Chapter 74

Rhys opened the door to their room. "I love you. I loved watching you today. You're bright, ballsy. Your voice is amazing. And you give Jim hell like a professional shit giver. I'm so proud to be with you."

Pearl smiled and put her arms around him. "If you keep saying things like that and dressing like a sex-nerd, I'm going to stop taking the pill and beg for your seed." Pearl joked, kissing his neck.

He looked at her.

"What?" Pearl asked. "I'm kidding."

"Don't joke about that. I'd love that more than anything." Rhys still looked very serious. "I almost told you that a couple of weeks ago. When you said the house was empty. I stopped myself but I started to say, stop taking the pill. I know what we can fill the house up with that would be way better than furniture." He looked down, a little embarrassed. "But I know it's too soon. And you are just beginning your music career."

She looked at him. And she knew she needed to tell him something. "I don't know if I can even have children, Rhys. I tried a couple of times but it never took and my ex didn't really want them. The sex was...weird between us. I never felt him, you know, inside me like you do. But I've never been pregnant and I don't know if I can give you that. I'm sorry. I should have told you."

"Just because you haven't yet doesn't mean you can't. It's ok. We can talk about it at a later time. Really. It's ok. Let's get you ready for your gig."

Pearl got in the tub and Rhys worked on his laptop. She felt awful for joking about something he wanted and even worse that she might not be able to give it to him. She picked up her phone a googled signs of infertility. She came across an article that said if you've been on the pill for a long duration of time, sometimes it can take years to conceive, even after you stop taking it. She scrolled more and found two more articles that talked about it. She started to feel panic. She'd always wanted to be a mother. And she wasn't getting any younger. She decided she would talk to her doctor about when she got home, but as she looked at her packet sitting on the counter, she made up her mind that she was done taking them and got out of the tub and threw them in the trash.

"Pearl...wow. Jesus god. You look amazing." Rhys said, stumbling over his words. She had picked up the dress at the boutique across from the apartment the last time she was in New York. It was black and long but had a high slit on each leg, going up to the crotch. There were built in panty shorts to cover all the last parts. The front was low cut and there was a choker collar as a neckline with tassels coming down in the front. She wore her favorite below the knee heeled boots with it. She had on fringe earrings and her hair was down and wild.

"I don't think I want to leave this room with you. I am the luckiest man alive." He said, running his hand up her leg, along the slit. He looked amazing too. His hair was down and he had a vintage gray vest over a black shirt with jeans and the boots he was wearing the day she met him. He had a tailored leather jacket on over it, with several silver necklaces and bracelets and rings. He looked like a steam punk god. Looking at him in the light, she saw that he resembled a young Johnny Depp with a little Tom Hardy in the mouth and build. He was unbelievably sexy.

"Let's go. We are going to be late." Pearl said, kissing his nose.

They met the band in the hotel bar and Pearl could tell by the bartenders faces that they too, were over their shit. "It will be a quiet night." Pearl said and handed them a hundred dollar tip. She was learning the ropes. She looked at the guys. They were all staring at her. She realized she had never dressed like this before. But she was promoting an album and needed to make it a show. "Pearl, you look great." Dylan said. "Thanks" she blushed.

They all looked amazing. Dylan was dressed in jeans and button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up. . Blake was all punk and new rock. Iris looked goth which really surprised her. John, ever the put together one, had on a blazer and jeans. They were waiting on Ian. A few minutes later he showed up. "I'll have a Jameson neat." He said.

"Hey Ian, glad you could make it." John said.

"Look, I'm not much of a mingler. Band drama is real common. I'm here because it's our first show together and it's good to have a warm up before." By warm up, Pearl wasn't sure if he meant breaking the ice or drinking the whiskey. He had two more.

"I will admit, I've never been in a band with such a hot lead singer." He said, eyeing Pearl from sipping his drink. "Well, that's probably because you've only worked with male lead singers." Pearl replied, not missing a beat. Rhys slammed his beer down.

"Let's get going. I've taken the liberty of renting us a car. Two actually. One for our gear." John said as they gathered their things and left.