Speculation

I woke up before Kiia, and finally went through the hassle of going through all the notifications on my phone. As expected, every social and music media site was rife with the picture of us walking arm in arm out of the arena. The headlines varied from Romance Blossoms in the Studio to The Secret Behind Ozean Horizon’s Meteoric Rise. It was nostalgic to see so many people say awful things about me. Our initial expectations of Casting Couch headlines had largely been overwhelmed by a much similar narrative: Why would she waste her time on him?

Before she woke up, and while the media was still consuming us at an alarming rate, I reached out to a few streamers and journalists that I trusted to see if they wanted the inside track on the truth behind the story.

Jack Willis from Rockhub got a direct text. In my head I committed to him having earned the right to get the first interview about it. He was a big supporter of OH, and if anyone could use this situation to elevate their career out of this, it was him.

Some time after seven, Kiia stirred to start the morning.

“If I run next door to my room to get dressed, I’ll knock before I come back,” I said as she walked out of the bathroom.

“That’s fine,” she said, not quite awake. “But we’re sharing a room for the rest of the tour…this back-and-forth seems like it will be annoying if we’re going to end up sleeping together anyway.”

We shared a quick kiss before I slipped out into the hallway.

***

By the time we were on the bus, I’d heard back from Jack. Based on his response, he seemed incredibly rattled that I reached out to him first, but if Kiia and I had time to hop on a call with him on the bus, he would make sure to approach the interview as open minded as possible.

I realized that I needed to ask Kiia to do the interview with me, but she seemed more than eager to put her version of events into the world before social media created their own wilder fantasies.

“Hey, how’s it going guys?” Jack asked through the video call.

“Pretty great, we’ve got six hours to Philly, but that’s not the worst thing in the world,” Kiia said in her media voice.

“That’s great to hear, and what about Cy?”

“You know, I’ve never been better,” I said, holding the phone in between us in my right hand while my left arm was wrapped around her.

“So, there is a rumor going around the internet that you two are officially together now, and based on the…closeness…I see here, I can tell that’s true, but before I jump to any conclusions, tell me the story a bit,” he said in a polite and kind tone.

“Well, we met at a Twilight Reverie Indie Showcase, which was wild since we’d played so many festivals together before that. We were introduced by Tony Black, who really pissed me off that night for other reasons, but after a few conversations Cy really wanted to support the next era of Ozean Horizon,” she said.

“Alright, so Cy, what made you want to get involved with the band that night?”

“Well, I was helping Tony judge the competition, and I was just toppled over by Ozean Horizon’s performance that night. You know how I’ve been running in place for five years; and then I saw them, and how they’d really turned a corner as the premier rock band in the US…it just stirred something in me to use my platform to increase their reach to a new market.”

“Wow, you know Cy, I never thought you’d think about anyone but yourself, but you’re really turning a corner in my heart this year,” he said, not pulling any punches. “But the question everyone online is asking is: how and why did this relationship bloom?”

We looked at each other for a split second trying to figure out who would answer. I caught a genuine smile from Jack in the corner of my eye, clearly he was happy for her.

“I’d say it took awhile,” Kiia started. “After we started working on the new OH songs, I was around him a lot, and I didn’t like having him in the room as a producer. He barely said anything because of our contract, but when he did it pissed me off because his suggestions were fantastic.”

“Then we played a show together and I realized how much chemistry we had together. At first I thought it was just the adrenaline of the moment from NYE, but in our preparations for this tour Cy was always around supporting the band. I think it was in the quiet moments after practice that this began to blossom for me…and then last night, the guys from Beyond the Realms gave us the little push I needed to give this an honest chance.”

“Wow,” he said. “That’s all great stuff, and I’m going to get consent before I publish any of this Cy, but is it okay if I include, verbatim, that multiple members of Beyond the Realms were involved?”

I hesitated for a second. “Yeah, that’s fine, I’d say give Richie his flowers, but it was Tony who pushed the uncomfortable buttons in the end.”

“Man, with how awful Richie has talked about you in the press, I can’t believe he weaseled his way into such a crucial moment in your life.”

“I know, Jack. Honestly, he’s said a lot of harsh stuff through the years, but I think there’s still some brotherly love between us. He wouldn’t have been there if there wasn’t, it’s not like he was ever a fan of OH.”

“Yeah,” Kiia cut in. “I met him right after the BTR split when he was touring with Axcess at a fest, and he made it clear that he wasn’t a fan of ours.”

“Kiia, I’m going to strike that from the record. Any other click bait journalist would have a field day with that, but I don’t want this to be a Richie Pangioni hit piece,” he said, calm and adoring.

“So, Cy, the most pressing question for you is what’s next? We know you manage artist development for TR, and that you’re on tour with OH right now, but where are you going to be when this tour is over in September?”

“That’s a great question, and I’m going to give you a nugget that I want you to hold off on until late in the summer.”

There was silence on the call. I noticed Nate and Hank stirring on the bus knowing that I was going to give Jack some new information.

“Yeah, I’ll hold up my end of that based on the nature of this call, which I am truly flattered you gave to me.”

“Before we left, I finished recording a new Cy Rondeau EP with six songs on it. Talking to Borgen, we’ll release it after the OH tour while they’re in the studio working on their full length debut album. After that, I don’t know what the plan is. I’m cautiously open to doing a limited tour. I’ve spoken to Tony and Borgen about a short Beyond the Realms reunion tour, but nothing beyond the new EP is set in stone.”

He couldn’t hide his shock on the other side of the video call.

“Kiia, did you know any of this?” He instinctively asked.

“Yeah, I was his sounding board for the EP. I haven’t heard the finished product, but he wrote a lot of it on my couch after OH practice…it’s his best work and I’m including the early BTR stuff in that.”

“Thank you guys for the interview. I’ll run a piece this afternoon with notes from this conversation. I promise it will be a glowing and heartfelt endorsement of your wholesome relationship. I know it’s tough out there, but I’m rooting for you.” He said as he disconnected.

Kiia hopped into my lap as soon as the call was done, pulling my arms around her waist and leaning her head back next to mine.

“That was exhausting,” she whined. “I still hate doing press, but the press where I talk about myself is even worse.”

“I’m sorry Kiia, but that’s the nature of the business on a major label,” I said, pulling her closer to me.

“Should we be worried?” Hank asked. “We’ve been touring with you for fifteen years, and this is the first time you’ve ever sounded like a diva, Kiia.”

She pouted, turning her face to me instead of him. “Hank, this won’t affect you guys at all. I promise I won’t forget who I am here. But my lover is an industry executive who specializes in A&R, so if he doesn’t spoil me, what’s the point?”

I gave her a quick kiss. For the first time, I lovingly thought to myself: What did I get myself into?