Chapter 30: Ed

"You're more serious in real life." Michelle sat to my right, swaying back and forth in her seat as she watched me mark up her lyrics.

"I'm concentrating."

"Nah, for real. You seem way more laid back in interviews. You're uptight as fuck."

And you're very annoying for someone who's getting my help on your breakthrough song. I kept that to myself.

"I broke up with someone like five minutes ago. I'm allowed to be a little uptight."

Leaning forwards, she walked her fingers up my thigh. "I'll take your mind off her."

"No thanks." I grabbed her wrist and placed her hand back on her own body.

Not deterred, she chuckled. "Bit of fire in you. I like that. Hot. Not that you need much help there."

I zoned her out and re-read through my edits. This wasn't what I'd expected from her, but she was new. Inexperienced. Potentially trying to conform to something she wasn't.

"You got a tune for this?" I asked.

"Yep."

"Sing it for me." I pushed the lyrics back towards her.

Hesitation flitted across her face. One tooth sunk into her bottom lip as her eyes scanned the page. It was the first hint of nerves or insecurity, which reinforced my theory that part of her bravado was a front.

"I haven't warmed up," she said.

"That's fine. It's just us."

"I'd still rather not."

I folded my arms and leaned back into my seat. "I've heard you sing. You're good. Don't be shy."

A streak of pink coloured her cheeks. That bravado had totally disappeared. Rather than push it, I took pity.

"Do you have sheet music or a recording? I just want to hear the tune."

With a nod, she picked up her phone and started scrolling. I didn't get it. She sung on TikTok constantly. There was no autotune there. Plus she had millions of viewers ready to criticise or judge from behind the shield of a screen. I was one person.

"Here." She pressed play and set the phone down between us.

As soon as I heard the bouncy melody, the lyrics made sense. This was classic pop. Feel good. Light.

I rewound it a few times, then started to sing along. Tested out the new lyrics, switched some of them back to the old ones. For the first time since we'd met, she stayed silent. She almost seemed to retreat further into herself.

"What do you think?" I eventually asked.

She shrugged. "Sounds better when you sing it."

I opened my mouth to automatically refute that, then paused.

"Do you honestly think that?"

Another shrug. "I know we're supposed to be collaborating on some other stuff, but I genuinely think this track would sound better with you on it."

I rubbed the pen between my fingertips. "You know why that is? Because this is my genre. Not yours. I don't think this should be your first single."

At that, she sat up a little straighter. Engaged.

"It sounds like all the other pop songs in the charts."

Her brows knitted together. "Yeah, that was my manager's strategy. It's formulaic, reliable."

Now we were getting somewhere. She was creeping out of the shell again, plus confirming my suspicions on who was pulling the strings.

"That's not you, though," I said. "Your followers from TikTok are expecting you. Not a sell-out."

"My manager's the expert. If he thinks this song will be a better debut, I'll trust him."

"Hm. I'll talk to him."

A soft chuckle, almost sardonic. "Always get your own way, do you?"

I lowered my eyes back to the page. "I just don't agree with his strategy and think it's worth exploring further. That's all."

She rose from her seat again and smoothed down her dress. Had I pushed too hard? I didn't know their dynamic. I probably shouldn't interfere if it risked straining their relationship. Just as I opened my mouth to apologise, she tipped her head towards the door.

"Let me grab something else I'm working on. See what you think."

If my instincts were correct, this next piece would be closer to the singer I'd been brushing up on.

I opened Instagram while I waited. A new message sat waiting for me, and my heart sank to my stomach when I saw the familiar name.

Luciabruno: Hey handsome. How are you doing?

Gritting my teeth, I left the message unread and closed Instagram. Why the hell did I sleep with her? I scraped a hand through my hair and sucked in a deep breath. Hopefully if I ignored her, even when supposedly single, she'd eventually take the hint.

"Here." Michelle slapped another sheet of paper down in front of me. "Do your worst."

I cocked an eyebrow at her. "You think I'm going to tear it apart?"

She dropped down into her chair again. "Probably. It's rough. Henry didn't like it so I kinda abandoned it."

And yet she proactively fetched it for me to look at. This song meant something to her. More than the other one.

"Okay. You got a backing track for it?"

"No. Didn't get that far."

"A rough idea of the tune?"

With a sassy roll of her eyes, she snatched the page from my limp fingers and cleared her throat. At first, her voice held a cautious wobble. Nerves. Self-consciousness. Once she reached the chorus, though, confidence pushed through.

