So I promised you a new story and here it is, tell me what you think. As always stay safe and be blessed.
Sam Evans stared at the stage as person after person; sometimes, a group showed up to fill the one open spot to join Damaged Heart, his group. But the performers just didn't do it for him or his bandmates. This was a big deal. They were going on their first World Tour, something neither of them dreamed of while they were playing in their garage.
Sam knew the band wasn't all too thrilled to be looking for a new member, and it was all his fault they were even holding auditions for a new bass player. After a rather unfortunate incident of him sleeping with their Bass player Penny one stupid drunken night, she told him either he was hers and hers alone, or she quit.
In truth, she wasn't that good of a singer, but she did have skills playing the bass, and the only reason she joined was that Sebastian thought having a woman would bring more fans, he wasn't wrong. So when she gave him the ultimatum, the band voted her out. And now, because of him, they were suffering through some of the worst singing he had ever heard before.
The flyer their manager, Sebastian, put up was simple. They needed to be able to play either bass or guitar, sing, and be gone for about 24 weeks unless new shows got added. And most of all they needed to be under 25.
"Sam, this might have been a mistake." Artie, his current bass player, said. Thankfully Artie could play both the guitar and bass, but their sound suffered. "I mean, there is some talent here, but nothing pops, you know?"
"Look, we only have two more to go, so let's hear them so we can get to sleep." Mike Chang, who played keyboard, added in.
As a group called Holy Trinity walked onto the stage, Sam frowned. "You ladies know that we are only looking for one person, right?"
The lead blonde smiled at Sam. "I am Quinn, that is Santana, and the other blonde is Brittany we are all 25 years old and have been singing together since High School. We figured 3 is way better than one, especially how we do it."
Artie smiled. "Can't hurt to see what they got."
Sam looked at their manager, who just shrugged as the 3 women who looked like high school cheerleaders, stood on that stage and started singing, 'Say a little prayer. They weren't bad, and they had a great look, but they just didn't seem like a fit for the band.
Sebastian looked down at his clipboard. "There isn't much info on this last one.
"Tell us a little about you?" He asked the short beauty who walked onstage alone. She wore a pair of ripped hip-hugging jeans and an off-the-shoulder purple top
"Well I am a nurse back in Ohio and I have been singing my whole life."
He nodded. "And how old are you?"
She hesitated for a moment. "I am 28."
Sebastian raised an eyebrow. "Did you read the flyer? It stated we were looking for 25 and younger."
She nodded, gripping the mic. "I know, but if you just listen to me sing…."
Sebastian looked at Sam, "It's up to you guys if you want her to sing. She is over 25, but she is the last one, so…."
Sam stared into her gorgeous doe eyes and nodded. "What's your name?"
"Mercedes Jones."
"Okay, Mercedes Jones. Show us what you got." Sam said, leaning back.
The other guys looked to the stage, and Mercedes turned away from them; Sam, unable to stop himself, stared at her ass until she turned towards them and started to sing "Natural Woman, " captivating the entire room.
All eyes were glued on her as she took them on a journey; her eyes met Sam's as she finished the song, leaving everyone stunned.
Sebastian cleared his voice. "Well, I think we all see you can sing, but can you play anything?"
She turned to the guitar on the stage, picked it up, and nodded. "Give me one of your songs, and I will play it."
Sam looked at the band and then back at the stage. "Just like that?"
She nodded. "I have a good ear. Try me."
Artie smiled. "You heard the woman Evans; try her."
Sam saw the other members nod him up to the stage, and he grabbed the other guitar and played a few cords."
She frowned. "If you aren't going to give me a challenge, why am I even here?"
"Alright." Sam said, staring at her for a moment, then he started to play their most complicated song, "Broken."
Mercedes closed her eyes, causing the other members to talk amongst themselves.
Once Sam was done, he smiled at her, only to remove it when she played the song back to him nearly perfect.
"Holy-wow." Sam ran his hands through his hair. "How did you do that? We literally just finished that song last week, so I know you couldn't have heard it."
"I have a near-perfect pitch and ear, and I can play anything you throw at me. I know you guys were looking for someone younger, but I have the skill and the time."
"Give us a moment to discuss this," Sam said, walking off the stage.
Mercedes walked off the stage and waited with the others until they were called back out.
"We want to thank you all for coming here and tying out. You have given us a lot to think about. We will be reaching out to whomever we want to see come back via text, so look for that."
The band said their goodbyes, and Mercedes couldn't help but feel defeated; she quit her job and drove 6 hours with her best friends Tina and Kurt. And now she had to go to plan B, which sucked because she had nothing and gave up everything to be there.
As she walked into the hotel room they had gotten for the night, she sighed, falling onto the bed. "I know something good will come out of this; I believe that with all my heart, guys, but that was brutal."
Kurt laid next to her on one side as Tina took the other. "Mercedes Jones, you are going to make it. I still think we should go to L.A. Coming here was a way to get you noticed, but we still have options if it doesn't work."
