Sheet Music - A Rock 'n' Roll Love Story

A long silence hung between them.  Annie’s heart ached.

“Is that what you really want?” he asked softly.

Annie tightened her jaw.  “It’s the way it has to be.  You said so yourself.”

“Annie, you didn’t complicate my life.  You made it better,” he sighed.  “I want you to know that.”

She closed her eyes and sighed.  Silence filled the phone again.

“Why don’t you put Sammy on the phone?” he asked.

“Sure.  I’ll go get him for you.”

“Annie, are you still coming to the show Friday night?”

“I was given the impression that your concert wasn’t an optional event.”

“It isn’t.”

“Then I guess you’ll be seeing me on Friday night,” she answered and passed the phone over to Sammy.

“Hey Mike, how’s it going?”

“Shitty.”

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that,” Sammy replied.

“What the hell is going on there?” Michael asked.

“What do you mean?  Rehearsals have been going pretty good.”

“I’m telling you now, Sammy.  If you lay a fucking hand on her, you’re all done!”

Suddenly the phone went dead.

Annie was bent over drying her hair in the bathroom, half listening to Sammy’s end of the conversation.  Suddenly Sammy appeared in the doorway of the bathroom.

“Did he hang up?” Annie asked.

“Yeah, you could say that.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Mike just threatened me,” Sammy stated, shaking his head in disbelief.

“What?”  Annie quickly stood upright.  “What did he say?”

“Honestly?  He said if I laid a hand on you, I was all done.”

“I don’t understand.”

Sammy ran the towel over his damp hair and then draped it around his thick neck as he plunked himself down at the kitchen table.  “Listen, I know about you and Mike.  So why don’t you fill in the blanks for me.  What exactly happened and why is he so pissed off?”

“He told you about that?” Annie asked.

“He didn't have to.  The day I met you in the parking lot it was written all over both your faces.  When you showed up, Mike suddenly lost the ability to form a complete thought.  I saw the way he was looking at you.  It was obvious that something was going on.”

“It was one night.  That was it.  End of story.”

“I’m not buying it.  So what’s really going on?”

Annie sat down across from him and contemplated her answer.  “I don’t know what happened.  We were alone a couple of times, talking, getting to know each other and then…I don’t know.  It doesn’t matter,” Annie shrugged.  “It’s over, long before it really began.”

“Bullshit,” Sammy replied.

“What?”

“I said: ‘bullshit’.  What you just said is a load of crap.”  Sammy leaned across the table closer to her.  “Listen, I’m going to let you in on a little secret.  I talked to Brian yesterday, and he said Mike’s been moping around their studio all week.  From what I understand, he’s made a real ass of himself, too.  In fact, Brian asked him to leave practice yesterday and not to come back until he had adjusted his attitude.  So, would you like to try and tell me again what happened between you two?”

Annie began to cry.  “I’m in over my head, Sammy.  I can tell you that much.”

“Holy shit!  You’re in love with him, aren’t you?”

Annie dropped her head to the table and began to sob.  “Totally, out of control in love with him and I’m so damned angry for allowing it to happen!  Realistically, I have to ask myself what the hell I was thinking.  I’m not his ‘type’ at all.  Getting involved with him was a huge mistake!”  Her eyes lifted to Sammy, brimming with tears and begging for an answer.  He opened his mouth to speak but she continued to talk, like a faucet that couldn’t be shut off.

“The chemistry between us is so intense it scares me to death.  I’ve never felt anything like it.  He’s like a drug to my system.  When he’s near me, I involuntarily tremble.  Never in my life have I felt anything this powerful.”

Annie straightened her back in the chair.  “But, you know what?” she shrugged.  “None of that really matters now because we can’t be together.  Michael says the contest rules forbid any personal contact.”

“Well, I haven’t read the contract but I’m willing to bet Mike is right.  It makes sense that there’d be a clause like that built into the contract.  And I’d also say, by the look I saw on his face the other day, he definitely has feelings for you too.  Why else would he threaten me like that?”

Annie rolled her eyes.  “If he feels anything, it’s lust, something he probably feels several times a week with a different girl each time!”

Sammy chuckled.  “Mike is not the playboy you think he is.  A lot of that has been seriously blown out of proportion in the media because it looks better for his stage image.  Sure, he’s had his share of women, but it’s been a while since I’ve seen him with anyone at all.  Truth be told, I know for a fact that Mike is tired of going home to an empty house.  We’ve had many conversations about it.  He wants the whole Norman Rockwell thing, a wife, two-point-two kids and a dog,” Sammy joked.  “Most would look at him and think he’s a guy with everything, but for the last five years he’s been pretty lonely.”