Crazy in Love. Crystal B. Bright

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СКАЧАТЬ and said, “No. Not anymore. It’s an older song but a fan favorite.”

      She exhaled and smiled. “Ordinarily I would tell you to sing the song to that person. It helps gives soul to your lyrics.”

      “Hell, Tru, just sing it to her so we can get on with this.” Sully pointed to Shauna.

      She stared at Truman as he made his way to the microphone. As he sang she noticed he moved his head around a lot as though he sang on a stage.

      Thank goodness they weren’t recording yet. The recording would have been worthless only because of his constant movement.

      The man sang with so much heart; Shauna felt it from her seat. Chills covered her body until she felt like one big goose bump. She rubbed her hand up and down her arm as she looked over the lyrics as he sang. It didn’t help that the man oozed sex.

      In his loose-fitting T-shirt and his worn jeans, Truman looked confident and strong, attractive qualities in any man.

      She made some notes on the lyrics, some changes she thought would work better in the song. Then she thought about how she would present these changes to a very protective Truman. He’d nearly bitten her head off earlier when she’d tried altering his lyrics.

      At the end of the song, Truman and his band talked among themselves. From their smiles, they must have liked the sound and arrangement. Now came the hard part.

      She turned on the mic to talk to them in the booth.

      “Good take, boys. Let’s can it.” Hank spoke before she could say a word.

      She turned to the burly mess. “What did you just say to them?”

      Hank snorted, not like he was being insolent but because he breathed that way normally. “It sounded good. Why have them play it over and over again?”

      “For one thing, I’m producing. Point two, Truman said this was a rehearsal, and he wasn’t near the mic for half the song. It’ll sound amateurish.” Shauna knew Craig had to have been watching this whole display, but she wouldn’t back down. She would want someone to stand up and say something didn’t sound right if she had been in the booth recording. Actually, she did have that person in her life.

      She glanced at Craig who winked at her, his way of letting her know he backed her decision. She set in her jaw and kept her gaze on Hank. The big man finally turned away from her and tinkered with the knobs and controls on the boards.

      She turned on the microphone again. “Let’s hear that song one more time.”

      She saw Sully and Charlie’s shoulders ease down. Ervin’s eyes lit up like she’d given them a million dollars. Truman looked confused.

      “Was there something wrong in there? I know I said this would be a practice run, but it sounds like the engineer liked it.” Truman questioned her as though he’d failed her.

      She bit the inside of her cheek and counted to ten before she spoke. “No. Everything’s fine. I want to get different takes. We can mesh the best takes together.”

      Truman nodded but his confused expression contradicted his compliance.

      “This time, Truman, I need for you to stand right at the microphone.” Shauna held her palm up to her face to mimic how Truman should stand. “I want to hear your voice clearly.”

      Truman glanced at Hank who only shrugged.

      She ignored their unspoken conversation and continued. “Also, what do you think about changing the line ‘You’re the right one for me’ to ‘You’re the one I need’?”

      Sully groaned so loud Shauna would have been able to hear it with the microphones off.

      “She’s doing it, Tru.” Sully pointed to Shauna. “I thought you said she wasn’t going to change our music.”

      “She’s not.” Truman looked over the lyrics.

      His icy stare momentarily stunned Shauna.

      Instead of buckling, she pressed on. “The flow will go better if you make that change. Why not try it for the next take.” She tapped her fingers. Her nails clicked against the surface while he whispered something to Sully.

      Without answering her, Truman started playing the song over again. The strong chords showed Truman’s anger. He kept his mouth right at the microphone but kept his eyes closed. When the line she wanted him to change came up, he sang it…the same way he’d written it.

      Shauna’s shoulders tightened. Her neck felt stiff. If she felt this wound up this early in the production, she would be a complete mess by the end.

      Truman attempted to show her who would be head dog in this process. He probably thought she should have been happy that he obliged her on one point. Nope. Not having it. She wanted it done the right way, her way.

      At the end of the song, Shauna turned on her microphone again. “Thanks for staying close to the mic this time. You can hear the difference.”

      You catch more flies with honey.

      Before speaking again, she took a breath first. “But I would still like you to try the song with the alternate line. If it doesn’t work, you can tell me ‘I told you so’ and I’ll agree.”

      Truman moved close to the mic. “No. Every word I’ve written means something to me. I don’t want to change anything.”

      She found the passion in his eyes. That didn’t mean she wouldn’t press forward to get her point across. She had a stake in this. “Let’s take a break.” Shauna clicked off the microphone.

      “Good.” Hank lumbered to his feet. “I need a smoke.”

      She stood. Before Craig or anyone else could criticize her performance, she slipped on her shoes and made her way to the roof. It had always been her favorite spot in the studio. She used to go there to sing if she had a hard time getting over a difficult passage. She especially liked to think up there. Right now she needed breathing room.

      She burst through the door and found her familiar spot on the edge of the roof. She looked over and watched the waves crash against the beach.

      The waves. They always put her life in perspective. She would have to learn to go with the flow, which didn’t fit her nature.

      She needed to learn to flow with Truman. Learn to ride his waves. However, he needed to bend and for more than where to position his mouth.

      Shauna gazed at the full moon. “Hey, Mom. I know it’s been a while since we’ve talked. I had to get myself together after you—” She couldn’t muster the strength to say the word. “I need help. I wish you were here. You made everything better, even when I took for granted that you would make my life easier.” She wrapped her arms around her body when a strong breeze came off the ocean. “You know this guy I’m working with now. You signed him. Did he give you this much trouble? If not, what am I doing wrong?”

      Stars twinkled as though giving her a silent response. Like with everything else, she would need to figure this out on her own.

      She stood, wiped off her backside, СКАЧАТЬ