I smile at Jett and then look back down at the beautiful silver bracelet he gave me on the way to dinner. “I love it, but you didn’t have to get me anything.” The bracelet looks expensive and knowing Jett, I bet it cost a fortune.
“I wanted to. Hell, the lady at the store was beside herself because I had twenty pieces of jewellery lined up ready to buy for you.” He jerks his chin at Hunter and says, “You can blame him for only getting one thing. He said you’d have a fit if I gave you all that.”
Oh God. I look at Hunter and express my gratitude, because, seriously, if Jett had turned up with all that jewellery for me, I may have lost my cool. “Thank you, Hunter. It sounds like you know how to woo a woman.”
Jett rolls his eyes as Hunter laughs and says, “The guy has no idea, Presley. I’m sure he’ll go back on his own a
nd get everything else tomorrow, so be prepared for that.”
I turn my head quickly to capture Jett’s attention. “Don’t you dare! I won’t be accepting anymore jewellery this week, okay?”
He shrugs and reaches for the drink in front of him. “No more jewellery. I got it. But that doesn’t mean I can’t find something else to buy you.”
“Oh my God, Jett, no!”
His laughter caresses me and once he’s finished his drink, he leans his body closer to mine, his arm across the back of my chair, and murmurs, “I hear you, baby. One present a week, yeah?”
I turn to him. “Seriously, I just want your time and attention. I don’t need gifts.”
The smile that lights up his face is magnificent.
It’s dazzling, and I’m almost blinded.
Jett’s a master hypnotist and he has me under his spell.
“You’ve got my attention,” he promises before kissing me and pulling me even deeper into his trance.
“Hey! You two wanna get a fucking room?” Van yells across the table at us.
I try to pull away from Jett, but he refuses to end our kiss straight away. Instead, he slowly finishes what he’s doing and reluctantly lets me go before scowling at Van and throwing back, “If I want to kiss my woman, I’ll fucking kiss her. You got a problem with that, you can leave, ‘cause I’m not going anywhere.”
The two of them face off silently until Tom wades into the conversation. “Jesus Christ, can you two let up for at least a couple of hours so we can all enjoy our dinner? Your arguing is getting tiresome.”
“Hear, fucking hear!” West toasts his drink to that suggestion and downs half of it in one go.
“So, did you guys have a productive day in the studio today?” I ask the only question that comes to mind at this point. Anything to try and change the subject.
West gives me a look of relief. “Yeah, we did, actually. I think we might have our first song for the album. Tomorrow, we’ll record it and see how it sounds.”
“That’s great.” My enthusiasm is a little waning because I’m watching Jett and he doesn’t look as impressed as the rest of the guys about this.
Still frowning, he interjects, “We might have a song, but I’m not convinced it’s the right song.”
His concern worries me. I’m still learning the dynamics of the band but I’ve kind of worked out that Jett knows his shit and has directed the band to the success they currently enjoy. I’ve read numerous interviews with them online and all the band members mention that he’s driven them this far, so if he’s concerned this song isn’t the right one, I’m inclined to listen to that.
“Why?” I ask him.
Van scoffs and turns his attention to me. “Don’t listen to him. This song is different to anything we’ve ever done; it’s gonna get everyone’s attention. It’s gonna be fucking huge.”
Jett’s shaking his head at Van’s statement. “See, that’s where I think we’d go wrong if we release it as a single. It’s fine to have on the album and use to guide our fan base into a new sound from us, but to use it as a single, and for it to be the first single off the album, I think that’ll fuck us.”
“I’m so tired of making the same music we’ve been making for ten fucking years, Jett. We need this. I fucking need this,” Van says, and it’s clear, even to me, that he’s going through something. His hard glare and the tense slant of his shoulders tell me how fired up over this he is, and the animosity in his voice is obvious.
“Yeah, well, if we rush into any change, you’ll need a lot fucking more than new music, Van. I’m telling you that fans won’t buy the album if we give them a single that’s completely different to what we’ve been giving them for so long. And then you’ll be needing a new fucking job.” Jett’s restraint is fraying, and when I lay my hand on his leg like I often do, he doesn’t take hold of my hand like he usually does but rather he ignores me and keeps his attention completely on Van.
Hunter speaks up, and I realise he’s the peacekeeper of this band. “I vote we record the song and keep working on more songs before we make a decision.”
Van replies but doesn’t take his eyes off Jett. “It’s not the song that Jett’s against so much, Hunter. It’s the change in direction I want that he’s fighting so fucking hard. He’s stuck in the past decade and doesn’t want to change whereas I know we have to change and keep up with the industry if we want to keep doing well.”