Page 41 of Feuds and Interludes
I shook my head. “I’ll be done in three minutes.”
They nodded at me, elbowing each other. “We’ll see you in the studio.”
“Yeah, you and your?—”
Annie yanked Brandon towards the door, cutting off whatever he was going to say.
I sat like a happy camper eating my breakfast, songs running through my head. Today was going to be a great day.
My great day lasted until I went into the bathroom upstairs at the studio. The one where Shane and I had our first run-in, I guess. After I washed my hands, I snagged one of Morrison’s packaged toothbrush/paste combos. I looked in the mirror…and spit the paste out, getting it all over my shirt.
Oh my.
Shane had somehow managed to add another silver-dollar-pancake-sized hickey on my throat, and now breakfast made sense.
What was it with this guy that he got so overzealous? And why did I like it so much?
I rinsed my shirt, but the toothpaste wouldn’t come out without a major scrubbing, which stretched out the waffle-weave material. I went back into the bedroom and dug through the closet and dresser, which Morrison had told us the first time we came here were fair game, and prayed for a turtleneck, or at least a flannel.
Most of the clothes were giant-sized, not for a men’s medium like me. I didn’t want to feel like a little kid in my grandpa’s clothes, so the only option was a women’s cut, slim-fit, long-sleeved boatneck shirt, which left my throat exposed, as well as the original hickey on my collarbone.
“Well. This is a statement.”
I shook out my hair, knowing it would definitely not cover the marks, and I marched down the stairs with my…shit…chin out and tits on display?
Frickin’ British-isms. I’d grown up around them, seeing as both grandparents were raised in the UK. You’d think by now I’d get them right.
“Sorry I’m late,” I said as I opened the door to the control room.
Morrison and Leland had their heads together and they both turned and looked at the same time.
“Hey, Boo—oh,” Morrison said.
“Someone’sboo. Damn,” Leland said with a laugh. “You do realize someone been gnawing on you.”
I tossed my hair. “Whatever do you mean?” I rolled my eyes and they both laughed, and I hoped that was it. But no. Leland was full of humorous quips about my love bites. In fact, I wasn’t aware there were so many songs about hickeys, but do you know that Lelandwas? And he sang every one of them before lunch?
“I think the Judas Priest one is my favorite,” he said to me as we packed up to go to the mess hall. We had guitars and drums tracked on two songs, and after lunch the plan was to add in some keyboards to one of them. I’d originally written the melody using Gran’s piano, and so I was hoping to recreate it.
“Wonder how things are going with Soul.”
My ears perked up at Morrison’s musing.
“You think things are going to gowell? With his temper?”
My hackles rose. It wasn’t my place to stick up for Shane, but I wanted it to be. I didn’t like hearing Leland criticize him, even if what he said was true.
When we sat down to eat, I asked, “Hey, Morrison? What would you think if I asked Shane to play that slide part on ‘Over The Moon’?”
The two producers looked at each other and then back at me.
“I think he’d kill it. I don’t know what he’ll say, but I think it’s a good idea.” Morrison stroked his chin. “You know what, you should also see if he’ll sing the harmonies with you.”
Leland looked between the two of us. “That would be…that would befire.”
“Yeah, your voices really complement each other. Let’s talk to him after?—”
Leland cleared his throat, gave a quick shake of his head.
