Page 73 of Love Scenes

“You really saved the day,” I tell Guy.

He blushes. “Please. I think I need an ice bath now.”

“If I’d known you could play like that, I would’ve asked you right away.”

“It’s been decades since I’ve played like that. But I felt a wave of inspiration I couldn’t ignore! I knew I had it in me.”

Mom rubs his back in small, appreciative circles. “You coming home with us?” she asks me.

“Oh. No. I think I’ll sleep in my room upstairs.”

“The one you booked to hold your dress?” She looks deeply confused. “Why don’t you go to the front desk and see if they’ll upgrade it to one of the suites, at least, if you’re actually going to stay there.”

I don’t know what to say to that, so I say nothing, insteadgiving them big hugs and kisses. Melanie helps me by grabbing my arm and gesturing to Sarai, who is animatedly telling a story to Tyler and Mara.

“You gave that one the night of her life,” Melanie says. “I’m never gonna be able to keep her out of this town now.”

Sarai breaks from her conversation to squeeze me tight. There’s no hint of self-consciousness in a hug like this. We rock back and forth, holding each other, whispering declarations of love and praise. Eventually Melanie has to break us up, saying it’s so far past everyone’s bedtime that they have to leave now or they’ll end up sleeping in the lobby.

“See you tomorrow,” Tyler reminds me, slipping into the open space Sarai and Melanie and Terrence have left.

“I’d say I hate you, but I’m mostly grateful it’s a ten a.m. call,” I tell her.

“It was the least I could do.” She gives me a side hug. “I’m really proud of you, dude.”

“Yeah,” Mara adds. “This whole thing was amazing.”

Mara—with her perpetually solemn energy and her penchant for laughing without moving a face muscle—has always been a tough nut for me to crack. It makes her small validation that much more satisfying to me. She and Tyler slip off holding hands, Mara leaning her head on Tyler’s shoulder as they walk.

“Another great one, Sloanius,” Dad tells me. It’s a never-ending receiving line where I stand. I haven’t moved once.

“It was so much fun,” Daya says. “I didn’t expect that.”

“Thank you both for performing. You were excellent.”

“It was an honor!” Daya pulls me in and whispers. There’s a faint smell of liquor on her breath. “And you and Joe? Holy shit. Girl. You don’t even understand.”

My cheeks warm. “What am I even doing?” I ask her.

She’s got that drunken kind of honesty glinting in her eyes. She takes in my face, then leans in again to whisper, “Girl, if it’s worth exploring, then you better explore it. Better to get your answer than to always wonder how things would’ve been. Right?”

“Thank you,” I say, hoping I sound casual. “You and I are doing lunch when I wrap the movie. It’s not an option.”

Powell comes up behind me and attempts a jump scare. We both outdo each other with praise until it’s settled that he was still the best performer of the night. Even better than me. “A close second, though,” he says. He hugs me and heads out, turning around when he’s about ten feet away to give me one last bow.

For a moment, I’m left unbothered.

I scan the sparse crowd, looking for Joe. He’s not here, which means he’s already upstairs. I take full advantage of this lull and slip off to the elevator, leaving my gala behind.

19

An echoing expanse of patterned carpet covers the length of the hotel hallway. The lights above are a warm yellow, brightening the green sequins shimmering on me like scales. I knock five times on my hotel door. And then six. By the time my last knock lands, the inside bolt is already unlocking.

Joe appears to me as he has so many times before, smiling and eager, filling up a doorframe. Only now he’s barefoot, his white dress shirt unbuttoned to right above his navel. Shoes already off. A tendril of hair slicing down the center of his forehead.

“Hello, you,” he says.

“Hello right back.”