Chapter 6
SIX
THE SONG OF TWO GUYS IN THE MOUNTAINS
SEBASTIAN
The town’s lights twinkled down in the valley, mirroring the stars in the night sky above.
Alex’s eyes blinked open. Glancing at my lips, he made a sound somewhere between a sigh and a whimper. His left hand found mine, clutching my fingers super softly at first, then a little too tightly. He tipped his head forward, but stopped with two inches still between our mouths.
“Are these two conditional?” Alex whispered. “Recording vocals and… this?”
“I already agreed to sing for you. I’ll stand by my word. If that’s the only thing you want, then—”
“It’s definitely not the only thing I want.” His thumb dug into my hand. His chest trembled as he breathed.
“But?”
“There is no ‘but.’ Not really.”
“Let’s just keep the two things separate?” I asked.
He lifted his gaze. “Yeah.”
The drum inside my body picked up its pace.
I leaned a little closer, and so did he, tilting his head slightly.
The darkness shielded us from the rest of the world, yet he was so close I could still see everything: his slender nose, his upper lip slightly fuller than the lower, the tiny movements of his eyes as they took me in with curiosity.
We both let out quick breaths, the corners of our lips tugging up at the same time. I nudged myself even closer, waited another second to see if he would reciprocate, but when he closed his eyes, I finally pressed my mouth to his.
For the first few seconds, our lips lingered, almost perfectly still, as warmth spread between us. Then they moved, carefully, to find the right position.
His fingers tapped against my hand. On a hunch, I flipped it over, and was promptly rewarded when he laced our fingers together.
My jacket brushed against his hoodie, the rustle underscoring the soft smacks of our mouths as they shifted again and again.
I parted my lips and let him in. Our breaths ebbed and flowed in sync as our tongues met.
It was almost like a song of its own—the song of our first kiss. And it tasted like lemonade.
The house lay silent against the backdrop of the starry night. Not a single sound from the party reached us as we walked up the steps to the porch. Only our footsteps echoed through the night.
Even though it was only seven o’clock, it was time to head back inside.
We had been gone for almost an hour, which was more time than I had spent with anyone else so far, and I didn’t want to push everyone’s patience any further.
Sure, I would have rather spent the rest of the evening getting to know him better, but that would have drawn too much scrutiny.
While I was used to it, he didn’t need that.
He wasn’t leaving tomorrow. He didn’t have anywhere else to call home.
It was better not to get too close to the edge.
The foyer was even quieter than the front yard. The gentle click of the door closing made me turn toward Alex. I quickly glanced around to make sure no one was around and stepped before him, kissing him again.
It was supposed to be a quick peck—a brief reprise of what had happened ten minutes earlier—but the kiss lasted half a minute. My fingers found his hips. His hands stayed behind his back, braced against the door, but he still kissed me back so eagerly that I had to be the one to pull away.
“Sorry,” Alex whispered. “I had to use the opportunity.”
“Just wait until tonight when we’re sharing a room. Assuming the offer to crash with you still stands.”
He pressed his lips together, biting back a grin.
“It does.” His gaze dropped to the floor for a moment, as if there was something on his tongue he couldn’t quite say, but then he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me in for another kiss, one even more passionate than the last. His right hand crawled up my chest and stopped short of my neck.
Then, with a sly smile, he pushed me back.
“Let’s save something for later, then. You should go back to your family. ”
“And you?”
He pointed upstairs. “I’ll get your bed ready.” His hand brushed over my waist as he walked past me toward the staircase. At the bottom step, he gave me a quick wave and said, “I’ll meet you at the party in a bit,” before heading upstairs.
I stood there a moment longer, listening to his footsteps fade. I wished I could have followed him. He was the reason I could finally enjoy being here. If it weren’t so ridiculous to meet someone like him at my freaking family reunion, I’d think fate had something to do with it.
But it wasn’t like this could turn into anything more. I still lived two thousand miles away. This was nothing more than us giving in to spring fever.
Besides, I couldn’t spend the entire evening with him. The right thing to do was to mingle with my family. After all, that was why I had come to Seastone.
So I forced myself out of the foyer and strode through the kitchen toward the back door.
Mom, Dad, and Mila fell silent the second I stepped into the backyard. They sat shoulder to shoulder on the bench beneath the remodeled barn’s canopy. Soft light streamed from the party room, casting the dancing shadows of the people inside across their backs.
