rushed to the forefront of my mind. While they danced there, it was impossible to recall all the bad ones she starred in.
I felt her hand tighten on my shirt and a little sigh escape her lips as I pressed closer, wanting to taste more of her. Almost as if it had a mind of its own, my tongue darted out and flicked eagerly across the seam of her lips. I wanted inside. I wanted her warmth, and the damp press of her tongue twisted against mine. I felt her gasp, and a second later, her hand was on the center of my chest, and she pushed me backward with enough force I nearly stumbled.
Before, I was the one who pushed her away metaphorically. Now, she was doing it physically. It wasn’t a good feeling, and I got a hint of why she was so mad at me back then when I’d handled everything all wrong.
I was disoriented, caught between the past and the present, locked in the middle of a memory and reality. Back then, I was the one who shocked her by stealing a kiss when she least expected it. Today, she definitely returned the favor.
While I stared down at her blankly, she looked over my shoulder and gave a satisfied smile at whatever she saw. I glanced back and noticed we were alone in the parking lot. I figured she was happy she finally got rid of the bass player.
When I turned my head back around to ask her what had just happened, I wasn’t ready for her hand to shoot up and grab my face between her fingers hard enough that it hurt.
“What was that, Archer? You had a girlfriend like two days ago, and you’re supposed to be brokenhearted. I told you not to read anything into it. Desperate times call for desperate measures, but you went too far.” She squished my cheeks and rocked my face back and forth. “Why are you so well-behaved with everyone else on the planet but not with me?” She let go of my face and touched her fingers to her lips.
I couldn’t tell if she was trying to wipe the kiss away or if she was trying to hold the imprint of it there.
“I don’t know why I’m only different when I’m with you.” But that was one of the reasons I’d headed to Austin without any kind of plan or forethought the moment I was lost and questioning everything.
Maybe spending some time with her would help me finally find an answer to her question. And maybe I could figure out if the real me was the one everyone else saw or the one who wanted to kiss her again more than I wanted to make it to the Super Bowl.
Bowe
I LET OUT a startled shriek when my headphones were suddenly pulled off. I was alone in my dad’s recording studio and had been for hours. I knew he didn’t have anyone scheduled today, which was why I’d opted to work in his studio and use his superior equipment instead of the basic setup I had at home.
I put a hand to my racing heart and glared at my dad as he plopped down in the expensive leather seat next to mine in front of the computer and soundboard.
I didn’t have a regular part-time job like most young adults my age. I made money by creating beats and samples that I sold to aspiring musicians who might not be as deft with music as I was. It was a pretty lucrative venture and kept me afloat for the most part. I also got to work as much or as little as I wanted, got to play around with different genres and sounds, and it allowed me to interact with other musicians all over the world. I was never going to get rich or famous doing it, but it allowed me devote most of my free time to my band and songwriting.
My dad chuckled and reached out to flick the end of my nose. It was something he’d done since I was young and always made me giggle in response. I wiggled the tip in response and reached up to rub the ticklish spot.
“What are you doing here? I looked at the schedule before I came in, and it said the studio was supposed to be empty today.”
My dad leaned back in the chair and kicked out his long legs. He still looked like a rockstar even if he