turn on my side in my bed, taking my laptop with me. “How are you getting to the airport in the morning?”
“You mean in four hours?” She smiles. “Georgina. My mom has to work, so Georgina said she’d take me.”
“I’ll take you.”
“Oh, Fish. You’re the sweetest. But I live in the boondocks, remember? Georgina has tomorrow off from work and said she really wants to take me, so we can say our goodbyes in person.”
I’m feeling irrationally crestfallen. I want to say my goodbyes to you in person, too, I think. But, of course, I don’t say it. I’m tempted to ask which airline, which terminal, just so I can drive there to say goodbye in person, even if I’m not the one driving her . . . But I refrain. An early morning first kiss on the curb at LAX, when we’re both sleep deprived and rushed, isn’t the magical moment I’ve been fantasizing about. And certainly not the one she deserves.
Alessandra yawns and rubs her droopy eyes. “Do you know if 22 Goats has any upcoming tour dates in Boston?”
“The next tour dates aren’t set yet. They’re planning everything now. For the next couple months, we’re going to be hunkered down in LA, working on our next album. Otherwise, I’d already have booked a flight to visit you in Boston in the next couple weeks.”
Her droopy eyes suddenly shoot open. “Really?”
“If I could.”
“Wow. I’d love to see you, whenever you’re able to visit. Any time.”
My heart rate is quickening. “It might be a couple months. Just because of my schedule. But, I promise, I’ll come.”
“That’s so exciting,” she says, but she’s yawning even as she says the words.
I chuckle. “You’d better get some sleep, cutie. I’ve been selfish to keep you up this long.”
“I’ve been having fun.”
“Me, too. But it’s time for you to get some sleep.”
She yawns again. “Okay.”
“Let me know when you’ve landed safely, okay? So I don’t worry.”
She bats her eyelashes. “Okay.”
“And let me know how your audition at the coffeehouse on Tuesday goes.”
She lifts her head from her pillow, her mouth in the shape of an “O.” “I can’t believe you remembered about that!”
“Dude, I already told you. I remember everything you’ve said.”
She sinks back onto her pillow and swoons. “Oh, Fish. Matthew.”
“Are you going to perform that new song you wrote at your audition?”
“No, I was thinking I’d perform a cover. Maybe even my version of ‘Delightful Damage.’”
“I really think you should sing your new song at the audition. That’s what’s going to impress them the most. Although I’d absolutely love to hear your version of ‘Delightful Damage’ some time.”
“After you sing it to me, maybe. When are you going to sing to me, dude?”
“After you sing me ‘Blindsided.’ We’ve got a deal, remember?”
“Oh, yeah.”
“How about we sing for each other during our next date?”
Alessandra’s expression turns decidedly flirtatious. “Ooooh, we’re gonna have another date?”
“Duh.”
She’s beaming. “When?”
“I gotta figure out my schedule. The Goats and I are gonna be working hard this week in long writing sessions. That’s how we do it. Marathon sessions. It’s the only way we ever get anything accomplished.”
She nods. “Creativity doesn’t happen during ‘normal business hours.’”
“Exactly. You’ve got to make hay while the sun shines. So, let’s text each other our schedules in the next few days.”
“We’ve also got to deal with the pesky problem that Boston is three hours ahead,” she says. “Plus, I’ll be starting that class and working extra shifts.” She looks worried.
“Aw, don’t stress, Little Lioness,” I say. “We’ll make it work.”
“I can’t wait to . . .” She yawns and rubs her eyes. “I can’t wait to hang out with you again.”
I chuckle. “Time to close your eyes, cutie.”
“Okay.” She blows me a kiss. “Good night, Matthew.”
“Good night, Alessandra. Travel safe. Sweet dreams.”
“They will be, if I dream of you.” With a cute little wink, she ends the call.
And that’s it. The coolest, prettiest girl I’ve ever met is heading back to Boston in mere hours. And I’m not going to see her again for weeks, if not months.
“Fuck it, shit happens,” I whisper into the silence of my bedroom.
For a long moment, I lie on my bed, listening to the waves crashing on the beach outside my bedroom window. Man, I’m aching in all the best and worst ways. How is it possible I’ve finally met a girl who makes me feel like this, and she lives three thousand miles away?
With a deep sigh, I close my laptop, reach underneath my blanket,