Through The Telephoto Lens

[neptune]

"Obviously," Audrey replied, not any less annoyed than she had been before Miles had called. Again, she could see Lillian frowning at her, but the dark-haired actress paid her friend no mind. Instead of standing there and being judged, Audrey pushed herself off of the counter and slipped out of the kitchen. The backyard was private enough and the only sound that could be heard was the early chirping of crickets and the noise from traffic in the street. Taking a seat in one of the lounge chairs, Audrey curled up against the cushions among all of the plants that Lillian kept outside. It was a little slice of jungle, lush, green and almost enough to calm her combative mood.

If it were anyone else on the other end of the line, Audrey knew that she would have hung up without a second thought after proving herself to be truthful. Something stopped her, though and just the sound of relief in Miles' voice made her want to stick around. She was angry with him, though, upset that he had proven himself to be so paranoid and thoughtless, a poor judge of character. Audrey didn't know if she wanted to put up with that—if it was questioning her identity now, what was he going to question in the future?

Holding back a sigh, Audrey listened as Miles apologized...kind of. Despite what Lillian had suggested and the apparent way it seemed, Audrey still couldn't sympathize. She wasn't the type of person to violate the privacy of another person and if Miles thought that she was going to turn his phone number loose to the masses, he shouldn't have given it to her in the first place. Her thoughts were poised on the tip of her tongue, ready to lash out with logic and give him a piece of her mind, but his tone stopped her. He sounded sorry, and maybe even like he had been tricked before. It didn't make Audrey any less annoyed with him, but it was enough to keep her on the phone for a minute or two longer.

Furrowing her brow, Audrey shook her head. "If that's what you want to call all good, then sure," she said, not entirely convinced. The way things were going, Audrey didn't think that she would ever see Miles again, let alone hear from him. "It was nice meeting you," she added, ready to stop beating a dead horse, "but I'm going to get off here. Good luck with your music."

That was civil, right? The most neutral she could possibly be after being quietly accused of lying.

 

[Shelby]

This was beginning to spiral out of his control, and Miles wasn't sure if he would be able to bring the reins back in to get a handle on the situation. But was there any reason to get this situation under control again? From the way Audrey was beginning to push away from him, Miles had the sinking feeling that he was never going to see her again and that he was never going to have another chance at a connection with her. It bothered him, yes, except he still didn't know why which, in turn, just bothered him all the more. He lifted his hand and rested it against the back of his neck before he let his hand travel up to thread his fingers through his hair.

His mind was beginning to run circles again. He wanted to end the call so that he would no longer be confused, yet all he wanted to do was keep talking to Audrey despite how she seemed to want nothing to do with him any longer. To end it, or not to end it...? "Wait! Wait, Audrey." Even though he knew she couldn't see him, he couldn't help but outstretch a hand out before he curled his fingers into a fist and let his hand drop. That was a typical habit of his; he tended to motion his hands when speaking, and phone conversations weren't an exception that the strange habit of his. He couldn't let it all end like this, not when he had gone out of his way to try and get even more contact from a stranger that he spent a couple of minutes with on a bench last night at a premiere party. Maybe he should have handled the situation differently; the signs had been there, after all, so why didn't he just trust her, and his gut, that it had been her when she mentioned it in the first text she sent him?

Stupid, stupid... No, he wasn't stupid. He was only trying to be careful.

At least, he reasoned with himself, she hadn't cut off the call yet, except he still had yet to say another word since telling her to wait. He cleared his throat then, just to let her know that he was still there, and turned his head to look in the direction of the door to the studio where his manager and those three men were. He didn't have much longer to be out there before the door would swing open and his manager would either pop his head out to see where he was or to see if he had actually gone to the bathroom. It wasn't that Jared didn't trust him not do anything stupid and try to skip out on his work, but it would be a lie to say that Miles hadn't tried it a few times throughout his career, succeeding twice as well. "Just hear me out, please? I didn't mean to insult you by asking if you was really you, honestly, but what did you expect me to do? I had to ask; I don't know you." But he wanted to.

