Girls Who Play Guitars

•you're not that pretty•

Was he a smooth mover?

A player?

Yes, that was it.

She'd known it all along.

He'd been in the 'biz long enough to know how to hit people where it moved them most. That was why he was offering to help her. He was one of those guys—and usually they were the famous ones who could have everything they ever wanted—who liked toying and flirting with people and breaking hearts for the fun of it.

Just because they could.

She pushed her shoulders back, rubbing her hands in the cold air. "Anyway. I don't have time to stand here debating our musical differences—"

"I didn't know we had any."

"Well, I know what I have, and that's a whole festering bucket of shit to sort out—"

"You swear more than I thought you would."

Ellie creased her eyebrows. "What the fuck's that supposed to mean?"

"Listen, Devine"—Daniel flicked an amber end of ash onto the grass—"the reason I came out here was because  ...  well, I've been in this business for a while—"

Ellie tipped her head to the side. "If you're about to blah-blah on about the entire history of the music industry then I really haven't got time."

Tossing his cigarette butt onto the grass, Daniel crushed out the orange glow with his trainer. "I really don't mean to lecture you  ... "

Ellie folded her arms.

Daniel pushed his hands into his pockets and slouched his shoulders. "I wanted to say that in this industry there are people who will rip you off and take your money—"

"Oh really?" Ellie balked.

"So," Daniel continued - which Ellie found brave considering most people would have shut the fuck up by now and left her alone, "find the people you can trust and then keep going to where you want to go and  ...  enjoy it. That's all there is to it."

"That's all?"

Daniel nodded; a patient—and annoyingly calm—smile across his face.

"And who are these people I'm supposed to trust?' Ellie asked, throwing her hands to the air. "Because, right now, it's feeling pretty hard to trust anyone! My manager is shagging my ex-lead singer and she wants to steal the rights to my songs and then remix them as dance hits. And if that's not enough, I need to work out how to make a music video - and write a whole second album without a manager  ...  and  ...  and it's my birthday in two weeks and I can't get home to Australia to celebrate with my family—"

"I can—"

"And your advice —and this is coming from someone I met five minutes ago who, after years of being in the industry and having top ten 'shit' singles that you didn't even write—is to just en-fuckin'-joy it!"

Brushing a hand across the back of his neck, Daniel raised his bushy eyebrows at Ellie. "I mean, well  ...  yes."

With a loud groan, Ellie twisted on her heel and waved her hand at him. "Goodbye, Mr Boyband."

"Devine. Let me explain—"

Ellie swivelled back around to see Daniel still standing in the same spot, running a hand through his blond hair, mussing it up, a hopeful expression on his angular face.

"Explain to your hairdresser," she yelled at him, "and those pre-teen fans who sleep with your picture wedged down their undies—"

Daniel let out a laugh, infuriating Ellie even more.

She turned on her heel again.

"Devine," Daniel said, in that low, resonant tone, "I've got a question for you."

Ellie swung round. This would be the last time.

"What now?"

A grin formed on Daniel's lips. "Did you ... did you smell me earlier?"

Ellie scrunched her face, her whole body clenching at his arrogance. "Are you fuckin'  ...  that's your question?"

Daniel shrugged and gave her a smile, flashing his crooked front tooth. "I don't mind if you did."

"Well, I didn't," Ellie muttered as her cheeks reddened at the thought he'd seen her sniffing his peppermint-fresh aftershave.

"And ... I think you called me pretty-boy?"

"You're not that pretty!"

"Right," Daniel teased, "I'll pretend it didn't happen. I didn't hear it."

Letting out a low growl, Ellie tightened her fists, flounced around and stomped off, away from him. She was done with his smooth, calm-as-fuck schoolboy charm.

"Devine—"

"No!"

"I can help you find a manager."

"No, thank you."

"Ellie?"

It wasn't until Ellie was safely inside the Slider trailer that she managed to uncurl her fists and let out a huge and angry and very silent scream.