Forever

Jeremy looked up with a grimace.

"You never met him because they live in Milwaukee. I only see him a few times a year. Dad and his RW are in town for the holiday and I got the opportunity to spend a little one on one time with my bro."

"We get to talk a lot more though, now that I got a cell phone for my birthday," Jeremy added and pulled it out to show John. "And I'm not annoying, Sis."

John laughed and said, "It's nice to meet you anyway." He then went on to explain, "You know, I thought the worst when your mom said you were here with someone named, Jeremy. I was all set to crash your date."

They all got a laugh out of it and she reminded him, "I told you, I'm a one-man girl."

After they ate, John followed her to the hotel to drop off her brother. She called her dad and asked him to meet her in the lobby to be introduced to John.

Matt Frye and his wife Moira walked through the lobby and each gave Kelsey hugs.

"Daddy, RW, this is John."

"Call me Moira, John; and Kelsey, you know I hate that replacement wife crap."

She didn't respond, but rolled her eyes.

"I'm Matt, nice to finally meet you. You better treat my baby girl right. I'm not that far away that I can't find you if I have to."

"Yes Sir. I'll treat her like a queen."

"Atta boy. Just don't spoil her too much. That's still my job."

"Are you in school John?" Moira asked.

"Yes, I go to the Berklee College of Music in Boston."

"Oh? Not much you can do with a degree in music, John," Matt said.

"Ugh! We have to go." Kelsey said.

"It was nice to meet you all. Happy Thanksgiving," John said as she pulled him out of the lobby.

**********

"Your dad and stepmom seem nice," John said as they sat in his parents' living room.

"It was a few years before I even talked to her. I refused to see him if she was there. Mom never talks about it, but it's clear to me looking back that Moira was pregnant when my parents split."

"That sucks."

"Yeah. I learned from that though. I will always be faithful to my man. I expect the same. I never want to feel or cause the pain that my mom felt."

"I agree. I'm all yours baby."

"I'm sorry I got so mad about you not coming home to see me. I really hoped that we could talk about us."

"That's pretty ominous."

"No, I don't mean it to be. It's just that I've fallen in love with you."

John smiled and took her into a hug before saying, "I was in love with you before I left. I was afraid to say something because we were supposed to be casual."

They kissed for a few minutes and she took his hand leading him to his bedroom. She closed the door and said, "John, I told you before that I was saving myself for when I was in love; tonight is the night. Make love to me."

He needed no further prodding and pulled her onto his bed.

Slowly they kissed as John momentarily thought about being caught by his parents. He figured they were safe as his bedroom was on the first floor and his parents' bedroom was on the second floor.

She undressed herself and said, "You have to be naked too, sweetie." John smiled and had his clothes off quickly.

They took time exploring each other's bodies, reveling in their first naked contact.

As he pulled his lips off of her nipple he said, "I've always wanted to taste you, do you mind?" He kissed his way down without waiting for her to answer.

He paused to look at the first pussy he'd ever seen up close, and desperately tried to remember how they did it in the lesbian porn he had watched in the past.

Thinking, "Screw it," he dove in and licked every spot he could. He thought he found her clitoris and started licking her there.

She bucked her hips and said, "Oh yeah, baby. Right there. Just like that."

"Oh shit. Oh damn. I think I'm gonna..." She was lost in orgasm and didn't finish her sentence. John didn't stop as she squeezed his head with her thighs like a vise.

"Oh John. That was awesome. We need to do that a lot more."

"Absolutely, I loved doing that for you. You tasted so good."

The smell of her pleasure was filling the room as she kissed him and said, "Mmm, I can taste myself on your lips. My turn."

He slid up the bed as she took his hard cock in her hand and stroked him. She saw his precum glistening on his head, and gave it a lick.

"Oh wow, that felt great."

"Mmm, tasted great too."

She took his mushroom cap into her mouth and stroked him while sucking gently. "Tell me if I'm doing it wrong," she said and bobbed slowly up and down.

She moaned as she heard his sighs of pleasure and was as turned on as she'd ever been before.

"Are you ready to make me a woman?"

"Oh yeah."

She straddled his hips, lined him up at her entrance, took a deep breath, and slowly sank down onto him. At the same time, they were in sync in their disbelief that they were finally making love.

