Just A Moment

A Proposal

When the pair reached the end of the alleyway, Hope let out a deep breath that she hadn't realised she'd been holding. The moonlight caressed her face as she emerged from the artificial darkness of the den, and the cool night air swept through her hair. The surreal feeling of drowning that she had felt on the stage had miraculously disappeared.

'Are you ok now?' Joe asked tentatively, releasing Hope's hand gently.

Hope nodded firmly, a smile creeping across her face as she became aware of what she'd just done. 'I'm more than ok. I'm great.'

'That was really freaky. You scared me.' Joe exhaled shakily.

Hope turned to look at him and saw his distress written on his face. She smiled, taking a slight step towards him and put her hand on his cheek boldly. 'I'm sorry. I guess I just freaked out a little. It all became a little overwhelming suddenly. I didn't mean to worry you.'

'Don't worry about me.' Joe smiled. 'But you're definitely ok now?'

'Yes. Definitely.' Hope took in a deep breath of the night air and felt her shoulders fall as she exhaled.

'Good.' Joe took Hope's hands in his vigorously. 'Now, can we talk about we just did there? I don't even know what to think or feel! It was... incredible. No, not strong enough. Amazing. No. Stupendous. No...'

Hope laughed, cutting him off. 'Indescribable?' She ventured.

'Yes, that's it!' Joe squeezed Hope's hands. 'An indescribable feeling.'

'I've never done anything like that.' Hope looked up into Joe's gaze, her eyes shining. 'I'd never have had the confidence to do that on my own. I couldn't have done that without you.'

'I couldn't have done it without you.' Joe smiled.

They began to walk in the direction of Hope's apartment, and Hope could sense in the silence that fell between them that Joe had something he wanted to say.

'What is it?' She asked finally.

Joe looked down at her, as if making an internal decision. 'I have something I need to ask you.'

'What is it?' Hope repeated. 'You can ask me anything.'

'Well, you know how I mentioned that I came out to New York to find a partner and work on my dream?'

'I think so. Maybe just once or twice...' Hope remarked with a sarcastic smile.

'When I got here a few weeks ago, I spent the first few days wandering around the city, looking for gigs to play and musical crowds where I could meet people.

'That was when I met Mack. I had ended up in a nightclub. The owners had promised me a set, but I didn't realise that they meant DJ set, and I know absolutely nothing about DJing.

'Anyway, no one seemed to mind me just having a go with the equipment – honestly I think they were all a bit too drunk to even notice. Mack was the only sober guy in there who realised I had no clue what I was doing.'

Hope laughed. 'Mack generally doesn't touch booze; he knows that he has to be alert at all times of the day just in case of an emergency with the boys or his mum.'

'Well, it's a good thing he was. If we hadn't got talking about how awful a DJ I was, I'd probably have had to go back to LA the next day. I'd not really thought the place to live part of my move through; I'd been renting a room in a youth hostel for two weeks and they wanted me out. So, I'd have had to go. And then I'd never have met you.'

Hope smiled.

'Whilst Mack and I were still in the nightclub at the end of my set, and after he'd told me he'd let me stay at his place, he walked off to go talk to some guy or something, and I was left hovering awkwardly in the doorway for about ten minutes. I was looking around and saw this board where various notices had been pinned up. I saw this flyer about a concert.'

Pulling a crumpled piece of brightly coloured paper out of his jacket pocket, Joe handed the flyer to Hope.

'Musicians wanted.' Hope read. 'Gig at Forest Hills Stadium. Solo, duo and band acts accepted. Own music only. No impersonators. Send original demos to below email to be considered.'

Hope looked up in confusion. 'So, you want to send your songs in to this company to get a set in this concert?'

'Are you alright with that?'

'Of course I'm alright with that. Why wouldn't I...' Hope stopped. 'Wait, you're not asking me to sing at this concert with you if you get in, are you?'

'Well there's a high chance I'm not going to get a shot at it, because I imagine there's a thousand or so hopefuls who will have applied too who probably have more experience and better music than me, but if on the small chance that I do get chosen... then yeah, I'd want you to sing with me

'Joe, I can't do that.' Hope shook her head. 'I'm sorry, but I just...'

'But why not? It's just the same as performing for the gang. And look how well that went.'

Hope scoffed. 'It's nothing like performing for the gang. The boys wouldn't care if we screwed up; they'd probably mock us a bit but that would be it. We'd be humiliated in front of hundreds, maybe thousands of people if we got anything wrong in a concert like that. And anyway, look how I reacted to performing in front of the boys. God, with that many people, I...'

'Let's not get ahead of ourselves. I'm only asking to send some demos in, Hope. Would you just agree to have a go?' Joe interrupted her, taking her hands. 'If you won't do it for yourself, then do it for me. Please.'

Hope looked down at their intertwined hands. Joe needed her to say yes. She knew that. All she had to do was sing on a demo. She could do that. The chances of their being picked was about a billion to one. It was only singing.

'Ok.' She agreed softly. 'I'll do it. For you.'

Joe smiled. 'Thank you.' He whispered, sliding his hands up her arms to embrace her shoulders against his strong chest.

Hope exhaled. One demo. She could do that. Right?