My heart races. "I thought you'd be excited."
She swallows hard and locks her blues on mine. She asserts, "Naked Pipe Entertainment isn't just somewhere you go to demo, Riggs. Anyone charting right now records with them."
Arrogance flares inside me. "I'm aware."
She gets up and paces in front of the window.
My gut drops. I question, "Pet, I thought you'd be excited."
"I-I'm not good enough for that studio!"
"Sure you are."
She shakes her head. "No, I'm not. I've never even properly recorded anything. I'm an amateur! I'm... I'm nowhere near ready for their caliber."
"That's absurd," I state.
"You don't understand. I only get one shot. They'll never let me return if I screw it up!" she cries out.
I step in front of her. "Breathe, Blakely."
Her fear-laced expression intensifies. She taps her fingers on her thighs like she has a nerve problem.
I pick up her hands. "Calm down."
She takes a few breaths, then asks, "How did you even line this up?"
"I'm friends with Ears."
Her eyes widen. "You spoke to Ears? About me?"
"Yes."
She squeezes her eyes shut.
My chest tightens. This is going the entirely wrong way. I restate, "I thought you'd be excited about this. Isn't this what you were shooting for? A demo?"
She glances at the ceiling, then me. "Riggs, you don't just go up to Ears and tell him your girlfriend needs a demo and to let her record."
"Girlfriend?" I blurt out, shocked that she used the term.
Her face turns red. She shakes her head and shrugs out of my grasp, biting out, "No. Of course not. God forbid anything is normal in your world."
"What does that mean?" I snap.
"Exactly what I said. Thanks for setting it up," she adds, but she sounds anything but grateful. She moves toward the bedroom.
I ignore all the alarms going off in my head. I follow her and claim, "I don't understand why you're pissed."
"I'm not pissed."
"Could have fooled me."
She spins toward me. "Did you not hear me this morning? I have no content. I've stagnated."
I cross my arms. "Yes, I heard you. Maybe this is what you need to move forward. A bit of pressure."
"A bit of pressure?"