I dressed carefully as I wanted to look rock chic but not trampy. I settled on a pair of beautifully cut, stretch denim jeans with my favourite knee high boots and a colourful bat wing, red top with embroidered flowers and beading that I knew hugged me in all the right places. It sounded gaudy but it was of those designer tops that just worked and wearing it always boosted my confidence.
Cam was waiting for me outside and gave a low whistle when he saw me.
“Wow you look fantastic Jess. How are the nerves?”
“Surprisingly good at the moment. Did lots of scales when I first got up this morning and now I just want to get in there!” I smiled at Cam and hoped he had picked up on my confidence and that it would put him at ease. I so wanted this to go well for both of us.
We went in and gave our name to the receptionist and she said to take a seat. Before long a young guy came out who introduced himself as Lance. I recognised the name as the lead singer of High Land Boys and was surprised at how young he was.
He took us through to the recording part of the studio and introduced us to the rest of the band and after we all got acquainted they played us their new single.
“We are kind of envisioning that Cam beefs up our vocals during the chorus and you come in on top, not to harmonise but to add a contrast and depth. We have heard a bit of your work and you seem to have an ear for when to come in so how about we give it a go and see what happens?”
Lance looked over at both of us for confirmation and I saw Cam grinning back. He loved a good jam session and this was right up his alley.
“OK, sounds good.” I smiled and jumped up and took my place beside Cam. The nerves where starting up and I wanted to get things under way as soon as possible.
I loved the song from the first time I heard it. It had all the elements of a great rock song but with a vulnerability and softness in certain parts that made the story resonate. These guys were phenomenal, and I was having a hard time matching their age to this mature sound that was coming out of their mouths.
Lance had fragility to his voice in the slower parts and I inadvertently found myself softly echoing his words. He looked across at me and gave me an encouraging nod as he carried on singing. I relaxed further and went with what the song was making me feel. By the time we got to the chorus we were all lost in our journey but musically working as one; harmonising and working off each other’s energy.
“Fantastic work guys that sounded epic from in here. You guys could have been singing together for ever, not half an hour!”
The sound engineer was stoked and Lance, Robbie and Josh came over and they were clapping each other on the backs and looking pleased too.
“I’ll need to go have a quick word with Mack but I think it’s safe to say you’re hired. You guys just seem to get what we are trying to do and Jess that was amazing.” Lance was beaming at me and I automatically smiled back but my mind was miles away trying to connect the dots.
Here was a Scottish band of three whose manager was Mack. What were the odds that it was different to my Mack who was also Scottish and was travelling with his nephew and two friends? Was Lance his nephew? I looked over at him again and the truth sank in. Why hadn’t I noticed the family resemblance sooner?
“You right Jessie?” Cam had grabbed my hand and was whispering in my ear and I could tell by his face I had zoned out. Man I had to pull myself together.
“Just need some fresh air for a few moments’ guys,” and I made an excuse about being up half the night with my sister. It was only a wee white lie since it was the night before.
“Wow you hadn’t told me Ems had the baby.” Cam had hundreds of questions as he had known my family almost as long as he had known me. I promised I would answer them all shortly and excused myself and headed for the door.
I had no sooner got outside when I felt rather than saw Mack materialise beside me.
My body responded to his presence and I could feel my heart start to race. I took a steadying breathe before I turned round and faced him.
He grabbed my arm and propelled me down the street. “Come on, let’s go get a coffee. I need to explain.”
“When you figured out who I was, why didn’t you say something? Surely when I told you about my audition you figured it out?”
I was trying hard to be calm and rational but could feel my emotions welling up inside me. It had been such a magical encounter and I had come home with no regrets even though it wasn’t in my nature to be that free and easy. And now I was starting to feel like I had been used.
I looked over at Mack and found it hard to believe he would be that calculating. He just wasn’t that type of guy or at least I hadn’t thought so.
I knew I owed him the chance to explain so I took a breath and agreed to go for a coffee with him. When we got there he found us a table down the back before returning to the front to order.
While he was waiting for the coffees I had time to cool off and by the time he returned I was feeling almost civilised. He put the coffees and chocolate mud cake on the table and took a seat before glancing over at me warily.
“You going to have to do better than that Mack,” I said nodding my head towards the cake with raised eyebrows and a half smile. “Way better!”
“Thought it couldn’t hurt,” and he gave me an apologetic smile and I felt my anger diminish slightly but he definitely wasn’t off the hook.
“OK let’s hear it.”
Mack started from the beginning. How he had received my demo tape from Weka Recordings before he came over and that he had loved what he had seen of Cam and I. He had thought we would be the perfect match for the boys but he had been concerned by the notes that accompanied the tape. I knew I had sucked on my last few gigs so I could imagine what they said and wasn’t offended.
Anyway, Mack had decided to come over early to ascertain the situation and to try and meet me prior to the audition. When he got here he said he had learnt from Cam that I had gone up north so on the spur of the moment he had decided to follow me up there. And of course I knew the rest.