Miles could feel the words beginning to slip from his lips in a tangled mess. He likely wasn't making himself seem like a better person by those words, and he had half a mind to expect to hear a click on the other end of the line to indicate that she hung up on him, no longer wanting to listen to his mess. Why was it that he could speak so freely and 'normal' in front of thousands, and even millions, of people, yet found himself stuck with what to say to this one person? He huffed out a frustrated sigh. "Can't you understand where I'm coming from? Wouldn't you have done the same thing?" He lightened his tone then, figuring this to be a last ditch attempt to get back on her good side. But could she really understand? It was unlikely that she dealt with the crap he was handed on a daily basis, so would she really know?

He had to change his tactics. Even though everything in his body told him to end this conversation and leave her alone, Miles pushed all of those away and pressed on.

"Let me make it up to you. Somehow, some way, I don't know. Please? I couldn't have been the only one sitting on the bench next to someone that I wanted to know more about, and I couldn't have been the only one to enjoy that short conversation we had either." And, he wanted to add, she must have wanted the same thing since she took his number and even texted him the next day, but he decided to keep his mouth shut about that. No need in sticking his foot in his mouth any more than it already was. "Come on; we had fun, right? Even if all we did was talk. It was nice."

 

[neptune]

It was rare that Audrey ever changed her mind about anything. She was stubborn in tat regard, sometimes too much for her own good, but that same attitude had gotten her to where she currently was. If it hadn't been for her black and white decision making, she may never have landed that part in Summer, or never paid her dues on the stage before anyone recognized that she was worth a damn. The same thing went for this situation with Miles, and Audrey was unable to understand why he felt the need to question her in the first place. It just seemed silly, and every time he attempted to justify himself, Audrey got closer and closer to hanging up and forgetting the whole thing.

"You didn't have to ask, actually," she pointed out. "Don't give you phone number out to people you don't trust if you're just going to test them with questions the next day—or better yet, don't give you number to strangers at all and you'll never have to ask someone if they are who they say they are again." she paused for a beat, "problem solved." In the back of her mind, Audrey knew that she was pushing Miles away, but the thought of relenting about this one thing filled her with defeat. She wasn't going to lose to this guy.

Competition came naturally for Audrey. It was something she had been pushed toward from a young age, although her parents had always expected her to put it to good use in college, and not on television sets in Los Angeles. It was a fault in her personality that Audrey was never sure whether to apologize for, the same drive that turned board games into the end all be all of the night, and gave every audition the feeling of life or death. Miles didn't know her from anyone else on the street, he didn't know what he was asking to get involved with—a type A to rule them all while he seemed so relaxed that it had to be illegal.

Could she really give him what he wanted?

Taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly, Audrey thought over his question. He hadn't been the only one to feel a connection the night before, and she did have fun with him. It was something that she wanted to do again and for longer than a few minutes at a party. Although all signs pointed to regretting this decision in the long run, Audrey managed to set aside just enough pride to be agreeable. Miles must have been special, because for anyone else, she wouldn't have even entertained the idea.

"How do you want to make it up to me?" she asked, almost positive that he was going to change his mind before the making up ever commenced. Audrey couldn't blame him for that, of course, and had already forgive him for whatever slip up ended their relationship before it could begin. "Are you sure you even want to?" she asked and leaned back against the patio chair; might as well be comfortable for rejection.

 

[Shelby]

She was going to tell him no; she was going to tell him to never call her again, and then she as likely going to delete his number and never think about him again. Or, at least, that was how Miles' mind went as he rubbed the back of his head again, his eyes looking down at the ground as he muddled over in his mind the words she tossed back and forth to him of what he should and shouldn't have done with the phone situation. Still, he didn't see the harm in what he had done, but maybe she was just sensitive in regards to things like that; maybe she didn't really understand where he was coming from.

Would that mean she was too sensitive about things then? Would she always go off on him--give him the cold shoulder--if he said or did the wrong thing? And would she never be willing to understand where he was coming from? No, he didn't want to think that. Then again, why shouldn't he think that about her, given the responses that he had been getting from her?

