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Chapter 1
Corrin
“I can’t believe they tried to set you up again, man. You would think they learned not to after all this time.” Tennyson, my best friend, cackles across the phone line while I pace my bedroom.
The bedroom in my parents' house.
I’ve just managed to flee the dinner table after there was talk about another potential date with a young woman who is the daughter of a friend from their country club. They swear to me she’s a sweetheart who won’t mind my schedule and is looking to settle down.
Mind you, I’m not.
Looking to settle down that is.
I’m at the peak of my career. Things are going amazingly for me now. I don’t need anything or anyone to derail me.
If only I could convince my parents of this. The two of them have been actively looking to fix me up with someone for years now, with their pursuits only getting more extensive as time passes. I feel like I’ll show up one day to visit to find they’ll already have a ring and wife picked out.
I shiver at the idea.
While I’m sure the women they want to introduce me to are nice, none of them are what I want. Nor are they what I need.
I think back to the conversation I had a few months ago with my brother-in-law, Smith, and his boyfriend Zach. They both agreed with my harebrained idea of getting a fake boyfriend. Someone who would just fill the role in name only to keep the vultures away.
Oh, did I forget to mention it’s not just my parents trying to set me up now? It’s my record label too.
The idea never really went anywhere. I was burned-out from a long tour. My body only wanted to eat and sleep for a week straight. It’s basically what I did after a stop to see Smith and my favorite human ever, my niece Star.
When I left them, I returned home for a couple of weeks to relax, then I packed up my life again to start working on the next album. And that’s what I’ve been attempting to do all the weeks since.
Except.
Well, except nothing is coming.
I’m dry. Empty. At a fucking loss for words.
The music that normally fills my head is nowhere to be found. All I can see are images of wedding bells and a demand to reproduce. Neither of those are ideal for me at this stage in life.
I have commitments elsewhere.
Elsewhere being my band, Loveless.
Alternative rock is not everyone’s cup of tea, but we’ve found a way to blend it with folk and pop and jazz, along with a host of other vibes. That means we've had a fan base like that of those early 2000s pop princesses. Our fans are ravenous for more music.
And yet, I can’t deliver.
I’ve brought the others out to visit and tried to jam with them. I’ve listened to my favorite music for inspiration. Basically, I’ve given it everything in me, but still, nothing comes.
“They’re never going to stop. I just know it. I have to find another way,” I say to Tenn when he finally stops laughing at my expense.
Another way, as in Austen, my brain screams.
Austen, aka Tenn’s brother, was my first choice when I thought up the whole fake dating scenario. He still is my first choice.
It’s just that there are so many variables to consider. First and foremost, I have no idea if Austen even likes men. I’ve been openly bi since my late teens. Austen is not. Open, I mean. He’s so quiet about everything that I have no idea who, or if, he even dates.
Secondly, and almost as important, is that Austen is Tenn’s brother. His little brother. His little brother, who is seven years younger than me.
Seven isn’t such a huge number when you’re older. For instance, thirty-two and thirty-nine is a reasonable age gap. It’s when you’re younger, like Austen and I are, that things get tricky.
