Page 51 of Banter & Blushes #1

COLT

“ T hat was good. I think we got it.” Jim smiles at me through the sound window.

I smile back. “Can I record one more song since we’re got time?”

He shrugs. “Yeah.”

The guys playing backup give me confused stares. I turn to the keyboard player. “It’s all right. I was going to do this with just my guitar. It’s really new.”

“I like it.” Jim nods at me.

I clear my throat and strum the chord to the newest song I’ve written. The one that started in my mind while filming the music video. Once I saw Tiffany, the words came to me and evolved over the week.

I’ve played it about twenty times since finishing it and way more times than that in my head. This is the first time anyone else has heard it unless you count the first few lines I sang during filming. I close my eyes and picture our kiss on the beach as I sing the bridge of the song.

“You’re more than a stand-in, and I want to stand up for you.”

The entire vibe of the song is how a woman he’s always known isn’t just someone to fill the time. She’s the one he really wants, and he wants to spend forever with her.

I didn’t realize it would be so deep until I put all the words together. But the more I sing it, the more I’m reminded of my time with Tiffany, and the more I realize that I’m falling in love with her .

When the song ends, I open my eyes to Jim and the band staring at me.

“What?”

“That was beautiful, man.” The drummer wipes a tear from his eye.

He’s about six-foot-four with tattoos across his bald head. He’s the last person I expected to make cry—by any means.

“It really was,” Jim adds.

“So y’all liked it?”

They all agree in unison. The keyboard player steps closer to me and hands me his phone. “Text me your number. You can send me the music and we can learn it if you want a full instrument version.”

“We can definitely use this one as a bonus no matter what,” Jim says.

We talk a few more minutes until my time in the studio is up. I thank Jim and the house band, then get out of the way for the next artist.

When I walk outside, I feel lighter than I ever have after leaving a recording session. I should, since these were all my own songs, written and sung solely by me. But I don’t think that’s the only reason.

I have clarity now. Music was always therapeutic for me, and it came to my rescue yet again. And if I’ve learned anything from years of writing lyrics and traveling, it’s that your gut instinct is usually right.

I drive to my hotel room, rehashing all I’ve been through in the past week. The odds of Tiffany and me both being on the same set is insane. The odds of us both being single is even more insane. We’ve taken totally different paths since high school.

And after hearing her story and how well she’s rooted in Gulf Shores, I can’t possibly expect her to move to Nashville. It was selfish of me to even ask. Especially when I haven’t told her how much I really care about her.

Soon as I’m in the room, I pull out my phone to call JD. He answers on the second ring.

“Hey, man. You got an answer for me?” he says.

“Yeah, I do. But first I’ve got a question for you.”