Page 35 of Beautiful Noise

“On why I’m here or why I had sex with you?”

“Both actually.”

“I’m here because after leaving my cheating boyfriend, which was something I hadn’t been planning, I didn’t have any savings or support from my family. I got behind on my rent and my landlord decided he wanted money not my excuses. I was hired to clean this house and knew you were out of the country so I figured what the hell, they’ll never know. The plan was to stay the weekend, do my job, and be gone, but…”

“My mother showed up and offered you a place to stay...”

“Yes. Do you want me to leave?” I squared my shoulders, waiting.

“No, but you can tell me why you said yes?”

No?

He wants me to stay…

“Because I didn’t have anywhere else to go.”

“Not why you stayed, why you had sex with me.”

Because it felt right.

You felt right…

“Maybe I wanted to be the first woman that inspired you who demanded my cut of the royalties. I could use the extra cash.”

He laughed hard, like I had said the funniest thing in the world.

“You’re full of shit, but cool. We’ll leave it at that…for now.”

He lowered his eyes to his plate and I couldn’t help but wonder if I had inspired him. So I asked.

“Did I?”

“What?”

“Inspire you? You said I did but you might have been lying.”

“I don’t lie about my music.” His eyes were intense, cautious even. “You inspired me, but not after we had sex,before.”

I frowned, trying to make sense of what he was saying and then it hit me like a ton of bricks.

The songs he was performing in the recording booth after our blow up in the kitchen last night.

I’m so damn confused, but it feels so right,

Fell into your arms in the dead of night.

Like a storm rollin’ in, unexpected and wild,

Caught me off guard, like an unknowing child.

How did I fall? I don’t even know,

But when I’m with you, I can’t let go.

“Oh, well I feel cheated. If I didn’t inspire you after our little situation then maybe I need to try again.”

He chuckled. “Maybe you should.”