Chapter 28
TWENTY-EIGHT
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JOHNNY
The next morning, I wake earlier than expected.
I’m toasty warm beneath a thick blanket and, when I stretch, the subtle soreness from last night’s lovemaking brings a smile to my face.
Calum is sound asleep in his single bed on the other side of the room, a pillow tucked against his chest. We tried sleeping in the one bed, but it proved less than comfortable and there was no way we could move the furniture to push the two beds together without announcing our relationship to everyone in the house.
If he were beside me, I’d be content to snuggle in and enjoy his presence and warmth. As it is, I don’t want to wake him any earlier than necessary. Yesterday was a huge day for him and today will be no different.
Moving carefully, I dress in a pair of sweatpants and a long-sleeved t-shirt before grabbing my guitar, small practice amp and earbuds.
The spacious living area is blessedly empty at this early hour.
Not surprising considering we heard the others coming back from the festival at around one in the morning and it’s not yet six.
I make a quick cup of tea and set myself up on the couch, perching on the edge of the cushion with the tiny amp on the floor at my feet and my earbuds in place. I start with some basic warm-up exercises, keeping my fingers light on the strings.
I’m still running through my scales when Calum appears around the end of the large L-shaped couch. A cloud of sleepiness clings to his messy hair and rumpled clothes, and my fingers pause long enough to tug out my right earbud. “Good morning,” I say, smiling up at him.
Leaning over, he presses a kiss to the side of my neck. “’Morning.” He gestures to the now cold cup of half-drunk tea on the coffee table. “You want a fresh cuppa?”
“That would be great. Thanks.” I finish the last of my scales and am ready to move on to chord progressions, but my fingers hesitate over the strings. Calum glances up as he moves around the kitchen. “Don’t stop on my account.”
“Chord progressions aren’t exactly fun to listen to.” I move to put the guitar down. “I can do them later.”
He frowns as he pours freshly boiled water into mugs. “Everyone will be up later. Besides, you have earbuds plugged in.”
“Yeah, but, even with them in you can still hear me.” The subtle vibrations of the strings themselves are soft enough not to wake the six other adults still sleeping in the surrounding bedrooms, but they’re not silent.
Calum pauses in the act of jiggling teabags to look at me. “What’s this about?”
I clear my throat, focusing on my still fingers.
“Nothing. It’s just… I know hearing the same drills over and over again can be…
tiresome.” Ellie had enjoyed listening to me practise when we were younger, but as the years progressed it started to get on her nerves.
Eventually, I took to shutting myself up in our spare bedroom so she wouldn’t be forced to listen.
It meant yet another hour we spent apart every day, but I’m a guitarist. Daily practice is part of the deal.
After we split and I lived alone for the first time in my life, I discovered how freeing it is to play whenever I want.
I still keep the amp volume low at home, so I don’t disturb the neighbours, but I’ve grown used to that freedom.
The thought of going back to isolating myself for an hour every day is unpleasant.
But I’ll do it if I have to. These are the compromises we make for the people we love.
“It’s not tiresome to me.” I look up at the roughness in Calum’s tone.
His mouth is pressed into a hard line. Dropping the tea bags into the bin he brings the mugs over to the coffee table.
“I find it soothing, actually.” He sits beside me on the couch, tucking his legs up under him.
“I remember when Hannah was first learning to play. She would practise for hours on end, well into the night. I would leave my door open so I could fall asleep to the sound of her murdering her transitions.” The tender smile he wears is pure affection and the sight makes my heart clench.
“It reminded me she was still with me. She was okay.” His gaze shifts to mine.
“I get how hearing the same old scales and exercises could annoy some people,” the gentle emphasis tells me he knows who we’re talking about here, “but the sound of them makes me feel… safe, I guess. Does that make sense?”
I nod, my throat thick with emotion as I reach out to squeeze his hand.
“Besides,” he adds, squeezing back. “I know you’re happiest when you’re playing, and I enjoy hearing your happiness.” Whatever look of bafflement he sees on my face makes him chuckle. “Don’t be so surprised. I became a manager for a reason.”
My mouth is on his in the instant he finishes his sentence. I can’t help it. “You,” I whisper against his lips between kisses, “are amazing.” My free hand wraps around the back of his neck. “I don’t deserve you.”
He scoffs, pulling back to stare into my eyes, his hands cupping my face.
“Forget that bullshit. It’s not about deserving or being good enough.