Kurt took her hand in his, and Tina took the other. "Kurt is right. We came with you because we believe in you. This isn't just your dream Merce; it's ours too. So if one door closes, we will climb through the damn window."
She smiled, squeezing both of their hands. "Let's do something fun. We are in Nashville; let's grab some food and enjoy the night before heading to L.A."
Sam rolled his eyes as Sebastian and Finn went back and forth arguing about the people they saw. Sam stood up, clearing his throat. "You guys are arguing over something that really doesn't matter. Yes, Holy Trinity had hot girls, but none of them would fit into our group. And Brody, while he had the look, he lacked the talent. The last act, Mercedes, is the right choice."
Finn laughed. "You think that cause you want to sleep with her."
"I could say the same thing about why you are rooting against a girl group and for a guy who has no talent. You are so transparent, and you want Sebastian to pick the girls so you can sleep with them."
Finn opened his mouth to speak but stopped.
Artie laughed. "We all see it, Finn; just sit down. Sam is right, and we all know it. But I think Sebastian is right too. Sex sells; we all see it. And though Mercedes is sexy, so are the three girls. So I suggest we let Mercedes join, and we have the girl group open for us. We get the sex appeal of a girl group on tour, and we get an incredible asset to the band."
Sebastian shook his head. "She's 28."
"So are you, and so am I. I don't see the problem." Sam said.
"Sam, we sell an image. Do you really think Ms. Clean cut diva, who sang about being a Natural woman, can fit into this group? You are a rock band."
Sam ran his hands through his hair, "What I can see is that she is an asset unlike one we have had before. Between her voice and her ability to hear a song and play it back. We can cut trying to teach her the song time in half and work on her look, her skill."
Sebastian looked at Mike. "Don't you want to weigh in on this?"
Mike shrugged. "Look, Mercedes had talent, and her vocals are insane; she would give us an edge. I agree with Artie, you can still sell your sex, and we can have a band that rivals all others."
Sebastian nodded. "Fine, I will get with Blaine, and we will set everything in motion. Call the girls, have them meet us here tomorrow, ready to work. The good thing is that all those songs we said wouldn't work for you will probably work for them."
He walked away, pulling out his phone as the band stayed behind. Artie sighed. "Before we call Mercedes and give her the good news. You can not sleep with her."
Sam laughed. "That's funny."
Mike grabbed his arm. "Dude, this isn't a joke. You can't sleep with Mercedes, and we lost Penny because you got drunk and reckless."
Finn laughed. "Now that I agree on."
"Oh, you can't sleep with the girl group either, Hudson. We have to make sure nothing goes wrong on this tour. This is the first time we get to do this, and we may not get another chance. You two will keep it in your pants."
Sam sighed. "Look, I find her attractive, but I am for the band. So if that means no sleeping with her, I will agree, no sweat off my back."
Finn glared angrily at the guys. "Fine! But this is bull."
They all laughed, shaking their heads. "It's just til the tour is over, then go nuts," Artie said, laughing as he walked away.
"I guess I should call Mercedes and tell her the good news. I know Sebastian wants to meet up tomorrow, but maybe we should do it now? Band rules 101, we need to bond."
Mike shrugged. "I don't have anything to do."
Artie nodded. "Me neither. I was gonna go home and binge-watch Modern Family." Everyone looked at him, and he shrugged. "What? I got range okay."
Sam laughed. "It is a dope show. But good, what about you, Finn? You up for it?"
"Yeah, we do need to be ready for anything."
Sam nodded. "I will invite her to come out to eat with us, and we can take it from there."
Mercedes sat back and clapped as a couple took their bow. She, Kurt, and Tina decided to head to WannaB's Karaoke bar to enjoy the night and not worry about everything else. As Kurt ordered a round of shots, her phone rang.
She looked down, not knowing the number. "Oh…what if it's them? And they want to tell me that I can't cut it!"
Kurt looked at the phone and shrugged. "Then answer it and tell them to kiss your fabulous ass."
The ringing stopped, and she shrugged. "They can tell it to my voicemail then."
A loud beep came through, and she dropped the phone. "It's Sam. he texted me."
"Sam?"
The phone started ringing again. "Sam Evans, lead singer of Damaged Hearts. What do I do?"
"Uh duh, you answer," Tina said, hitting the answer button, and Mercedes picked it up.
"Hello?"
"Mercedes?"
"Yes." She replied, barely breathing.
"The guys and I talked it over, and we-where are you is that singing?"
"We are at WannaB's, a karaoke spot."
"That is actually perfect. Stay there, okay?"
She looked at Kurt and Tina and swallowed. "Uh, okay."
She hung up the phone as they stared at her. "Well?" Kurt asked.
"He started to say something then asked where we were. I told him, and he said not to leave."
"Well, then we better not leave," Tina smirked. "Now, let's figure out what we are singing."