Page 20 of Wish We Were There

He was sure Tim would have taken the interview if he refused, but Tim was the definition of a sellout if there ever was one. When he’d created the music news site, he’d been a journalist—just as passionate and curious as Parker was—but the success of Punk News Net meant he could rest on his laurels and let the staff do all the hard work. Very un-punk, but the gig was still too good for Parker to leave.

For now, though, he’d take the stupid interview if just for the chance to talk one on one with the reclusive singer.

Parker

Hey, I have to postpone Friday. I’m really sorry, can we do Saturday instead? I hate to keep rescheduling but apparently Jason Daugherty’s agent reached out and Tim’s creaming his pants over the chance to get an interview with him on PNN, and no one else can do it.

Taylor

The Synesthesia Jason Daugherty? Damn dude that’s pretty cool. Saturday still works for me, so no worries. See you then and good luck interviewing him. Do you think he’d flip if you asked him about Sterling?

Parker

Thanks for being so understanding. And lol probably yeah, I think I’ll avoid the topic if I wanna keep my job. Although I would love to be done with Tim and PNN for good. Maybe if I can get Jason on the podcast...

Taylor

I’m rooting for you dude. Then you can really ask him about Sterling.

Parker

Lol I’ll keep that in my back pocket. See you Saturday then!

The interview was up in Los Angeles on a Friday morning, the worst kind of commute. He left his apartment before the sun was up, but by the time he pulled up in front of the address Tim had given him, it was so hot he started sweating as soon as he got out of the car.

The house they were meeting in was almost certainly not Jason’s—while it wasn’t a mansion by any means, it was still a decent-size house near Silver Lake. An album every few years, and a tour just as infrequently, wouldn’t be paying those kinds of bills.

Parker rang the doorbell, and the door swung open almost immediately. A tall woman with long, wavy blonde hair in a tight-fitting black tank top, skinny jeans, and flower tattoos up the length of one arm answered. “Hello.”

“Hi, uh, I’m Parker Flores,” Parker tried to say with confidence, glancing past her to make sure he was in the right place after all. “With Punk News Net...?”

She nodded, smiling. “Great. I’m Lyssa, Jason’s agent. Come on in.”

“Thanks,” Parker agreed, stepping inside. “I guess you probably talked to my boss Tim, then?”

She laughed as she led him through the entryway, the low heel of her black ankle boots clicking on the tile with every step. “Sure did. He was really eager for the interview. I know Jason’s done interviews with PNN before, so I figured it would be a safe bet. Jason, Parker’s here.”

The living room was a cozy, bohemian sort of space with plenty of light flooding in from the wide windows. Jason sat on a mustard-yellow loveseat, but stood as they entered. He looked better than Parker had been expecting, all things considered: his hair was short, and he had a tidy, full beard. He’d gained some weight since Parker had seen him last, but Parker supposed that finally kicking a drug habit would do that to anyone. He had several tattoos up his arms, and the hint of more ink along his collarbones from the slight flash of exposed skin Parker could see there under his black V-neck. Overall, he looked perfectly normal.

“Hey,” Jason said, reaching out his hand. “Shit, I recognize you now. Lyssa told me I’d done an interview with you once before. I didn’t remember, but seeing your face—wow, that must have been a decade ago, right?”

Parker laughed, nodding. “Yeah, at least. I might have still been in high school, even. I think it was for a little local zine.”

“Small world,” Jason laughed, shaking his head. “Well, good to see you again. Thanks for taking the interview.”

“Please, sit. Do you want anything to drink?” Lyssa interrupted, gesturing toward the brown sofa across from the loveseat where Jason had been sitting. A glass-topped coffee table stood between them with a candle and some magazines, along with a mug of coffee on the side closest to Jason. On the far side between them, a chair that didn’t quite match seemed to have been pulled up too—a plush emerald chair that looked like it should have been in an office rather than a living room.

Lyssa must have noticed him clocking it, as she said quickly, “I’ll be sitting in just to make sure he doesn’t say anything too out there. I’m sure you understand.”

It certainly wouldn’t be the first time he’d interviewed someone with their agent present, but it often made for less-interesting interviews. He wondered what Jason might say that worried her—his public reputation wasn’t exactly shining already, so there wasn’t much that he could do to make things much worse for himself.

“Not a problem,” Parker said quickly, shrugging. He sat down and started to set up his recorder on the table between them. “And, yeah, some water would be great, actually.”

Lyssa nodded. “I’ll bring you some. Be back in a sec.”

He could feel Jason watching him as he fiddled with his recorder, then pulled out his tablet to take notes.

“So, uh, Tim didn’t have a lot of details as to what you wanted to talk about, just that you’re doing a new album?” Parker asked once he had all his equipment ready. Jason chuckled, nodding.

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