Still, Miles didn't want to give up hope completely. He was going out on a limb here, something he normally tried to avoid in regards to women and getting involved with them and the messes they tended to create--along with a lot of men--and he didn't want to give up an opportunity for something that could turn out to be good, even if it all looked so bleak. He just hoped that Audrey was going to take the reach that he was holding out to her, and when she finally did speak up, he stopped for a second and had to process what she said. So... She agreed to it; she agreed!

He pushed himself off of the wall again and smiled to himself, a new set of determination beginning to run through his system. So he hadn't been wrong; there had to have been something about him that she was drawn to, something about their conversation last night that made her want to continue this to see where it went despite what had just transpired over the few texts and words they just spoke to one another. It made him feel better about himself, it made him feel as if he was given another chance to make himself out to be the guy that he really was, and he was going to take it with the happiness that surrounded him. Was he being a little too eager, and possibly a little to happy about this?

Possibly. But at the very least, if what ever happened between them turned out to be nothing good, then maybe they could be friends. Or just never have any contact with each other again.

"Of course I do," he said as he got his nerves back under control. "I wasn't lying about what I said before; I really did enjoy the conversation we had last night, and I want to get to know you a little more." But how could he make it up to her? He pursed his lips as he thought about what he could do. He couldn't very well ask her to come to his house--that would be too forward, and he wasn't willing enough to do that at that point anyway-- he couldn't ask to go to her house either, and he also couldn't just 'take her out' like a normal person unless he wanted to be bombarded by people who recognized him and didn't want to leave him alone.

"I know this place; it's a little club of sorts--nothing that's too crazy or loud though. It's more like a jazz club, if you will, with good food and drinks. I'm friends with the owners, I can get us in there, and I think it'll be a nice place to just talk. You know, to get to know each other a little more since we didn't get to talk much last night." That seemed like a reasonable thing to do; to do something simple where they could just talk and get to know each other, rather than try to do anything extravagant that would take their attention away from one another. "Are you free Wednesday?"

 

[neptune]

Letting her arm dangle off of the chair behind her, Audrey twirled a few frayed edges from the cushion around her fingers. She truly didn't think that Miles' interest in her was going to last for very long, and given her current track-record with relationships, they probably weren't going to make it past the first date. Inwardly, she told herself that it was okay, that men were optional and not a necessity and that it wasn't the end of the world to sleep alone at night. On top of that, she was young and had been fostering a career that was just about take off—did she really want the added stress of someone else in her life?

The answer continued to change and did so again when Audrey heard the enthusiasm in Miles' voice. He sounded so positive, so sure of his own decision that it was hard to her to argue. If he was so certain, then she could be too and there was no reason to doubt the near future when nothing had even happened yet. Suddenly, Audrey was a little more interested in what he had to say and sat up from her reclined position as if that was going to help her hear better. After all, there was no need to brace herself for rejection if it wasn't going to come.

"A jazz club?" she asked, one eyebrow raised. They seemed too young for jazz, and it was hardly a style that she liked—too all over the place and loud—but declining and being difficult may have been the last straw. Instead, Audrey was ready to cooperate because it seemed like Miles really did want to see her again and get to know her for more than five minutes at a party. On top of that, drinks and snacks sounded nice, a good way to relax. Thinking on it, Wednesday was busy for her, but she was relatively sure that her night was free. "I am," she replied, smiling with a slight nod.

"What's the place called?" she asked, wanting to know where she was headed beforehand. If Miles knew the owner, though, it was bound to be a nice place and for a cute guy, a night of being bombarded by jazz was tolerable. "I can meet you at nine, if that works for you?" Lillian was going to be so proud—brokering her own dates without any kind of assistance—she certainly was learning.

 

[Shelby]

The fact that she had actually agreed to the little outing--or date, depending on what the two wanted this to actually be--was enough to elate Miles' mood to the highest extent. Nothing, likely, would be able to bring his mood down save for a few things he could come up with on the top of his mind, but those were no matter to him! She actually wanted to meet him at this jazz club and, hopefully, get to know him. No where in his mind, any longer, did he believe she was pulling his leg just to drag him along a formulated joke that would stretch him to his width's end and be his ultimate humiliation. No, he believed that she was serious with this. Or, rather, that was what he was going to believe until he was proven otherwise. After all, it had actually been her that texted him and answered the phone, so what gave him any other reason to not believe her?

