Oreos for Breakfast - Chapter 16
By The Paperbag Princess and The Pumpkin Coach

Corresponding Message Board Posts (Fictional!)

Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3 | Page 4

She answered on the first ring. "You're awake!"

"I told you I would be," I complained. "How did it go?"

"Did you sleep at all? You should sleep."

I sighed. "I napped a little, watching TV. I'm good. How did it go?" I demanded again.

"Did you just wake up? Because I was sitting here, staring at the phone, trying to decide if I should call."

That made me grin, knowing she wanted to talk to me. "Fifteen minutes, maybe? It's like two there, right?"

"Yeah. Got back a little while ago, brushed my teeth and I was just going to go to sleep and talk to you tomorrow, but…"

"But what, baby?" What was she wearing? I was such a horrible boyfriend. I didn't care about her problems, I just wanted to know what she was wearing when she was in bed.

"Lola's leaving, Nick!" she wailed, and I blinked at the phone. Lola was leaving? She couldn't leave!

"What?" Lola rocked. She was a great tour manager.

"EMI is paying for the tour, and she works for them, and they're pulling her off when we go to Europe in a couple of weeks. Doesn't that suck?"

"That totally sucks. When did you find out?"

"Just now. Made the whole evening a downer."

"Meetings didn't go well?" I would kill Saffron if that was true.

"I'm not fat, am I?"

"Fat!?!" Who in their right mind would call Rachel fat? "Who the hell said that?" Saffron could not have said that… oh, wait, she's the one that told me I needed to lose some weight. But Rachel didn't!

"Evil Man. Sam Moore. Hate him!"

"Was he blind, baby? Because he must have been blind."

She laughed, "I love you, Nicky."

"Did he really say that you were fat?" What an ass. I'd called Howie after I talked to Rachel, and he reminded me of our meeting with HK Management ages ago. I didn't remember a Sam, but I definitely didn't like anyone we did meet with.

I could just see the pout on her face as she answered. "He told me I could lose about ten pounds. Then Saffron told me to order fried chicken, so guess who I like?"

"I knew you would. She's tough but really cool. Like another hot woman I know."

"You think she's hot?"

Was she whining now? Man, she must be tired.

"Umm… no, I mean… she's good at what she does, baby." She was pretty…

"Good save, little man." I could hear the smile in her voice, but then she sounded more businesslike when she spoke again. "Seriously, she's good at what she does?"

"Seriously, Rache. That's why I called her this afternoon. She laughed at me, did I tell you that? Because she'd been calling you already, she told me to tell you to fucking call her back already."

"So she wasn't all nice just because you told her to be?"

"Totally not!" Right? Yeah, I just told Saffron Sudden Silence needed management, and she knew that already. "How nice was she?"

"She bought me a T-shirt at Roscoe's. All of us t-shirts, actually. And she gets it. She likes that James is gay!"

"She does?" Dude, we were always denying the gay label. Well, not in so many words, but the rumors sometimes got out of hand.

"Yeah, she says it's a totally untapped market. And she doesn't want it to be all about me."

"But you're the wanton sex goddess," I had to say, just to hear her laugh.

God, I wished she was here. I had a great big bed, and a lavender candle burning, I wanted her here with me, so I could see her face as she told me about her day, and play with her hair as she talked. I let her go on and tell me all about her night, and her voice had to be good enough. Finally she took a breath. "I liked Saffron, Nick. I'm too tired to look at the papers she gave us, but I think she's just what we need. I think even Jeremy realizes that she gets it. But if we sign with them, is everyone going to think you set that up?"

"Probably," I admitted. Damnit, all I ever did was fuck up her career. "But isn't it Saffron's job to make sure that doesn't happen?"

She laughed at that. "Yeah! Totally. I have to remember that. Anyway, tell me about your day. I'm been totally monopolizing the conversation here."

"Your day was way more interesting than mine, Rache. I told you about recording. We did a show, came to Boston."

