Page 88 of Score
“Or the money. ‘Floogie’ was their biggest hit, him and Slam Stewart. Benny Goodman played it, which made it hugely popular,” I say, leaning forward and resting my elbows on my knees. “But Slim and Slam made next to nothing from it. They sold the publishing rights for a measly two hundred and fifty bucks. Wasn’t till he joined ASCAP years later that Slim saw any real royalties.”
“Typical.” Verity shakes her head and sighs. “I love that we have the chance to amplify, not only Dessi’s life with this film, but so many other artists from her day as we tell her story. I think Slim deserves a little screen time.”
“What’d you have in mind?”
She leans forward, her eyes lighting up in that way they did when she used to get excited about an idea.
“You know how he’d play the guitar with his fingers pointing down on the fingerboard? Upside down? Or play the piano with the backs of his hands?”
“And make up outrageous lyrics.” I chuckle. “Yeah, he was something else. He played a crowd as well as he played the piano.”
“I’m just thinking when we do the big dance number at the Savoy, andwe play ‘Flat Foot Floogie,’ what if leading into it, we let Slim have a little fun?”
“Oh, that could be really cool. I know a guy named Clyde with enough comedic stage presence and the skill who could pull it off.”
“Maybe we could talk to Canon together about it?” She presses her hands together like she’s pleading.
“Canon respects your opinion, Vee. You don’t need me to convince him.”
“But you’re the musician. If you think it could be cool, he’ll think so, too. We both know he’s just gonna come to you and ask what you think.”
“True.” I grin at the face she makes. “Maybe we should corner him now, while he’s all relaxed smoking his cigar out on the balcony.”
“You mean while he’s out there brooding over Neevah?”
I lift my brows, surprised she picked up on that.
“Does everyone know he’s slightly obsessed with her?” I ask.
“‘Slightly’?” She cackles and leans back, flattening her palms behind her on the lounge chair. “He’s not that obvious or anything, but remember I had to ride with them to Alabama when we met Dessi’s daughter. There were so many pheromones in that car, I wanted to roll down the windows.”
We both laugh, and my gaze crawls up the long length of her legs in the sweatshirt that rides higher the more relaxed she becomes. Something must tip her off. Maybe I didn’t look away quickly enough or maybe she is so familiar with the lust she is capable of inspiring in me that she senses it. Not sure what it is, but something makes her self-conscious, makes the laugher dissolve from her expression. She sits up straight and tugs the sweatshirt down as far as it can go, which isn’t far.
“Okay, well, um,” she says, licking her lips nervously and standing. “Wanna go gang up on him now?”
“Sure.” I stand, too, which brings our bodies closer together. Delivers her heat and her fresh scent tinged with apples straight to me.
“By the way, how are your aunts?” I ask, when neither of us have moved to go find Canon.
This is small talk 101, but being close to her without the rage feelsgood. I don’t know when it faded. A simple truce I wasn’t even sure I could keep wouldn’t lower my guard this quickly, but in this moment, resenting Verity is the last thing I’m thinking about.
And fucking her is the first.
“The aunties are good,” she answers. “Still running their store. Actually drowning in online orders now. They discovered TikTok Shop and the rest is history.”
I chuckle and rotate the apple in my hand. I can’t come up with anything to say except shit I probablyshouldn’t, so I don’t say anything and wonder if she’ll find in the silence the same thing I did. That once the years-long enmity clears, what’s left feels dangerously close to what started all of this between us at Finley years ago.
There’s a question in her eyes that she would never ask. I know that about her, so I guess I’ll have to be the one to stir old embers. But not tonight. Tonight it’s enough to know something here still burns.
“Ready?” I ask, tossing the apple and catching it. “I think we hit Canon up with it now.”
“Yeah,” she says, her voice coming out a shade huskier than it was a moment ago. “I’m ready.”
TWENTY-SEVEN
Verity
“Please don’t make me,” I moan through the hands covering my face.