She moaned with a combination of pain and pleasure as she took him all the way in and held in that spot without moving. Feeling as if she'd found nirvana, she stayed still until she felt him move reflexively beneath her.

"Oh wow! That's amazing," she said leaning forward to kiss him. "I never imagined I would fee this good. I expected more pain at first."

"You feel so good, Kelsey. I thought it would be harder to get in."

"I have a vibrator, sweetie. I promise you're my first man, but I don't have a cherry anymore."

"That would explain the lack of pain. You've already felt it."

"I guess." She rocked back and forth loving every sensation she felt. "I'm so full. You're bigger than my toy. You feel so good."

"I'm not going to last much longer. I'm so close," he said. Then in a panic, he sat upright. "Shit! I'm not wearing a condom."

"Do you have one?"

"No, this was a surprise to me."

She reluctantly pulled off of him and started stroking his cock. "Oh babe, I'm gonna cum," he said.

He shot spurt after spurt into his stomach and chest. She couldn't believe how much there was. There were several trails along his abs and some on her hand.

She licked her hand to taste some of the remnants and purred, "That doesn't taste that bad. I may have to sample it straight from the source next time."

They kissed and she rose to get dressed and get home before her mother worried.

"I love you, John. This was the best night of my life, but please don't ever hurt me. I've given you my greatest gift because I feel you're worthy of it.

"I love you too, and I promise you, that I'll love you forever."

"Sounds like a good line for a song, I have to go. I'll call you in the morning," she said. "Oh, and pick up some condoms for your next trip home." She winked and walked out the door.

**********

When John returned to school, his roommate asked him if he wanted to make a couple of bucks playing in a coffee shop with him.

"It'll be easy. Both of us on acoustic, playing old jazz and pop stuff. Sinatra, Dean Martin, that kind of thing." Alvin said.

"Okay. Sounds easy enough." John said.

"Nice. We start in two weeks every Saturday afternoon. I already told them we'd do it."

John laughed and said, "Of course you did. Does our duo have a name?"

"Yeah, 'Skinny and Fat.' I figured it describes us and plays well with coffee jargon."

Alvin was about 5'5" and stocky as opposed to John's thin 6'1" frame.

"Cool. Do you have a playlist?"

"Yep. They gave me a list of what they wanted. It's easy stuff. You probably know the words to a lot of them already. They're all popular songs."

"Wait! Who's singing?"

"You are."

"No way. I don't sing."

"For a hundred bucks a Saturday, you'd better start."

"Shit. I don't know."

"Just try. You're better than I am and I haven't even heard you yet; that's how bad I am."

"Alright. That's too good of a paying gig to pass up. Let's get working."

**********

They played their first Saturday and Carol, the owner of the shop, loved them.

"You guys did great." She said.

"Thanks Aunt Carol," Alvin said.

"She's your aunt?" John asked.

"I'm his favorite Godmother. His mom and I went to college together," she said.

Alvin laughed and said, "You're my only Godmother."

John you've got a lovely voice. It's very pleasing to the ear." Carol said. "Oh! Before I forget, we had some requests for newer pop songs, from some of the customers. Maybe you could add some lighter pop from the new century for next time?

"Thanks. We'll do that, John said.

He continued, "You know, I never really thought of myself singing, but I appreciate it. I'll watch the video I recorded later to see how it went."

"We had a ton of compliments on you two. We had a lot of folks stay and order more coffee and pastry, so they could listen. That's what I wanted, so thanks. Here's your pay and don't forget your tip jar."

Alvin walked over to the table near the faux stage area and grabbed the jar.

"Looks like a good haul, John. Let's grab a coffee and head home."

**********

"Damn, man. We got a hundred and six bucks in tips. Someone threw a 20 in there." Alvin said.

"Wow! Nice score. A hundred and fifty bucks for three hours of work. That will keep us flush in Kraft Mac and Cheese and frozen pizzas for a while."

"Dig it. You sang great. Let's watch it and see what we can improve on."

**********

John sent the video to his parents and Kelsey. He knew his parents would give him honest feedback and he really wanted their thoughts. He knew Kelsey would just tell him how great he did, but he knew she'd be upset if he didn't send it to her as well.

