Solstice

Chapter Ten

Sophie had finally managed to give her mother the slip that evening. It was almost dark by the time she sneaked out the front door of the Hotel into the Theatre next door. She couldn't really remember giving Jamie her number, or if he had got it off one of the business cards in reception, but she didn't really care. She seemed to have Jamie exactly where she wanted him and that was eating out of the palm of her hand. The nineteen year old had actually surprised herself with how masterful she was being in this burdening relationship. She knew that she could flirt with the best of them but this was a whole new league entirely and she quite liked it.

Sophie could hear the faint strums of Jamie's guitar coming from the of the Rehearsal Room as she entered the Theatre through the Stage Door. Living next door her whole life meant that Sophie knew the place like a book and didn't need any directions or pointing in the right way, she knew exactly where she was going. As she walked down the dusty corridor that hadn't been decorated since the age of Queen Victoria, she turned right into the Rehearsal Room. The door was ajar and Sophie could see Jamie through the crack, sitting on an amplifier, strumming a battered acoustic guitar whilst humming gently. She took a deep breath, licked her lips and grinned before she pushed the door open. Upon hearing the footsteps Jamie looked up and smiled. He stopped strumming and laid the guitar by the side of the amplifier and stretched out his hand.

"Good evening gorgeous." He smiled as Sophie walked over to him, bracelets clinking and dress flowing. The red head took hold of the guitarist's hand and let it slip around her waist, remembering not to cringe as it did so. She had to make any interest look real if she was going to get Jamie to play her songs.

"Hello to you to." She smiled turning her head at the exact moment when Jamie went to kiss her. He seemed slightly disappointed when his lips met Sophie's cheek instead of her gloss covered lips but he smiled all the same.

"So did you like what you heard on the way in?" Jamie asked as he led Sophie towards the large black amp that was doubling as his seat. Sophie smiled and nodded politely.

"It's different." She said putting on her best "flirt face" as she liked to call it. She kept reminding herself that she had to make everything look real. Even if, God forbid, she had to go all the way with Jamie, something which she was hoping to avoid. "So, is that one of the songs for the gig?"

"Oh God no." Jamie laughed picking his guitar up again. "That's just me having a play around. It's way too slow for us. Which brings me to ..." Jamie continued pointing to the sheets of paper Sophie had in her hand.

"Oh yes of course." She smiled handing them over. "They are very raw but I hope you can understand them." Jamie studied the sheet music. Sophie was right about it being raw. There were scribbled lines and rough crossings out, the lines getting darker each time possibly through frustration. But the melody was good, he thought as he hummed it in his head. Sophie bit her lip in nervousness. She wanted this more than anything and she knew that this was the biggest chance that she was possibly going to get. She could feel herself starting to shake so put her hands behind her back so as not to show Jamie her true feelings. As far as she was concerned this was merely business but Jamie didn't need to know that. Eventually he looked up to her and smiled.

"You know this is good stuff." He said waving the sheet music. "Little bit of work needs doing but I think I would like to hear it."

"You what?" Sophie asked sounding slightly shocked. Jamie smiled, leaned over to pick up his guitar and held it out to Sophie.

"I would like to hear you sing." He said gesturing for her to take the guitar. Sophie swallowed hard and stepped forward gently taking the guitar from Jamie making sure that she was gripping it firmly. She knew that it was battered but it probably meant the world to Jamie and breaking his heart wouldn't be a good thing right now. Jamie jumped down from the amp so that Sophie could sit there. Making sure that her dress still covered her legs, Sophie sat down with one leg tucked underneath her and rested the guitar on her lap. When she was comfortable, she placed her fingers and struck the first chord of the song, finding her stride after just a few seconds. Jamie stood mesmerised as he listened to the rocky folk song and the edgy tone of Sophie's voice fill the small rehearsal room. He had heard female singers before but some reason told him that this girl was different. But there was also shakiness and nerves which told Jamie immediately that Sophie was nowhere near ready for the stage. But the deepness and rawness meant that her song would be perfect for Ricky's lead vocal. And that is what she wanted at the end of the day. At least that is what he hoped.