Page 31 of Dirty Mind
She licked her lips before sliding her glasses off. “I’m just not sure how long you’re gonna want me around. And I’m not sure you are either. So I think it’s best if we just take this one day at a time for now.”
She was throwing up walls to protect herself and I couldn’t say I blamed her. She had every reason to want to protect herself from me and my mess.
* * *
My song writing session that afternoon was with Archer and Reed, at Archer’s place in the country. Reed and I were both signed to Titan Records and our label wanted a collaboration on our next albums. We figured we’d haul in our good buddy Archer to brainstorm with us. But my heart and head were back home with Charli and my friends could tell.
“What’s with you today?” Reed asked me, kicking his booted feet up on the leather ottoman in Archer’s home studio. “You’ve been quiet.” He flashed his phone with a shit-eating grin. “Wouldn’t have anything to do with the fact you and that little hottie are still blowin’ up Twitter, would it?” He poked the inside of his cheek with his tongue. “#MrsDadeJarvis4.”
“Assholes,” I muttered. I didn’t know if I was talking about the trolls or my friends right now. Maybe I was just pissed off at the world in general. “I’ve only been married twice, not three times, for the record.”
Archer laughed. “Who can keep track?”
“Shut up!” I threw a balled-up piece of paper at him, eyeing the glass globe on the corner of a boardroom table we’d been working at. “Unless you want me to fire that thing next.”
“Relax,” he said, raising his hands in submission. “No need to get violent. We’re your buddies, it’s our job to bust your balls.”
“Whatever.” I rolled my eyes. Sometimes hanging out with my friends was worse than babysitting a couple of kids, not that I’d ever know what that was like. My gut clenched as I thought of Charli and the words that seemed to crush any interest she had in me.
“Sky’s playin’ at Jimmy’s tonight,” Reed said. “We should go check her out.” He nodded towards Reed. “Drag this guy along so he can see what he’ll be missin’ out on if he doesn’t collaborate with her.”
“I ain’t missin’ out on shit,” Archer said, taking a long pull of his water. “I already got the best in the business beatin’ down my door. Ain’t gotta pimp my songs anymore. So why the hell would I wanna work with a little nobody like her?”
It wasn’t like Archer to shoot down talent like that, so I knew there had to be something we were missing. I narrowed my eyes at him. “What’s the deal, man? You and Sky got history we don’t know about?”
He swiped a hand over his face when the color rose in his cheeks. “Not likely.”
Reed laughed, clapping his hands together before pointing at Archer. “You do! Son of a bitch. You banged her, didn’t ya?”
Archer closed his eyes before sinking back in his swivel chair. “You guys ever breathe a word of this and I will kill you.” He glanced at the locked gun collection encased in glass lining his wall. “We, uh, hooked up a couple of years back. I was goin’ through a rough time, she just dumped her boyfriend, and we met at a bar. She was there with some friends, so was I.” He shrugged. “We left together. End of story.”
Reed smiled. “So? How was it?” He curled his fingers, begging Archer to give it up. “She’s a little firecracker on stage. Does that translate to the bedroom or what?”
“Like I’d ever tell you,” Archer said, scowling in disgust. “You work with the girl. You’re friends. And you’re a horndog. I tell you the deal and you’ll be all over her.”
“And that would bother you because…?” Reed asked, raising an eyebrow. “Could it be you’re still into her?”
Reed held up one finger. “It was one time, asshole. A goddamn one-night stand. She hit the road the next day and I never heard from her again.”
“Until you got a call asking you to work on this album with her?” I asked. “Who called you? Her or Evan?” Evan Spencer was the C.E.O. of our label. A good guy we all considered a friend, and Titan had just signed Sky, so I knew Evan would call in all his favors to make sure she hit the ground running.
“Got calls from both of them,” Archer said, popping a stick of gum in his mouth. “And ignored them both. I freelance for a reason. I write the songs I wanna write.” He pointed a finger at his chest. “Work with the artists I wanna work with. Don’t need no goddamn label breathin’ down my neck. Even if it is Ev.”
I couldn’t blame my buddy for feeling the way he did. He’d served in the military for years. Two terms of active duty. Came close to dying, lost several of his brothers, came home battling the effects of PTSD. Money didn’t mean shit to him, even though he’d made a boatload writing the songs every big artist in the business wanted to record.
“I think you should put your personal feelings aside,” Reed said. “You ever heard the girl sing, man? She’s good. Real good. You’d love her style. I think y’all could write a killer album together.”
“Too busy,” Archer said, crossing his arms over his chest. “No interest in workin’ with some little girl with a brand to build and a point to prove.”
“I think your ego took a hit when she walked out on you,” I said, knowing my friend would challenge me the same way if I was running scared. Which I kind of was, but Archer didn’t know that yet. “And you’re punishing her because you’re still pissed.” I hooked a thumb at Reed. “This guy’s right for once. You need to put that shit aside. Work with the girl.”
Archer looked from me to Reed and back again. “Why do you two give a shit what I do? You’ve never pushed me to work with another artist before. Why her?”
My friend had been living in his own little world since he came back to the States. Living outside of the city. Working from home. On the periphery of the scene. Hanging out in small groups. Not taking too many risks. Sleeping with women who were easy and knew the score. Someone like Sky would challenge him to step out of his comfort zone and I knew he needed that.
“Sky’s a good girl,” Reed said. “Sweet, sexy, funny, talented as hell.”
“You like her so much, you go out with her,” Archer said, glaring at him.
