Page 88 of The Music of Us
“Uh-huh. Sure.” I looked over at Jake. “What about you? What song would you dedicate to someone?”
Jake’s eyes met mine across the table. Then he glanced sideways to see everyone staring at him.
“Pass,” he said. I deflated, leaning back in my chair. What song would he have chosen? Who would he have dedicated it to? “I don’t have an answer.” He shoved a piece of orange chicken into his mouth. “Leon?”
Leon stared at him. “Speak now.”
Jake choked on his food. “What?”
“‘Speak Now,’” Leon said again, looking over at me and beaming angelically. “By Taylor Swift.”
Huh, nice. “I didn’t know you were a fan.”
“What can I say? She’s a great lyricist. And I’d dedicate the song to whoever needed to speak up.”
“‘You Are in Love,’” Aspen stated. We all swiveled to look at him. “Another great song she wrote.”
Jake glared. “You know what else she wrote? ‘No Body, No Crime.’”
What was this all about?
Wait, was it about “Lovely, Aren’t Ya”? Because it would’ve already been a love song dedicated to Livie, right? So, technically, Jake’s bandmates already knew his answer.
Actually, now that I thought about it, it was the message boards and gossip sites that declared Jake must’ve written it for Livie since they were dating at the time, and Livie who hinted she was his muse. Jake never actually commented about it himself. I wondered why. Was it really that hard for Jake to get his feelings out? Or was it something else?
“Just leave it, guys,” Jake muttered.
“So touchy,” Aspen remarked, bopping Jake on the nose with the end of his chopstick.
Before a fight could break out, Phillip reached over and snatched the chopstick from Aspen, earning him a grunt of irritation.
“Thanks for having us over before we left, Ms. Melrose,” Phillip said, changing the subject and beaming across the table at Mom. He had his magazine-worthy smile on again, except it didn’t look fake this time. It looked real, like he was enjoying himself. “When we’re doing band stuff, we don’t really get to go home and have family dinners. This is nice.”
“It’s Diana,” Mom insisted. “And you boys are always welcome here.”
Leon looked delighted. “Really?”
“Of course,” Mom said. “Have band family dinner. See a kitten. Drop by if you ever pass by here on tour again. It’s an open invitation.”
“Cool,” Aspen said, nodding appreciatively.
I watched them all, surprised they warmed to the idea so quickly. Could they like the idea of us being there for them too?
Jake smiled happily at Mom before he looked over at me and noticed my stare. But this time, I couldn’t bring myself to care that he’d caught me.
Once he left, I thought that’d be it, and he wouldn’t ever return to Somerset.
But what if he did?
Jake’s gaze stayed locked on mine. Quietly, as if just for me, he said, “Coming back here sounds really nice.”
I didn’t look away, I just took him in, sitting at my dining table, looking like he belonged—looking like hewantedto belong.
Was he something I could actually have?
The thought hit me like a freight train, scarily fast and knocking me flat.
Jake maywantto come back, but what were the odds that he would leave, we’d both be busy beginning the next chapter of our lives, and he’d be just as terrible at staying in touch with me again? We’d lose each other a second time.