"Same hotel you were in before?"

"Yeah."

"Is that weird?"

Why would it be weird?

Oh, because AJ left the band in Boston? Duh.

"I honestly didn't think about it until this minute, Rache. That could explain why we're in smaller rooms."

"You're in smaller rooms? Say it isn't so!" she teased.

"It's still a suite. What do you have?"

"A big bedroom, balcony, fantastic bathroom. None of which I'll get to enjoy, since I have to be up in about… four hours."

"Not even worth it to sleep, now is it?" I flirted, and got a yawn in return.

"I think it might be, bunny. Sorry."

Damnit. Phone sex would be nice right now… okay, not a fraction as good as sex on the floor last night, but… "You're right. The sun's about to come up here, and Vinnie and Tony get in this afternoon."

"Vinnie and Tony? Cool, somebody to play with."

She actually sounded sincere. Maybe just a little bit jealous.

"I'd rather play with you, buttercup."

"I know." Her voice was soft. "Remember that night in Boston? That was nice."

"Besides you rejecting me, yeah," I said, making her giggle.

"Seems like a long time ago now. A lot has changed."

"I love you, Rachel." I never dreamed I'd be saying that a couple of months ago, when I tried to kiss her and she made me stop. I wasn't sure if I'd ever see her again, really, but then AJ went into rehab and my whole life turned upside down. I came out of it with Rachel, though, so it was all worth it.

"I know, bunny. I love you, too, and I miss you. Thanks for listening to me."

"Of course. Hey, one thing before I let you go?"

"What?"

"What are you wearing?"

She laughed, and I knew that's what I'd be hearing as I fell asleep. "White panties with butterflies on them…" I knew those underwear. She bought them when we went shopping when I was staying in Long Island, and I had pulled them off her hips more than once. "And a white T-shirt I stole from you." I loved it when she wore my t-shirts to bed. They were too big, and slipped off her shoulders, so I had more skin to kiss.

"Thanks," I said softly. "Just… wanted to know."

"What about you?" she teased.

"Boxers. White with little black polka dots."

"That it?"

"I was hoping for phone sex, baby."

She giggled again. "I am so unable to form a thought right now, honey. I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I'll just dream of you."

She made kissing noises into the phone before she hung up and I had to laugh. I loved it when she was silly and tired and affectionate. I'd like it more if I were there with her, though. She'd be curled up around me, her head resting on my chest. I sighed, imagining the feel of her skin next to mine. Two weeks.

Worst flight ever. Ever! It was late, we had to switch planes in Chicago, and fucking indignity, we were in coach L.A. to Chicago. Even being in first class for the final leg to Lexington was not enough to make up for the rest.

I was getting spoiled, wasn't I?

I never dreamed I'd be so happy to see our bus sitting at the curb waiting for us. We'd been jetting around for days now, good to get back to normal. Steven was thrilled to see us, greeting us all with a big smile, and I got a kiss. The bus was too quiet without us, he said.

It was still quiet as we settled on, we were tired and cranky from the flight. Dropping into my favorite seat at the table, I pulled out my phone and a notepad. I was taking down the numbers of the management companies this time. Watch, they'd all stopped calling me.

I had twenty-five messages. My voicemail was full. That never happened! I'd listened to all my messages this morning while we were waiting to board. My mom, my brothers, even the girls were allowed to stay up late and watch us on Leno. Was something wrong? Did something happen while I was on the plane?

It only took me three messages to figure it out. Management companies the world over figured out that we were taking meetings. "Jeremy?" I called, and he appeared from the back, his phone at his ear.

"How many?" he asked.

"I'm full, twenty-five. I've only listened to three."

"One's gonna be from Saffron, thanking us. Take notes?"

"Duh."

"Saffron didn't call me," James grumbled, flopping onto the couch across from me.

"Check your voicemail, dude," Jeremy told him, before disappearing again. I watched out of the corner of my eye as James pulled out his phone, and then his eyes widened.