"Wow John. You really can sing well," his mom said over the Zoom chat he was having with his parents. "You should think about singing in your band."

"Thanks Mom. I'm not in a band right now. I'm just doing the coffee shop gig for Alvin's aunt."

"You're pretty lucky, your roommate had that connection," his dad added.

"Yeah I know. We'll end up making some decent spending money."

"You'll let me know when I can stop putting money in your account then?" His dad joked.

"No way Dad. Keep it coming. I have to go. I'm calling Kelsey next."

"How's it going with her? Long-distance romance is hard," his mom said.

"It is, but we talk and text a lot. We're doing great."

"Okay. Tell her we said hi."

"Sure, I'll call you guys next week okay?"

"You bet. Love you."

"Love you, bye."

**********

Kelsey set up a youtube page for John that hosted his coffee shop videos. She asked him to send all of them to him so she could watch him perform. It was another way they could stay connected living so far apart.

Each video had thousands of views and they were getting great comments. Kelsey ignored the comments from the girls that mentioned how hot John was. She got very jealous, but she was confident that John was faithful.

She got an email from a representative at a record label asking for John's contact info. They were interested in signing him, having seen the YouTube videos. She thought it was a joke so she ignored it.

She told John about it and he got upset. "Kelsey, are you kidding me? Do you know how many people got discovered on YouTube?"

"No I don't, I'm sorry. I'll forward you the email. This is great, baby! I'm so excited now, I thought it was a scam. You're gonna be huge, I know it."

"I doubt it. We don't even know what they are looking for. Maybe they just need a session guitarist or something."

"No way, baby. You're gonna be famous. My boyfriend has made it! Wait until I tell everyone. I'm so proud of you."

"Whoa, hold up. I don't know what they want yet. I may not even sign a contract. Just sit tight on this until I talk to them, okay?"

"Okay, Magic Hands."

Laughing, John said, "I love you, goodnight," and ended the video call.

***********

John's parents flew into Boston to be with John as he met with the record company. They already had a recommendation for an attorney if they needed one after talking to the label executive.

John was reserved for the meeting. He was trying to stay level-headed as he knew some of the horror stories of new acts being taken advantage of in their first recording contracts. He wouldn't let himself get too excited.

"Mr. Fleming will see you now, please follow me," the lady said.

While they were walking through the halls, she introduced herself. "I'm Andrea Stone. If you come on board, I would be the liaison between your team and the label. I would handle everything from making sure you have a studio to record in, to having tours scheduled and I'll be paying the bills with advances. We would be working very closely through the process."

"Okay," John said as he couldn't help but check the beautiful woman out. "Nice legs," he thought as she walked in front of them.

"Mr. Fleming, the Checzyk's are here," Andrea said as she walked into the office.

"Great! John, nice to finally meet you. Everyone please sit."

John's parents looked around the room and quickly became intimidated by the gold records and celebrity photos on the walls.

John was not, he'd done a lot of research and was ready to talk business. He had no reservations about walking out with nothing, since being a singer wasn't his goal. He was just thrown in by happenstance.

"John, we are offering you a 6-year contract. It has requirements for 3 albums and tours to support. It's a standard first contract that will pay you 5% royalties and will have escalation clauses for the amount of sales, downloads, chart success, and things like that. We'd like to get you in the studio as soon as you sign."

"No, thank you. I appreciate the offer but I won't sign that."

"What do you want, John?" His father asked.

"I want a shorter term. I'll do something like 2 years with options, and I won't do less than 10% royalties."

"John, a contract like that is for proven new acts that have a history. You've got nothing but some coffee house gigs. You have great potential and that's what we're banking on. We need more protection for the investment we're about to make in you," Andrea said.

"Well, then I guess we don't have a deal then. I have no aspiration to be a singer, nor a star for that matter. You don't have any leverage on me because I'll just go back to school and finish my education."

John's mom smiled and added, "This isn't a normal situation, Mr. Fleming. We really could take it or leave it."

Fleming frowned and said, "3 years with 2 albums, and our option on years four and five. I'll do 8% on royalties, but that is the best I'll do."

"I'll do that. Write it up, I'll have my lawyer review it, and we'll go from there."

