Kiss Me Goodbye

Sing, Sing, Sing! (Day 13)

Friday, July 7

Today's the day. The day of Luke's gig. I'm still exhausted from yesterday, but I drag my butt out of my comfortable bed halfway through the day to help him prepare.

Turns out, he doesn't need much help. We sit in his room while he lightly strums his guitar, humming a nameless tune. Meanwhile, I curl up on his bed, immersed in the fifth Harry Potter book. It's not my favourite, but it's the only one he has at his house.

His room really isn't that bad, especially for a boy. In fact, if it were any cleaner, I might have to question his sexuality.

The walls are peppered with posters of old bands like The Beatles and Pink Floyd alongside flyers for sketchy-sounding start-up and indie bands. A calender hangs on the door, banging against it each time the door moves, and aside from his bed and a writing desk, there isn't much furniture.

A beanbag rests underneath the window, and he drags it over to the bedside before plopping down on it, leaning against the bed and resuming his mindless humming.

"You don't want to practice your set?" I ask, absentmindedly flipping to the next page.

"Set?" he snorts. "Three songs hardly counts as a set."

"It's a lot," I insist.

"Well maybe to a pro singer like you, but to me..."

His eyes go wide. "I didn't mean to- I'm sorry- just- I totally forgot."

I shrug. Somehow, his mention of my singing doesn't make me want to curl up in a ball and cry for the first time since my breakup with Leon. That's definitely improvement, right?

"You're not mad?" he asks tentatively.

I shake my head no.

"Not upset?" he says, sounding a little more curious this time.

I shake my head again, and he stares at me with wide eyes, like I'm a particularly interesting specimen in his car magazine.

I snap my book shut and grin at him cheekily. His staring doesn't unnerve me, but for some reason, I feel warm all over, and my cheeks are flaming. "Take a picture, it'll last longer," I say cockily, tilting my head to the side.

He jumps up and sputters, his guitar dropping on top of the bean bag with a twang. "I wasn't staring," he says.

I swear his cheeks go red for a second before he regains his composure. "So you want me to take pictures of you?" he grins. "I didn't know you were into exhibitionism. That's sexy."

"That is disgusting, you perv."

"But you still love me," he says.

I sigh. "Yeah, unfortunately."

I look up from my book in alarm as my eyes meet his. Did I just say I love him? I quickly jerk my gaze from his and bury myself in my book. I can barely tell what I'm reading, but I pretend to be completely and utterly absorbed.

After what seems like forever, he still hasn't moved. The room is silent except for my frantic turning of pages. A squeak comes from behind me.

I don't look up until I realize that Luke's trying to say my name. Slowly, I bring myself into a sitting position and stare in his direction, refusing to meet his eyes.

Then, in one solid movement, he lifts my chin with his index finger and brushes my hair away from my face. "Allison Nicole Lorenzo," he says breathlessly. His cheeks are flushed, and his jaw is set. "I think I'm in love with you."