What I still didn’t understand was why he hadn’t told me who he was when we first met.
“The intention was always to tell you Jessie and then I had a couple of drinks and you looked so sexy and adorable and I know it’s no excuse but I got caught up in the moment. It shouldn’t have happened, it was unprofessional not to mention unforgivable and I am really sorry.” Mack looked sincere and genuinely sorry that it kind of took the wind from my sail and I could feel my anger starting to ebb away.
I could understand where he was coming from when he said he got caught up in the moment as that is exactly what had happened to me. I had never had a one night stand before and it had taken almost a year of dating with Jay before I had agreed to sleep with him. This was so out of character for me that I got what he was saying.
We had shared a connection. Hell who am I kidding, we still did and I could feel it arcing across the table as if we were two metals points connected by 240 volts of current. But it had to end here.
I really liked what I had seen of Lance, Robbie and Josh and had already decided I wanted to do the single and tour. They had felt like kindred spirits in there; that instant musical connection didn’t come around too often so when it did it was worth holding on to.
“Mack I am not angry. I think you should have been honest but I get it. We both got caught up in the magic of Matapouri and after a few drinks one thing lead to another. I want to work with the guys. Lance’s band is incredible but it will only work if you and I can be friends.” I looked at Mack earnestly, willing him to be on the same page as me and was glad when he grinned back.
“Friends with benefits?” I punched him in the arm and he rubbed it ruefully and said he was just joking. I laughed too; it was going to be ok.
Part of me was sad that he was now in theory my boss. Now he was definitely out of bounds and I wished he had been able to remain the mystery encounter that I never saw again. Something i
n the back of my head just seemed to think that would have been easier.
I shrugged that all aside and focussed instead on what was in front of me; an amazing opportunity to tour with High Land Boys and six weeks of getting to know Mack better. It wasn’t all bad though I sure would miss the sex!
“So we good?” Mack enquired as he took the final gulp of his coffee.
“Yeah we’re good. Shall we head back as I think Cam was freaking out. He can always tell when there is something up.”
Mack reached over and wiped the side of my mouth and I felt the familiar response which happened whenever he touched me.
“You can’t be doing that if this is going to work,” I said softly.
“Sorry you had milk froth!” But he dropped his arm and I wiped my mouth on a serviette, too busy quelling the lust that had bubbled up to even worry about the embarrassment of having a milk moustache. Something told me I would have to keep my distance if this was going to work.
I kept the conversation general on the walk back and was thrilled that Mack had liked our audition.
“You must be so proud of Lance, those boys are crazy good. Where do they pull all those deep feelings and emotions from? They seem way too together to be able to sing like that.”
“The three of them have always been different to other boys their age and they have been obsessed with music for as long as I can remember. Sometimes I think they are old souls who have pulled this all together from lifetimes of living. Who knows? But Lance’s voice, coupled with Robbie’s song writing and Josh’s talent for putting together catchy rifts make for a great band.”
I already knew how fond Mack was of the boys and now I understood why. They were special and not just because they were amazing musically but because they were great kids. Note to self not to call them kids!
“You were fantastic in there too Jessie. Every bit as good as your performance on the demo tape.”
I felt like I was back at that point where I needed to thank him for his part in reviving my singing career but didn’t want to rehash the whole sleeping together thing again. Not to mention thanks for the therapeutic sex still sounded corny, so I gave him my warmest smile and squeezed his hand. I hoped that conveyed to him how grateful I was and that there still were no regrets.
“By the way did Mara ever get hold of you? She said she was going to give you my number.”
“She did give it to me but I hadn’t wanted to call and distract myself before the audition.”
“Fair enough, probably all worked out for the best anyway.”
When we got back into the studio Cam looked pleased to see me and drew his eyebrows together in a silent question. I smiled reassuringly at him as I walked over and thankfully Mack had thought to get everyone coffee and cake which stopped any further questions.
Soon as everyone was seated Mack explained the schedule for the next six weeks. We had ten days to record this single and become familiar with their other music before our first concert in Queenstown, Friday week.
It was a tight schedule but going by the way we all clicked this morning it would be ample of time to get organised.
“OK I am going to head into the office and get contracts drawn up for Jess and Cam. I will be back around three so we can get all the paper work signed off and then how about dinner together? My shout!”
I was about to make an excuse when Cam piped up saying that would be great. And part of me was glad as I really wanted to get to know everyone better before we headed out on tour. Also if we were all together as a group it couldn’t hurt being in Mack’s company.
The afternoon flew by and by the end of the day we were close to calling it a rap on the single.
We signed our new contracts when Mack returned and organised to meet at the Raging Bull on the Viaduct around seven for dinner.
Cam walked me to my car and I filled him in on Ems baby on the way.
“That is fantastic news and in hind sight it’s a good thing Joseph arrived early as otherwise you would have missed the birth”
“True I hadn’t thought of that. It really was magical seeing him come into the world. I would have hated to miss it. What do you think of High Land Boys?”
