Riff:(silence)
Host:Riff?
Riff:(hesitates for a long moment)You know, I think it’s really stupid to compare Harmony, or any woman for that matter, toher younger self. Harmony was barely out of high school when she didLucky Stars, and now she’s a full-grown woman. Bodies change. So what? She was beautiful then, she’s beautiful now. Yes, I’m fucking attracted to her. You wanna make comparisons? Compare her music from the early days to now; talk about how her melodies have become more layered and complex, how her lyrics have become more nuanced. Compare her first single hitting number four on Billboard to the fact that she had four number one singles all in the same year in 2023.
Host:(laughs nervously)Okay, okay. Fair enough. I’m not trying to say anything bad. It’s just my job to ask questions related to what everyone’s talking about. I personally like a woman with some curves, so trust me, I don’t see anything wrong with how she looks.
Riff:(scoffs)I’ll let her know you approve.
Host:Come on, man. I didn’t mean it like that.
Riff:I think it’s really interesting that no one’s online comparing me to what I looked like when I first started. Also, no one’s talking about how Kid Konan gained a lot of weight recently, and no one’s saying that Luke Onstenk is looking “tired” and “should get some Botox” even though he’s nearing forty.
Host:Touché …
Riff:Sorry but I think we’re done here.
If You Flash Your Heart, I Won’t Deny It
HARMONY
Sittingatthedeskin my office—on my new extra-wide desk chair that is big enough to sit on cross-legged—I repeat the new lyrics out loud.
Oh I …
Hate you to the moon and back,
Fate can’t make these opposites attract,
Fame doesn’t mean that I’m your fan,
Game face ‘cause you’re always so on brand,
Gave it my all but my fight is fading,
Give it up? No, I’m not done hating,
Live wires, both of us, but there’s a spark,
Love just might be lurking in the dark
I’m surprised Riff went for my word ladder idea, and that he didn’t make a big deal about me texting him. He was right; it was a good way to get some more of the writing done without having to be in the same room.
That day in the writer’s lounge keeps nagging at me. I can’t stop thinking about the other thing he said.
“If anything, maybe you should ask yourself why you didn’t bother to look more closely at me.”
Whydidn’tI look more closely at him? Did I so badly want to feel some connection to a “regular” person that I shut my eyes to the possibility he was anything more? I’ll admit it’s complicated in my line of work, to make genuine connections. When it comes to my relationships with other celebrities, career focus and public image and media gossip have done lot of damage—but I can’t exactly date a random fan either, because there would always be a weird power dynamic.
The guy I thought I met at the FANTASIE release party struck a perfect balance: close enough to the industry to not freak out at the sight of a pop star, but at least a dozen yards outside the limelight.
Riff Hurley, on the other hand, is career focused, adored by millions, famous enough to have a major ego. And yet …
“I did consider myself lucky.”
He still considered himself lucky to have my attention?
I’d say it could’ve been a line, but, I don’t know, it seemed sincere. Then again, my judge of sincerity has been wrong many times in the past.