This was Michelle Lopez. Feisty, gutsy, non-apologetic. Not just her performance, but the lyrics. The fact she'd summoned the courage to sing in front of me, despite refusing to just moments earlier, proved that this was more in her comfort zone. Even if I'd hated the song, I wouldn't have been able to find it in me to tell her.

I waited for her to finish, ideas spinning through my head. Fresh excitement. Inspiration.

"Sing this first verse again." I tapped the page.

This time her voice was stronger. Steadier.

"Great. I think you should split these six-syllable lines into three-syllable halves. It'll make it punchier. More attitude. Like this."

I sang it back, although I lacked the attitude that came so naturally to her. Still, her eyes lit up.

"Oh, shit. That's crazy how much better it sounds. Why didn't I think of that?"

"Sometimes it takes a fresh pair of ears."

Plus years of experience. I didn't want to sound like an arrogant dick, though.

"Although it does lose the rhyme..." Her mouth scrunched in thought.

"You keen on the rhyme?"

She shuffled in her seat, not meeting my eye. "I mean... If the song is better for it—"

"No, don't give me that. Do you want to keep the rhyme?"

"...Yes. I think that's what helps pack the punch."

"Fair." I looked back to the page. Tapped the pen against the edge of the desk. "We could use assonance? Instead of 'yet again' at the start, we say 'another time' at the end. Then that has rhyming vowels with 'the same old line'."

"Yes! I like it. Love it, even. Thank you."

We went back and forth over the rest of the song. The more she spoke up, the more her confidence returned. Her passion. It was endearing. By the time we'd finished a first draft, she was practically bouncing in her chair.

"This is so good. So, so good. Thank you, Teddy."

I grunted in acknowledgement, my eyes still scanning the page.

"I'll credit you."

"No need," I said. "It was just a few edits. Consider it a favour."

She nudged my foot under the table. "Sing on it with me. This can be our collab. A male voice could give it another edge. Two sides to the story."

"It's your song," I said. "Your debut. You should own that all by yourself."

"We don't know if it'll be my debut. Henry needs to approve. And if you were on it, it could sway him."

I had no doubt Henry would be swayed by guaranteed publicity for his newest singer's debut single. Michelle deserved to stand in the limelight alone, though. I'd only distract. It would inevitably become about me—not her.

"It will be your debut," I said. "And it will go straight into the charts. And it will be your name next to it. Not diluted by sharing it with someone else."

She snorted. "That's a polite way to say you'd steal my thunder."

Well, Teddy Stone was nothing if not polite... Even on late-night panel shows when quizzed about his love of pussy.

"It's your brand. I think I've proved I'm not cut out for this."

Her eyes narrowed. "For what?"

"You saw me last night. Left you wanting more? That wasn't a deliberate strategy. That was because I don't have the balls to step outside my own comfort zone."

Long nails drummed against the tabletop as she studied me. Head to toe. Not an ounce of shame.

"And is that what you want? To be seen differently?"

God, I barely knew this girl. I shouldn't be talking to her about this. Next thing I know, it'd be all over TikTok. I tried to segue out of it. What I did best.

"Soph became the villain when we broke up. Just because nobody thought I had a bad bone in my body. I hated watching the world do that to her."

"So, you did something bad?"

"No, but neither did she. I just hate being put on a pedestal while a perfectly innocent victim is hung out to dry. Maybe if I wasn't so squeaky clean, people wouldn't have been so quick to attack her."

"People just love attacking women. For what it's worth, I liked her. Thought she was hilarious and loved that she didn't pander to you."

"Hm. She was the best thing to happen to me."

The corner of her mouth tugged up into a tiny smile. It looked suspiciously like pity.

"You still in love with her?"

"Yeah." I scrubbed a hand over my jaw. Should probably conclude this conversation before it got too deceptive. "Anyway, that's why I want to shred some of the good guy brand. Do you think I stand a chance?"

"Sure!" Her thin eyebrows shot upwards. "Honestly, you can probably just get photographed with someone as problematic as me a few times and that'd do half the job."

As if on cue, my phone buzzed with another message from Soph. I casually turned it facedown. Should probably change her name in my contacts to avoid suspicion.

"Be in the video," Michelle said. "Happy medium? You can play the bad guy, but at the end of the day it's only acting. People can choose how they interpret it."

Huh. Pretty good idea. She'd still get the credit for the song, but I could add some weight with the video.

Plus, if we did play this right, I could start on the new brand.

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Thank you for reading :) xx

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Ed & Soph enjoy some phone sex in the next chapter 🔥

If you don't want to wait, the full book is available via any of my Ream tiers!