Telling a girl “You put me to sleep” isn’t exactly a flex, though. I’m worried she won’t take it as the compliment it is, so I’ve been pretending I’m still not sleeping great. But this streak has held up every night. Even daytime naps don’t affect it.
“Are you really napping right now?” she teases.
“Mm-hmm.”
I press my cheek against her breast, sighing happily when she starts playing with my hair, and it isn’t long before I feel my breathing slowing, steadying, as her fingers softly stroke and lull me into slumber.
We’re fixing dinner later when my phone lights up, an unfamiliar New York number flashing on the screen. Normally I don’t answer calls from numbers I don’t recognize, but this past month, I’ve been lunging for the phone no matter what. It’s been weeks since my mom told me Tobey Dodson was going to call me. To be honest, I’d given up hope, and considering it’s nearly ten p.m. on the East Coast right now, I’m expecting a telemarketer or attempted scam recording when I swipe to answer.
“Hey,” a baritone voice rumbles in my ear. “Is this Wyatt?”
My heart stutters. “Yes. Who’s this?”
“Wyatt, my man, it’s Tobey. Dodson. Got your number from Hannah. I hope you don’t mind that I’m calling?”
“No, not at all.” Now my pulse is racing. Blake glances over curiously, brow raised, but I step away from the pot of boiling spaghetti and duck out of the kitchen. “It’s nice to meet you. I mean, over the phone. It’s nice to phone meet you.”Jesus, shut the hell up.
“Pleasure’s all mine,” he replies, his tone sincere. “I’ve been meaning to call you for a while, but I got called away on business in Tokyo. I work with thissickK-pop girl group over there, and we had to re-record a few tracks for their new album. Anyway, I’m stateside now, so I wanted to touch base with you. See what’s what.”
“Yeah, sure,” I say awkwardly. “So…um…what’s what?”
There’s a deep chuckle in my ear. “You tell me, my man. Hannah says you’re working on some new material?”
“Uh. Yeah. I am.”
“Love to hear it, if that’s something you’re interested in. I was telling your mom, I’m obsessed with this track of yours—‘Silver’? It’s the exact vibe I’ve been craving lately, you know? There’s so much pop and bubblegum right now, market’s oversaturated with it. Don’t get me wrong, I love my pop divas. Been doing some great collabs. But I need to sink my teeth into something different, you feel me?”
“I think so, yeah.”
“Figured we’d open up a dialogue, see if the chemistry is there. But I’m heading back to Tokyo this week until the end of the summer, so if your new material speaks to me, we realistically wouldn’t be able to get into the studio till September. That work for you or no?”
“It totally works,” I blurt out, then cringe at how overeager I sounded.
“Brilliant. In the meantime, send me the new shit. You good with critical feedback, or am I dealing with a diva over here?”
I laugh. “Nah, criticize away. Only makes me better, right?”
“That’s what I like to hear.” Dodson sounds enthusiastic as he says, “I’ll have my assistant send you all my deets. Email, phone numbers, whatever. And we’ll touch base soon, my man.”
He disconnects without a goodbye, leaving me a little dazed.
Did that really just happen?
I stumble back into the kitchen and collapse onto a breakfast stool. Blake is draining the pasta at the sink, but she sets the strainer down at my dramatic entrance.
“Everything okay?” she says.
With my head still spinning, I recap the conversation, and her eyes light up when I finish. She comes to the counter and flings herarms around me.
“Holy shit. Wyatt! This is incredible.”
I grip her arm, not quite hugging her back. I’m still too stunned. Noticing my frozen state, Blake pulls back and searches my face.
“What’s wrong? Why aren’t you happy about this?”
“I am. But…” I clear my throat because it’s coated with apprehension. “What if he hates my new material and decides he doesn’t want to move forward?”
“He won’t.”
