Chapter 7

7

"Are you ever going to get off that couch?" Briggs asked King. It had been three days since he'd been assaulted by the fan, and the gossip sites had been on fire, trying to figure out who King's new girlfriend might be.

"Sure. In about an hour when I need to go back into the studio." King took a long sip of his coffee and did his morning check of what had been said about him overnight.

"Austin called you in?" Briggs looked surprised. "I didn't know he wanted to do more recording today."

"I just got a text about ten minutes ago. Apparently he wants to try a few more things, make sure the arrangement is perfect before we debut it at the brewery this Friday."

"Well, thank the gods for that. I was starting to think you were growing roots right there on my couch."

King shot him an irritated glance. "If you'd been mauled by someone and then splashed all over the internet, I bet you wouldn't be in a hurry to show your face around town either."

"There's a different between laying low out of the spotlight and hibernating indoors without even showering for three days," Briggs said, wrinkling his nose and taking a step back as if to imply that King was more than a little ripe.

King just laughed. "I showered… at least once."

"Uh-huh. If you say so." Briggs walked toward the kitchen. "Go shower while I make breakfast."

"Yes, Mom." Clutching his coffee mug, King retreated to the bathroom. Forty-five minutes later, he emerged feeling human again.

"What the hell were you doing in there?" Briggs asked. He was already at the sink, doing the dirty dishes. "Changing your clothes ten times to make sure you picked just the right outfit?"

"Ha-ha," King said in a flat tone. "Where's that breakfast you promised me?"

"In the oven. You've got about ten minutes." Briggs turned the water off and headed out of the kitchen to finish getting ready for work.

King poured another cup of coffee, retrieved the waffles, and let out a groan when he bit into the nutmeg-flavored goodness. When Briggs walked back in, King said, "Marry me?"

"Do I get access to half your bank account?" Briggs asked.

"Sure."

"Okay, but I'm gonna need this to be an open marriage."

They both laughed.

"What got you so relaxed this morning?" Briggs asked, eyeing him with interest. "It wouldn't have anything to do with seeing a certain singer this morning, would it?"

"Nope," King lied. "I'm not into Sadie. I'm taken, remember?" He pointed at his bare ring finger. "You're going to have to do something about this."

"Hope you like those rings they used to have in candy machines, ‘cause that's all I can afford. Now put your plate in the dishwasher. It's time to go."

Smiling to himself, King did as he was told and followed his friend out to the black SUV.

"Good morning," Austin called as King and Briggs walked into the studio.

"Morning." King smiled at Sadie, who was sitting in a chair and eyeing him from across the room.

She quickly glanced away, looking slightly annoyed.

"Morning," Briggs said, taking his seat at the control board.

Sadie glanced at him. "Hello, Briggs."

Briggs nodded at her and winked. "Ready to do this thing?"

"As ready as I can be, I guess," she said.

King stood next to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You'll be great. You always are."

She glanced at his hand and shrugged slightly, clearly indicating she didn't want him to touch her.

King pulled his hand away, wondering what in the world had happened since the last time he'd talked to Sadie. He hadn't expected her to be so cool toward him. "What's going on?"

The question had been to Sadie, but Austin was the one who answered. "I just want to try a couple of key changes and add some background vocals for the production. Ready to get started?"

"Sure. Do you want both of us in the booth?" King asked, hoping whatever was going on with Sadie that she'd be able to let it go when they started working.

"Yes, please."

King held the door open for Sadie and watched as she moved stiffly into the room. Something was definitely up with her.

They each sat on the stools and turned their attention to Austin.

"Give me just a minute to get set up," Austin said as Briggs made some adjustments to the board.

"Did you have a good weekend?" King asked Sadie.

She sucked in a breath. "I mostly just worked."

"I bet it was busy with Halloween coming up," he tried again.

"Yeah."

He nodded, and then silence fell between them.

Awkward.

"So," he said, trying to fill the dead space. "I seem to remember back when we were younger, that you had a notebook of lyrics you used to work on. Are you still trying your hand at songwriting?"

"Not really," she said with a tiny shrug.

"Are you interested in trying again?" He wasn't sure where he was going with this, but the words just kept coming. "Because if you are, I was thinking that maybe we could?—"

"No," she said, cutting him off. "I don't think that's a good idea."

He was about to ask why not when Austin said, "Okay, I think we're ready. Sadie, we'll start with you, all right?"

"Sure," she said, putting her headphones on. "Just tell me what you want."

For the next half hour, King was captivated by everything about her. The emotion on her face when she sang certain lyrics, her tiny movements as she hit certain notes, and most of all, the way her voice just seemed to wind right through his very being. It wasn't an exaggeration to say he was certain she'd cast a spell over him.

"Excellent," Austin said. "Okay, now I'd like to work on the chorus again. King? Are you ready? I want both of your voices together."

He cleared his throat and adjusted his headphones. "Sure."

The music started, and King turned to Sadie. Their eyes met, and once again, he was completely lost in the magic that bound them together while they were singing. For once in his life, he didn't feel like he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders, and he wanted to live in the moment forever.

The session was like that all day, and then just before five, Austin said, "That was perfect! Just perfect."

Sadie beamed at King, but then it was almost as if a dark cloud settled over her as she wiped the smile from her face and glanced away.

