Page 487 of Call Me Baby 2: Side B

one, two

Boy, I’m crazy about everything

but you

Whisper, boy, I hate no one else

but you.

The last chord lingers,

and Callista hasn't moved.

My fingers slip from the keys,

fall into my lap,

but the song is still everywhere,

hanging in the air,

taking up space in my lungs,

buzzing in my bones,

soothing every space it touched,

as if it’s refusing to leave me.

Callista points at the glass.

“Run it back.”

Ace laughs,

raises his hands up at his sides.

“That’s all she gets?”

Callista leans over on the stool.

“Run. It. Back,” she claps out,

her eyes are on fire.

“That chorus is mine.

“That second verse is mine.

“That bridge is mine. I want the whole fucking room screaming I hate you.”

Ace rocks back in his chair, clapping.

My chest starts burning,

my eyes start burning,

my lungs start burning.