The fairy lights draped across the cherry tree in the middle of the yard glowed softly, filling the garden with a warmth the place had been missing for years. Why hadn’t we put them up when I still lived here?
“If it isn’t the lost brother and son,” Mila called out, patting the small empty spot on the bench beside her.
“Hey, guys,” I said, walking over under their watchful eyes. I stopped a few feet away. “Beautiful night, isn’t it?”
“Indeed,” Mom agreed, pulling her white knit jacket tighter around her shoulders. “How was your outing with Alex?”
A gentle breeze played around my neck, sending a shiver up my spine.
“Relaxed,” I replied. “He had a headache from all the noise, so I offered to keep him company.”
“That poor guy,” Mom said. “This must’ve been a lot for him. We’re not exactly the quietest bunch.”
“I was surprised he spent so much time with us,” Mila agreed.
“He’s kind of a masochist sometimes,” Mom laughed, then glanced back at me. “But it’s nice that you accompanied him. I always thought you two would get along.”
“They certainly have enough in common,” Dad muttered. His head was turned toward Mom, but his eyes flicked to me.
“He told me about the prank you two were involved in a couple of years ago,” I said. “The one where you chased those guys from the gas station through the woods?”
“Oh my god,” all three of them shouted at once.
“That was so creepy,” Mom laughed, nudging Dad with her shoulder. “You and that fake mustache, I mean.”
“What about Alex? That mask looked so freaking real,” Dad said, wrapping his arm around Mom’s shoulders. “Do you still remember how scared he was to pretend to stab me? The knife was rubber. It couldn’t have hurt a fly. But he was still so hesitant until you showed him how to do it.”
Mom grinned at him. “You liked that, didn’t you?”
“I can’t deny that it was one of our weirder moments, but I still cherish the memory of you pretending to stab me.”
“Please!” Mila yelled, covering her ears and making a face. “I don’t need to hear any more.”
“What?” Dad chuckled more freely than I had heard him in years. “Parents can be weird, too.”
Mila and Mom laughed with him, but I couldn’t join in. I couldn’t even remember the last time we’d all laughed together. It must have been before I started college the first time.
“I’m sad I missed that,” I said. The words slipped out as if they were just another casual remark about the past.
Their laughter died down, leaving only a lone cricket’s chirping to break the silence of the night.
“There’s a video of the whole thing online,” Dad said.
“I know.” The breeze picked up, its cold claw digging into my skin. I tucked my chin down and shoved my hands into my pockets. “Alex showed it to me. Looked like an unforgettable night.” Another gust swept through, making me hiss and shiver. “It’s getting cold, isn’t it?”
“It’s better close to the building,” Mila said, nodding toward the empty space beside her again.
I hopped over without thinking twice. Mila scooted closer to Dad, but the bench was still so narrow that my shoulder brushed hers as I sat down. The wood was cold enough to make me want to jump right back up, but after a few seconds, it began to warm.
“Has Alex shown you any of his music, too?” Mom asked.
“That’s a given,” I laughed, since no one would believe me if I denied it anyway. “He’s talented. More than I ever was.”
“He’s also always working on it when he’s off duty,” Dad said.
His words immediately made everyone sit a little straighter.
“It’s rare to see someone put in that kind of effort when he could easily slack off.
I told him he should send his stuff to record labels, but he keeps brushing it off, saying it’s not ready yet.
” Dad leaned forward, looking past Mila straight at me.
“Isn’t that what a record label would take care of? It doesn’t have to be perfect, right?”
Did he just ask me for my opinion? He’s never done that before.
He kept his eyes on me, almost as if this were a test I couldn’t possibly pass. But with Mom and Mila here, there was no real risk in being honest.
“In my experience,” I replied, “it still helps to send the strongest version you can make on your own. Labels can shape things, but you only get one chance to make a first impression.”
Dad twisted his mouth and waved a hand dismissively. “If you only ever wait for the perfect moment, it’ll never come.”
“Maybe. But the closer it is to his vision, the better. That way, they are less likely to try to change everything in a direction that doesn’t suit him. So, waiting a little longer might not be the worst idea.”
He sat back, crossing his arms on his stomach. “At least it’s nice to know that you’re able to enjoy yourself again, Devin.”