Page 13 of Rock My Girl

FORD

Even though it was practically killing me to keep my hands off her while we were recording, I managed to behave myself.

By late afternoon, we had tinkered with all eleven songs. Eight of them were pretty much finished. Three of them still needed…something.

After listening to those tracks three times each, Cassie and I collapsed on the sofa with a pizza.

"You're absolutely amazing," I told her, as she grinned around a mouth full of pepperoni and double cheese.

"I'm going to feel so much better once I can get a draft to the label," I continued, grabbing another slice. "Maybe they'll actually put a bit of money into marketing if they are excited about it. I just have to get excited myself about these last few stupid songs."

Cassie chewed thoughtfully, then wiped her hands. "Maybe that's it. You've been doing so many versions of the song. Maybe you need to take it back to the very beginning."

"What do you mean?"

The saucy sparkle in her eyes was adorable. "Take the songs down to the skeleton. Just you and a guitar. Go to an open mic night, play them, and see how people react."

"Wow," I muttered. "I haven't been to an open mic in over a decade."

"Perfect," she said brightly. "It'll be a surprise for the audience, and they will be thrilled to give their honest opinions."

She had already pulled out her phone and was checking the local listings. "People love to help," she insisted. "They like to feel like they're part of something from the beginning. How about this place?"

"I don't know. Why don't we think about it for a few days?"

She handed me her phone, with the address of a pub not far away. "Or we could leave now, and you can just get it over with."

She was right. I hated to admit it, but it was the perfect idea.

I loaned her a fresh t-shirt, she brushed out her hair, then we were on the road with my acoustic guitar.

When we arrived, Cassie was totally right: the host was delighted to have me as a surprise feature, and the crowd agreed to give me honest feedback during the break.

My fingers were twitching slightly as I quickly tuned the guitar. Weird. I hadn't had stage fright in years. Then I realized that I hadn't really performed yet in front of Cassie.

"I want you to sing with me," I said, waving to the sound tech for an extra mic.

Those beautiful smoky blue eyes locked on mine, then she slowly nodded. "Yeah, I guess to test the new versions of the songs, you should see how they react to a female vocalist singing with you."

She ran a hand through her hair nervously. "When you hire the real singer, of course, it will sound a lot better."

The host was already introducing me, so I didn't have a chance to tell her that the second I’d heard her voice, I wanted her to sing with me. Nobody else. It was Cassie or nothing.

"Hey, folks," I said, waving as we got settled on stage. It was a very casual open mic night, with plenty of people eager to share a song or two.

I'd never really thought of myself as famous. Even when my first album became a hit, and I was suddenly opening for big bands at stadiums, it didn't really hit me. Now, seeing people's faces up close, and how excited they were to share the stage with me, it was genuinely touching.

"This is Cassie Clement," I said. "She's been helping me sketch out a few brand new songs."

There was a polite round of applause.

"Cassie, is this your first time on stage?"

As she turned to me, I could see her white knuckles clenching the mic before she nodded. "Be extra kind, folks, we have a first timer," I said.

The next round of applause was warmer and more welcoming, and Cassie murmured, "Thank you."

I reached out to run a hand down her arm, giving her an encouraging smile before starting the first song. Once we got going, Cassie began to sway to the music, and her nerves disappeared.

---