29Chapter Two
Ryan was introduced to their bedroom and the master bath. And then the bedroom for the second time. By the time Sara and Ryan stumbled back into the kitchen, the sun had set and stars littered the sky. At least they should, Sara thought bitterly as she stood on the back porch, leaning on the railing and looking at the sky. The lights in the neighborhood and surrounding areas drowned out the stars. The moon was only visible on good days. It made Sara yearn for the darkness and the open skies of Liberty.
Sara thought of the night they had returned to Liberty from their honeymoon where Ryan had made love to her on the grass of their backyard, the moonlight bathing her tropical sun-kissed skin. The memory warmed her skin and brought a smile to her lips.
Ryan watched as Sara shifted her weight from one leg to the other, the way her butt moved while she did it. She wore his shirt and a pair of her panties and that was it. He moved silently from the kitchen to behind her on the porch, wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his head on her shoulder, kissing the skin behind her ear softly, relishing in the shiver that trembled down Sara's body. Sara relaxed in his arms, leaning back against his chest.
"What are you thinking about so intently?" Ryan asked.
Sara smiled. "The night we came back from the island… How we made love in the moonlight."
She felt Ryan smile as he remembered that night well. It had been a mere five months since they had returned from the three week long honeymoon where they had first visited Ireland where they had lay in a quiet bed and breakfast as it rained softly outside their window and then a private Bahamian island where they were able to make love in the surf without worrying about intrusions.
"That was a good night, wasn't it?"
"One of the best, definitely." Sara turned in Ryan's arms, linked her arms around his neck and kissed him softly and sweetly. "I'm hungry."
"Way to kill the mood, babe. And you're always hungry."
"Well duh, you knew that when you married me."
"Tell me again why I married you?" he asked as they walked out of the night into the bright of the kitchen.
"Because of my connections?" Sara responded jokingly.
"Well they definitely do not hurt, but incorrect. Try again."
"Because I'm so pretty?" Sara batted her eyes at him.
"There is that going for you." He bent his head down and took her lips in a passionate kiss. "I love you, Sara Regency Cage."
Sara laughed, flinging her arms around his neck again. "And you know I love you."
They talked and joked as they found Sara's take out menus. After being in Liberty for almost the entirety of the last year, there was nothing in the cabinets or refrigerator other than a few bottles of water and some wine. Ryan uncorked the wine and set it on the counter to breathe a bit as Sara called in their Chinese order.
Sara couldn't help feel that this was home, no matter where home happened to be at the time. This familiarity and interaction with each other was what mattered, not what the house looked like.
They ate Chinese straight from the cartons on Sara's bed, the leftovers sitting on the side of the bed as Sara had jumped Ryan as soon as she was sated.
Sometime later Sara lay curled around Ryan, her head resting against his chest. The clock on her bedside table burned two in the morning. The leftovers had gotten put away and the now empty wine bottle sat next to the clock.
"We have to go grocery shopping tomorrow," Sara commented as she drew lazy circles with her finger on Ryan's defined chest.
"I'll go do that, don't worry," Ryan said, stroking a hand through Sara's chocolate brown hair.
"You don't have to –" Sara began to protest.
"And you don't have to get mugged by paparazzi the first full day you're back in town. Just chill out at home for the weekend. You have to go downtown Monday anyway. Let the pack get their pictures then. You'll still look just as gorgeous then as you will tomorrow."
After Ryan was ambushed by the paparazzi that habitually camped outside the gates of the neighborhood while he made his way to the grocery store, the rest of the weekend flew by uneventfully. Sara and Ryan hid themselves away in the house, spending most of the weekend locked in the bedroom. It felt almost like a second honeymoon, reminding them of when they had fantastic views from the bedroom windows, but barely saw any of it.
The alarm clock situated on the bedside table rang its torturous tone over and over as Sara continued to hit the snooze button. Monday mornings had never been easy for Sara. She thanked God that she didn't actually have to be at the studio at a set time, just before a certain time, as she slammed her hand down on the snooze button again and rolled back into Ryan's warm body, snuggling against his chest.
