Leap Of Faith

Thirteen

The rest of the morning had been spent talking with Seph and playing chess in the apartment. Spencer couldn’t help but feel optimistic about his plan to help her with her business. The contact he’d spoken with had been genuinely excited about the designs and depending on what happened in three days, this could have a huge impact and hopefully be enough for Seph to get the business started.

He’d been surprised to hear her singing, her voice not at all what he’d expected from talking to her. Her speaking voice changed dramatically depending on what she was talking about. Spencer had picked up that when she was happy, it was more bubbly, more tone and variance to it. If she was flirting or being sarcastic, it was a drier tone, more dead pan and drawn out, lazy sounding almost. And if she was sad or contemplative, it was quiet and soft, and she sounded very young and somehow more english. Her singing voice wasn’t like any of sounds he’d heard coming from her, it was strong and clear, powerful yet sweet. He’d asked her before they set about playing chess what plays she’d been in and who she’d played. And he hadn’t been surprised to discover that she’d had roles like Eponine and Elphaba in her schools productions, her voice clearly being able to handle the songs. The Flyleaf song had shocked him though. He wasn’t familiar with the song, and when it kicked in and he’d heard the scream, he’d jumped a little, wondering how someone so small could make that noise. She’d told him that it hurt, and that she could no longer do it, and he wasn’t surprised.

He’d messaged Penelope asking for a decent bar than ran open mic nights, her immediately pestering him for more information. When he’d told her it was for Seph, her immediate response had been, “The Damned Dead Queen sings too? Oh my sweet sweet genius, I am definitely coming to see that.” He wasn’t sure how Seph would feel about that piece of information, but he was sure he’d work something out.

Penelope messaged him again a few hours later, giving him the name of a bar that had an open mic night tomorrow and had a spot left. They had to go sign up in person though.

Eating a quick lunch together, they got ready and headed back out into the city. The bar was a fair few blocks away, taking them a good twenty five minutes to walk there.

They talked as they walked learning more things about each other and discovering that they had a similar taste in TV shows and films. Seph loved movies, all movies, and given her connections she’d been to a fair few film festivals, including Cannes. Spencer was jealous and expressed his feelings so, Seph laughing.

“I’ll tell you what, I’ll take you next year okay?”

Realising what she’d said a few seconds later, she clamped her hand over her mouth.

“Seph, it’s okay you know. You can make plans for the future.” He stopped in the street and tugged her hand away from her mouth, finding the gesture somewhat intimate in a way.

“But it’s a future I haven’t decided if I’m living yet…. ” she whispered quietly, continuing to walk on.

“You don’t have to decide yet, but make plans. Give yourself something to look forward to. Like Machu Picchu. We can do that together and we can do Cannes together, and you can take me to England to eat bacon.” He caught up with her, catching a look at her face and seeing her mouth set in a thin line, her eyes glazed over and her thoughts now somewhere else.

“I’m sorry,” he said gently, pulling her to the side of the pavement. They were at their destination although Seph had nearly walked past it.