Page 17 of This Side of Beautiful

Cedrick walked over, resting his hands on the edge of his setup. “You write my part yet?”

“No. Trying to get the notes right with the guitar first. Figured you might write it once you hear it.” I played a few more chords. “Might need to tighten it here.”

“Title?”

I shrugged. “‘Stuck Between.’”

Cedrick chuckled. “The way we are right now.”

“Maybe. I hear you and Brian, I really do. We can do trendy music. I just don’t want to lose the integrity of our music. Branford Marsalis thought a gig onTheTonightShowwas the right exposure and choice. He left because the role of smiling sidekick didn’t work for him.”

“Ah… It seems to work for Jon Batiste on Colbert’sshow.”

“You mean the show he no longer works for?” I reminded him.

Cedrick shook his head. “Beside the point, because those are not good examples. We’re not some sidekick to a white man. We’re creating our own music regardless of which direction we decide to go. It’s still our music. Our sound.”

I argued, “Are we pandering to what’s hot, what’s popular, or what feels intrinsically right? Backing up pop artists with music different from ours is one thing. Producing an album that doesn’t accurately reflect who The Hollow Bones really is would be a travesty. We’re a rhythmic soul band first, and we both know that soul isn’t always what’s hot on the radio.”

“A travesty or a smart business move?” He played around with the keys. “Like it or not, what you did last night with Janae has just placed The Hollow Bones in the middle of possible controversy, or maybe it was the smartest move ever. Have you seen anything since it happened?”

“No.” I tapped my guitar. “I don’t have social media for a reason.”

“You and Janae are the new ‘it’ couple, and people want more. New Orleans and Atlanta just sold out, thank you very much,” Cedrick announced. “Somebody even captured the kiss that Janae planted on you before she left the stage last night. You are Instagram official unless you state otherwise.”

“After one night?” I asked. “I figured that people might speculate that we were a couple who got into it, and sales would go up. Not all that.”

“Your reputation as an award-winning musician and leader of The Hollow Bones, and coming from music royalty, precedes you. You’ve been in this industry for years, and the man who’s never been seen with a woman is now fighting Cash Black in a classy restaurant over MILA after her surprise knockout return to the stage at the Rodeo. The headlines can’t get no better than that.” He snapped his fingers.

“She’s Janae Warner now,” I reminded him needlessly.

He rolled his eyes. “A name change doesn’t automatically change reputation. Her fanbase is different from ours. She’s from the top of the hip-hop and pop world, and our association with her means we’re on that path, too. If you don’t want the people to decide our music for us, then we need to get ahead of this.”

“What do you suggest? Because I really don’t have time for this.” I clenched and unclenched my jaw. I needed to create and not spend time determining how to market our band best. I took off my guitar and moved to the window.

“You make it clear it’s not a love match. You and Janae are friends only, and she had too much to drink. You and Cash Black had words about the show. He’ll probably appreciate your saying something, or otherwise, the story will be he got his ass handed to him for trying to take advantage of a star.” Cedrick chuckled. “I didn’t know you had it in you. I’ve known you for fifteen years and never seen you fight.”

“It wasn’t a fight.” I scowled. “And I’m not releasing a statement. I don’t do public speaking,”

He walked up beside me and leaned against the window, facing me. “We go to our Hollow Bones IG page and do a Live. Our fans would love to hear you speak, especially about Janae. They would eat that shit up.”

“You know I don’t do that. Ever.” The gnawing increased. Speaking to the public frightened me into that scared little boy I’d been during my childhood, and it didn’t matter if there was no actual audience before me. “Get Del to do it.”

“He won’t. Del loves the narrative. His gamble on her is paying off. I couldhearthe dollar signs as he raved about pairing us with Janae for more shows.”

I glanced at him and back at the serene lake. “We’re not doing more shows than we already agreed to. She can’t handle all this. The more shows we do, the more likely she will implode or explode sooner or later. Either one isn’t good for her, or for us.” I lifted my hat enough to scratch my head.

Cedrick pressed his hand against the window. “I guess you would know what’s best for her. I saw her leaving your bedroom a while ago before she caught a ride. I thought you were taking her back to her hotel. Isn’t that what you yelled loudly as you threw her over your shoulder?”

“She didn’t want to tell me where she stayed, and then she said she didn’t want to be alone.” I closed my eyes and imagined physically fighting whatever gnawed at my stomach. “Nothing happened.”

“Nothing? Janaeexudessex. She kissed you on stage in front of thousands. You were her hero last night, and you still didn’t get any?” Cedrick laughed and squeezed my shoulder. “Bro, have I taught youanything?”

My eyes popped open, and I glared at him. “She wanted to last night and this morning. I didn’t want to.”

“What?” His head snapped back. “Why?”

“She was fucked up. I thought you knew I don’t move like that.” I looked at him pointedly. “I hope you don’t either. The Hollow Bones don’t need any sex scandal attached to us with so much riding on our future.”

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