by Twyla Turner
He let it slide for three songs. But in the middle of the fourth song, Gage couldn’t stay quiet any longer.
“Stop. Stop. Stop.” Gage called out as he released his guitar and waved his hands.
He turned to look at Lyris. She gave him a look daring him to say anything. The muscle in Gage’s jaw ticked. He was a nice guy, but when it came to his music, he didn’t suffer fools.
“Is there something wrong, Lyris?”
“No.”
“Then what’s the problem? You’re pitchy and your voice lacks any passion. It’s a passionate song.” Gage looked her straight in the eye as he critiqued her.
“I think I sound fine.”
“I don’t pay you to think,” Gage gritted out. “I pay you to listen to my critiques and to fix the problem.”
“Yes, sir.” Lyris saluted him.
Gage cocked a brow at her. Then he looked at everyone else. They were all quiet, trying to stay out of it. Gage looked at Riley and nodded for him to start again.
“Again, from the top.” Gage said as he turned to his mic.
The music started. Everything sounded perfect. The band played perfectly. Gage’s voice was gritty and raw like it was supposed to be. Rainey and Mack sounded crystal clear. But once again, Lyris was off.
“D-Damnit, Lyris!” Gage spun around and signaled for the band to stop.
He swallowed hard. Even more pissed off that his anger at her caused him to stammer slightly.
She crossed her arms over her chest defensively. “What now?”
“‘What now?!?’” Gage shouted. “Are you going to do the fucking w-work or not. We all know your voice is damn near perfect. You’d have to go out of your way to sing shitty. And that seems to be exactly what you’re doing. I won’t have anyone sabotaging m-my music.”
“Fine.” Lyris shrugged her shoulders childishly. “Then find someone else.”
She stormed over to where her purse was, snatched it off the hook, and slammed out the door.
Gage sighed heavily. He looked at his bandmates and they gave him the nod.
“I’ll be right back,” he said with an eye roll.
Gage pulled his guitar strap over his head and sat his guitar on its stand. He jogged to the door and down the hall. He ran up to the elevator just as the doors closed in his face. A look of surprise passed over Lyris’ face that he had followed her.
“Shit!” Gage barked.
He quickly ran to the door that led to the stairwell, flung it open, and flew down the stairs to the main floor of the LA high-rise. He burst through the door and spotted Lyris walking through the glass revolving doors. He sped through the lobby outside. He ran up to her and grasped her arm.
~~~
Lyris flung around in shock. “What the hell are you doing?!?” Lyris growled as she ripped her arm from his hand.
“Trying to stop you before you make the biggest mistake of your life.”
“You really think highly of yourself, don’t you?”
Lyris didn’t know what was wrong with her. All she knew was that she couldn’t seem to stop the vitriol that kept pouring from her lips where he was concerned. She envied him. She hated him. She admired him. She wanted him.
She’d walked into rehearsal mad that he was the reason her best friend had started down the path to heartbreak. Even when she knew that Serena was a grown ass woman and knew better than to mess around with a married man. She was irritated because she’d had a dream about him the night before that had left her sweaty and aroused. And then when that smile of pure joy at someone else’s happiness spread across his face when he saw Rainey and Mack together, it hit her square in the gut.
Lyris wanted him more than she hated him, which only made her hate herself. So, she’d childishly sang off. She wanted to find any way she could to get fired or quit so she wouldn’t have to be in his presence any more.
“I’m only trying to help you,” Gage said sincerely.
“You’ve been in the business for all of what? Three years?” Lyris scoffed. “You’re not the godfather of the music industry. I’m sure there are other ways to become successful without your help.”
“It’s three more years than you’ve been in it.” Gage crossed his corded arms across his chest. “The veterans in this industry are tired and have been through everything you can imagine. They are rarely interested in helping out newbies. I still remember what it’s like to be new in the industry. And if I can help you navigate those rough parts, I’d be happy to.”
