Chapter Twenty-Five
Beckett
This place is bursting at the seams.
Like, to the point where I’m thinking about fire code.
Or maybe it’s that I’m thinking about later tonight and hopefully seeing Keeley on the fire escape.
Our nightly meeting there really has become a routine for me—one I really like.
I lean back in my chair and let my eyes travel over the crowd. I recognize a handful of people, including the teen boy from Relish, Sissy from the library, and Steve the building manager.
There have been a few excellent performances, and the musician who’s currently onstage—a teenage girl playing a Taylor Swift cover—is really giving the audience something to sing along loudly to.
Two more performances, and then I’m up, closing out the night.
I’m glad that with or without my performance, this Indie Music Night is already a hit. I’m happy for Keeley’s friends, who are super welcoming and friendly. Nori’s boyfriend Cash, who used to be a pro baseball player, invited me to watch a game with him soon.
The dude was enthusiastic. Like, almost too enthusiastic.
I figured he was just like that with everyone, until Andrew walked through the door (late, I might add) and Cash gave him what can only be described as a death-glare. He’s clearly also not a fan of Keeley’s ex, which made me warm to him even more.
Andrew’s now sitting at a table, holding hands with his new girlfriend. She’s a nice-looking girl, I guess, if you’re judging objectively.
But she can’t hold a candle to Keeley. My eyes sweep back to her for what must be the thousandth time this evening. She looks incredible tonight in her tight black tank top with a plaid flannel shirt worn open over top. Her hair is pulled into a messy bun, and she’s wearing the ripped jeans and Converse that I apparently cannot resist.
There’s a pause between songs, and applause rings out.
As I clap, I stand and walk towards the coffee bar, where Keeley’s chatting quietly with Nori. There’s a jug of water on the bar, and I move in that direction—as if I’m thirsty—but I obviously fool no one, because Nori gives me a knowing little smirk before darting across the room to sit on Cash’s lap.
“Hi,” Keeley says softly.
“Hi,” I reply, equally quiet. “You doing okay?”
She looks at me quizzically, pretty blue eyes narrowed. “Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”
“Because Andrew’s here with Lisa.” I nod in their direction.
“Don’t care. I’m here to watch you, not them.”
She pairs her words with her pretty smile. And man, if I don’t feel it straight in my chest.
“Are you doing okay?” She throws my question back at me.
“I’m grand, yeah.” I eye the stage, then venture towards the truth. “Nervous, I guess. I haven’t done this in a long time.”
“Well, I’m no performer, but when I was nervous to present in school, my Gramps always told me to pretend everyone was in their underwear to help ease the nerves.”
Oh, boy.
Her belly button ring and freckled stomach immediately jump to the forefront of my mind.
As if I wasn’t already a jumble of nerves.
“Don’t say that,” I groan.
Her eyes fly to mine, and as our gazes clash, the flash of heat that moves between us is palpable. Her cheeks are flushed, eyes bright.
There’s no misreading the moment this time.
She feels these sparks, too.
The revelation excites me way more than it should.
“I didn't mean for you to picture me .” Her voice cracks over the words.
“Too late,” I tease, but my own voice comes out weird, like a cat being strangled. Which I’m sure is incredibly sexy.
She whacks my arm playfully, but her eyes are still wide, her cheeks still flushed. She looks around somewhat frantically, as if grasping for a change in subject. “Oh, great. Ezra’s looking over here.”
I follow her gaze across the room, and indeed, Ezra and a petite Asian woman are watching us. Ezra’s face is positively smirky, the woman’s curious.
“Is that Ezra’s wife?” I ask.
Keeley nods. “That’s Mae. They have a little boy, Everett.”
“Cute name.”
“He’s a cute kid.” She grins. “By the way, I told Ez about our gramps and your gran.”
“Was he surprised?”
“Shocked as we were.” She shrugs. “I think he’s fully invested in the soap opera now, too.”
“As he should be.” I nod my approval.
“Hey.” She gives me an almost-shy look from under her eyelashes. “I’m going to a barbecue at Ez and Mae’s place tomorrow night. Ezra says he has an old box of Gramps’s stuff for me that could maybe give us some clues about Noeleen. It could be nothing, but either way, it’ll be a fun night. Mae’s a great cook. Do you… want to come with me?”
I shoot her a flirty smile. “Are you asking me on a date, Keeley Roberts?”
I’m only kidding around, but the second the words are out of my mouth, I realize how much I don’t want them to be a joke.
Since that first night we sat together on the fire escape, thoughts of Keeley—of more than a friendship with Keeley—have pretty much consumed me. I’ve been out of the dating game for a long time now, but Keeley makes me want to explore and lean into my feelings.
And I know I’m going home soon enough, but in the time we have left together, I find that I want to show her she deserves more in her dating life than what her ex gave her.
She sighs and flicks her eyes heavenward. “Of course, because all good dates involve your brother.”
“Fair.” I look down at her, my pulse picking up as I decide to take a risk. “But what if I took you out afterwards for dessert—or a drink, if you prefer? Then, could it be a date?”
My words have her flustered, and she stuffs her hands in her pockets. Takes them back out. Pockets them again. It’s adorable.
She scrunches up her eyes for a moment—almost like she’s mustering up courage or something—and then says, “Uh… not no?”
“Would you want it to be a date?”
Her cheeks glow red, and she looks down at her sneakers. “Maybe… also not no.”
“Good.” I can’t help the huge smile that creeps across my face. I’m on cloud nine. “In that case, I’ll drive, and you can be my human GPS again. I’ll pick you up tomorrow night at six?”
“Okay. Sure.”
Somehow, my smile gets even wider. “It’s a date.”
“You’re trouble, McCarthy.”
“You like it, Roberts.”
We’re so engaged in our flirty conversation that I don’t notice the applause until Ezra takes the stage. “Thank you, Whitney! And now, I’d like you to put your hands together for our final performance of the night—a very special guest from all the way across the pond. Please welcome… Beckett McCarthy!”
Applause rings out. Sissy cheers. Cash puts two fingers in his mouth and whistles.
“I’m up,” I say to Keeley.
Quick as a flash, she pulls me into a hug.
For such a little woman, she’s strong.
Our bodies press together, and her hands are cool on my back. My nose buries in her hair so I'm breathing in the scent of raspberries and vanilla as I squeeze her tight.
It’s the first time we’ve hugged. I hope it’s not the last. So much so that I keep my arms wound around her for what I’m sure is way too long.
“You should probably get up there,” she finally says
“I should.”
She pulls back, and I almost wish I could swallow my words. Cancel my performance, shut this Indie Music Night down, and stay here with her in my arms all night.
But my regret is short-lived, because before I can walk away, she stands on her tiptoes. Her lips brush against my cheek before she whispers, “Good luck, Becks.”
It’s the fuel I need, and as I take the stage, all the nerves leave my body as I sling my guitar over my neck and realize I’m ready. I’m exactly where I should be at this moment.
Exactly where I want to be.