"Darien!"

Darien rolled out of his bunk to land gracefully on the floor. "What?"

"Check your voicemail. If they found me, they found you."

We were at the venue by the time Jeremy and I had listened to all our messages. Lola was taking the slips of paper from us and putting them in some sort of order, scribbling notes as she went. "How many?" Jeremy asked her.

"I think 20, there's a lot of doubles. Let's meet after soundcheck, okay? I'll get this in order for you."

"Lola," I said quietly. "This is not your job." We had to stop being so dependent on her, right?

She just smiled at me. "I like this. Consider it a favor. C'mon, let's soundcheck. I need to make sure you've got showers, too."

We didn't even have a hotel in Lexington, we were leaving right after the show. What time was it, anyway? We usually checked at five, but it had to be later than that. Lola started herding us off the bus, but caught me. "Think Nick is free? It might be a good idea to do a conference call with him and a couple of the other guys."

Yeah. We needed all the help we could get.

"Nick!" she yelled, sounding a little panicked, and I tossed my game controls over to Vinnie. He started to tease me that I was whipped, but I just ignored him.

"What, bu- Rache?" I couldn't call her 'buttercup' in front of the guys. I'd never hear the end of it.

"20 management companies called us while we were on the plane!"

"Really?" Were there 20 management companies in the world? How many called us when we left Lou? Hey, did Lou call her? I bet he did.

"I think. Lola's got all the stuff. Baby, I really need some advice."

Howie was walking by me, and I grabbed his shirt, making him whine 'What?'. "Every management firm in the world is calling Rachel, you remember this shit better than I do."

He smiled. He loved this business stuff. "What does she need to know?"

"Not right now!" Rachel protested. "I need to get the boys together, and we've got to soundcheck… you go on at nine, right?"

"As ever." Every day was the same.

"7:30? 8? What the hell time is it?"

I had no fucking idea what time it was. "Six?"

Howie rolled his eyes and held up his watch. 6:30.

"Alright, Lola said she'll talk to your guy and get a speaker phone. So I'll talk to you soon, bunny, they're calling me to check. Nick?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you so much. Really."

I smiled, and Howie rolled his eyes at me again, leaving me alone. "No biggie, buttercup."

Fuck. I heard Vinnie and Tony cracking up behind me, crooning 'buttercup' in high-pitched voices.

"I love you, Nick. You are…" her voice drifted off for a second, and I think she was getting teary. "You have been great these last couple days. I mean, always, but… I really appreciate that you're so supportive of my career. It means a lot."

Fuck them. I was a good boyfriend, Rachel just said so. They didn't have a wanton sex goddess on their phone, now did they?

"I love you, Rache. Whatever I can do to help." They were in hysterics now.

"I'm getting you teased, aren't I?" she asked with a giggle. "I am exhausted and overwrought, sorry."

"Don't be. Screw them!" I said, glaring at them. Assholes.

She sighed. "Well, go deal with your immature friends and I'll go deal with my band and talk to you soon. Love you."

I hung up and returned to the couch, pushing Vinnie hard enough that he fell into Tony. "Shut up!"

"Buttercup!" Tony managed to say, between giggles. "You call her 'buttercup'!"

"Who here gets to sleep with the hottest woman on MTV? I don't think it's you, asshole."

Vinnie managed to catch his breath. "Who here ain't getting any tonight, because his girlfriend isn't here?"

"Whipped," Tony nodded. "Definitely whipped."

Why did I ask them to join me?

"Nick?" I asked, and his voice came back to me, sounding distant on the speakerphone.

"Hey, Rache. I pulled Howie and Kevin in, okay?"

"Yeah, I've got the boys. Howie, Kevin, thank you so much."

They told me it was no big deal, but I felt like it was huge. Jeremy was making me feel like I was asking them for a contract, but I wasn't. Right? Just advice. They'd been through this, in a big way. We didn't know any other big acts in the business. Plenty of our friends had 'managers,' which translated as the drummer's girlfriend booking gigs, basically. Even our friends that were with proper agencies never went through a war like this.