"John, we need to do something about your name," Fleming said.

"What's wrong with his name?" His dad asked.

"Checzyk is too hard to pronounce."

"I kinda figured I would have to have a stage name. I picked one already. How does CJ Anthony sound? It's still the components of my real name, but easier to say."

"That's fine with me. Andrea, what are your thoughts?"

"I like it."

After ironing out the rest of the details, John and his parents left the office excited.

"John, how did you decide what you wanted? Why didn't you want the longer contract?" His dad asked.

"The net. You can read all of the horror stories of new artists getting screwed by long contracts. There was no way I was doing a longer deal. I figure I'm not really sure I want to do this at all, so I have nothing to lose by dickering with them. The shorter the better for me also, because if I really hate it, I'm not stuck. It's bad enough they are going to make money off of the tours and merchandise, but I really didn't want to be locked in that long."

"We need to find you a manager." His mom added.

"Yeah, I have 2 that are already interested. One of them already has an artist on the same label. I'm leaning towards him."

"Alright. If you need our help let us know. We're not calling you CJ, by the way." His mom said.

"I would hope not. I'll always be John."

**********

With all of the negotiations finalized, John signed the deal. His manager, David James was happy, his lawyer was happy and the label was happy.

They started changing John immediately. They had him working out with a personal trainer to build muscle, a vocal coach to work on fine-tuning his voice, and they had him work with a songwriter that had success on the charts before.

John walked into the recording studio as nervous as ever. All they wanted him to do was sing and that upset him. He wanted to play guitar, but the record company hired professional session musicians, and had the backing music already recorded and ready for him.

He was introduced to the producer and asked him to let him record his own guitar solos.

"This is my record! I want to actually play on it," he shouted.

"Sorry kid, we don't need you on the record. You could probably do it live. The chicks will dig it, but in the studio we need pros."

"Will you at least let me record some solos and compare them to the ones you've already recorded? At least give me a shot."

"No way. Studio time is expensive, it's a waste of money."

"I'm paying for the studio time!" He said angrily.

"No kid, you ain't paying for shit yet. The label is fronting the costs. You haven't made them a penny yet. Let's get to work. We're burning time."

"God damn it!" John said and put his brand new, custom MTG guitar in the corner.

Later that night, John called his manager and Andrea from the label.

"Guys, I want to play guitar on this record. I don't give a shit about extra studio costs or that they already have all the tracks done. This is MY album? I have to play on it."

"CJ, we need pros on this one. We have to give you the best chance of succeeding." Andrea said. "The label has the right to choose all musicians. It's in your contract."

"I assumed I'd be one of them. Jesus, that's why you signed me."

"No, CJ. We signed you because you're gorgeous and can sing. You'd be a lower-tier guitar player, but can be a star as a singer," Andrea said.

"CJ, let me handle it. I'll talk with Andrea and the label. Maybe we can get you on one song and if it's good, we've opened the door to you playing on the next record," his manager said.

"David, please make it happen," John said as he hung up on them.

David got Andrea to relent and she let him play acoustic guitar and the guitar solo on what the producer felt was the weakest track. She purposely dragged it out so that it was the last thing recorded for the album. That way he couldn't get them to do it on other songs.

She did admit that it turned out great, and she said she would consider him playing more on the second album.

Working late nights in the studio and doing all of the preparations that it took to make sure he was perfect, was taking its toll on him.

He was in the gym for 3 hours every morning, so he could bulk up. Then he would rehearse the song he was working on that day. Then he would work in the studio, recording take after take, trying to do it 100% the way the producer wanted it.

There were days when his throat felt so raw and sore that he felt like he couldn't sing a note. They pressed on anyway, they were on serious time constraints.

After leaving the studio for the last time, John was depressed. He was not happy with the lack of control that he had and that he was learning the music business the hard way.

**********

John still kept in touch with Kelsey, but the calls were farther spaced out and he hadn't seen her in person for six months. She was getting frustrated with his lack of contact and called him out on it.

"John, I miss you so much. When will we see each other?"

"Kelsey, the album's done and it's being mixed now. I'm super pissed off that they won't let me be a part of that, but it's out of my control. I have to get to New York for rehearsals.