Sweet as Cherry Wine

Chapter 1

The first time I laid my eyes on him, he slipped on the slick ice patch beneath him and fell on his ass.

"Wow. That was embarrassing, wasn't it?" He laughed, attempting to stand on wobbling legs. I can't say I was mesmerized by the way his hair fell in front of his bright, sparkling eyes, or by the smirking smile that had been present since he slipped, because honestly, I was too busy laughing at him. He was tall and gangling, and watching him try to stand back up was hilarious. As he attempted to steady himself again his left foot slid from underneath him, and he was back on the ground.

"Dammit. Can you please stop laughing and help me up?" He chuckled at himself, shaking his head and pushing his hair out of his face. I felt my cheeks go red, and I wasn't sure if it was because I was laughing so hard or because of the bitter cold wind that whipped around me.

"You got yourself into this mess," I said, shivering slightly at the cold, "..and my only job is to come find you and tell you that you're up next. You're Harry, right?"

His eyes grew wide, and his struggle to get up became intense. "I'm next?" He said in a higher register than before. "Jesus Christ. I'm gonna be late!"

"Hey, don't worry about it. You have, like, 20 minutes." As he struggled more, my patience was growing thin. The last thing I needed was for Barb to yell at me today. "Okay, let me help." I reached out to him and he smiled, a little too wife and goofy, grabbing my gloved hands with his bare ones as I heaved him onto his feet. The warmth from his hands bloomed over my palms, and I shivered at the contact.

"There we are." Harry said softly, still gripping my hands in his. Snow was falling and catching on his eyelashes, and he blinked them away quickly before letting my hands go and shoving his own hands in the pockets of his fancy pea coat. He gestured toward the giant brick building just to the left of us. "Shall we?" He asked cheerfully, shooting me another goofy smile. If I were him, I would be intimidated by the size of the building and how important it looked. He didn't seem to be affected.

We walked in silence, and I trailed slightly behind him as he stepped around slippery patches of ice. We wouldn't want him slipping again. The snow crunched under our feet, the sound quickly bringing me back to many winters spent with my little sisters. The snow was the perfect consistency to build a snowman or a snowball, and my heart hurt at the thought of spending the first snow of the season without them beside me. I shoved off the thought, starting a conversation instead.

"So, Harry... are you nervous at all?" I immediately realized that this was the wrong question to ask, because his eyes became downcast and his hands were shoved further into his pockets. He shrugged.

"I mean, I've auditioned here before. The first time I did, I didn't get in for whatever reason, but I was only a freshman. They usually don't pick freshmen, obviously, so I should've expected I wouldn't get in." He sighed, and I was glad he was looking down at his feet so he wouldn't see me blush. I was only a freshman myself. "Last year I made it, but barely."

"Shouldn't be so hard on yourself," I mumbled.

"It's true, though." He turned to glance at me before looking away again. "The lady who sat in on my audition even told me I wasn't a top pick. I think I've improved a lot since last year, though, so I'm pretty confident." Before we knew it we had reached the intimidating audition building, and I shivered as the too-warm, dry air surrounded me when we stepped inside. I hung my coat and scarf on one of the hooks lining the wall to the entryway, shoving my gloves in one of the pockets. Harry's voice startled me out of the stark silence in the room.

"I think it might've been the piece I chose. It was too hard and I couldn't pull it off." He shook his head, some stray snowflakes falling from his hair to the floor and disappearing at his feet.

"It's all about the piece, really," I spoke up, "You have to pick something that speaks to you or it won't speak to them, you know?"

He turned to me and smiled, his eyes meeting mine. They had suddenly become bright, unlike the dullness they had when he started talking about his past auditions. "That's... That's kind of beautiful. Thank you." He laughed once, looking down at his hands, but not with sadness. He looked grateful.

"Oh, um..." I swallowed, my face reddening. If he noticed, he didn't say anything. I didn't know my words would be so profound to him. "It's-- well, when you work here for a bit you sort of know how everything works, so..."

"I think I have, actually." He smiled at my blank expression. "You know, chosen a song that speaks to me. I just hope it speaks to them."

The door to the stage opened and my boss peeked out happily at me, her smile blinding me as usual. "You can send in the next auditionee, Miss Rivera. We're ready for ya." She winked at Harry. "Our sit-in called off, so you will be assisting us on that, won't you, Rhiannon?"

Harry looked at me and smiled, a curious look on his face. "Rhiannon? Like, the Stevie Nicks song?"

"Um-- yeah, actually," I smiled, turning to Barb, "and yes, I'd be happy to."

"Ironic." Harry mumbled quietly to himself.

"What--?"

"Perfect! Shall we?" Barb motioned to the stage through the door behind her, and as I walked in behind the two of them and shut the door, I couldn't help but wonder with excitement what I was about to hear.