“What can a privileged, white pretty boy with a buff body who everyone fawns over do for a plus-size, black woman who everyone ignores because they want blue-eyed soul?” Lyris finished and gave him a questioning look.
“You think you know me based on what? My appearance? Maybe a few interviews?”
“Well…”
“You have no idea. Hold on.” Gage held up a finger.
He dug his phone from his pocket. Tapped it a few times. And then brought it up to his ear.
“Hey, Brandi. Tell everyone to take a break. We’ll reconvene after lunch.”
Lyris lifted her brows as he paused to listen to whatever Brandi had to say.
“Okay, see ya in a little bit.” Gage finished and then put his phone back in his pocket. “Okay, the rest of our morning and early afternoon are free. How about some coffee and then maybe some lunch?”
“You wanna hang out?”
“Yeah. We need to talk.” Gage placed a hand lightly between her shoulder blades and gestured ahead with his other hand. “Indulge me.”
Lyris shivered at the contact. But she moved forward as he asked.
They found a cute little upscale coffee shop with light, relaxing music playing from hidden speakers. Comfy overstuffed couches and chairs and coffee tables filled the space. It looked like someone’s living room.
“Pick a spot while I get our drinks,” Gage said.
“Alright.”
“What would you like?”
“A latte with a shot of caramel and a couple packets of regular sugar, please.”
“Got it.” Gage started to walk away, but then quickly turned. “Oh…find a spot that’s relatively private. I don’t want anyone overhearing our conversation.”
“Oooookay,” Lyris said.
She turned and looked around the semi-full shop. She eventually found a spot upstairs and in a back corner. At the top of the small staircase she turned and looked at Gage at the counter. He was already looking at her. From the way his eyes quickly rose up to hers, it was obvious he’d been staring at her ass. A powerful shiver ran from the back of Lyris’ neck to her vagina. She quickly pulled herself together and pointed in the direction of the spot she’d found and mouthed ‘up here’ to him. Gage nodded.
A few minutes later, he arrived with their drinks and a few pastries on a tray.
“I got some snacks. I wasn’t sure what you’d like, so I got a couple different kinds.” Gage smiled brightly.
Lyris looked at him curiously. He really did seem like a nice guy. Maybe he wasn’t what he seemed.
“You know, you’re not helping my waistline with these sweets,” Lyris said as she grabbed the sugar cookie with confetti sprinkles and vanilla icing.
“First of all, you’re gorgeous. Secondly, I can rarely eat this stuff myself. But I’m thinking of this as a special treat.”
“Thanks, but yeah right,” Lyris said skeptically. “You look like the type that can put away all kinds of food and never gain a pound.”
“Assumption number one you have wrong about me.”
Lyris cocked her head to the side, “Go on.”
“Up until about a year and a half before I was discovered, I was one-hundred-and-fifty pounds overweight.” Gage paused as Lyris’ jaw hit the floor. “It’s weird saying ‘discovered’ as if I didn’t exist before that video went viral.”
“Technically, to the world you didn’t. Only your small part of it knew you.”
“And it was a very
small part. To be as big as I once was, you’d think I’d be hard to ignore. But most people did.” Gage sipped at his coffee.
“I still can’t picture it,” Lyris looked him up and down.
Gage set down his coffee and pulled out his phone. He opened his photo app and scrolled through for a few moments. He found what he was looking for and tapped it to enlarge the photo.
“Here,” Gage leaned forward to hand Lyris his phone. “A rare photo of myself back in the day. I barely let anyone take pictures of me. Which makes all the picture taking now feel so surreal.”
Lyris took the phone and looked down at the photo on the screen. Again, her mouth fell open. She could barely recognize him. His face was so full and round. His double chin was prominent. A big belly and man boobs were only partially hidden under a black t-shirt. He looked uncomfortable taking the photo. He didn’t look at the camera and his hands were shoved into his pants pockets. He was still cute though. Just in a cuddly teddy bear kind of way.