On the night we met, there was more than one reason I hoped you weren’t all this,” his gesture encompasses the length of me, “and a musician, too.” A smile appears at the corners of his mouth.
“Who you are is my kryptonite, Johnny. I’m helpless against you. You get that, right?”
“I’m starting to,” I whisper, pressing my forehead to his as I struggle to contain the fullness in my heart.
“I didn’t know it could be like this. The way you see me.
” As not lacking, not a disappointment, not some man-child who refuses to grow up.
I’m just Johnny. “I don’t want to be your kryptonite, though,” I say, curling up closer to him.
“I want to make you stronger, the way you do for me.”
His smile grows. “You do. Having you in my life, in all the ways, has been a game-changer. We’re growing together. Yeah?”
I take a deep breath, feeling contentment settle deep into my bones. “Together.”
Our lips meet and I make a silent wish for us to always be like this. Moving forwards together.
“Oh, bugger,” says a voice from the other side of the room.
* * *
We jerk apart to see Gavin standing in the doorway of his bedroom, Charmaine peeking out from behind him, her eyes wide with surprise.
“We didn’t mean to interrupt.” His eyebrows are so high on his forehead, they’re about ready to disappear.
Calum springs up from the couch like he’s been electrocuted. “We were… umm.”
“Checking each other’s tonsils?” Gavin suggests.
My eyes roll as I scoff. We’d barely even managed to get as far as opening our mouths.
Charmaine pushes past him. “Are you two a thing?”
I look at Calum. He looks at me. His mouth works as if searching for the right words before he sighs and gives me a shrug. “I guess this is as good a time as any?”
“It’s the perfect time.” Turning back to Gavin and Charmaine, I grin. “Yes, we’re very much together.”
“Oh my god, this is perfect,” Charmaine squeals before rushing over to us for hugs. “I’m so happy for you both.”
“When did this happen?” Gavin asks, moving into the kitchen. “And why the hell didn’t we know about it?”
Calum looks to me, allowing me to decide how much we tell everyone.
I open my mouth to reply, but more doors start to open. “Everything all right?” Ned asks as he joins us. “We heard a scream.”
“Sorry.” Charmaine winces, waving a hand in the air. “That was me.”
Toni wanders out, still pulling on his shirt. “Someone better be dying out here.”
Gavin snorts a laugh as he fills the kettle at the sink. “Only if you include the little death.”
Toni’s dimples leap onto his face. “Who’s been fucking on the couch?”
“No one,” I insist, only to be overridden by Charmaine’s declaration of, “It was more of a coitus interruptus.”
“There was no interruptus of anything,” Calum cries, his face turning as red as his hair. “We were kissing. That’s all.”
“Who’s kissing who?” Hannah appears behind the couch, hair sticking up every which way. Oz is a step behind her. His arms are crossed, hands tucked into his armpits.
Gavin points a teaspoon in Hannah’s direction. “You knew about this, didn’t you?”
Hannah narrows her eyes at him. “Knew about what?”
“Your brother and Johnny.”
A tiny smile appears as she drops onto an arm of the couch. “He’s my brother. Of course, I knew.”
My gaze turns to Oz, and the widening of his eyes as he looks around tells me he’s become the centre of everyone’s attention. “She’s my girlfriend. I couldn’t say anything.”
“Do we get to hear how all this played out now?” Ned asks.
I sneak a glance at my oldest friend. He’s the one I’ve been most concerned about telling, given his history. But Ned doesn’t look upset as he sits on the floor with Toni cross-legged on the couch behind him, arms looped loosely around his neck.
“Okay, here we go,” I begin, hoping to keep this short and, mostly, wholesome. “Calum and I met the first night of last year’s festival. We… took a liking to each other.”
Hannah giggles. “That’s one way of putting it.”
Calum continues, “We didn’t see each other again until the night I approached you all in the car park.”
“Ambushed.” Ned half-covers the word with a cough.
“Approached,” Cal insists.
“Whatever,” I say, hoping to speed the story along. “Everything stopped the moment we signed the contract with Rush.”
“Fraternising with clients is not allowed or appropriate,” Calum says, his gaze drifting to Ned. “I never intended to break that rule. I swear, but…” He turns to me and the look in his eyes makes my heart melt.
“But he’s helpless against me,” I say, grinning wide.
The room erupts with a chorus of cheers, clapping and laughter.
“You were together before the album was released, though,” Toni yells over the noise. He points a finger at Calum. “You were ready to bust a nut watching Johnny drink that iced tea.”