"So, who has called?" Kevin asked, and Lola rattled off the list, a collection of initials and names that meant little to me.

"That it?" Nick asked, teasing, when she was done, and I heard laughter as Howie put on world-weary voice.

"That's nothing. How many guys called us when we left Lou, Kevin?"

"75? 80? Every manager in the known world."

"Shut up," I whined. "I'm freaked out enough."

"Sorry, Rache," Howie, ever the sweet one, apologized. "We're just joking. So all these firms called you?"

"Some called me. Some called Jeremy."

"The gay ones called me," James offered, making everyone laugh. "You think I'm joking? I got every gay stereotype in the book on my phone."

"Isn't that normal for you, darling?" Darien teased, and James whacked him.

"I wish."

"So, which ones called you, James?" Kevin asked. "Is that good or bad, that they want to corner the gay market?"

We looked at each other, and James leaned over, putting checkmarks next to the places that had called him. Then he shook his head and crossed them out. "It's bad. They were trying too hard." I raised an eyebrow at him and he sighed. "Seriously. I saved the messages, want to hear them? I mean, no self-respecting gay man is that gay during a business conversation. We don't want just the gay market."

"Then who would I flirt with?" I joked. "Then again, I wouldn't have to worry if the guys were flirting with me or you the way I do now."

"Hey!" Nick whined. "Who's flirting with you?"

"Everyone, Nicky," Darien deadpanned. "Get used to it." That made everyone laugh, and if Nick had been next to me, I could have taken his hand, let him know that I didn't want to flirt with anyone but him.

Damnit, I hated needing him this much. I was a strong, independent woman, I should be able to make this decision with my band and not feel like I needed to run everything by my boyfriend. Right?

I needed about a day of sleep is what I needed. I let the guys discuss the firms that were left on our list, taking notes, throwing in questions. Kevin and Howie did most of the talking on the other end, I knew Nick wasn't the best with details. He knew why they'd gone with The Firm, but the other people they talked to just ran together in his head.

Within half an hour, we'd narrowed the list to three more to talk to. With the two we'd met with in L.A., that was five. Five was enough to choose from, right? We weren't being rash and signing our lives away to someone who might screw us?

"Remember this," Kevin intoned. "They're all gonna take too much of your money. At the end of the day, that's it. It's not like you're gonna find someone who'll only take 3% for the love of the music."

"And don't pick someone you don't like just because the plan sounds good," Howie added. "You're gonna at least talk to these people every day forever, so like them."

I liked Saffron. I really did. "Do you like Saffron?" Jeremy glared at me, but I ignored him. He liked her, I know he did. He didn't want to, but she fit in with us, and that was important.

"Yeah," Kevin answered. "She wasn't there when we signed, but she's been with us…"

"Since the album launch," Howie finished. "We work with a team of people there, but she's solid. And funny. I think you might be her first big account on her own, I'm not sure."

Jeremy smirked at me. Like being her first big account was a bad thing? We'd get her cred with The Firm, and I bet in turn she'd bend over backwards for us.

But I shouldn't make up my mind yet. We had three more people to see.

We wound up the business conversation, then Nick picked up the phone and I shooed the boys away. "Thank you so much, Nick."

"Stop thanking me, buttercup. It wasn't a big deal. We weren't doing anything but hanging out anyway. I gotta run, though, meet and greet."

"Yeah, me too. I love you. You're going out with your friends tonight?"

"Yeah." I could hear the smile in his voice. "Might get back late."

"Give me a call if you're sober. We're driving after the show, but I think it's a short one. Lola promised I could sleep all day tomorrow."

"You deserve it, Rache. You've been crazy the last few days."

I nodded, wanting to just sink into the sofa across the room. "Yeah. Love you. Talk to you soon."

Chapter 16:
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