, "Never bring a fucking party chick to a gig, dude! You know that!"

"I didn't fuck her, Hawkins!" Dave insisted, but Taylor only shook his head.

"But you're trying to! It's gonna get messy, man. I can feel it. I'm a neutral party and I can feel it," Taylor moaned.

Taylor's wife appeared on the patio with a bowl of chips and salsa and set it between Dave and Taylor. "Tell him he's thinking with his dick, Ally," Taylor coaxed.

Ally looked between the two. "Who are we talking about?" she asked.

"Liz Colbert," Dave said quietly, still glaring at Taylor.

"Oh, I hear she's really nice!" Ally said excitedly. "The girls would just die if they met her. Work on that, will ya, Dave?" she called over her shoulder as she headed back into the house.

"Thanks, sweetie!" Taylor yelled sarcastically. "Always a big help." He stared at Dave for a long moment. "I'm just saying, man. You've known her for less than 24 hours. Give it at least a couple days, ideally a month," he said softly.

Dave finally looked up at Taylor. "Yeah."

*

Liz poked at the tiny chunk of fish on her plate and quietly sighed. She could barely see what she was eating due to the restaurant's insistence on only using candlelight for ambiance. Feeling a light tap on her arm, she looked up.

"You seem distracted," Johnny said, eyeing her closely. "Everything okay?"

Liz nodded and grabbed her wine glass off the table. "Just tired. Yesterday was a long day," she muttered and leaned into the back of her chair.

The studio executives and business managers around them were all ensconced in their own conversations, effectively ignoring Liz and Johnny who were there only as a matter of protocol.

"And how is dear David?" Johnny asked, staring down into his wine glass.

"I have no idea," Liz shrugged. She realized she really didn't know and she was still trying to wrap her brain around their kiss earlier.

"Seems to be his signature move," Johnny sneered, swirling his wine around a bit.

Liz only raised an eyebrow at him.

"He has quite the track record of using the rock star angle to seduce pretty young brunettes for one night only then pretending it never happened," he explained.