Sidney
"The original song has thirty seconds of guitar intro, and we've only got forty seconds total to work with," Dale said in a no-nonsense tone. He pointed at Trevor who was playing guitar. "Play the intro one time and nail it, then I want Sidney to come in."
We went over it three times, making sure I came in at the right time, and then Dale went back into the control room.
I had to become another person for this role.
I pretended those musicians and the producer were my mom and Aunt Regina, sitting on the couch and getting into the song with me. I was serious and dramatic, and I felt the lyrics passionately. I sold it. I sucked up my own insecurities and pretended I was a rock star and that I truly felt the lyrics in my soul. The band was good, so that helped. The guitarist nailed the intro, and I bobbed my head, feeling the rock-n-roll rhythm of the music as I began to sing.
So, this is the place I've been looking for, today
No, I won't turn and walk away.
They swim in oceans, looking so sharp and long,
With tails and fins and gills.
They're swimming all around in the sea,
I bet they swim faster than me.
I'll break down, down, down, and bring you home with me.
My own Barracuda.
Lance had given Dale what he came up with for the lyrics, and Dale tweaked them to make them fully fit the flow of the original song. The result was a hilarious version of the classic tune that was perfect for a fish superstore with a sense of humor.
We recorded ten takes of it before calling it a day. Dale let me go, but he kept the musicians so that he could record a few other things with them. It was just after five when I left the studio.
I smiled the whole way to my car. It was impossible for me to wipe the grin off of my face. I never dreamed I would've ended up in a studio recording a song. It was like a different world in there. There were all kinds of things I didn't understand with the music and engineering, but Dale and the musicians still made me feel at home. They treated me like I was a good singer and part of the crew.
I spent so much of my time at Riverview, either teaching or going to sporting events, that it was nice to mix it up with a new group of people. The guys even flirted with me—all accept for Dale and Chris, the drummer, who were both married. I wasn't used to so much male attention. There were a few men who taught or coached at my school, but they were either in relationships or I wasn’t interested. It was odd being in a place where I was surrounded by single guys who were all nice looking and eager to hang out with me.
The crazy thing was that I couldn’t stop thinking about Lance the whole time. I felt so grateful to him for talking me into doing it, and even though he wasn't there, my thoughts kept going back to him.
I wasn't in a relationship with Lance.
I wasn't even sure if he was interested in me.
We had talked on the phone quite a bit, but that was the extent of it. Still, somehow, I felt like flirting with someone else was cheating on him. I was nice to the guys, and we clowned around a lot, but I couldn't let myself lead them on—not when I had my heart set on someone else.
That whole chain of thoughts made me want to call him. I was shy about doing it, but I had told him when we talked the night before that I would reach out to let him know how it went at the studio. I said that I would call, but I was too nervous, so I sent him a text instead.
I sat in the parking lot of my condo, and typed it out before I went upstairs.
Me: "I think it went well today. I had a lot of fun, and everyone was really nice. Thank you for letting me do this!"
I was walking into the building when I heard my phone ring in my purse. I had been hoping he would respond quickly, so I was waiting for it. I was still standing outside the building when I dug in my purse. I smiled as I stared down at my phone. The name Lance was written across the screen, and it wasn't a text. He was calling me.
"Hello?" I was breathless, but I did my best to hide it.
"So, I guess I was right," he said, a smile in his voice.
"About what?" I asked, smiling back.
"About you being a super star."
I laughed. "Dale's a good producer," I said. "He knows what he's doing."
"He said the same thing about you. Not that you're a good producer, but that you know what you're doing."
"You talked to him?"
"I did. He called me earlier when you guys were at lunch. He said you were gonna cut the tracks this afternoon."
"We just finished," I said. "The guys are still there, actually."
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"Right now?"
"Yeah."
I glanced at my building. "I just got home. I haven't even gone inside yet. I'm gonna get Sheila and take her for a walk."
"Sure," he said.
"Sure, what?"
