Page 68 of Beautiful Noise
We were on our way to the door when Clay stopped me. “You can’t go saying you don’t want songwriting credits, then pull shit like that, Ess. You gon’ let Lei have that one?”
“You’ll have to ask the person who wrote it. It’s not mine to give.”
He frowned, then his eyes slowly shifted to Kori. “That’s yours?”
“A poem, yes.”
He smiled smugly, shaking his head. “Fucking brilliant. Nah baby, that’s not just a poem. That was your official introduction to the industry. We’ll talk later though. Looks like my guy is not trying to hold up long enough for me to officially lock you down.”
“Perception is key, family,” I stated and tossed my chin to Clay before taking Kori with me through the entrance. After we were in the back seat of our awaiting SUV, she turned my way with the biggest smile.
“You performed my poem.”
“Yeah…” I grazed the pads of my finger down the side of her face before gripping her chin and guiding her toward me for a kiss. “I hope you don’t mind.”
“If I did, you wouldn’t be able to undo the performance, but I’m sure you’ve already considered the obvious. Everyone in there had phones out. I bet the clips are already live.”
“Probably.” I smiled seconds before my mouth crashed against hers. “But it wasn’t planned,” I added when I pulled back. “And I can get it taken down if you…”
“Absolutely not. You performed my work. You made my verses a song, which meansI’ma songwriter.”
“Yeah you are, but again, that wasn’t my intention. It just kinda happened.”
Her smile expanded, then her eyes softened. “You okay?”
I frowned and she added, “The guitar. It’s a replica of the one your father gave you. The exact one. I’ve seen it in your studio.”
She noticed.
“I haven’t touched mine since I wroteStoned Heart.”
“Why tonight?” she asked quietly.
“I don’t know. It just felt right. I looked at that kid and saw a version of myself. I just…”
She kissed me again and cut off my thoughts. I pulled her closer, damn near dragging her into my lap. When I ended the kiss, she smiled. “And for the record, you made his nightandmine.”
“Not yet but I planned to.”
The next morning I was up before the sun, putting words on page to the songs that had been in my head all night. By eight I was six songs in, all inspired by the woman currently tangled in the sheets of my hotel suite, sleeping peacefully no doubt thanks to keeping my promise to make her night.
I eventually put my pen down and decided to order breakfast so we could prepare for our day. Our flight to Dallas left at one and Leijah had already hit me up asking if we could add Kori’s poem turned song to the lineup. She wanted to run through the arrangement, which I agreed to since the melody had been impromptu. I had no doubt we could pull off another stellar performance, but wanted to refine a few things before we hit the stage tomorrow night.
After room service arrived with our meal, I gently nudged Kori awake. After groaning through her reluctance, she got up, showered, and joined me at the small table on the balcony of our suite.
Watching her cling to the mug of coffee for dear life brought a smile to my face. “You don’t fuck with mornings, do you?”
“It’s early as hell. No sane person does.”
I chuckled. “It’s almost nine-thirty, not exactly early. I’ve been up since five.”
“You’re proving my point,” she muttered. “Nosaneperson.”
“I won’t argue. I usually function off a few hours of sleep. My lifestyle has me programmed this way.”
“I’m not,” she groaned just as her phone vibrated with a call. She hit ignore but repeated the same process multiple times before she eventually lifted from the table and stepped inside. Somebody really wanted her attention. I kept my eyes on her but decided to stay put to give her privacy until I heard the stress and frustration in her voice.
“I haven’t spoken to you in months and the last time I reached out you pretty much told me I didn’t exist in your world. Why would I let you know I was in town? How do you even know I’m in Houston?”