“That it?” he asked.
“That’s it,” Jake confirmed.
Gordon played it a few more times, upping the tempo some. Once he seemed to have it down, Jake accompanied him, strumming out the melody in harmony with Gordon. It continued to sound good to their ears. Whether it would still sound good when they were sober was a question for another day.
“All right,” Jake said. “Now let’s see if we can put some lyrics to this.”
“Something that reflects how the suits fucked us over,” Gordon said.
“Eight syllables per rep of the melody,” Jake said.
“Eight syllables max,” Gordon corrected, continuing to play out the melody. “You can always draw one out to cover more than one note.”
“True,” Jake conceded.
They continued to churn out the melody, both of them trying to think up an appropriate first line, a summary of the theme they wanted to cover.
“It’s got to be something hard-hitting, profound,” Jake said.
“Right,” G said. “Something with some fuckin’ teeth.”
They tried a few things out, but nothing seemed to fit. And then Jake, playing off a variation of something G had tried a few minutes before, hit upon something they liked. “How about this one, G.” He waited until the melody came around to the beginning again and then sang out: “I signed that line, turned in my soul.”
G nodded appreciatively. “I like it,” he said. “Do it again.”
“I signed that line, turned in my soul,” Jake sang. He then filled in the next line, which would have to be an extension of the concept, with vocal exercises. “La da da da hmm hmm yeah yeah.”
“It’s tight, homey,” Gordon told him. “I think we’re onto something.”
“It’s only the first line,” Jake reminded him, still strumming the melody on the guitar.
“Every journey begins with a single step. Pull another line out your ass, something to go with that first one.”
“Putting my fingers up there now,” Jake told him.
Back on the beach, Laura and Neesh, both still as naked as the day they were born, were no longer swimming but had not come out of the water. They had found a perfect place to rest themselves, out beyond where the waves were starting to break, but in water that was shallow enough for them to stand up. They faced each other in the moonlight, their hands clasped together to help them stay balanced in the swells. The water came up to just over the tops of Laura’s breasts, up to her shoulders when a swell would roll over her. Neesh was six inches taller than Laura. Her breasts were well above the water even during a swell. Laura found herself looking at them an awful lot. They were a delectable set of boobies, of that there could be no argument.
“Have you and Jake settled on a wedding date yet?” Neesh asked.
“Not an exact date,” she replied, shifting her feet back and forth a little as a particularly strong swell pushed against her. She felt Neesh’s hands pull on her a little to help keep her settled. “We’re thinking about November though, over in Hawaii.”
“Destination wedding, huh?” Neesh said. “Small affair or going for broke?”
“Just close friends and family,” she said. “Well ... Jake’s family anyway. I’m pretty sure none of mine will care to be there.”
Neesh had been told about Laura’s family of devout Mormons before. She shook her head sadly. “Fuck ‘em if they don’t want to see you get married,” she proclaimed. “Shit, are you even going to invite them?”
“I’m still thinking that one over,” Laura said.
“Don’t let them spoil your day, that’s my advice.”
“I’m kind of leaning in that direction. I haven’t even talked to any of them in more than a year now, not since my mother talked to that sleazy reporter.”
“Can’t say I blame you.” She looked meaningfully at the redhead. “Has Jake brought up the prenup yet?”
“He didn’t bring it up,” Laura said. “I did. I asked him if he wanted me to sign one.”
“You brought it up?” Neesh asked incredulously. “Girlfriend, didn’t you go to girl school before you got hooked up with a rich man? You never bring that shit up first.”
“Well, I did,” Laura said. “I wanted to get the conversation out of the way and done so there wouldn’t be tension about it.”
“And what did he say?” she asked.
Laura smiled. “He said that he didn’t think a prenuptial agreement would be necessary.”
Neesh looked at her as if she were a space alien. “No prenup? Are you fucking serious, girlfriend?”
“Dead serious,” she said. “He said he doesn’t plan for our marriage to be a failure, and even if it was, I didn’t seem like the kind of girl who was going to try to take more than she was due.”
“Well fuck my ass,” Neesh said, shaking her head. “Gordy started talking prenup the day after he proposed to me. The one I eventually signed is six fucking pages long.”
“But you signed it?” Laura asked.
“Of course I signed it,” she said. “It’s fair. If the marriage goes bad, I’ll be taken care of for life. Besides, I have my own career on top of that. Being married to Gordy, I won’t have to work while I’m finishing up my degree and studying for the bar and all that. It’s a good deal.”
“I suppose,” Laura said.
They danced around in the waves a little more, moving from place to place, their hands still clasped together, their feet trying to stay in a level spot that kept them above the swells. Laura continued to steal quick glances at Neesh’s breasts, telling herself that she was just admiring their form from an artistic standpoint. True, she was feeling extremely horny right now, but that was just the wine and the pot they’d smoked. Those substances always had that kind of effect on her.
And then a fairly large swell swept into them with considerable power, threatening to knock them off their feet. Neesh reacted quickly, pulling Laura toward her to help her stay upright. In the course of doing this, their bodies came together and Laura felt those wonderful boobs pressing into her chest. They were very soft, very sexy. She felt that surge of sexual excitement kick up a notch or two.
“Sorry about that,” Neesh said once the swell was past them and breaking on the beach. She let Laura reel herself backward again.
“That’s okay,” Laura said, and then, before she could stop herself, added: “I rather enjoyed it.”
Neesh smiled at her. “Did you now?”
Laura knew she was blushing. “I can’t believe I just said that,” she said.
“Neither can I,” Neesh told her. “Are my boobies turning you on, girlfriend?”
“Well ... maybe a little,” Laura admitted.
“I see,” Neesh said, stepping a little closer. “You into chicks, Teach?”
“Uh ... well ... not really,” she said.
“Not really? What the hell does that mean? Have you ever done anything sexual with another girl? Be honest now.”
Laura thought about lying but could not quite bring herself to do it. “Yeah,” she said. “I have.”
Neesh smiled a naughty smile. “This sounds like an interesting story,” she told her. “Tell me about it.”
“It was while I was out on tour,” she said. She then told her about the bartender in La Paz, and the lesbian groupies that followed. Neesh listened with rapt attention.
“That’s a hot story, Teach,” she said when the tale was told. “Does Jake know about that?”
“He does,” she said.
“And he’s cool with it?”
“He says he is,” she said.
“Wow,” Neesh said. “Even hotter.” She looked at her meaningfully. “I’m bisexual you know.”
Laura nodded. “I was starting to pick up on that,” she told her.
“And your little petite body is turning me on something fierce,” she added.
Laura shuddered a little, starting to feel like things were getting out of hand. “I’m really flattered, Neesh,” she told her, “but I think...”