Page 43 of Dirty Chorus

“Yeah... right.” He tosses my pajamas back before he scoots himself off the bed. “Do you really have to leave?” I whine under my breath and plop down on the mattress. What do I have to do to get him to stay? Fuck it. Grasp your breasts, squeeze and moan, play with yourself. Do something to keep him here.

“This... this was fun, but I do have to get going.”

I don’t do anything. I just pull my pajama shirt over my head with my hair caught up in the collar. Noah presses his palms against the mattress, leans over, and pecks me on the cheek with a kiss.

“Maybe next time.”

Maybe? My stomach twists into tiny knots. That’s not a guarantee. It’s the most haunting silence I’ve been put through. I bounce my bottom off the bed and leap into my pajama shorts. There aren’t any words as I walk him to the front. The lock clicks, and he opens the front door.

“You’re beautiful... all of you,” he says, pecking me on the cheek again. I’m still flushed and hot all over.

“Can we do this again sometime?” I ask.

“Yeah, I'd love to see you again.” He winks, and I stay in the doorway as he walks to his truck, hopping in. I get one more cheeky grin from him and a subtle wave as he drives off. Watching his brake lights in the distance as he turns leaves me convinced he took a tiny piece of my heart and left with it.

Another engine revs and blinding headlights flash. The roar of the engine rattles my bones as they pull out of their parking space, speeding past the house, following Noah’s truck. I can’t make out the model other than it being a white convertible. My heart pitter-patters as I’m stuck wondering if that was Brody, watching me.

Chapter 19

Noah

“Clearly, Amy’s not showing up.” Omen tosses his phone onto the glass display case of the record store. “Why did you have to mess around with her?” A drawn out raspy scrape fills the air as Tony and Vince lug in a large strip of black tarp through the emergency exits on the other side of the store. “She legit told me she doesn’t want to be near you.” I tap my fingers on the glass, already dreading the cleanup tonight. Any second now, they’re going to drag in buckets of smooth, slick mud. “Noah! We are fucked.”

“We can find another girl to shoot the video with us.”

“She’s the only one who really fits the description.” Omen runs a hand through his uncombed hair.

“Give her another week and she’ll be obsessed with someone else. You know how she is.”

“We don’t have another week for this video.”

“Okay, we can think of something else. We are already going to have one hell of a mess after finishing this.”

“The last thing we need is some groupie who makes shrines of your baby pictures strutting around with tits hanging out.”

He’s right. If I come across another post of someone digging up pictures of me, I might vomit. I’m tired of seeing myself online, and of a variety of women wanting some sort of sexual interaction with me.

“Noah, we aren’t gonna find a girl with dark hair, blue eyes, and pale skin.” He points the qualities out on each finger before taking a bite. “She was perfect.”

“I get it. You want Snow White with an apple, but... wait, I have an...”

He raises a hand and cuts me off. I tap my foot on the old carpet, pressing my lips together. “I got my hands on a green python. We get him for two hours for the shoot. He’s going to be here within forty-five minutes.”

“Badgering me isn’t going to change the fact she sucked on my nuts and I ended it.”

The sun will start setting in an hour, and we planned on filming parts of the video right at sunset. I closed the store early for this, in order to make this music video, and we are running behind, and who we need here is a no-show.

“Do you know anyone who could show up here in thirty minutes that would be okay with this?”

“Yes, let me make a call.” I step out the front door and lean against the display windows littered with old tape and flyers for local bands and concerts.

The fresh air fills my lungs as I check my phone and dial her number. It rings a few times before there's a shuffle. “Hi,” she says sweetly. “Long time no see.”

“Hey, Trouble, how are you doing?” I ask, watching cars drive by, and tourists glancing inside the store before strolling off.

“I’m okay. Just finished watching a movie with Payton. What are you up to?”

“I wanted to see if you could help me with a project?” I ask.