Sing a Song of Love (6 page)

Part of me was sad that he
was now in theory my boss.  Now he was definitely out of bounds and I wished he
had been able to remain the mystery encounter that I never saw again. 
Something in the back of my head just seemed to think that would have been easier. 

I shrugged that all aside and
focussed instead on what was in front of me; an amazing opportunity to tour
with High Land Boys and six weeks of getting to know Mack better.  It wasn’t
all bad though I sure would miss the sex!

“So we good?”  Mack enquired
as he took the final gulp of his coffee.

“Yeah we’re good.  Shall we
head back as I think Cam was freaking out.  He can always tell when there is
something up.” 

Mack reached over and wiped
the side of my mouth and I felt the familiar response which happened whenever he
touched me.

“You can’t be doing that if
this is going to work,” I said softly.

“Sorry you had milk froth!”  But
he dropped his arm and I wiped my mouth on a serviette, too busy quelling the
lust that had bubbled up to even worry about the embarrassment of having a milk
moustache.  Something told me I would have to keep my distance if this was
going to work.

I kept the conversation
general on the walk back and was thrilled that Mack had liked our audition.

“You must be so proud of
Lance, those boys are crazy good.  Where do they pull all those deep feelings
and emotions from?  They seem way too together to be able to sing like that.”

“The three of them have
always been different to other boys their age and they have been obsessed with
music for as long as I can remember.   Sometimes I think they are old souls who
have pulled this all together from lifetimes of living.  Who knows? But Lance’s
voice, coupled with Robbie’s song writing and Josh’s talent for putting
together catchy rifts make for a great band.”

I already knew how fond Mack
was of the boys and now I understood why.  They were special and not just
because they were amazing musically but because they were great kids.  Note to
self not to call them kids!

“You were fantastic in there
too Jessie.  Every bit as good as your performance on the demo tape.” 

I felt like I was back at
that point where I needed to thank him for his part in reviving my singing
career but didn’t want to rehash the whole sleeping together thing again.  Not
to mention thanks for the therapeutic sex still sounded corny, so I gave him my
warmest smile and squeezed his hand.  I hoped that conveyed to him how grateful
I was and that there still were no regrets. 

“By the way did Mara ever get
hold of you?  She said she was going to give you my number.”

“She did give it to me but I
hadn’t wanted to call and distract myself before the audition.”

“Fair enough, probably all
worked out for the best anyway.”

When we got back into the
studio Cam looked pleased to see me and drew his eyebrows together in a silent
question.  I smiled reassuringly at him as I walked over and thankfully Mack
had thought to get everyone coffee and cake which stopped any further
questions.

Soon as everyone was seated Mack
explained the schedule for the next six weeks.  We had ten days to record this
single and become familiar with their other music before our first concert in
Queenstown, Friday week. 

It was a tight schedule but
going by the way we all clicked this morning it would be ample of time to get
organised.

“OK I am going to head into
the office and get contracts drawn up for Jess and Cam.  I will be back around
three so we can get all the paper work signed off and then how about dinner
together?  My shout!” 

I was about to make an excuse
when Cam piped up saying that would be great.  And part of me was glad as I
really wanted to get to know everyone better before we headed out on tour. Also
if we were all together as a group it couldn’t hurt being in Mack’s company.

The afternoon flew by and by
the end of the day we were close to calling it a rap on the single. 

We signed our new contracts
when Mack returned and organised to meet at the Raging Bull on the Viaduct
around seven for dinner. 

Cam walked me to my car and I
filled him in on Ems baby on the way.

“That is fantastic news and
in hind sight it’s a good thing Joseph arrived early as otherwise you would
have missed the birth”

“True I hadn’t thought of
that.  It really was magical seeing him come into the world.  I would have
hated to miss it.  What do you think of High Land Boys?”

I still couldn’t believe we
were going on tour with them.  It was like a dream come true.

“Are you kidding me?  They
rock!  I wasn’t expecting them to be even half as good as they are.  And you
Jessie, don’t think I didn’t notice your performance, you were on fire!” 

I gave him a big hug and
pulled away grinning.  “I was wasn’t I? Darn it felt good!  Wouldn’t be here
without you though Cam,” and I punched him playfully on the arm, “through thick
and thin you always stick by me.  Hope you know how much I love you.”

“I do Jessie and now look at
us.  Can’t believe we are about to tour with these guys.  It’s going to be a
blast.  Right, I’m off, as I want to fit the gym in today.  See you tonight
gorgeous,” and with a quick kiss he set off at a run down the road to where his
car was parked. 

I jumped into mine and headed
home too, glad to have a few hours to myself before tonight.

It felt good to have cleared things up with Jess.  She had
been amazing and I was still surprised at how understanding she had been.  I
had expected her to spit the dummy and storm off and instead by the end of
coffee we were even able to have a joke.  She really was something.

I felt slightly vindicated by my means of securing our talk though
when I had heard her sing.  I had been nervous waiting to see how she would perform
but as soon as she opened her mouth I could hear the old Jessie was back. 

She had looked sensational up there.  Sexy and in charge yet
vulnerable and soft as well.  It was a killer performance and vocally amazing. 
She had such great instincts that it felt like she was telepathically tapping
into my thoughts and extracting how I wanted this single to sound.  It was
uncanny and going by the boys’ faces at the end they were as blown away as I
was at how well it had went. 

Soon as I saw Jessie from the recording sound box I had felt
the desire return and our twenty four hours together came rushing back.  My
little head was obsessed with the idea of burying itself in a certain wet pussy
that it was totally taken with!  I had never had an encounter like it and I
wasn’t sure how to file the experience away or even if I wanted to. 