"Don't you have to be up?" Ryan murmured, his face buried in her hair.
"Five more minutes," Sara groaned, closing her eyes.
"Sara Regency Cage, if I have to hear your stupid alarm go off one more time I am going to throw it, and you, out of this bedroom."
Sara groaned and punched Ryan lightly in the stomach. "I hate you."
Ryan smiled, his eyes still closed, face still buried in her hair. "No you don't. Up and at 'em, darling. The sun is shining and it's a wonderful day to make some music."
"Yeah, easy for you to say, you can go back to bed," she murmured as she finally rolled out of the bed, shuffling naked into the bathroom. She smiled a little as she brushed her teeth when Ryan swore as the alarm clock rang again.
Coming back into the room, body covered with a silk robe, she kissed Ryan's cheek, smiled, and then pulled the covers off the bed. "If I have to be up then you have to be up too. Now get up. I'll even be nice and make you coffee."
"You're a bitch sometimes, you know that?" he asked as he reached onto the floor for his discarded boxers.
"Yeah, but you married me, so I think you're stuck for the next sixty years or so."
Chipper now, Sara bounced downstairs, humming to herself as she turned the coffee pot on and warmed a mug of water for her tea. Sara heard the shower turn on and smiled, knowing their routine already.
Ryan would shower as Sara brewed coffee. After almost ten minutes to the dot Ryan would come down from the shower, hair wet, chest bare and wearing a random pair of pants he found, and kiss Sara quickly as he poured himself a cup of coffee. Sara would amuse herself with watching Ryan drink the coffee, mug permanently attached to his lips until the first cup was empty, and then they could have conversation. It was the type of routine that happened no matter what time of day they woke up and was the type of thing that Sara had always longed for. She loved the easy mornings and knowing that there wasn't a rush to be somewhere.
She knew they wouldn't last long and damn it, she was going to enjoy it.
The morning news program was on when Ryan came downstairs. Sara lounged on the couch drinking her tea and flipped through a magazine. Ryan placed a kiss idly on the top of her head as he passed the couch then made a beeline for the coffee pot. Sara turned and watched Ryan drink, his eyes closed in appreciation. She knew she could spend all day just looking at him, and that was something she couldn't afford.
When Ryan had poured himself a second cup of coffee, he sat next to her on the couch, letting Sara cuddle against him. "What're you planning on doing today?" Sara asked Ryan.
"Eh. Who knows?" Ryan was planning on just playing it by ear.
"Aren't you going to try to apply for jobs out here?"
"Hon, it's almost February. Schools aren't going to be hiring for a while. And besides, I'm still not sure if I want to back to teaching; I thought we went over this."
"I know we did, Ryan. I just thought you might like to get out there and see what –"
Ryan cut her off quickly with a kiss. "Just let me think about it for a while. I still have some time to decide what I want to do."
Sara let it go, worry and doubt nagging at the back of her head and heart.
"If I'm at the studio by ten, I should be done by one or so, since Tyler and Maria just want to talk about the tracks I sent over. I could bring back some lunch and then we can find something to do."
"Sure. That sounds fine to me."
"You don't really care, do you?" Sara asked, laughing.
"Not really. Honey, you got me up at like, the asscrack of dawn after two days of barely sleeping. I don't care about anything but this coffee here. No offense."
"Ryan, it's eight-thirty, hardly the crack of dawn. But actually, if I think about it, I believe we were finally falling asleep at dawn…"
"My point exactly. You know that you'll find me sleeping on the couch here by the time you get back."
"Well," Sara said, slowly, turning in his arms to kiss his neck, "I'll just have to wake you up, now won't I?" she asked, nipping on the skin just below his neck.
"I think I'm awake now," Ryan said, laying Sara back on the couch, covering his body with hers and fitting his mouth over Sara's.
Sara kissed Ryan back slowly, the passion and heat slowly increasing until she thought she would burst. She had to touch him, had to feel his skin rub against her. She felt the rough scrape of Ryan's stubble against her neck and chest as he parted her robe and feasted on her.