Probably a lot, but Miles was willing to push those reservations to the side, now, for just a chance at this one outing.

"Trust me, it's a nice place. I highly recommend it to anyone, and not just because I know the owner." He shrugged his shoulders to himself as he started to pace the hall again, too excited to stand still with the nerves that jumped through his body. "It's called 'The Jazz Lighthouse'--ever heard of it?" He hadn't ever stopped to think that she may not like jazz music or want to have anything to do with that type of scene, but, then again, he never thought to ask her either since she already agreed to the matter. So, he continued on with telling her the address of the place, asking her if she needed him to repeat it so that she had it down or memorized, and then repeated it if need be.

"Nine works for me," he said, nodding his as he mentally went over his own schedule. While he wasn't completely free on Wednesday, it was the least busy day of his week, a day that he would be able to relax on during the night. "So I'll meet you there. Just, when you go in, say you're looking for me."

Miles went to open his mouth and say more--to maybe thank her for actually agreeing to meet up with him--but after the words were, probably thankfully, stopped by the voice of his manager that penetrated the otherwise quiet hallway, Miles stopped, turned to look at the man, and frowned.

"Miles, get off that phone and get back in here; we've got work to do!"

Miles huffed out a breath, but nodded his head. "I've gotta go; got a lot of work to do, you know?" He chuckled to himself and rubbed the back of his neck. "So, I'll see you Wednesday at nine?"

 

[neptune]

Although Audrey had never heard of the club before, Google was sure to become her best friend. She agreed to meet Miles at nine, and even though jazz was hardly her favorite type of music, she was excited for the date. It had been quite some time since a guy had taken her out. The last several months had kept her too busy to do more than text and keep in touch with friends, and at the end of most days, Audrey didn't even have the energy to hold a long conversation, let alone invest her time in a new relationship. Now that Summer had finished the first half of its filming, Audrey expected to have a lot more free time on her hands and she wanted to waste it on Miles.

"Alright," Audrey nodded when Miles announced that he had to go. She imagined that he was at the studio, and probably did have a lot of work to do. "Yeah, see you then," she agreed before hanging up.

Breathing a happy sigh, Audrey waited for an extra few minutes before getting up and heading back in. The first thing she saw was an expectant-looking Lillian, her eyebrows raised in a silent question that Audrey only returned with a smile. "We're going out Wednesday," she finally said, which earned her a large grin from the blonde. Lillian seemed happy for her, and Audrey couldn't deny that she was happy too. Despite the rocky start, she was looking forward to seeing how things with Miles played out and for once, she wasn't thinking of all the things that could go wrong.

When Wednesday night rolled around, Audrey had already been up since seven that morning. There were interviews that needed to be done with the cast, and several meetings with various people who were helping to launch her career, and the day continued to wear on into the night. Audrey barely had time to go home and change before her date with Miles, but she managed and LA traffic cooperated enough so that she wasn't late to the club. Previously, she had looked around for the address on the internet and found out that she had seen the place at least a dozen times but had never gone in. Tonight was going to change that.

After finding somewhere to park, Audrey straightened her black dress and headed inside. There was a little bit of a line, but she didn't mind very much and she was used to waiting. It wasn't as though her name meant anything to anyone in town, and she was sure that no one was inclined to let her in when others were waiting. Soon enough, Audrey gained entrance to the club and gave a look around for Miles. The interior was lowly lit but ambient, just enough softly colored light to make out the person sitting at the same table while jazz music filtered through the building from the stage. For someone who didn't care for such music, Audrey found it relaxing after such a long day.

Eventually, Audrey spotted Miles at a table and made her way over. She hadn't checked her phone, but it couldn't have been more than five minutes past nine; she hoped he wasn't mad. "Miles?" she asked, coming to stand on the other side of the table, "hey. Sorry I'm late, the line to get in was a little long." She smiled at him, though, happy to see him and ready to get to know him better than she had at the party.

