Page 27 of Flawless Lyric

Dammit. I haven’t seen her in two years. I knew it was going to be a quick drink, but I screwed it all up. Now I have no idea how long it will be before I see her again. Once I get home, I’ll make sure to send her a text to let her know I’m okay.

As I back out onto the road, I see Lanie waving through my rear-view. A smug smile on her face. God, I hope she doesn’t think we had a quickie and that’s the reason I’m leaving now. It’s just a matter of time before she comes clean. It might be a slip, but it’s inevitable it will happen since they’re such a close family. They love to gossip, especially about the rockstar in the family. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say they want to see him hitched.

One thing I do know, I need to stop this push-and-pull back-and-forth kind of motion where Micah’s concerned. I’m either in or out. Not being able to make up my mind when he clearly wants to move forward is being indecisive and making me dizzy.

As my mama used to say, “Lyric, just follow your heart.”

So, maybe just this once, I will.

11

MICAH

The monthof July has come and gone and now it’s the middle of August. We’ve been so damn busy doing all things Music Weekly that I haven’t seen Lyric in forever. I take that back. I’ve stopped by the office on several occasions to bring her coffee and drop off lunch on my drive-by. She calls it a quickie but it’s not even close. I desperately want to get to know this woman and it’s difficult to do if I can’t spend quality time with her. Before you know it, the holidays will be here, and our hiatus will be over. This is the first time in my life that I don’t want to go into the studio and start touring again.

I had planned on holding Lyric hostage so she could go sailing with me this weekend. Thank God Mom mentioned she was flying to Cali to get Novalee settled at Stanford. Otherwise, I would have planned the whole thing only for it to blow up in my face. Wouldn’t be the first time and I’m sure it won’t be the last. The next few weekends after that we’re busy practicing, and then we have the concert for Labor Day weekend. It actually might work out in my favor. Lyric can no longer use Novalee as an excuse to avoid me, since Novalee will be three thousand miles away.

Today’s my dreaded interview with Music Weekly. More like interrogation. Sorry, I just hate answering personal questions that have nothing to do with my musical career. Who cares what my favorite color is? I swear most magazines ask the dumbest questions, most of which could have been answered with a quick Google search. Oh well, I knew going in this was part of what we agreed to, but it doesn’t mean I have to like it.

Thirty minutes later I’m walking into Music Weekly’s headquarters. Zander and Jaxon have already had their interviews. Ace did a Zoom meeting with them since he’s traveling with Harmony. I had tons of fun busting their balls and told them they saved the best for last. Me. Hey, if you don’t toot your own horn every now and again, who will?

“Good afternoon, Mr. Monroe. Have a seat. Shelly will be with you very shortly. Can I get you something to drink?” I must admit everyone who works here is very friendly. It’s a breath of fresh air compared to some of the other magazines we’ve had to deal with.

“I’m good, thanks.” Not long after, Shelly’s door opens. And out walks Gavin Black, the leadman from Wicked Immortal.

“Micah, nice to see you, man.” He walks over, shakes my hand, and slaps me on the back.

“Likewise. I’ll catch you in a few weeks at the Labor Day Festival.” Walking backwards down the hall, he blows Beth a kiss before turning around and walking away. Bet her panties are wet after that one.

“Please come in, Mr. Monroe. Would you like anything before we get started?” She closes the door behind her, and I sit in the hot seat. Well, it feels like that for sure.

“I’m good, and please call me Micah.” It’s only fair since we refer to her as Shelly. Not Ms. Peters.

“As you wish. Before we get started, I’d like you to go over the list of questions I selected for you today. If there’s anything you don’t want me to ask, I’ll gladly remove them. We’re a reputable magazine and we refuse to exploit others for ratings and sales. Here you go.” Wow. I’m impressed. The guys never mentioned anything to me about her giving them a list of any kind.

I quickly read through the majority of the questions, and I’m literally floored. All of them pertain to music in some shape or form. Nothing inconsequential, and a lot of them are so personal it’s nauseating. I’m impressed.

“I’m fine answering any of these questions. I must admit I was apprehensive coming here today. Thinking you’d ask all about what I eat for breakfast every day.” I hand her the list and she smiles.

“Since we’re focused on music, there’s no need to ask anything that doesn’t pertain to it. I’ve no doubt if your fans want to know something trivial about Rebel Riot, they can find out all they need to know just be searching your name.” Hallelujah. She gets it.

Let the interview begin…

“How old were you when you learned to play an instrument?” Since I love playing and talking music, these are my kinds of questions.

“I was ten years old when I had my first piano lesson, and I’ve been hooked ever since.” Truth right here.

“Wonderful. Do you play any other instruments?” Easy peasy questions. Love it.

“I also play the guitar, but the piano is my instrument of choice. There’s one in my library I practice on all the time.”

“Nice. Do you have a favorite piece of music you like to play?”

“That’s like asking a reader to choose their favorite book. It’s impossible since there are too many to choose from.”

“So true. Let me rephrase that question then. What’s one of your favorite songs to practice?”

“In truth, I prefer to use one of our songs. I’m an in-your-face heavy metal rocker who loves the angsty tension-filled music that sets my soul on fire. Don’t get me wrong. I really love the classics, but I need to be in the mood for one of those. It might have something to do with the fact that I practiced so many of them while learning the piano that they’ve lost their appeal.”

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