FALLING FOR SHAWN

Chapter 5 - The Way You Taste

"For fuck's sake, keep still Shawn," Andrew said. Shawn realised he was jiggling his leg but he was so nervous he couldn't keep still. It was only a few days since he had seen Camila, since he had crawled out of her bed, for the second time, because the first time she had lured him back, but they had made the decision to be professional and they were abiding by that. Nevertheless, his heart was pounding and he was so fucking nervous that he had no idea how he would hide his feelings when he saw her. He wasn't sure what was going on with him, but he had a feeling he was more than halfway in love with her, and it was messing with him on every level.

"Sorry, just can't wait for you to hear the song." He could at least blame his nervousness on the work he and Camila had done on the song already. The ding of the elevator announced an arrival and he looked up to see one of the engineers come in, greet everyone and then go get himself a coffee. His sigh of relief was short lived because a moment later the elevator arrived again and she walked out. She had her Mom with her, and her manager, but her eyes went straight to his and it was like lightning shot across the room and hit him right in the chest. She stumbled a little, just a tiny misstep, but he knew she felt it too. Andrew got up with a smile and he followed suit, shaking hands with Roger, nodding at Camila's Mom when she was introduced and leaning in for a light hug with Camila, because it was kind of expected. Camila was a hugger, it would seem weird if they didn't. She held on a little too long, her hand caressed his arm as she pulled away, and his jeans suddenly felt too tight. He pulled back with a friendly smile but all he could think of as he looked at her was her screaming at him to go harder and faster and......fuck, he needed to pull himself together!

Her "Hi Shawn," was soft and breathy and her mother looked at her sharply. Nobody else noticed, Andrew and Roger were already chatting, the other guys came over and everyone said hello and then they were talking music and Shawn asked Watt to play the demo he and Camila had recorded on his iPhone and sent to the producer. Everyone was quiet as they listened and for seconds afterwards. He exchanged a worried glance with Camila and then Benny said "holy fuck". Noise erupted, pats on the back, whistles and so on. They liked it, it was a relief. They all had suggestions, and Andrew, Roger and Sinu all left them to it eventually, heading their separate ways.

"I have a couple of new lyric suggestions," Camila said, clearing her throat. She had worked with all of them before, they respected her as a musician, she had a great reputation. Shawn of course was still a little of an unknown quantity but his reputation as a quality musician and great person to work with had reached all of them. Camila stood at the mic and sang the new lyrics and Shawn looked at her in astonishment. What was she doing? They were trying to keep things under the radar, and these new lyrics about friends not knowing the way you taste, they seemed personal. Of course, the others didn't know they knew each other, certainly not as well as they did. Everyone liked it, loved it in fact, and it was in.

They then sang together, each on their own mic, and their voices, that had sounded so beautiful together at her house, now melded together like honey and cream in the studio, and the excitement was palpable. This was more than a filler track on his album, or a PR vehicle for her return to the scene, this was a bona fide hit waiting to happen and they all knew it. They worked hard on it and then Sinu turned up to collect Camila and they all waved as they left. With her Mom staying with her, there was no chance of them getting together, which was a good thing. They were trying their best to keep apart, but after today he didn't think he could have kept himself from turning up at her house if she hadn't been there. They all said goodbye, he stayed and rerecorded the guitar tracks a couple of times and then he collected his car and headed for home. On the way he stopped for takeout Jamaican food and a six pack of beer and then he drove to the lemon. He parked outside the garage door out back and stared up at it. God he hated that place. He picked up his phone and called the number of the realtor he had spoken to.