In the photo, he was wearing the exact same thing he was wearing sitting across from Lyris now. A black t-shirt and jeans. But in the photo his clothes were oversized in an attempt to hide his weight, compared to the fit of his clothes now. The difference was astounding.
“I keep that photo to remember. Not that it’s hard to forget. When I have a photoshoot, the paparazzi show up and snap their cameras in my face, or a group of women surround me; my reflex is to shy away, run, and hide. I have to remind myself that I look different now.”
“Wow,” was all Lyris could think to say as she handed his phone back to him.
“Yeah. I was the fat kid my whole life. And I was teased and bullied with all the rest. But it was a little worse for me.” Gage scrubbed a hand down his face and scratched awkwardly at his stubbled chin.
“Why?” Lyris asked leaning forward.
“As a kid I had a bad stutter.”
Lyris’ eyes widened. The revelations he was dropping kept throwing her.
“Really bad. And the more nervous, upset, angry, etc. I got, the worse my stutter would get. Even now, when my emotions get the best of me, I’ll stammer a little.”
Lyris thought back to earlier when they’d gotten into it. He’d stuttered over a few words.
“Yeah, those were stutters earlier,” Gage said successfully reading her face. “And that’s why I always start my shows singing. It gives me time to relax. And by the time the first song is over, I’m calm enough to talk into the mic to the audience.”
“So, singing and music make you calm?” Lyris asked.
“One-hundred percent,” Gage nodded. “It’s how I eventually learned to talk without stuttering. Along with speech therapy.”
He smiled and his eyes changed. Like he was remembering a moment. His eyes seeing something that was no longer there.
“I would sing to my mom. She was my first fan,” Gage grinned at Lyris.
Lyris’ stomach did a flip-flop.
“She loves my voice. She encouraged me. My dad wanted me to be more into sports or cars. He came around eventually. He’s now my second biggest fan. Anyway, when I was in middle school, after a really rough day at a new school, my mom gave me my first guitar. She got me lessons with this cool musician that was popular in the St. Louis area. I caught on fast, and music pretty much became my life. It saved me.”
“Your story is incredible.” Lyris said sincerely. “While I didn’t have the same issues, music saved me as well. I grew up in a religious household. A lot of pressure was put on me to be perfect. A sweet and pure little angel. We weren’t even allowed to listen to any other music outside of gospel. I listened to a lot of stuff in secret. I fell in love with soul as well as rock. I told my parents I wanted to learn to play the guitar for choir purposes. In reality, I wanted to learn so that when I made my own music in the future, I’d be able to riff with the best.
“I was drowning and stifled within the religious community. It’s wonderful for others, and I understand that. But for me, personally, I felt like I was suffocating. I eventually broke free and started playing gigs at local spots in Indianapolis. I did rock covers that I changed the arrangement to add soul. And I shared my own songs I’d written in secret. I felt…feel…alive when I perform. I felt free for the first time in my life. I was finally happy. And here I am.” Lyris finished and gestured around her and to Gage before dropping her hands to her lap.
Gage nodded his understanding.
“I’m glad you’re here.”
Gage fell quiet and Lyris said nothing. She couldn’t. Instead, they just stared at each other for a few moments. As if they were seeing each other for the first time with no barriers or preconceived notions. Gage eventually broke the intense look when he took another sip of coffee.
“But seriously, Gage. Your story is inspiring. I’m actually surprised that it isn’t covered in more interviews,” Lyris said.
“It’s because I haven’t brought it up. Although, I am waiting for some publication to interview people from back home. Then they’ll find out and question me to death about it.” Gage rolled his eyes.
“You know, that may not be such a bad thing,” Lyris said. “It could potentially help a lot of kids out there. Those who need someone to look up to who’s like them. Help them realize that it won’t always be so bad.”
“Maybe.”
“Maybe?” Lyris gave him an incredulous face. “You know it will. That’s one of my biggest goals, honestly. To show other big women that success in this industry is possible. I don’t want success without being able to inspire others too. Otherwise, what’s the point?”