Ryan didn't think he could ever get enough of her. Every time he had her, the need for her merely got stronger. Sara shoved his pants down between them and he took her in one long, smooth stroke. They were frenzied, working each other to their peaks quickly, as if they would die if they couldn't get enough of each other.
It was her name Ryan groaned as he felt his release quickly follow Sara's.
Sara was late.
She drove her car like a madwoman through the streets of Los Angeles, speeding through yellow lights that she knew were going to change to red and honking at drivers going below the speed limit. She pulled up at the front of Silver Label Recording Studio, thankful that there was a valet for the clients so she didn't have to go exploring all of Los Angeles for a parking space.
Silver Label had been her home for much of the last six years. She remembered vividly the butterflies that had assaulted her stomach as she first stepped through the doors for her interview and audition with the head of the label, Harold Nelson, at the ripe age of sixteen; just as well as she remembered the feeling of pride she had when she was presented with her first platinum record plaque.
The front lobby was boring and subdued, a plain open area with a big reception desk. It wasn't until anyone got beyond the big double doors behind the reception desk that anyone saw any color or personality. Concert posters, framed pictures, and plaques lined walls. There were countless awards on shelves and any available flat surface. Here, people were animated and loud. There had been many nights after a long recording session where she had chilled out on the large couches with the teams of people that worked at the studio.
Sara gave a friendly wave to the receptionist, a young, perky blonde with fake breasts and too-white teeth, wearing last-season designer knockoffs. No doubt a Hollywood hopeful that found it was harder to make it than people made it seem.
The air in the studio still felt the same: busy, excited, creative. If it was quiet enough in the main room, Sara could hear music coming from the recording booths. She could remember being new in the business and walking around the studio on her breaks from recording just to listen to other artists sing. Some of them had been seasoned veterans and some had been just as green as she was.
Sara turned toward the doors of an office as the double doors opened and a tall, broad shouldered, graying man of fifty-five strode out. His dark brown eyes sparkled as he spotted Sara from across the room. Crossing the room in a few long strides he took her in his arms, greeting her like he would any member of his family. Sara's breath whooshed out as he had her in a bone crushing hug. He set her down and held her at an arm's length.
"Marriage looks good on you, Regency."
"Regency Cage," Sara corrected. "I've missed you Tyler."
"Teaches you to stay away from the music biz for too long." Tyler led Sara to a plush couch and they sat. "What have you been doing with yourself? I haven't seen you since your wedding."
"It's only been a few months…" Sara had to actually think hard to come up with something other than making love. "Ryan and I found a new drummer for the band since Danny went to prison."
"How long is he in?" Tyler wondered, genuinely concerned.
"I couldn't tell you. To be honest, as soon as he was arrested, I just put it all behind me. I only showed up for the trial because I had to take the stand. My lawyer and everyone else knows; I just don't care."
"Maybe that's the best route, then. How's the new drummer going for you?"
"He's extremely talented, which is really great. But I know it's really weird for Ryan and Steve. It's always been Ryan, Steve, and Danny, ever since high school. It's just a different dynamic to add Jake to the mix. It's not necessarily bad, just not the same." Sara paused, collecting her thoughts. "I know Ryan and Steve took it hard when we figured it out it was Danny. I'm not entirely sure they're over it yet. They put on the front, but you can kind of tell at the beginning of rehearsal…
"Sometimes I catch Ryan or Steve looking back at the drum set as Jake is getting set up and you just see something in their eyes. It just hit them hard that their friend would do the things he did…"
Tyler pat Sara's hand and nodded his head slowly. "Some people just take a little bit longer to cope and get over things. I know you wanted to get everything behind you and you did, but it seems to me that neither Ryan nor Steve want to completely forget about Danny."
"I never said I wanted to forget about him; I can't forget about him." Sara looked down at her wrists where she still had tiny scars from struggling against the handcuffs.
"I know sweetie, but just give your boys some time. Now, Maria is probably trying to figure out where we are, so why don't we actually try to get some work done?"
"I suppose we could actually work," Sara said, taking Tyler's offered hand and pulling herself off the couch. "Thank you, for letting me talk. I don't want to bring this up with Ryan, at least not yet."
