Dormies |E.C|

|38 - The Big Deal|

|Harper|

"Shit," Ethan panted, lying on his back after our lengthy session. I smiled lazily, trying to catch my breath as well. We'd gotten home from the concert an hour before and we'd been going at it ever since. "It's been a crazy-ass day."

"Definitely," I agreed, pushing my curls out of my face.

"So, are you still deciding on taking the deal?" Ethan asked a few seconds later. I'd been thinking about that nearly nonstop since after the performance.

"I, uh, I think so..."

Ethan turned to face me, grinning, "Really?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "I mean, I love writing and singing. A lot."

"And you handled performing so well. A year ago you wouldn't even sing to just me. I'm so proud of you."

I turned to face him as well, "You have no idea how much that means, coming from you."

He flashed me that gorgeous grin again before pecking my lips, "I love you."

"I love you too," I grabbed his hand and put it on my cheek, nuzzling into it. "Hmph..."

He stroked my cheek with his thumb, "What's wrong?"

"How much do you think things are gonna change when I do sign...?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure. A lot more people are gonna know who you are, and you'll be on stage blessing everyone with that voice of yours," he started, making me smile. "But I'll still be here, loving you exactly the same. And so will everyone else that loves you. That's not gonna change."

"You always know exactly what to say."

"And I mean it all, baby," he said seriously and I smiled. Ethan sighed and stared deeply into my eyes.

"What?"

"You're so beautiful," he said softly, making me blush. He pulled his hand from my cheek and placed it on my waist, near my stomach, "I can't wait to make babies that look like you."

I leaned forward to press my lips to his, "You're gonna have to put a ring on this finger first."

Ethan pulled me closer by my waist and smirked, "Oh, I plan to."

__

One Week Later

The room was quiet, aside from the ruffling of a few papers and the occasional clearing of someone's throat. Mrs. Townley sat diagonal of me, using her pen to go over the contract she'd offered me, once again. I watched her point out all of the important details and tried to keep my calm as she neared the end of the small stack of papers.

Only one week before, I was super confident. I was gonna waltz into West Coast Records and sign possibly the biggest deal of my life. However, as soon as I returned to the familiar table in the big, rich building, I felt less confident.

"And that's everything again, honey. Are you ready?" Mrs. Townley asked, holding her pen toward me. I felt my stomach flip-flop.

Just when that anxiety started creeping up again, I shut my eyes and pondered my thoughts. For the last three months of the previous year, I'd asked myself something every single day:

Why do bad things happen to good people?

I was just a regular girl studying sociology, trying to make something of myself, and living life the best I could. I was striving to make a difference in a world so toxic and vile, only for the world to be shitty to me in return...

It took months of recovery and being around the people who care about me to realize that good things happen to good people as well, and that this opportunity was one of those things. The bad experiences make us stronger, and I was stronger.

I can handle this.

"Yes, I am," I smiled. She returned the smile and handed me the pen. I took a deep breath and released it, signing the contract and changing my life forever.

⁂

Short, but sweet 🖤.