SINNERS & SAINTS ⋆ nikki sixx

52. ✭ over & over

"You are a pain in my fuckin' ass, Christine," he told her with a phony grimace, getting his head back down while she held Daisy close to her chest.

As the days went by, Bob's fondness for her evolved wildly. Not that he disliked her at first, but he knew that she had potential and was making a point of trying to de-emphasize her capabilities so she wouldn't disappoint him had she fucked up--like she thought she was going to.

Head-strong or just a fucking bitch, he adored the fact that she was able to execute anything--no matter how long it took. Even when she was starting to toil with her self-induced detox, Chris was still willful and remarkably tenacious.

She was confident in defending herself, too. The way she would communicate with obdurate managers and egotistical frontmen was more than respectable. Unlike her preliminary intoxicated second-self that Bob saw the tail-end of, Christine was most certainly not a doormat.

If she had an issue with somebody or something, then she would undoubtedly illustrate it. And that, among a host of other things, was why Bob liked having her around. Especially because she was so young and, to anyone looking in, ostensibly naive.

But she was a handful sometimes, and she wasn't making his life any easier by entertaining an almost one-year-old in the workplace at ten in the morning.

The studio building was in shambles. Producers, assistants, and musicians alike worked their asses off to assist Bruce Fairbairn with putting together the final pieces of the Aerosmith-shaped puzzle he was presently wrapping up. 

From what she had heard, Christine was convinced that they were about to deliver a phenomenal album. She didn't know a lot about what made music good but, after spending nine months with Bob, she was certain that she knew just enough to say the record was an immense feat.

Steven Tyler was a charming man. Christine talked to him a few times and enjoyed the conversations they shared with one another. Though, sometimes, she got the impression that he was a little bit too interested in her.

Nonetheless, he was pleasant. And an extraordinary musician--she and Nikki were huge fans. 

'Permanent Vacation' was set to drop in August and, despite some issues with mixing, it was on track for its release. She was so delighted to eventually hear her favorite single 'Angel' on the radio--she knew that was going to go down well. 

And, because she loved it so much, Bob made a point of teaching her how to play that song when she chose to take up her new hobby. She was a natural-born guitarist and, maybe, that could've been because she was a fast learner and had a great teacher, or it might've been down to her picking up certain things around Nikki and Mick that she didn't realize she had memorized.

Either way, Bob was impressed.

Christine knew she would never do anything with her skill aside from strumming every so often, but it was fun. To have a new vocation that brought her some satisfaction--and an obstruction from falling off the wagon, if you will--was a wonderful feeling. She finally felt like she was getting somewhere.

"I think I'm done with this," Bob mumbled, gazing at the now-blonde. She smiled, urging him to hit play on whatever he had been working on.

"Roll the tape. Let's take a listen."

As the instrumental track filtered through the speakers, she leaned forward slowly--making sure to not wake the baby. Though, the clattering of cymbals would've done the trick wonderfully had Daisy been a light sleeper.

"This sounds great. Who is it for?"

"Loverboy." Bob nudged his chair back to sit directly next to Christine, watching her brows raise in partial surprise. "What d'ya think?"