So I Married A Rockstar - Season 2

Ch. 5: Cover Songs

After I'd shrivelled to a prune in the hot tub, I changed into a dry T-shirt and shorts, then arranged my wet clothes and bra on the radiator in my bedroom.

When I got to the kitchen, in search of lunch, Finn was already there, putting together a sandwich. He glanced down at something when I came in, and an expression that I couldn't read flashed across his face, before he quickly looked away again.

I headed for the fridge.

"Have you been in the hot tub?" Finn asked.

"Yeah. How could you tell?" I asked, helping myself to sliced turkey.

"Your hair's wet," Finn said, gesturing with the hand that held his sandwich. A small slice of tomato fell out and landed on the counter. Finn picked it up, popped it in his mouth, and licked his fingers clean, and I felt a visceral tug deep in my core.

Neither of us spoke while I buttered bread and started layering turkey and veggies, then Finn said, "I heard you singing."

I froze, a slice of bread clutched in my hand. "What? You heard that?"

I'd been so busy trying not to think of Finn that this hadn't occurred to me, and now mortification stained my cheeks. Fuck, what if he thought I'd been singing about him? Doubly fuck, the man with a voice that was pure sex had overheard me singing.

My voice wasn't pure sex.

My voice wasn't even disappointing sex.

"I didn't know you could hear me," I muttered, slapping the bread onto my sandwich and pushing down with more force than was necessary. Mayonnaise squished out of the sides.

"Sound really carries in that room," Finn explained.

"Oh good, that must have made my terrible singing even worse."

Finn didn't respond.

"See, a gentleman would reassure me that it wasn't that bad," I said.

Finn smirked. "I'm not a gentleman, and you're not a very good singer."

I sighed. "I know."

"I liked your song choice though," Finn said. "That was the Chris Cornell version, right?"

"Yeah, it's my favourite song. One of the few times when the cover version was better than the original."

Finn leaned one hand on the counter, interest filling his eyes. "You think Cornell's cover is better than O'Connor's?"

"You don't?"

"Actually, I agree with you. But most people treat it like blasphemy to suggest that the original might not be the best version," Finn said. "Although, it's worth pointing out that Sinead O'Connor's version isn't even the original."

"Wait, seriously?"

Finn nodded. "Prince wrote and composed it, and it was first sung by his side project, The Family. O'Connor's version is the most famous and recognisable, but it's also a cover."

"How the hell did I not know that?" I said.

Finn shrugged. "Most people don't, same as most people don't know that "I Will Always Love You" was written and sung by Dolly Parton before Whitney Houston made it her own."

"Ah, now that one I knew. Another case of the cover beating the original," I said.

"Agreed."

"But if you knew that Sinead O'Connor wasn't the original singer, why did you bring her up?" I said.

Finn shrugged again, and finished the last bite of his sandwich. I hadn't started mine. "I didn't think you'd know she wasn't the original."

"I'm glad I know now."