I want to kiss her forever. We should stay like this forever. Generations from now, they’ll find us in the rubble, two lovers who died kissing.
All too soon she pulls away and stares at me. Confusion mars her pretty face.
“Just wanted to remind you that I’m still here.” King’s voice filters through the million-dollar sound system.
“Oh, my God.” Vaughn turns redder than my mom’s famous lipstick. Confusion switches to mortification. She slaps her hand over her mouth and runs out of the room.
I stand there like a stupid dumbass because I’m too stunned by my response to move. Is that what kissing is supposed to feel like? Holy hell. And if so, why did she run off?
I jerk myself into action and follow her, but she’s already darted into a bathroom and locked the door.
“Vaughn, baby. Come out.” I hear the faucet turn on. I jiggle the knob a little. “Are you sick?”
“Go away. Go away and make your music. That’s what this is all about anyway.”
I turn to see if there’s anyone around who can help me interpret what just happened, but I’m alone and my girl has locked herself in the bathroom. Probably for the best. I’d rather no one else witness this humiliating exchange.
I make my way back to the control room, shaking my head the whole way.
King doesn’t say a word as I collapse into a chair.
“What?” I ask after a prolonged silence.
“Nothing, man.” King grins. “I should’ve come here sooner. Had no idea I’d be getting a show and an album in one deal.”
I scowl. “Maybe I’ll find a different producer.”
If possible, his smile grows bigger. “Nope. I’m not leaving now. There’s fire and magic in the air. Perfect music-making conditions.”
I merely grunt as I pull out my Bic to scratch out the first line of how my head’s so messed up that I’m starting to think the sky is green.
King peers over my shoulder. “She’s changing you.” I don’t acknowledge him and write the next line about how I’m feeling like my heart’s a junkyard, filled with spare, discarded parts. “The best ones do.”
He slides over to fiddle with a panel, but I feel the heat of his eyes.
“Got something to add?” I mutter.
Over his outstretched arm, he says, “The good ones put your character to the flame and burn away all the rest of the shit until you come out a better you. She’s one of the good ones.”
“How do you know?” I challenge, chin out, glower on my face.
King gives me a mysterious smile. “You just do.”
29
HER
Top 5 reasons why fans should expect a new Ford album ASAP! Click now!
5. It’s been two years since the last tour and album. Fans are dying for something new. Oakley Ford has always treated his fans right.
4. Oakley Ford and King have been spotted together at several public benefits, and yesterday the two were seen ducking into the famed Hollow Oak recording studio. Sharp-eyed Ford fans posted this picture on the FordNews insta feed.
3. It’s also been two years since ShOak was a thing. New girl definitely means new music, right?
2. He’s growing up. Oakley will be twenty soon and that means he’s leaving his teen years behind. He will want to show us all how his grown-up music sounds.
1. Surprise albums are all the rage. Beyoncé! Kanye! Frank Ocean! Releasing an album with no lead up is a huge power move and one that would fit the new, grown-up Oakley.
I’m acting like a six-year-old. I mean, who locks themselves in a bathroom to avoid talking to someone? Me, that’s who. Vaughn Bennett, a mess of a girl, the kind of screwed-up person who kisses two boys in the span of one day.
Jeez. When did my love life get so exciting?
Except...only one of those kisses had actually excited me. Only one of those kisses made my heart soar and my toes curl.
Oakley’s kiss.
The other kiss was a mistake before it even happened. I thought Luke was kind of sleazy from the moment I met him, but the stupid alcohol made me forget that last night. And then he was flirting with me and saying how cool I was, and when he kissed me I didn’t stop it because I thought it would make me feel good.
It didn’t. Kissing only feels good for me when I like someone. I felt nothing when Luke’s lips were on mine. But Oak’s lips? My whole body vibrated in response, and that totally freaks me out.
I bury my head in both hands and groan into my palms, hoping the running water muffles the frazzled sound. I’ve never been more confused in my life. I can’t seem to focus on any one thought—my brain is a huge jumble of them. Thoughts about Oakley. About that amazing kiss. About the fact that I took the year off to work but instead accepted a job that gives me way too much time to think about stuff I don’t want to think about.
It’s like everyone is making decisions for me these days. W decided to dump me. Claudia decides what I’m going to do every day. Oak decided to kiss the living daylights out of me and make me feel things I’ve been trying not to feel.
I lift my head, and my gaze falls to my Vans. Seeing all the doodles scribbled on the sneakers just ticks me off. I used to love these shoes, but I look at them now and they seem...silly. The dumb squiggles of a foolish girl who thought her boyfriend would love her forever.
Slowly, I lean forward and slip the shoes off my feet. I pick them up and walk over to the trash can by the door. I hesitate, only for a moment, and then toss the shoes in the trash.
Oakley isn’t waiting in the hall like I expect him to be. Through the glass windows spanning the corridor, I see that he’s gone back into the studio. He and King are talking animatedly, while Oak tosses a pen in the air and then catches it in his hand.
My cheeks get warmer and warmer as I approach the door wearing nothing but black footie socks. I hope King doesn’t bring up the kiss he witnessed. I hope Oak doesn’t bring it up, either, at least not in front of King.
“Hey,” Oakley says when I enter the room. His tone is light, but there’s a note of wariness there, as if he’s unsure of what I’m going to do.
“How’s the writing going?” I ask, trying to sound casual. I flop down onto the sofa along the wall of the studio and wrap my arms around my knees.
“Awesome.”
Our eyes lock. I see the questions in his, but he doesn’t voice them.
King voices one, though. “What happened to your shoes?”
“I lost them,” I mumble.
The two males exchange a look. Oak arches a brow at me.
“All right, then,” King drawls. “Ah, how ’bout you lend us your ears, Miss Bennett? Our boy keeps trying to slow down this bridge and I keep telling him that’s not fresh, but he won’t listen. Maybe you can back me up.”
Oak rolls his eyes. “She’s not gonna back you up, ’cause you’re wrong.” He picks up his guitar and strums a chord. “Check this out, Vaughn, and tell me I’m right.”