There had been girlfriends in the past, even a few serious
ones, but always there had come a point when they started to impinge on my work
with their demands which put an end to my interest.  I didn’t want to be
remodelled or forced to settle down and I guess I hadn’t loved any of the
ladies enough to rethink these ideas.   

I couldn’t help but think Jessie was different to my earlier
girlfriends.  She was driven in her career like me but I sensed her
relationships with people were unconditional rather than ‘what can you do for
me?’ 

Lance, Josh and Robbie were also like that and I was glad to
have found Cam and Jessie for them to work with.  They were young but I knew
they would be in good hands with these two.  And it wouldn’t hurt that I would
get to see more of Jessie.

After getting all the paper work sorted I packed up and
headed back to the hotel with instructions to the boys not to lose track of
time. They gave me indulgent smiles and I could hear them working on the newest
song as I took my leave.

Just before six I rang Lance’s room to make sure they had made
it back to the hotel and was relieved when he answered.

“You have so little faith Mack,” and I could hear the
amusement in Lances voice.

“I just know what you guys are like when you are working on
something new.  How is it going?” 

“Well after singing with Jess this morning Robbie played
around with the lyrics of this new song we had been working on.  We had played
around with it before but it had sounded flat.  Anyway Robbie had a great idea
of working Jess in, like a duet and I think it could really work.” 

Lance sounded excited and after seeing the chemistry between
them this morning I had to admit they worked well together and that it sounded
like a good idea.

I felt pangs of jealousy hearing Lance rave about Jessie and
had to remind myself that she was a free agent.  Damn why couldn’t I have kept
it in my pants!  It was hard to stay professional when my mind kept replaying
over and over what had to be the best sex I had ever experienced.  None of my
earlier girlfriends had even come close to casting this kind of spell over me
and it was driving me mad.

We talked for a few more minutes and then after organising
to meet in the lobby in forty minutes I rang off to have a quick shower and get
ready. 

We got to the restaurant just before seven and were taken to
our table upstairs overlooking the water.  It was a beautiful clear night and
we had views over the water towards Rangitoto Island. 

I glanced towards the entrance and was pleased to see Cam
and Jess walking over and I felt a stirring of appreciation that had nothing to
do with what she was wearing.  Hell she could wear rags and I would still think
she looked hot.

“Hi, sorry we are late, Jess was still deciding on outfits
when I turned up.” 

Cam took a seat next to Lance which left Jess next to me. 
She looked reluctant to take that seat but sat down anyway. 

“Who was having trouble deciding on outfits Cam?”  Jessie
was looking at Cam pointedly and he laughed.

“Hey it just sounds better if the chick was having trouble,”
he said sheepishly and we all laughed. 

There was something very likeable about Cam and I could see
why Jess had chosen to work with him.  He was one of those people that it
didn’t take long to feel like you had known for ever.

The waitress came over and I ordered a couple of bottles of
champagne and some tapas to keep us going until our mains arrived.  Everyone
was getting along well and after a glass of bubbles I felt some of the tension
ease from my body. 

“So how are your sister and the new baby doing?” I asked
turning my attention to Jess.  She turned to look at me and I felt the rest of
the table melt away.  All I could see was her and I wished we were alone far,
far away from here. 

“She is great.  I spoke to her just before and apparently
the new baby is a wee angel, though she always says that!  She is home now and
Mum is staying with her for a couple of weeks to help out.” 

Jessie was talking animatedly about her family and it was
all I could do to keep my hands to myself.  What was wrong with me? 

“What’s up Mack?”  Jessie was looking at me with a confused
expression and I realised my face must have said that I was miles away.

I apologised for being distracted and made up a plausible
work excuse.  She accepted that and I turned around to Robbie on my other side,
determined to keep my distance until I had worked this thing, whatever it was,
out of my system.

In the past when I had got caught up on a girl a lot of sex
and hanging out had cured me.  Usually after a few weeks I found that whatever
had been intriguing was wearing thin!  Alina said that was because I was a
workaholic with commitment issues but that wasn’t totally true.  I just found
that after a few months the predictability of the relationship bored me.  I
liked to be surprised by people’s responses which was one of the things I loved
about Jessie.  But copious amounts of sex wasn’t going to be a cure in this
instance as Jessie had made it abundantly clear that the relationship needed to
stay professional. 

I was glad for the distraction when our mains arrived and I
tucked in realising that I hadn’t eaten since breakfast.  I was glad my plate
was piled high! 

“You must have been starving Mack,” and I looked up to see
Jessie watching me hoe in. 

I laughed as I realised I had hardly came up for air since
starting my meal and that the others were lagging way behind.

“It was a big day in the office and I miss my secretary from
back home who always feeds me regularly when I forget!”  And I made a mental
note to remember to get her a memento from this tour.

“That sounds really handy.  Lance was saying that you are
responsible for all the Scottish bands signed but that you don’t usually tour
anymore.  Are you enjoying being back on the road?” 

“I’m actually surprised at how much I have missed it.  Love
my job back home but a lot of what I do requires me spending long hours in the
office.  This is a welcome change.”

With a full stomach it was easier to talk to Jessie and I
had the urge to rip off her clothes, for now, under control.  We managed to
fill in the next half hour with general work chatter and it was a relief to
feel the tension between us disappear. 

I overheard Cam telling the boys about a band that was
playing later that he thought they might like to check out.  They were keen as
they loved listening to music almost as much as playing it.  Jess wasn’t though
as she was still recovering from her lack of sleep over the last few days and I
found me agreeing to drop her home.