Page 39 of Playing With My Heart Strings

We spend the next couple minutes moving with the rhythm of the music. Sage even starts singing along to the cover band, and I remember why I liked her so much at the auditions.

As the second song begins, I decide to pick up the conversation. “How is the, er, environment of the house? With the other girls?”

She tilts her head to the side, eyeing the cameras, but quickly recovers. “It’s been good so far. There’s definitely an air of competitiveness, but for the most part, everyone has been respectful toward each other.” She hesitates a little when she talks about the competitive energy between the girls, which only makes me want to push further.

“What do you mean by that?”

“I, uh, I guess some people have just butted heads a bit.” She races through her sentence. When I don’t answer, she continues. “Aspen’s been a bit…harsh at times. She doesn’t like Baylor very much.”

Heat rises in my gut at the mention of Baylor, followed by annoyance toward Aspen. Iknewthere was something going on with her. Luckily, I’ll have the opportunity to talk to her about it on our date tomorrow, but for now, I want to hear Sage out.

“Are you comfortable telling me more about it?” I ask as we move around the dance floor. “I won’t mention your name to anyone, but if there’s an issue among the other girls, I want to be able to address it.”

Her face flushes a bit, and for a moment, I think I’ve maybe overstepped. Maybe she doesn’t want the show to portray her in a negative light when the episode airs. But then she sighs. “We may want to sit down for this conversation.”

My heart rate accelerates with a tinge of panic. I didn’t expect the conversation to be that serious, but still I nod, leading her toward a booth in the corner as the song ends. I need to know what’s going on.

“I don’t want to make the entire date about Aspen, but I just…” she trails off. “I think she’s a bit malicious. I don’t know if that’s her intention, but she kind of comes off as thinking she’s superior to everyone else. I don’t want to diminish the connection you have with her, but she’s really targeted Baylor the last couple weeks.”

Defensiveness tugs in my chest—not for Aspen, but for Baylor—without even knowing the whole situation. I had a connection, an attraction, to Aspen in the beginning, but over time, the feeling seemed to fade as I’ve gotten closer to Baylor. I can’t say I would’ve broken the rules to go kiss Aspen off camera.

“What’s she done to Baylor?” I demand, perhaps a bit too forcefully.

Something flashes in Sage’s eyes, and they shift down toward the table. “It started out as small little jabs, but I guess last night, during the elimination, she accused her of only still being here because of favoritism from the producers.”

Her words are a suckerpunch to my gut, and anger replaces my annoyance.

“Baylor wouldn’t be here if I didn’t want her here,” I grit out, my jaw tense.

Sage shrinks back like she did something wrong, and I force myself to relax.

“Sage, I’m not mad at you. The opposite, in fact. I really appreciate you telling me, and I swear your name won’t be mentioned.”

“Thank you,” she whispers.

I didn’t mean to make her upset. I’ve been distracted, despite my best efforts to focus on her, and guilt for the lost time claws at me. We still have plenty of time before the date ends, so I’ll make it up to her somehow.

My date with Aspen is at Ace High Entertainment’s recording studio. I think back to what Sage said yesterday about Aspen’s claim that Baylor is only here because the producers favor her.

Based on today’s date, I’d say the opposite. Baylor didn’t get a recording studio date, Aspen did. If that doesn’t scream favoritism, then I’m not sure what would, aside from scheduling us to elope. I let out a small snort at the thought.

“Well, if it isn’t my favorite country singer.” Aspen’s sultry voice greets me as I step into the control room. She’s sitting on a stool, leaning forward so her cleavage is visible in her tank top.

“Hello, Aspen.” I try to hide my frustration with her. I have to hear her side of the story, but I trust Sage. And maybe it’s foolish, but I feel like I can trust Baylor too.

Her expression falls, and she opens her mouth to say something, but a recording engineer interrupts by walking into the room. She sits up straight, transforming her pose from seductive to proper and professional.

“It’s good to see you back in the recording studio, Dusty.” He claps me on the back as he walks over to Aspen. “You must be Aspen.”

“That’s me.” She gives him a bright smile.

“It’s very nice to meet you. You’ve got a unique opportunity today, getting to record something with Dusty. Why don’t you two head on in and we’ll lay down a few tracks? See how your voices mesh together and go from there.”

Aspen practically leaps up from her stool to enter the live room. She puts on her headphones like she’s done this a million times before. Our microphones are set up so we’re facing eachother. It’s a more intimate setup than standing side-by-side, and I can tell she’s eating up every moment of it.

I, however, can’t help but wish it was Baylor in front of me. Or literally anyone else, after knowing what I know about Aspen.

“Can you two hear me?” the engineer asks.

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