 

[Shelby]

"See ya."

With those parting words, Miles hung up after Audrey did, and before he even looked in the direction of the recording studio, he couldn't help but stand in his spot wondering how the hell everything worked out in a way that he was only ecstatic about. He didn't ponder on the thought for too long, however, and just decided to take the situation for what it was, no matter how perplexed he still was about it.

"Miles!"

"I'm comin', I'm comin'," Miles countered back with the wave of his hand as he was brought of of his dream like state. He blinked his eyes and turned to look at a frustrated and impatient looking Jared as he still had his head stuck out the door, his hands motioning for Miles to come on. Begrudgingly so, Miles headed forward to meet the man. "Can't I just have a few minutes to myself? Ever heard of a five minute break?" He pushed the door open more as Jared stepped back with a huff.

"Yeah, a five minute break, something that's taken in five minutes."

"I wasn't gone that long."

"Well you sure as hell wasn't in the bathroom."

Their petty banter continued on until Miles found himself back on the other side of the studio with a large glass pane standing in front of him, allowing him to see the three men staring at him while they could see him as he stepped up to the microphone and headphones. "Now come on," Jared said. The man was hunched over as he pressed down on a button, allowing Miles to hear him in the sound proof booth. "We don't have much time left to get this done."

The rest of the days leading up to Wednesday proved to be busy for Miles. He spent the majority of the time in the studio going over music, laying down tracks, and listening to his own voice play back to see if he liked it or if he would rather something sound different while being given advice from others around him. The time he didn't spend in the studio was subject to him being left by his lonesome so that he could finish the last song that needed to be written while he also got phone calls and emails about the cover for the album. 'Which picture do you want to use? Which one do you think will capture the tone of the album?'

All typical questions, all typical protocol when getting ready for an album. Though Miles had only ever had two full albums completed, he was beginning to find himself getting into a steady and specific pattern when it came to the ins and outs of what to and not to do. The name for the album had been chosen months ago, even before he laid down the second track, but it went along with the major single--a song that played on the radio constantly--that would be a part of the songs on the list, and while they were still debating on what order they wanted which songs to go where, that could be figured out right before everything had to be finished. It never took long to figure out an order; while Miles may have figured there was some sort of systematic process that a lot of artist used when trying to figure out that part of their album, Miles liked to use his own method: he liked to put songs that worked best together and put them right after one another, and he always put the major single in the middle of the album.

When Wednesday night finally rolled around, Miles found himself more worn down that he had originally expected. Of course, every time he thought about Audrey and the fact that he was, essentially, being given another chance to, perhaps, woo her and convince her what a good guy he was despite his obvious first hesitation of believing that she was the one texting him when they first exchanged words over the phone, he always grew excited. It tended to be a bit of a wake up call for him, though he couldn't deny the distraction that the actress had been to his mind that day. Was that a good or bad thing? Probably bad, but at least he had been able to get the last of his work done before he left for his condo to get ready.

He called the owner of the jazz club--an older man named Terrance--on Tuesday to let him know that he would be coming by, hoping to check out the scene again and to just enjoy himself. And, as expected, when he arrived to the place on Wednesday the man greeted him at the door and showed him to a table in the back where he wouldn't be disturbed by the other guest that would soon be meandering about the establishment. He had small talk with the man as he waited for Audrey, his eyes every once in a while going to the stage--they had a good vantage point of it from where they were sitting--to watch and listen to the soft jazz that would play from the instruments. He wished he could play those.Years ago he had tried to delve into the art of other instruments, such as the saxophone, but once he figured that he didn't have the fingers, or even the breath, for it he gave up and just decided to stick with what he knew, which consisted of the piano and guitar.

Miles tapped his finger against the table gently as he waited for Audrey after Terrance left to take care of other matters. Where was she? He didn't want to think that she would stand him up; no, she sounded just as eager to come on the phone the other day! But what if that had been an act? What if she was trying to pull one over on him, like he had continued to think even if he, also, continued to think about the good of her?