"Sure, I'll come over there and go with you."
I grinned so hard that my whole body tensed up. I clinched my fists and opened my mouth wide, letting out a silent squeal. I wanted so badly to see him.
Then, a ton of thoughts hit me at once.
I suddenly realized Lance couldn't come over. My mom and aunt were home. I knew this because they were watching Sheila for me. They were so excited about me going into the studio, that there was no doubt in my mind they would have a thousand questions about it. Even if I answered their questions and then went back to my place with Sheila, chances were very high that they would think of something else and come knocking. I figured if Lance came over, he would run into them, and I just wasn't sure I was ready for that to happen.
It wasn't that I was embarrassed of my family. I just assumed they were a lot different than what he was used to and I… okay, maybe I was a little embarrassed, but it wasn't because they didn't have money, or I didn't love them, or anything like that... it was more because they were slightly unpredictable with what they would say. I never knew what would come out of their mouths—especially Aunt Regina's.
I hadn't met Lance's parents, but I had met his sister, and I knew enough to assume that his family was more (how do I put this) refined than mine. I wanted him to come over so badly, but the last thing I wanted was for my mom or Aunt Regina to say something to scare him off. He knew my mother lived in the same condo as me, I had told him that much during that long conversation we had on the phone. I had, however, left out a lot of the other details... including the fact that my aunt lived there as well. It wasn't that I was ashamed, it just hadn't ever seemed like the right opportunity to mention it.
"Are you there?" Lance's voice on the other end drew me from my thoughts. I really wanted to see him, and I was torn about what to do.
"Yeah, I-I was thinking about taking Sheila to, uh, to walk somewhere else... a different beach… not my beach."
"Why don't you bring her to my house?" he asked. "I live on the water. I mean, I understand if you already had other plans, but—"
"No, I didn't. I don't. I wasn't sure what I was doing."
"We could take her down to the water for a little while or she can just run around at my place. My backyard's not totally secure, but it's mostly fenced. There's just a little gap in the very back where I have some citrus trees planted. I don't know if she runs off or not."
"I probably wouldn't leave her out there for too long by herself. She's been stuck in my mom's place all day, and I'm sure she'd get curious in a new place. But maybe I could take her over and go for a walk. We don't have to stay or anything."
"Come on over." Lance said. "I'll take what I can get."
My heart started racing instantly. It had been such an exhilarating day that I was still numb and delirious with adrenaline, and now Lance was inviting me over.
"I'm gonna go in and change," I said. "Text me your address."
I was already on my way upstairs when I hung up the phone with Lance. I lived on the second floor and, a lot of times, I took the stairs, but I was so zonked from the crazy day that I got in the elevator.
I spent the next ten minutes at my mom's place.
She and my aunt were extremely curious about the studio session and asked question after question like I knew they would. I was excited about it and happy to answer them, but I was also anxious to get home so that I could clean up and leave for Lance's. I didn't tell them where I was going.
I took a quick shower and threw my hair into a loose ponytail. It was wavy, and short enough that it almost looked more like a bun. I put on khaki shorts with a short-sleeve top. I changed three times, trying to find the outfit that looked best.
I was so nervous to see him that I felt like my heart could explode. The studio session had been extremely exciting at the time, but going to Lance's was, hands down, the most thrilling part of my day. I could not wait to see him. I was chomping at the bit. Sheila fed off of my excitement and was turning in circles and bouncing off the walls as she waited for me to finish getting ready.
***
Lance's house was beautiful.
It was a one-story, stucco home that was a light, grey-ish teal color with white trim. The front of it faced the water, and I had to drive up a long driveway in order to park around back. I parked next to Lance's truck, which was big, black, and had the logo for his store tastefully painted on the doors.
There was another car parked next to it—an old car—a muscle car. I didn't know a lot about them, but I read the little silver emblem that told me it was a Camaro. It was candy apple red, and my first thought was that maybe he had someone else over—my mind instantly assumed it was his dad because of the classic nature of the car.
