Page 86 of Musical Games
Sam took a sip of coffee. ‘Just one of those magical twists of fate. I was in Scotland on a family matter and met Jamie through my best friend—’
‘The Countess of Kinloch?’
‘They’re not married yet, but when they do, yes, she’ll be the countess. Anyway, she’s very close to Brad Bauer—’
‘Yes, and we’re debating exactlyhowclose after the earl went on his well-documented rampage.’
Jamie bristled and felt Sam stiffen beside him.
‘They are simply friends,’ Sam said firmly. ‘Zoe showed Brad a video she took of me and Jamie playing. Brad asked us to compose some music for the film, so we did.’
‘What a wonderful story.’
There was silence. Karen’s eyes bored into his. He felt like she was preparing to strike.
‘So, Jamieeeee. Tell me more about you…’
Panic slashed through him. Anything he said would be twisted by her into a knife with which to stab him. He would trust the Neds at work before he gave up a piece of himself to her. He shook his head. Sam reached across the table and paused the recording.
‘Karen, Jamie has Selective Mutism Disorder. I need to make it absolutely clear that under no circumstances should you mention this in your article or to anyone else.’
Karen’s eyes bugged out of their sockets and Jamie looked down. What was she doing? Even if he wanted to talk, now he fucking couldn’t.
‘Yes, of course. How about I treat you as the Penn and Teller of the music world?’
‘Sounds perfect.’
A red fingernail inched across the table and resumed the recording.
‘So, Sam, are you and Jamie dating?’
He froze. If he was on high alert before, now he was running for the bunker as the nuclear warheads rained down. He heard Sam laughing. The sound gouged deep fissures into his chest.
‘No, Jamie and I are just friends.’
His heart bled out. He stumbled to his feet and walked off, pushing open the door to the men’s toilets. He went into a stall and locked the door, sitting on the seat and dropping his head in his hands. How could he have been so stupid? As if Sam Adamson would ever want anything more than a casual shag from him. He thought he’d been pretty clear with her how he felt. He told her she was his everything. But what was he to her? Nothing more than a means to an end.
Time passed but he didn’t move. He was desperately homesick. He saw himself back in his living room singing with Sam, his family and Zoe around them. That was where he felt safe and happy. Right now, he was at the bottom of a well of misery. He heard the door to the bathroom open.
‘Jamie? She’s gone.’
He unlocked the door and walked out.
The smile had fallen off Sam’s face. ‘I’m sorry. I should have known better. I was just trying to control the message and she’s been good to me in the past. I’m sorry, Jamie.’ She looked small and tired. ‘We’re meeting my family in twenty minutes. Do you mind walking? I need some air.’
As they leftthe coffee house, he held his guitar between them and she crossed her arms in front of her. With every step, the silence became more painful. Was this what love was? Unearthly joy, then hellish lows? He’d never had a girlfriend before, so had no template to hang upon whatever he and Sam shared. Were they ‘friends with benefits’? ‘Fuck buddies’? His stomach rolled. He’d once hoped to find love, but now it had found him, he wasn’t sure if he wanted it any more.
Sam’s phone rang, jolting him back into the moment.
‘Hey Crystal, how’s it going?’ Sam laughed as if she hadn’t a care in the world. ‘I’m so glad he likes it. Yes, we’re super pleased with how it all turned out.’ She listened to her phone, then glanced up at Jamie, her eyes dancing. She mouthed, ‘oh my god’ at him. ‘Uh-huh, yes, absolutely. We’ll be there. We can do eleven thirty? Yep, I know where that is… Amazing. Thanks Crystal, speak soon. Bye, bye.’
Sam snapped the phone shut.
‘OMG, Jamie! The studio behindBraveheart 2wants to sign us to their music division. They’re offering us a record deal!’
He stopped. ‘But—’
She put her hands on his arms and he felt her energy jumping into him.