I still couldn’t believe we were going on tour with them. It was like a dream come true.
“Are you kidding me? They rock! I wasn’t expecting them to be even half as good as they are. And you Jessie, don’t think I didn’t notice your performance, you were on fire!”
I gave him a big hug and pulled away grinning. “I was wasn’t I? Darn it felt good! Wouldn’t be here without you though Cam,” and I punched him playfully on the arm, “through thick and thin you always stick by me. Hope you know how much I love you.”
“I do Jessie and now look at us. Can’t believe we are about to tour with these guys. It’s going to be a blast. Right, I’m off, as I want to fit the gym in today. See you tonight gorgeous,” and with a quick kiss he set off at a run down the road to where his car was parked.
I jumped into mine and headed home too, glad to have a few hours to myself before tonight.
Mack
It felt good to have cleared things up with Jess. She had been amazing and I was still surprised at how understanding she had been. I had expected her to spit the dummy and storm off and instead by the end of coffee we were even able to have a joke. She really was something.
I felt slightly vindicated by my means of securing our talk though when I had heard her sing. I had been nervous waiting to see how she would perform but as soon as she opened her mouth I could hear the old Jessie was back.
She had looked sensational up there. Sexy and in charge yet vulnerable and soft as well. It was a killer performance and vocally amazing. She had such great instincts that it felt like she was telepathically tapping into my thoughts and extracting how I wanted this single to sound. It was uncanny and going by the boys’ faces at the end they were as blown away as I was at how well it had went.
Soon as I saw Jessie from the recording sound box I had felt the desire return and our twenty four hours together came rushing back. My little head was obsessed with the idea of burying itself in a certain wet pussy that it was totally taken with! I had never had an encounter like it and I wasn’t sure how to file the experience away or even if I wanted to.
There had been girlfriends in the past, even a few serious ones, but always there had come a point when they started to impinge on my work with their demands which put an end to my interest. I didn’t want to be remodelled or forced to settle down and I guess I hadn’t loved any of the ladies enough to rethink these ideas.
I couldn’t help but think Jessie was different to my earlier girlfriends. She was driven in her career like me but I sensed her relationships with people were unconditional rather than ‘what can you do for me?’
Lance, Josh and Robbie were also like that and I was glad to have found Cam and Jessie for them to work with. They were young but I knew they would be in good hands with these two. And it wouldn’t hurt that I would get to see more of Jessie.
After getting all the paper work sorted I packed up and headed back to the hotel with instructions to the boys not to lose track of time. They gave me indulgent smiles and I could hear them working on the newest song as I took my leave.
Just before six I rang Lance’s room to make sure they had made it back to the hotel and was relieved when he answered.
“You have so little faith Mack,” and I could hear the amusement in Lances voice.
“I just know what you guys are like when you are working on something new. How is it going?”
“Well after singing with Jess this morning Robbie played around with the lyrics of this new song we had been working on. We had played around with it before but it had sounded flat. Anyway Robbie had a great idea of working Jess in, like a duet and I think it could really work.”
Lance sounded excited and after seeing the chemistry between them this morning I had to admit they worked well together and that i
t sounded like a good idea.
I felt pangs of jealousy hearing Lance rave about Jessie and had to remind myself that she was a free agent. Damn why couldn’t I have kept it in my pants! It was hard to stay professional when my mind kept replaying over and over what had to be the best sex I had ever experienced. None of my earlier girlfriends had even come close to casting this kind of spell over me and it was driving me mad.
We talked for a few more minutes and then after organising to meet in the lobby in forty minutes I rang off to have a quick shower and get ready.
We got to the restaurant just before seven and were taken to our table upstairs overlooking the water. It was a beautiful clear night and we had views over the water towards Rangitoto Island.
I glanced towards the entrance and was pleased to see Cam and Jess walking over and I felt a stirring of appreciation that had nothing to do with what she was wearing. Hell she could wear rags and I would still think she looked hot.
“Hi, sorry we are late, Jess was still deciding on outfits when I turned up.”
Cam took a seat next to Lance which left Jess next to me. She looked reluctant to take that seat but sat down anyway.
“Who was having trouble deciding on outfits Cam?” Jessie was looking at Cam pointedly and he laughed.
“Hey it just sounds better if the chick was having trouble,” he said sheepishly and we all laughed.
There was something very likeable about Cam and I could see why Jess had chosen to work with him. He was one of those people that it didn’t take long to feel like you had known for ever.
The waitress came over and I ordered a couple of bottles of champagne and some tapas to keep us going until our mains arrived. Everyone was getting along well and after a glass of bubbles I felt some of the tension ease from my body.
“So how are your sister and the new baby doing?” I asked turning my attention to Jess. She turned to look at me and I felt the rest of the table melt away. All I could see was her and I wished we were alone far, far away from here.
Sing a Song of Love Page 4