“Some would say money and fame,” Gage said.
“After what you went through, I highly doubt money and fame were the only reasons why you got into this industry.”
“Maybe it was for the ladies,” Gage smiled and stifled a chuckle.
“Uh huh. Well, that does seem partially true. You had plenty of them flocking to you Saturday night.”
“But you wanna know something crazy?” He leaned forward.
Lyris leaned in closer too. “What?”
“You’re the first woman I’ve told about my past.”
“What?! Really? Why? Weren’t you dating Natasha for two years? You didn’t tell her?” Lyris asked in rapid fire succession.
“Whoa.” Gage held up his hands. “One question at a time.”
“Why didn’t you tell her?” Lyris settled on the question she wanted him to answer the most.
“I don’t know really. Maybe because she wouldn’t have listened to me like you did. Everything, at all times, had to be about her.” Gage ran his fingers through his hair. “But I think I also wanted to be someone else. I wanted to be the cool guy with the most coveted woman on my arm. I wanted to live that persona. But it became too much. Too exhausting being something…someone I’m not. So, I broke it off.”
“How did she take it?”
Gage raised his eyebrows and pursed his lips. Lyris laughed.
“Not good, I take it?”
“Not at all.” Gage closed his eyes and shook his head gravely. “There were a couple curse words thrown out and a ‘No one breaks up with a woman like me’ statement made.”
“Wait a minute! Don’t you two have a duet together on both your new albums?”
“We do.”
“Awk…ward.” Lyris cringed.
“Very. Especially when the label wants us to perform together live a few times over the next several months. They say it’ll be good for publicity.” Gage sighed and collapsed back in his chair.
“That’s some shit.”
“These are the parts of the industry I could do without. Not being in control,” Gage admitted.
Lyris was about to reply, but her words were lost when a simple thought crossed her mind. I really like him.
During this conversation, as he opened up and became vulnerable so that she could really know him, her feelings had softened completely. She liked him as a person. As a ma
n. And that was dangerous.
Lyris cleared her throat and adjusted in her seat.
“Well, I guess you take the good with the bad,” she said.
“This is true,” Gage sighed. “But just keep all of this in mind in the future. Check your contract. Hire a lawyer to check it too. Negotiate. Make sure your needs are met. Because you can guarantee the record label will make sure theirs are.”
“Why do you want to help me so badly. Is this some ploy to get into my pants?” Lyris blurted out.
“You’re a gorgeous woman, no doubt. And I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want you,” Gage tucked his hair behind his ear. Lyris’ fingers twitched with the need to touch the silky strands of his hair. “But you have amazing talent and deserve to be in the spotlight. Not the shadows. I’m not some greasy, casting couch sleazeball waiting to get on the ‘Me Too’ list.”
Lyris raised her eyebrows.
“I swear I’ll back off.” Gage lifted his hands on either side of his head. “I will be whatever you need me to be. Mentor. Your boss. A friend. Just give it a chance. Go on tour with me. When the tour is over, hopefully you’ll have learned enough to strike out on your own. And I’ll put in a good word for you.”
“I still don’t know why you’re doing this.” Lyris looked at him skeptically. “Most guys don’t do stuff like this for free.”
“I honestly don’t know why either. Because I have to say, you drive me crazy.” Gage laughed.
Lyris squeezed her lips together in an attempt not to laugh.
“But how about we don’t question it?”
Lyris nodded, “Alright.”
“Friends?” Gage held out his hand.
Lyris looked down at his masculine hand stretched across the table. Skin in a warm tan tone. Clean nails and calloused fingers.
She reached across the table and slid her hand into his. Static electricity buzzed between them as they shook hands.
“Friends,” Lyris said before she quickly pulled her hand out of his.
Something told her that this friendship would quickly become complicated. But she also knew that she’d felt an overwhelming sense of relief when he chased her down to stop her earlier. Never in her life had she had such complex feelings for a man.