Sheila was curious about it, too. She was off leash, and she hopped out of my car (a small, silver Toyota) and began sniffing the tires on the classic hot rod.
"Come on, Sheila," I said. We headed up the path that led to the door. At a normal house, I would be tempted to walk around to the front, but in this case, the back door was much closer, and extremely inviting. It was a no-brainer that I would go to that one.
There was landscaping everywhere—beautiful plants, shrubs, trees, and flowers. It did not look like a bachelor pad. I couldn't help but look around as I made my way to the door. I glanced toward my right at the sprawling outdoor area. There was a courtyard vibe to it with cobblestone pavers and a water feature on the far side that made it look like water was flowing down the wall and into a basin at the bottom. I couldn't see into it, but I assumed there were fish at the bottom. It was enchanting, and I almost tripped over Sheila simply because I wasn't watching where I was going. She let out a little yelp when I ran into her.
"Sorry girl," I said, gasping and regaining my balance. I glanced at the door just in time to see Lance approaching it. He was smiling at me through the window, and I grinned back at him, waving a little. I blushed at having almost fallen—I was sure he had seen me.
Lance opened the door, stepped outside to join us, and stooped instantly. Sheila went right up to him, her whole back end wiggling around with excitement.
"You must be Sheila," he said. His smile was so genuine and irresistible that butterflies instantly started humming in my stomach. Sheila jumped on him, landing with her paws on his chest.
"Sheila!" I said as soon as she did it.
"She's just checking me out," he said, scratching her back with both hands as he looked straight at her face. He glanced at me. "Unless we're breaking some kind of rule or something. I don't want to mess your training up."
I shook my head, and Lance went back to greeting Sheila. "I've heard a lot about you," he said, talking to her. He turned his ear to her and pretended to concentrate. He made an expression like he was listening really hard, and then he glanced at me with a look of surprise. "She said she's heard a lot about me, too," he said, looking completely serious. "Have you been talking about me at home?"
"Well, maybe, she wasn't supposed to tell you," I said, shaking my head disappointedly at her.
Lance chuckled as he stood up, and Sheila bounced to the ground again, cozying up next to me with her tail wagging. Lance was barefoot, wearing cargo shorts and a baby blue t-shirt that fit him perfectly and made his blue eyes look lighter and even more striking than I remembered. His hair was damp and he smelled clean, so I assumed he had just gotten out of the shower.
He smiled at me as he reached out for a hug. It was just meant to be a casual greeting, but to me, it felt like so much more than that. I felt a tangible sense of relief as I went into his arms. He held onto me firmly, like maybe he was feeling the same way. I expected him to let me go after a second or two, but he just held me there. I closed my eyes, letting my face rest against his broad chest. I was holding him around his waist, and he had one arm behind my back and the other one securely wrapped around my head. I had danced with him before—I knew what he felt like—how big he was. But he had never held me like this. We both just settled into it. The only thing separating my face from his hard chest was a thin t-shirt, and I could feel the warmth of his skin and the up-and-down motion of his chest as he breathed. We held the hug for so long that Sheila jumped up on the side of my leg to get my attention. I didn't respond to her. I wasn't going to let anything distract me. The sheer level of relief was astounding. I was enveloped by Lance's embrace, and it somehow made me feel light and free. There was a hot, liquid feeling in my gut, like my insides might melt into molten hot lava. Still holding me tightly, Lance took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. It caused a surge of emotion to course through me, and I felt tears spring to my eyes.
"Hello," I said weakly.
"Hello," he replied. He said it quietly, but his voice was deep, and I smiled at the way it felt against my ear. I seriously never wanted to break this hug. I wanted to stay exactly there—right where I was—for the rest of my life.
Sheila scratched my leg, her little paw gently grazing my skin, reminding me she was waiting. I took a deep breath, working up the nerve to step back, break contact. We had held the hug for what must have been a full minute. I was dizzy from it.