Chapter 47

John decided the band should get together sooner than later and suggested they have a quick meeting that evening. Pearl agreed and went home after work to relax a little before hand. She ran a bath and tried to clear her head.

This entire month had been a rollercoaster ride. Spending most of her adult life with one man who barely showed any kind of adoration or care to having 3 men claiming she was worth loving and valued, was not something she was prepared for. She really didn't possess the skills to manage this properly and she knew it. She was naive. She was vulnerable and coming from a place of serious self doubt and years of damage. She was between wanting to be the defensive and isolated woman she only knew herself to be and this newly empowered and desired woman she barely recognized in the mirror. Add to that an opportunity in the works to really do something with her music. Her ife was turning around for the better and she struggled feeling she truly deserved it. It didn't feel real.

She knew one thing for sure, she was going to ride this out to the fullest and keep herself open to every possibility. She wasn't going to make the wrong decision again. No more wasting even one minute in a place that wasn't right for her. She cared about each of the men differently and strongly and knew she would figure out who would be right for her, if one of them was meant to be. She would know when the time was right.

Her phone dinged and she saw it was a text from Rhys.

"Things are going well here. Location looks great but it's freezing and wet and I miss your pretty eyes. Hope you're doing great."

Pearl felt awful. She wasn't committed to him fully and although she didn't ask him not to see other people, being who she was, she couldn't help but feel bad for her inability to decide.

Pearl made it to John's house to find everyone was already there. "Hey Pearl!" Blake said, giving her a big hug as she walked in. They were all gathered in John's basement rehearsal space. Dylan was there, sitting at a little corner handmade bar. He didn't look in her direction when she came in, seeming to purposely avoid her. "We are so excited about this! Seriously, Pearl, we can't thank you enough. So what's the plan?" Tony asked.

"First I need to know what everyone's ability is for the next week or so. Jason wants to fly us out to New York to meet with Jax Stark, all expenses paid ." Pearl began, "And then we will have to get a tight set lest together to present to him."

"What!?! Jax Stark?? He's like the up and coming Mark Ronson. Holy shit, Pearl! Are we all thinking we can pull this off? Are we good enough for this?" Blake said, as he was losing his cool a little. Pearl understood and was having similar thoughts.

They figured out their availability and decided they would rehearse every day until they were supposed to fly out. They had 4 solid songs and 3 that needed some work. John was concerned that without more songs being written and not tightening up the ones they had, they wouldn't be prepared. Just as they were wrapping up, Dylan stood up and said, "There's only one way we are going to get this together in such a short amount of time. John...you, Blake and Tony need to tighten up your shit on the songs we already have and Pearl and I need to spend some time together writing new ones."

The silence in the room was uncomfortable.

"He's right, Pearl." John said. Pearl knew he was.

"Ok, let's get that figured out then, Dylan. I'll see you guys tomorrow right after work."

Pearl's drive home was riddled with anxiety. The guilt she was feeling about Rhys and David and the worry about the band getting everything together in time, especially the thought of working with Dylan, was causing her some serious stress. Not far from her apartment, her text dinged and she noticed it was from Dylan. She stopped at a red light and read "I'm pulling down your road right now, we need to talk."