Free Craving Talon by Zoey Derrick Page B

smiles. “You deserve to have your ego stroked. You’re an angel.”  
    “I’m your panda girl.”  
    “And I’m your cowboy.”  
    “Yes, you are.” We both smile. “Thank you for opening up to me. Do you feel better?”  
    He lifts his head, smiles the beautiful smile I love to see and nods. “Much better, thank you.” He kisses me soft and gentle, but not without passion.  
    “You can’t fix everything. I’ve learned that the hard way.”  
    “I’m trying.”  
    My phone chimes with an email. “We need to discuss business,” I say.
    He snorts a laugh. “Pleasure before business. I like it.” I laugh and peak at my email. It’s from Cami with the subject ‘press release’. I open it up.  

    This is a copy of the press release that will go out at 8p.m. Pacific time announcing the venture between you and 69 Bottles. I hope it’s favorable, but you have time to make some changes if you’d like.  

    “Everything okay?” Kyle asks anxiously.  
    I nod. “It’s perfect. The label bought the ‘Your Eyes’ recording we did last night. I imagine sometime in the next few days, it will hit the airways.”  
    “How do you feel about that?” he asks honest curiosity in his voice.  
    “Petrified.” I smile sweetly. “They also bought ‘To Be Free’.”  
    “Jesus, talk about throwing you out there.”
    “Well, you know Cami, she doesn’t sit on anything she feels is extraordinary. Couple that with the fact that I now have a performance contract for the rest of the tour, a contract being finalized for the recordings in New York, in which they want both songs, provided 69 Bottles agrees to make ‘To Be Free’ their primary single on the new album.”  
    “That’s kind of a no brainer. I’ll discuss it with Talon, but I doubt he will turn down a chance to get it recorded. What else?”  
    “The contract for sales following the recording will be finalized prior to recording in New York. If we sing ‘To Be Free’ during a concert, we’re required to do it with Talon and I alone. The way we recorded it.” I smile at the look on his face.  
    “That won’t be hard because I’m pretty sure there are no other parts written to that song, though knowing him, if it’s getting recorded, he’ll have both an acoustic and a full band version. Anything else?”  
    “Oh my goodness, yeah. The label is working to set up a live recording of the concert, wanting to put together a live album.”  
    He scowls, “Already? God, they’re moving fast, they usually wait a few years for that. Then they can put together a ‘best of’.”  
    “I don’t know what their intentions are, just that the earliest is Chicago and the latest is Denver for when they’ll do it.”
    “Hmm, weird, but I’m not going to complain. We knew before we set off that there was a chance of that, depending on the tour.” I can see the worry lifting from his face as he sets into business mode.  
    “Lastly, I think, is that we need to prepare the band for an extension on the tour.”
    “That’s going to be a lot harder to handle. I think that is something we’ll have to deal with when and if it arises. They were okay with the shows being added, but I don’t know how they’ll feel extending it. Plus there is one hell of a party planned for LA.” He smiles. “Not to mention a chance to go home.”  
    I laugh. “Oh, and Cami forwarded me a press release that will go out tonight regarding the band and me.”
    “Well that’s good, at least they’re waiting for show time. Though the show is sold out. I think that video would have sold out the shows if they weren’t already, which scares me as to why they’d extend the tour. But if they get us back into the studio, they’d be better to keep it as is, then schedule a new tour for later in the year…” He keeps rambling and I just let him go. It’s really cute listening to him ramble.  
    “You’re rambling.”  
    He laughs. “I know, I’m sorry.