hire for specific roles?”
“Some. But they also have contacts who are trying to put together their seasons, so they’ll probably set me up for some auditions with conductors. This guy’s friends with the conductor of the CSO.”
“Chicago Symphony?”
Aiden nodded. “David Somers. The guy’s the hottest young conductor on the scene in Europe. He spends the summers in Milan—I hear he’s got a villa there.”
“I didn’t know the music business paid that well,” Sam said as he refilled their cups again.
“Recording contracts are pretty lucrative. But he comes by his money the honest way,” Aiden said with a grin. “He inherited it. Old money. Mansion in Connecticut, that sort of thing. The guy’s amazing, though. If he likes my voice….”
“He’ll love your voice.”
“Thanks, Sam.” Aiden’s face flushed.
“No need to thank me. You played me your audition tape, remember?”
“Yeah. But sometimes… I don’t know… it’s hard to get past the crap. I spent the first eighteen years of my life listening to my dad tell me what a fuckup I was and the last five hearing about how music wasn’t any way to earn a living.”
“Does he still say that?” Sam thought briefly of his own father’s unmet expectations.
“Yeah. Pretty much every time I call or visit. He keeps telling me to come home and study to be a preacher.” Aiden’s laugh was bitter. “Can you just see it?”
“I would say you could do whatever you wanted,” Sam said with a warm smile. “But I think Baptist preacher would probably be pushing the envelope.”
“No joke.” Aiden ran a hand through his hair. “Oh, I forgot,” he added a moment later. “There was something I wanted to tell you about.”
“Sure. And when you’re done, I’ve been wanting to ask you something. Don’t let me forget.” As if he would. He’d been mulling over how to ask Aiden to his place without it sounding like the big deal it was.
“I got a call from this arts organization in Hamburg, Germany. I’m a semifinalist for a scholarship.” Aiden didn’t look all that pleased with this news.
“Scholarship? I thought you were done with school.”
“I am. This is a special deal where they send you to Europe, all expenses paid. Give you a place to stay, a Eurail pass, and some money for food and stuff.”
“Really? That sounds great! How long’s it for?”
“A year.” Aiden met Sam’s gaze for a long moment, and Sam immediately understood that Aiden was hesitating because of him . Because of them.
Sam’s mouth went dry. “Wow.” He tried to sound enthusiastic despite the sick feeling in his stomach. “That’s great, Aiden.”
“You think?”
“Sure. I mean, that’s a great deal. You’ve been wanting to go to Europe. It couldn’t get any better, right?” It was true. Aiden had told him about Europe the night they’d met. He knew how important this was for Aiden’s career.
Aiden’s smile seemed forced. “Right. Yeah, I’ve wanted this.”
“So when do you hear if you get the award?” Sam barreled ahead, sensing the larger question that hung unspoken between them and knowing he couldn’t begin to answer it.
“Sometime in the next few days. They said they’d be calling my references, you know. Checking to see if I’m the kind of man they want to sponsor.”
“Are you worried?”
“Nah. I’m pretty easy to work with. The recommendations will be good.”
Sam sucked down another cup of sake to fill the silence. “Then it’s a sure thing, right?” he asked after a pause, trying to sound enthusiastic.
Aiden shrugged. “I guess.” There was another moment of awkward silence between them, and Sam refilled their cups again.
“How soon would you leave?” Sam tried to focus on pouring the sake. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know the answer.
“If I get the award, I’ll be leaving in a few weeks. They don’t give you much time to think about it.” Aiden emptied his cup in one swallow. “So what did you want to ask me?”
Sam
“Some. But they also have contacts who are trying to put together their seasons, so they’ll probably set me up for some auditions with conductors. This guy’s friends with the conductor of the CSO.”
“Chicago Symphony?”
Aiden nodded. “David Somers. The guy’s the hottest young conductor on the scene in Europe. He spends the summers in Milan—I hear he’s got a villa there.”
“I didn’t know the music business paid that well,” Sam said as he refilled their cups again.
“Recording contracts are pretty lucrative. But he comes by his money the honest way,” Aiden said with a grin. “He inherited it. Old money. Mansion in Connecticut, that sort of thing. The guy’s amazing, though. If he likes my voice….”
“He’ll love your voice.”
“Thanks, Sam.” Aiden’s face flushed.
“No need to thank me. You played me your audition tape, remember?”
“Yeah. But sometimes… I don’t know… it’s hard to get past the crap. I spent the first eighteen years of my life listening to my dad tell me what a fuckup I was and the last five hearing about how music wasn’t any way to earn a living.”
“Does he still say that?” Sam thought briefly of his own father’s unmet expectations.
“Yeah. Pretty much every time I call or visit. He keeps telling me to come home and study to be a preacher.” Aiden’s laugh was bitter. “Can you just see it?”
“I would say you could do whatever you wanted,” Sam said with a warm smile. “But I think Baptist preacher would probably be pushing the envelope.”
“No joke.” Aiden ran a hand through his hair. “Oh, I forgot,” he added a moment later. “There was something I wanted to tell you about.”
“Sure. And when you’re done, I’ve been wanting to ask you something. Don’t let me forget.” As if he would. He’d been mulling over how to ask Aiden to his place without it sounding like the big deal it was.
“I got a call from this arts organization in Hamburg, Germany. I’m a semifinalist for a scholarship.” Aiden didn’t look all that pleased with this news.
“Scholarship? I thought you were done with school.”
“I am. This is a special deal where they send you to Europe, all expenses paid. Give you a place to stay, a Eurail pass, and some money for food and stuff.”
“Really? That sounds great! How long’s it for?”
“A year.” Aiden met Sam’s gaze for a long moment, and Sam immediately understood that Aiden was hesitating because of him . Because of them.
Sam’s mouth went dry. “Wow.” He tried to sound enthusiastic despite the sick feeling in his stomach. “That’s great, Aiden.”
“You think?”
“Sure. I mean, that’s a great deal. You’ve been wanting to go to Europe. It couldn’t get any better, right?” It was true. Aiden had told him about Europe the night they’d met. He knew how important this was for Aiden’s career.
Aiden’s smile seemed forced. “Right. Yeah, I’ve wanted this.”
“So when do you hear if you get the award?” Sam barreled ahead, sensing the larger question that hung unspoken between them and knowing he couldn’t begin to answer it.
“Sometime in the next few days. They said they’d be calling my references, you know. Checking to see if I’m the kind of man they want to sponsor.”
“Are you worried?”
“Nah. I’m pretty easy to work with. The recommendations will be good.”
Sam sucked down another cup of sake to fill the silence. “Then it’s a sure thing, right?” he asked after a pause, trying to sound enthusiastic.
Aiden shrugged. “I guess.” There was another moment of awkward silence between them, and Sam refilled their cups again.
“How soon would you leave?” Sam tried to focus on pouring the sake. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know the answer.
“If I get the award, I’ll be leaving in a few weeks. They don’t give you much time to think about it.” Aiden emptied his cup in one swallow. “So what did you want to ask me?”
Sam
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