Maybe he was getting a little ahead of himself though. He took deep breaths to calm himself and told himself that everything was going to be all right. She was probably just running a little late; traffic was probably busy, maybe she was taking a little longer to do her make up, or maybe she was holed up with with business that was taking longer than she had expected. But, if that was the case, wouldn't she have texted him to let him know? He checked his phone at the thought, noting that the time, and when he saw that there were no text he set the phone back on the table with a sigh. No, she was coming, she just had to.

His wishes had been amended when he finally heard her voice. He picked his head up at the sound of Audrey's voice and quickly stood, his eyes slightly wide at the first sight of her before he lowered the back as a grin stretched across his lips. "Hey!" Should he hug her, shake her hand, or something? No, probably not. It would be best to keep things casual until later to see if anything progressed. He waved his hand dismissively at her claim of why she was late, himself shaking his head. "No problem; I'm just glad that you actually showed up."

He stopped at those words, his face flushing a bit as he started to stutter then. "Ah, not that I didn't think you were going to come, I mean!" He cleared his throat, running a hand through his hair. Get yourself under control, he told himself as he felt the nerves jump through his body. "How about you take a seat? Join me?" He motioned with his hands to the curved booth table as he took a seat himself.

"So, how've you been? Didn't really get to talk to you over the past couple of days." He rested his hands on the table, that smooth smile beginning to come across his lips as he started to better control his speaking. "You look great, by the way."

 

[neptune]

Although she had chosen a profession in which she was constantly judged, Audrey had never had that feeling bleed into her personal life. More often than not, her friends were her friends and if someone wanted to hang out with her, she didn't question their motives. Miles was different in that respect, she supposed, but she also suspected that it ran a little deeper than just being tricked in the past, or lied to. While she wasn't sure of the cause of his paranoia, the vibes rolling off of him in the club, and the way he was so quick to correct himself raised a few red flags.

Luckily, Audrey had spent the majority of her adult life ignoring red flags. Her intuition was a good enough judge of character, but something told her to stick around. She told herself that Miles was just nervous, maybe a little unsure of himself, or perhaps intimidated by her. It wouldn't have been the first time that someone had been knocked off of their game by her presence, strong-willed and intolerant of so many different annoyances. Relaxing, or even taking a step back was difficult for Audrey, but she wanted to try for Miles, for someone who had sounded so determined to go out with her.

Not being greeted with anything more than words was oddly refreshing. Too many times, Audrey had suffered though hugs and kisses from total strangers, but she appreciated Miles' attempt to keep things casual. Instead, she offered him a smile, relieved to hear that he wasn't upset with her for being just a little late—although she suspected that he hadn't been all that cool with it. She didn't want to harp on anything, though and smoothed her dress down before taking a seat at the table. It was a cozy little nook, ideal for conversation romantic or otherwise and oddly enough, the jazz fit the mood nicely. Even if she never saw Miles after this, the club was an easy recommendation.

"Thank you," she smiled, his compliment lifting her tired spirits. "You do too." And he really did, just as cute dressed down. Siding a hand back through her dark hair, Audrey breathed a sigh and agreed that they hadn't had much of a chance to talk. "I've been really busy—meetings, new scripts to look at, this person and that person wants an interview—it's a lot to handle, way more than I'm used to." She didn't think that she would ever get used to such a pack schedule, now so different from her time with the theater. "I'm happy about it, though. I'd rather be overworked than, you know, have no work at all."

Lying her hands on the table, Audrey realized that she wasn't used to talking about herself so much. Normally, she would relay her day to friends, or try and act accomplished on the off chance that her mother happened to call but being on a TV show that was set to be relatively successful just felt like bragging. "How have you been?" she asked, hoping to shift the topic back to Miles, someone who had actually found success in the industry. "You're making new music, right? How's that going?"

A waitress approached from the side of the room, asking for a drink order over the music. It had been a long day and Audrey was looking to relax with a rum and coke or two.

