JC awoke suddenly and with a gasp. He rubbed sleep from his eyes and turned to find the other side of the bed empty. Jen was gone, but the blankets and sheets still held the imprint of her body. JC rolled to his back, and spread his arms and legs out as he stretched with a loud groan. He took a few deep breaths, trying to will himself to get up and get his day started, but his body refused to leave the comfort of his bed. He heard his girlfriend padding up the stairs and into the hallway, and finally the door opened to their room. 

"Babe, your phone has been ringing nonstop," she announced as she entered the room and flung his phone onto the bed next to him. "Are you late for something?" she asked as she entered the ensuite bathroom. 

"What time is it?" JC called after her.

"Almost eleven." She answered. 

JC heard the faucet come on, then off, and then the sound of bristles brushing against teeth. 

"I have a meeting at noon. Vincent Shaw is coming by. He wants me to work on some tunes with him."

"What about Sony?" She asked as she poked her head back into the bedroom, still brushing her teeth.

JC rolled his eyes. Fuck Sony, he thought. "What about it?" He called out his reply, and finally rose from the bed. 

He heard her spit, then the water turned back on again. She reentered the bedroom. "I mean, you said so yourself, this publishing deal is big. Do you think you have time for both?"

He rolled his eyes. She was beginning to sound like Eric. Sony wants this... Sony said that...  You can't do this because Sony, Sony, Sony... He stretched again, and rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, I mean, I can make time." 

"Well, make sure you make time for more of last night," She kissed him quickly on the lips. "I have some errands to run, I'll be back this evening. If you aren't too busy making tunes, maybe we can have round two." She smiled and winked at him, then turned to exit the room. 

JC caught her before she could step away and pulled her back into his arms. "Always have time for round two," he growled as he planted a series of wet kisses on her neck and cheek. 

Jen wiggled out of his arms. "Good, I'll hold you to it." She turned quickly and exited the room.

JC stretched again, and grabbed his phone from the bed. He unlocked the screen and navigated to his call history. He had five missed calls and a slew of text messages. Eric called three times, and had texted him about 25 more. Sony wants a meeting. Of course Sony wants a meeting, he thought. He navigated back to his call history. Vincent called as well. JC was hoping he wasn't cancelling, he was actually looking forward to that meeting. His final missed call came at two am, and it was from Nicole. JC's heart sank slightly. How did he miss this, he was up late last night? His instant reaction was to tap the missed call and call her back, but he was reluctant to appear so eager, and he wasn't sure if she even kept her phone on while she was away. He locked his phone and tossed it to the bed. He took only a few steps towards the bathroom before he turned back and retrieved his phone. He opened up the Instagram app, and searched for her account. He was greeted with a new post. Nicole in the same gray maxi dress she had worn the night they first slept together. An image of her straddling him with that dress pushed up above her waist flashed in his mind, and he flushed slightly.  Her hair was no longer braided and fell in loose waves down past her shoulders. She was standing in front of a food stand with the same younger man from the previous photos. Their arms were interlocked at the elbow, and they were both taking a bite of something. The caption read, "Empanadas de amarillo: desayuno de campeones." The image was posted only fifteen minutes before, so he threw caution to the wind and decided to call her. The phone rang only twice.

"Josh?" she answered softly. 

JC hadn't expected her to actually answer the phone. He had no plan for her answering. "She lives!" was all that spilled from JC mouth, and immediately he shook his head in disgust. 

"Um... yeah," she laughed awkwardly. 

He could hear talking in the background, and the sound of a door opening and closing.

"So, what's up?" she asked, trying to be nonchalant.

"I saw I missed your call."

"Yeah, I saw on Instagram that you were up late. I figured you were fretting about your writer's block and other first world problems." She laughed, hoping the old joke would land this time. 

"Have you known me my whole life, or just four months?" They both laughed and then after a long pause he continued,  "This Sony thing is driving me crazy. I'm sure they're gonna drop me. The funny thing is, I don't think I'd mind it if they do."

"So, why are you even doing it?" She asked him, point-blank.

"What? It's a great publishing deal." He stammered. Suddenly feeling attacked. 

"So? What? Do you need the money? Are you happy?"

"No. What? No. Yes, I mean it's good money. It's a good deal. I mean, a publishing contract is like, this is what I have been working for."

"But, are you happy?" She asked again.

Silence. 

"Why do you need some kind of big-deal contract? What point are you trying to prove, and who are you trying to prove it to?  Who gives a shit if you're miserable staying up at all hours fretting about a song?" Her voice raised slightly, but her questions were met with only silence. 

Finally, JC responded, "Yeah, well, I didn't call you to talk about me." He released a forced laugh.  "How's it going? Looks like you're having fun."

"Oh, Josh, Oaxaca is amazing!" Nicole beamed into the phone.

JC couldn't believe how hearing his name could elicit such strange reactions in him. "Looks like it from the pictures...speaking of pictures, who's the young guy?" JC asked, half kidding. In truth, the curiosity was strangely killing him. "And the red-head," he added quickly as to appear not overly interested. 

"You jealous?" she smiled into the phone.

"Not at all."

Nicole only laughed in reply. 

"He may have youth on his side, but I have experience," JC added.

"You're mighty confident."

"And you know, leave it to you to talk to strangers and make friends wherever you go. I wish I still had that luxury."

"Not everyone knows who you are, Josh." Nicole chastised him.

"It happens enough," he defended.

"And what do they want, a picture and handshake? Maybe the bigger question is why you hate to be recognized."

"Now you're sounding like my therapist." JC tried to laugh her off again.

"I'm sorry. I'm not trying to. It's just... Be happy Josh. I haven't known you for very long, but I think you could be happier." 

"Like you, huh?"

Nicole laughed. "Is this Josh or Matthew?  Hey, I know I'm fucked up, but I'll tell you what I'm not. What I'm not is a cog in a wheel grinding away for another person's happiness."

Silence.

"Well on that note" JC eventually responded. "This cog has a meeting soon, so I should probably get to grinding," he laughed slightly, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "But seriously, like I said, I just wanted to see how you were. Have fun for me, since I'm apparently not having any of my own."

"Oh, Josh, I didn't mean it like that. I just..."

"No, no, I know. I'm just teasing. I really did just want to hear your voice. Proof of life posts don't happen frequently enough." 

"Yeah, no Wi-Fi in mother nature. But, I'm good. I'm glad to hear your voice too. I'll be home in a week. I'd like to see you. I think I owe you a free meal after I made you skip out on your last one."

"Or we can skip right to dessert, again." He laughed.

"No complaints here."

They said their goodbyes and JC disconnected the call. He threw his phone back on the bed, and pulled his shirt over his head and shuffled to the bathroom. He stood at the mirror, placed his hands on either side of the sink and leaned forward looking at his tired reflection. 

"Cog!" he scoffed and sucked his teeth back. "I'm not a cog." He shook his head, pushed off from the counter, and started the shower.