"When have I not been here to listen to you, sugar?"
Sara followed Tyler through a long hallway lined with doors to various recording booths. Here, it looked anything but professional. The doors that led to studios were graffitied from years of artists who had made hit records in the rooms. Autographs, messages, and doodles gave the hallway personality. Sara could even make out her own large, loopy autograph on the door to recording studio number six. She'd used that room to make all four of her albums and considered six her lucky number, enough so she had a tiny six tattooed on the inside of her left wrist.
Tyler opened the door to her recording studio where Maria, a spry young woman in her mid-thirties sat in a large chair. Sara's voice was pumping out of the speakers as Maria listened to the songs that Sara had sent to the studio. She took a seat beside Maria who gave her a quick nod in greeting then went back to listening to the music. Sara sat, her leg bouncing and wringing her hands nervously; more nervous that she could ever remember being about her music.
Maria bopped her head a little to the rhythm, an unconscious habit she did no matter what song she listened to. It could be the slowest or fastest rhythm and Maria would still be bopping her head. It was rather amusing for Sara to watch normally, but her breath was caught in her throat and her palms were growing sweaty as Maria listened.
After nearly twenty years in the music business, first as an artist then as a producer who slowly made her way up the corporate ladder, Maria Perez was one of the most influential and most respected women in the music industry. Her opinion of a demo tape would make or break a struggling artist, sending them back to the street or into a coveted recording booth. And after you were an established artist at Silver Records, her opinion would make sure you stayed, if your act was good enough. There were plenty of bands and singers that her opinion had sent packing after a first hit record.
Sara did everything she could to stay on her good side.
Of course, it didn't make any difference to Maria if she got a Christmas card from an artist every year, or if someone remembered her birthday that year. Whether someone spat in her face that morning or not wasn't going to deter her harsh opinion of that person's music. She was brutal, but terrifically honest and immensely talented.
Sara worshipped her.
Maria was Sara's mentor as she grew up in the industry. She told Sara who she should work with and who she should steer clear of. Maria was the one that said she should stay out of the clubs and bars, even more so when she was underage. So instead of frolicking around cities and getting into trouble with other celebrities her age, she spent countless hours shaping her career, working to make it the best that she could possibly make it.
The music shut off with a snap as the last song ended and Maria sat in silence, her lips pursed as they normally were when she finished listening to someone. Sara's heart pounded in her chest as she waited for Maria to say the first thing. She had learned quickly not to speak before Maria did when she was young and had made that mistake. Sara made sure it never happened again.
"It's rough," Maria said slowly, carefully choosing her words, "and could use some more fine tuning, more instruments, of course, but even in all of it's roughness and edginess, it's powerful and wonderful. I think that this is probably the best music you've done yet, Sara, and I'm being completely honest."
Sara let out that breath she had been holding, released her hands from Tyler's. The stress immediately lifted from her back and she felt like she could dance on air. She liked it! Sara wanted to jump up and down like a little girl again, wanted to do some weird type of dance that should never be seen outside of a woman's bedroom where the only thing that can watch is the mirror.
"Well right now it's just me and three guys. We have the drums, a bass, and an electric. You noticed the acoustic guitars and the piano at parts and that would be either Ryan or me, or even Steve, if he was really needed. The first and last songs on the CD are the same song, the first recorded with Danny on drums and the second with Jake."
"Well I definitely preferred the second recording anyway. It wasn't as sloppy. You picked a much better drummer. Are you planning on recording the final takes with the same men?"
"I hadn't really thought about it. The band I have for touring is normally who I record with… but to be honest, I think the dynamic that I have with the guys is better than the dynamics I have with anyone I've ever recorded with. Not that they're bad musicians," Sara amended quickly, "it's just that my history with the guys from home I think makes the music better."
"Well like I said before, this is definitely the best you've put out, and you said it was recorded at home. I can't wait till we get everyone to record in the studio here, with professionals behind the controls. I can tell already, Sara: this is going to be your best record yet."
Here you go, a nice long chapter.
I've noticed most of my chapters for this are longer than those for Liberty, but yeah... haha
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