 

[Shelby]

Miles could feel his frayed nerves begin to fizzle and calm as soon as the both of them were seated in the booth, though he still couldn't deny the way that his palms were beginning to clam. As best as he could, he tried to wipe them along his pants without Audrey knowing, or figuring out what he was doing, and once his hands were dried he placed them back on the tabled and folded themselves into each other. Had he been by himself at the table, fretting over his own nerves and thoughts as he was now just as he used to in the beginning of his career on his first tour before every show as he would sit in the back and sweat to himself over the prospect of singing to thousands of people, he would have laughed at his attitude. How could he become so nervous in front of this young woman, now, when their first interactions with one another had been smooth?

He shook his head at his own thought, instantly stilling and peeking his eyes to look back at Audrey as he leaned back against the seat and listened to her speak. At her compliment back to him, he thanked her before he rubbed his hand down his black button down shirt with a pair of faded gray jeans and nice shoes. He hadn't tried to be formal with his attire, thinking that that would be trying too hard, though he couldn't deny that he had looked at himself in the mirror just a moment longer than he normally would have unless he was readying to get himself on stage. Maybe he was turning more into a female than he had been thinking; what with him being nervous about this get together and then trying to make himself look presentable for a woman who seemed like a ticking time bomb for any wrong word he may say.

He didn't like the thought of that.

But when she droned on about her busy days, he grew more interested in the conversation and drew away from his own musing. He nodded his head and even smiled, understanding what she was going though, and he couldn't help but chuckle aloud as he breathed out a sigh. The chuckle and sigh seemed to break away a bit of the tension in his body and his nerves, something he was only thankful for, but he had a feeling that just listening to her talk without accusing him of thinking badly of her had been the defining reasoning for his more relaxed ease. Just remind himself of the night on the balcony, he continued to remind himself. That had been nice, and he wanted to see that same young woman he had conversed with then. And, in a way, he could still see her there.

"Welcome to Hollywood," he commented with the shrug of his shoulders, "and welcome to the entertainment business where you'll have numerous contracts to read and sign and many sleepless nights as you're continuously being booked and scheduled for various things." Perhaps that was a bad way to put it though. He frowned even at his own words as he pinched his face a bit before his expression relaxed. "It's not actually all that bad," though he knew that, at times, it certainly could be, "especially not if you have the right people behind you. But you'll get used to the busy days as you get bigger in the televised and social media world. I heard your show had been a big hit, by the way; congrats."

At the question of how he was doing, Miles straightened his frame and answered the question easily, even bringing out a playful, though truthful, tone as he said, "Busy, just like you, though probably in a different way." And then the question about his new music. He puffed his cheeks out and ran a hand through his hair at the question as he thought about how to answer the question, but before he could do so the waitress came to the table to ask for their drinks.

Miles turned and looked at the woman--someone that he was familiar with since he had come to this place more than a few times--and gave her a smile before he gave off his order of his usual drink: Jack and Coke. A simple drink really, but then again Miles wasn't that heavy of a drinker, but he liked to think that in regards to his drinking taste he favored more of what his father drank, which, just as himself, was Jack and Coke or other dark liquors.

After Audrey had given her order, the waitress left with the nod of her head, leaving the two alone at the table again with the jazz music intertwining between the two. "To get back on topic, I guess," he said with another chuckle, "yes, I am working on new music, a new album actually, and that's what I've been busy with for a while now. You know, just the usual--writing songs, recording them, creating a title, figuring out what order for the songs to go in, picking an album cover, and then making sure that everything is perfect with it before sending it off to be released... All simple things!" Not really, but he knew that creating the album, while difficult in itself, would be the least of his worries once the album was actually released and, hopefully, turned into a success. After that would come the hard, tiring work with traveling to make appearances to talk about his album, to even make dates to do album signings because his label loved to pimp him out in every way that they could, and then would come the work of figuring out a tour and then actually going on that tour.

Even thinking about it made Miles tired, but he shook the thought off. "The deadline for the album is actually next week, so we're cutting it pretty close with getting everything finished for it. I guess I just tend to work better under pressure and at the last minute." He gave a cheeky grin at that comment. "Take my word for it; try not to procrastinate on anything for too long, especially if you have a manager that'll hound you day and night until you finally get something done."