"I think we can call it a day," Austin said. "We'll get this mixed and send it over in a few days."

"Sounds good." Sadie practically leaped from her stool and bolted out of the booth.

King just watched her go as the magic that had filled him quickly vanished, leaving him feeling empty and frustrated.

"Hold on," Austin said before she ran out of the studio. "We have business to discuss."

King joined them in the control booth and sat in a chair next to Briggs.

"I want you two to debut this song at the festival on Halloween night. We're going to drop the single that day, and we'll have media set up and go live on socials. You'll also need to do King's other song to fill the set, so it'll be up to you two to practice and make sure you have this down cold before that. Understand?"

Halloween was just a week away. It meant they likely were going to have to get together each day to make sure they were ready to be blasted all over the internet.

King nodded. "Yeah, okay."

"Uh, sure," Sadie said with a tentative nod. "As long as we can schedule it around my work schedule."

"Are you working Halloween night?" Austin asked.

"I think so, but I can work it out." She bit down on her bottom lip, looking more skeptical than she sounded. "I'll switch or something. Though if I have to practice, I'm just not sure how that will work. Don't worry. I'll figure it out."

"You know, Sadie, this is why we give you an advance. So you're free to promote and record when we need you to," Austin said. "Maybe it's time to think about reducing your hours at the brewery."

"Right," she said and then let out a nervous laugh. "That's weird to think about, I guess."

"Get used to it because this song is going to be a major hit. And then you and King are going to be all over the country playing it for your fans."

King could only hope. The thought of being out on the road with Sadie was a literal dream come true. At least it would be if he could figure out why she was giving him the cold shoulder.

Sadie nodded and then turned to King. "I'll text you my schedule so we can work something out." Then she took off out the door.

"Hey," Briggs said, turning to him. "I'm starving. Which is it tonight? Pizza or the brewery?"

"Pizza," King said. "Give me a minute, though." He exited the door to the back parking lot and scanned the area. There, just a few cars down, he spotted Sadie opening the door of her Camry. "Sadie, wait."

She jumped and pressed a hand to her chest as she turned to look at him. "Oh gosh, you startled me. Does Austin want us back in there?"

"No," he said, running his hand through his dark curls. "I just came to find out what's wrong. You sang great today, but you can't fool me. Something's off. Is it anything I can help with?"

"Nothing's wrong," she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

He raised both eyebrows. "Are you sure about that? If nothing's wrong, then why are you having trouble even looking at me today. Did I do something to upset you?"

"No." She pressed her lips together into a thin line. "Not at all. I just… You know what? Never mind. I wouldn't want to keep you from your groupies. I'm sure they're waiting for you somewhere." She reached for her door handle and opened the door.

"Groupies?" he choked out incredulously. "You think I'm hanging out with groupies? Where did that come from?"

She spun back around. "I saw the picture of you kissing that girl, King. It's all over the internet. And I know we're not a thing or anything, and it's none of my business what you do, but she looked like she was barely fourteen, and I just?—"

"Whoa!" He held his hands up, trying to process everything she'd just said. She knew they weren't a thing? Did that imply she might be interested? It kind of sounded like it. But then maybe not since she thought he was the kind of guy who'd not only make out with random fans, in public no less, but that he'd do that with underage kids. "First of all, I had nothing to do with that kiss. That girl all but assaulted me as her friends videoed the entire thing. And second, she wasn't fourteen. I didn't see her ID or anything, but I'm pretty sure they were all legal drinking age. If not, they were close. Not that I should have to be explaining any of this."

"No, you don't have to explain anything to me," she agreed. "I shouldn't have brought it up. Can we just forget this conversation?"

"I will if you will," he said, feeling more violated than ever. He hated being pawed at by strangers, but he hated it even more when people he knew thought that he somehow welcomed the entire thing.

She nodded. "I better go. Melissa and I are meeting some people at the harvest festival."

It was then that her thoughts came through loud and clear.

I never should have said yes to this date. If it wasn't so late, I'd just cancel and curl up on the couch with Cosmo and never show my face again. Holy hell, King must think I'm an idiot.

He wanted to respond, tell her he didn't think anything of the sort, but he didn't want to embarrass her or have her think he was intentionally reading her thoughts.

"Yeah. You don't want to be late," he said, trying to be gracious. "Text me your schedule, and we'll figure out when we can get together to rehearse."

"I will," she promised. Then she glanced up at him one more time. "I'm sorry, King. Whatever happened with you and that fan, I never should have brought it up."

He blew out a breath. "If this song is as successful as we think it's going to be, you'll learn soon enough that people will manipulate your photos, videos, words, or anything that will fit their narrative. Trust me on this."

She nodded once, climbed in her car, and then backed up and headed out of the parking lot.

Frustrated, King walked back into the studio where Briggs was waiting for him.

"Where's Austin?" King asked.

"He left. Said he was meeting his girl, Brinn, at the festival."

King nodded and then said, "Let's skip the pizza and go to the harvest festival. I'm suddenly having a craving for festival food."

"Seriously?" Briggs asked, perking up. "I thought for sure you'd want to lay low after that fan fiasco earlier this week, but if you're up for it, I'm game."

"Let's go."