Belinda’s POV
I am sitting in the rehearsing room writing a song. The idea came in sleep and I just woke up to get the first sounds recorded and some lyrics. I am sitting in front of the keyboard and try some notes as I hum the bass guitar chords. Michael was nice enough to let me use his tape recorder whenever I need it, so I am careful to label my tapes prominently.
“Another beauty loved by a beast…Another tale of infinite bliss…Your eyes they were my paradise…Your smile made my sun rise…”
“Wow, that’s beautiful! I secretly hoped you’d decide to write a love song. Always been curious how a heavy metal love song sounds like.”
There’s Michael, standing in the door frame in his pajama.
“Oh God, you scared me a little! Can’t sleep?”
“Nope…not really. I was walking around…and I heard music in here. Could you please start all over again? I’d like to hear all of it.”
“OK…can you help me a little?”
“Sure. Anything.”
“Ummm….I heard you beat boxing….and it’s amazing. I need a strong beat at the beginning…ta-da-da-dam..ta-da-da-dam…and then comes the bass guitar riff….and then….here I go with the vocals…”
For the next two hours we keep working on the song, till I feel waves of sweat down my back. Every time I wanted to call it a day, Michael would come up with a new idea, asked me to shift my voice higher or lower, and played on the keyboard.
“And now let’s do a wrap-up…give your best. OK…recording version 17…17 it is, right, Belinda?”
“It feels like 117, honestly” I whine a little.
He giggles a little, but fixes me with his entrancing stare. It is a demanding stare…demanding obedience, submission. I instinctively lick my lips, and his beautiful black eyelashes flutter just a little.
“Your eyes, they were my paradise…Your smile made my sun rise” I sing almost mechanically.
“No, no, no! Wait for the drums, then the guitar riff…and you start from the beginning, OK? On the last vocal arrangement we decided.”
I nod yes, still lost in his powerful gaze. I don’t know how I went through the song, but Michael looked satisfied. He got the tape out, labeled it properly and put it carefully in the box with my other records.
“This will definitely be on your next album…and I already see it as the first single to be released. I want you guys to go in the studio as soon as this tour is over and make it happen.”
“Yes, boss” I say stifling a yawn.
Suddenly he grabs me by the shoulders and looks me dead in the eyes.
“No, Belinda. I’m not your boss. I couldn’t see myself like this in relation to you and the band. You are my friends. OK?”
“Sure…I was just trippin’ you a little.”
“You were…weren’t you?”
He pushes me backwards a little, till my back bumps into a wall. He’s at an arm’s length from me, smirking in my face with one of his cheeky grins. I arch up an eyebrow, questioning him, and his expression softens. He takes one more step closer to me, till I almost can feel the warmth of his body. His eyes still drill into me, but now I get some strange vibes from his stare. It’s…burning me, piercing me deep into my soul and searching it. For what? Suddenly his eyes release mine from the stare and travel slowly down my face lingering around my lips. What is this…what is he doing? Is he…is he slightly leaning into me?
I shake a strand of hair away from my face and he seems to snap back from a trance.
“Well…I should let you get to bed…it’s so late that it’s almost early in the morning.”
I giggle a little.
“I think I’ll go to the roof of the hotel and watch the sunrise.”
Honestly, I’m not sleepy at all.
“Wow, sounds like fun. Mind if I join you?”
“Not at all. In fact, you’ll be my pass key to the roof. I don’t think they’re able to refuse you anything.”
Michael snickers a little and nods, leading me to the elevator.
We sit down on the roof, watching the darkness thinning, then the first impression of deep pink….and finally the glorious apparition of the brilliant sun.
“Amazing” murmurs Michael close to me. Since I was shivering with cold a little, he made me sit between his legs and wrapped his arms around me. He surely knows how to keep someone warm and nice.
“Ah salami aleikum.”
“Huh?”
“Greetings, in the local language. You answer with aleikum salam.”
“Aleikum salam, Belinda. And God bless you for being a part of my life.”
I turn my head in surprise and see him looking at me very earnestly. We stare at each other for a few seconds and then he slowly he brings his face close to mine and our lips meet in a soft kiss. One of his hands moves swiftly up my back, gently grabbing me by the back of my hair and holding my face in place as his warm, soft lips wrestle against mine. I get lost for a few seconds into the feeling he’s giving me…but reason snaps back: this isn’t supposed to happen. I push gently on his chest and pull away from the kiss.
“Michael, no” I say in a shivery whisper.
“Yes, Belinda…yes” he whispers back. “Don’t fight it, girl…don’t fight me.”
“I have to!” I say jumping right up. “Frank is right here: I cannot be associated with you and hurt your image. I can’t ruin all your work, all your career. I am not the type of woman you should associate with.”
“Then who is it?” he shouts, pain so evident in his voice, and nearly breaking down my resolution.
“I don’t know….Brooke Shields…Madonna….Mariah Carrey…not someone who sings about shooting the sun down!”
I make a run to the fire escape and then lock myself in the room, tears running down my face. I throw myself on the bed and cry so hard, that I feel the bed shaking underneath me. That was the most tender and loving kiss I got in my whole life…but I can’t be weak and ruin his life and his work. No matter how much I love him and how bad I hurt inside right now!
Michael’s POV
I drag my feet to my room, hurting so bad inside that I just wanna ball up and cry my heart out. The only girl I ever felt so close to me, so real and so caring…and she cares too much about my career. How could she ever hurt my career? Am I not allowed to fall in love? Would it be so strange and outlandish? Can’t I relate to a woman and have her in my life? Damn Frank and his ideas! He poisoned her mind, day by day. Every second when I was on stage, he was in her hair, telling her how she and the band mustn’t do anything to hurt my image. It isn’t fair…I need an honest chance with her. I can still feel the sweet taste of her lips on my lips, the warmth of her body in my arms…the closeness and understanding without words that flows between us.
Well, I listened to Frank every step of the way, and I’m grateful for how he guided me in my career. But he will NOT interfere in my personal life. Not now, not with Belinda. I’m not letting this girl go…not without a fight! I feel that she has feelings for me….I felt it in our kiss…I know she wants me just as bad as I want her. I take a deep breath and make my resolution: no matter how I do it, I have to get her alone again…and make her see my point and…and give in to me.
A big smile cracks upon my face. I remember how she coached me to record Give In To Me….her words….the man corners the woman…she cannot escape him and her feelings…she has no option but confess her feelings…That is exactly what I will do!
* * *
NOTE
Belinda's band is loosely band Nightwish. The song Belinda wrote is the one attached in the link. Enjoy :)
