Spencer watched the brunette strum the guitar while her soulful tune filled the studio. It reminded her so much of Ashley she could barely breathe. But this wasn’t Ashley. She knew that right away. She would have known Ashley from a mile away, from a scent, from a flash of an image. This girl reminded her of Ashley as she knew her ten long years ago when they had first met. The voice was melodic and powerful, but it wasn’t Ashley’s.

Spencer shivered slightly and stood back. She listened to the music as it melted away, and found her eyes fixed on the young girl who put down her guitar and turned around. Spencer found herself staring at one of the cutest girls she had seen in a long time. Her hair was auburn tinged, Spencer realized, now that she could see it better in the light. Her smile, crooked though it was, seemed to light up her face. She seemed to possess a warmth that Spencer found herself absorbing.

The brunette came through the door to the sound engineer booth, jeans slung low on her hips, her halter top showing just a hint of stomach. Spencer felt her insides lurch sideways. She quickly pushed her thoughts in a less distracting direction. This girl looked like she was barely past jail bait age.

‘Get a grip Spencer’, she thought.

Portia stepped forward, her hands reaching out to the musician,

“Riley, Riley, fantastic, you’re sounding just amazing”. She pulled the girl over to Spencer and introduced them. “Riley, this is Spencer, the artist we’ve been talking about, Spencer, this is Riley, our new prodigy”. The blonde smiled smoothly.

Spencer reached out and shook the young girl hand.

“Pleased to meet you”.

To her surprise, a flush fell across the young girls face. She looked at the ground shyly.

“It’s an honour.”

Spence looked taken aback.

“It’s… it’s no honour”, she said, laughingly. “Your music is amazing”.

Riley looked pleased. Spencer felt a tug at her mouth as she smiled, almost involuntarily. There was something about this girl that Spencer really liked. She found herself quite irritated when Portia stepped in, business like, to bring Spencer’s attention back to herself.