Not expecting that kind of response, I frowned. My demeanor was suddenly angry and defensive. “I’m a grown-ass woman, Jack. I can do what I want. And if I do my job well enough, maybe Owen will help me get my own music out there. It’s not just like he’s only the lead singer, you know? He does also own a thriving record company. I think he could really help me.”
“Yeah, into his bed, maybe,” Jackson added, rolling his eyes.
I glared at him in silence, my anger simmering.
“What? It’s true!” he defended his statement. “The guy’s a dick, and he isn’t going to do anything that doesn’t fit his needs first and foremost.”
“Oh, so you personally know him, do you? Because he didn’t seem like a dick at all when I met him today. Besides, you make it sound like I’m some groupie fan who would just jump into bed because he smiled at me. I see how much faith you have in me,” I spewed before taking a bite of my burger.
I was a little bummed by Jackson’s reaction, but my involvement wasn’t up for discussion. If I got offered the job, I would take it and that would be that. With that in mind, I changed the subject and did my best to cool off a little. “How are things going with Cindi?”
Jackson cringed a bit, taking a bite from his burger. He simply chewed on his food in silence, not bothering to respond.
“That well, huh? I asked.
“We broke up...again,” he shrugged. He and Cindi had been on again off again for the last year.
“I’m sorry.”
“I think it’s for good this time. She wanted to move in, and I didn’t think it was a good idea since we are always breaking up. I mean, you just reach a point where you have to say, 'enough is enough.' It couldn't carry on like that forever.”
I reached over to squeeze his hand, and he smiled at me.
“I’m fine, Nay, really. I really don’t know why I keep going back to her, anyway.”
“It’s called being lonely,” I told him.
He laughed. “Maybe that’s it. And, I know her, and I’m comfortable around her.”
“Exactly,” I nodded and took another bite of my burger, as well as a gulp of soda.
“Maybe I’ll find the right one, eventually,” he shrugged again. “I don’t know, there's gotta be a girl who's perfect for me out there somewhere, right? There has to be. I'm just holding out until I finally meet her.”
We ate in companionable silence for a little while until both of us were finished. Then we headed back to my brother’s car. I felt a little bad that I’d brought up Cindi, but I was glad he wasn’t still going on about what a dick Owen Young supposedly was.
I hadn’t gotten any negative vibes from Owen personally, and I considered myself to be a fairly good judge of character. I loved my big brother and valued his opinion, but I didn’t agree with him on this. I was going to wait and make my own judgments.
Instead of me walking home, Jackson drove me to my place, chatting about other random stuff like what Grace was up to and what he was currently working on. He didn’t bring up Owen again, and I was glad that he didn't.
Chapter Eleven
Owen
“Owen, you feeling okay?” Talon asked just after we finished up a song.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” I said a bit defensively. “Why are you asking? Does it seem as if something’s wrong with me?” The moment the words left my mouth, I realized why he might have asked.
“You just seemed a little off on the last song. You sure everything’s all right?”
I knew he was right, but I didn’t feel like getting into it. “I’m fine, man, seriously. Why don’t we just do that song again?” I suggested. Talon nodded, but then my phone went off.
“Owen Young,” I answered.
“Mr. Young, this is Sally from Touring Unlimited. I was calling to confirm the dates you requested for the tour bus. We have you down for the first week in September.”
I let out a sigh. I had called them over a month before and set it up, and I knew I’d told them the beginning of August. I’d even double checked it. “No, that’s incorrect. We need it the beginning of August. First week of August. I'm pretty sure I specified that quite a while ago.”
“Oh…I’m sorry about that, Mr. Young. Let me see if we can change the reservation.”