Wonderful.
No. He couldn’t think of him that way.
Patrick’s chest tightened and he sat forward, taking in deep, shaky breaths.
Leaving the bed, Patrick went to the closet and opened the accordion door. He slid some hanging shirts aside, reached into the corner, and picked up the guitar case he hadn’t touched or thought about in ages. He took it to the bed and opened it, revealing the redFenderelectric guitar inside. A rush of nostalgia swept over him as he ran his fingertips along the sleek body, then over the strings, the pads of his fingers tingling as memorized chords immediately began to play through his head.
Patrick gently lifted the guitar from the case and sat on the end of the bed, cradling the instrument against his body. He hadn’t played in a long time, though it had once been his passion. Holding the guitar now, was like embracing a long-lost friend.
Why had he suddenly picked it up againnow?After all this time? Patrick didn’t know and didn’t try to figure it out. Did it even matter? He lovingly strummed the strings, startled by the sudden tears that welled.
“Welcome home, my friend,” he whispered. “I missed you.”
. . .
Gideon turned off the kitchen light and walked out through the spacious, dimly lit entry hall. He started for the staircase and paused when he heard soft music filtering from the rec room. It was nearly midnight and all the boys had gone to bed. Someone probably forgot to turn off the music when they left the room. Gideon veered in that direction.
The rec room was dark—but for a faint glow emanating from the single occupant’s phone, the source of the quiet music. Gideon squinted into the shadowed room, his eyes adjusting to the light from the device. Derek sat on the sofa, head laid back and eyes closed, the cell phone resting on his thigh.
The music had the tender tone of a love song.
Gideon stood quietly in the doorway, the words of the song playing with his heartstrings.
“When you love someone, you’ll sacrifice… you’ll give it everything you got, and you won’t think twice…”
Gideon knocked lightly on the doorframe and asked softly, “You okay, son?”
Derek slowly raised his head and blinked, taking a moment to pinpoint Gideon. “Yeah.”
“I didn’t mean to wake you.”
Shifting on the sofa, Derek turned off the music. “I wasn’t asleep.”
Gideon passed through the room and sat beside the young man. “You feeling okay?”
“I don’t know.” Derek hung his head and stared at the phone. “Not really.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
Derek rubbed his face, his eyes heavy with exhaustion. “I wasn’t completely honest with the guys about my date.”
“How so?”
“I was telling the truth when I said Patrick didn’t show up for the date,” he murmured. “He wasn’t there on time, but hedidshow.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. He showed up almost forty-five minutes late, thinking I wouldn’t still be there.”
“But you were?”
Derek nodded. “I don’t know why I waited. I wasn’t expecting him to show. I guess I just didn’t want to come home and admit I’d been stood up.” He sighed. “Not that he stood me up. He told me he might not make it.”
“But he did make it… eventually,” Gideon said quietly. “What happened then?”
“We, uh…” Derek sniffed and continued to stare at his phone. “We went ahead and had our date… sort of. I mean, we just had a soda and talked.”
“Sounds nice.”
