“Oh? Anyone special?”

“Yeah. That blonde who was singing up top.”

“You mean Spencer?” I ask a little too quickly and Eli narrows his eyes some.

“Yeah…you know Spencer?”

“No,” I answer with a wave of my hand and then go back into my business mode. “Look, Eli I came here especially to see you guys tonight and I’m not gonna lie, you were amazing. And I would love to sign you to my label.”

“What’s the catch?” Eli asks, raising an eyebrow and I just chuckle.

“No catch. Well, we’ll offer you a preliminary signing with pay, pending a few demos and testing you out in some select cities and then, if that goes well, we’ll talk big contracts.”

“Is that all?” he asks with wide eyes and I just nod. That’s all. I’m paid to say a few sentences to great musicians and show them to the world.

“What do you think Eli?” I ask, and he smiles harder than I have ever seen a person smile in my life.

“Hell yeah!” Jackson screams behind him and they both leap three feet into the air, high-fiving each other. I step back and laugh heartily. This is what I live for.

“Great. So I’ll get your information from the manager here and contact you some time next week, okay?”

Both boys just nod and continue to jump up and down. I’m so caught up in watching them parade around and cant “Hell yes!” that I don’t feel her eyes on me. I don’t even see her until she steps from behind a curtain and is looking me directly in the eyes. She takes a deep breath and I almost forget to breathe myself. She’s still wearing the polka dot dress and the sleeve is sagging a bit off her right shoulder. I stand stock still and it feels like all the air is being sucked from the room. I’m drowning in the blue of her eyes and the way she’s taking the tiniest steps toward me, like she can’t decide if I’m real. After a moment, Eli and Jack notice her and run directly to her.

“Spence! This is Ashley Davies and she just offered to sign us to her label, after some like preliminaries and stuff!” Eli shouts and they both pull Spencer into a hug, but she doesn’t take her eyes off me. She’s just staring and her eyes are glazed over with something that I can’t quite place.

I take another calculated step toward her, and within seconds she’s in my arms. She wraps her arms around my neck and pulls me close, just sighing into my neck. I grab her hips and pull her even further into me, trying to remember her smell, to brand it into my mind. I want to stow it away for whenever I miss her, for whenever she’s not right beside me or in my arms.

“I missed you,” I whisper into her ear, and she just holds me tighter. I can’t mistake the alcohol on her breath, but I ignore it for now. Right now, in this moment, she’s My Spencer and she’s perfect.

“Someone’s happy!” Jack says gleefully, but Eli elbows him in the stomach, watching us with suspicious eyes.

“You okay Spencer?” he asks, and Spencer finally pulls away from me, resting her hands on my hips.

“I’m find Eli,” she answers, but she’s still peering deep into my eyes. She smiles widely and I smile back, but then her eyes fly open and she lurches from my grasp. I start to chase her before she bends over just two steps away from me, vomiting all over the floor. I immediately grab her hair and pull it behind her head. Then, Glen’s beside me all of sudden and he’s rubbing her back and saying soothing things over and over again. It takes me a moment to register what he’s saying.

“It’s okay Spence. She’s here now. Ashley’s here.”