Because of course I'm going to say yes.
I've never been able to say no to her.
Not when we were seventeen. Not now.
I shift the car into drive and head toward the studio.
And I don't let myself think about what happens when we get there.
CHAPTER 34
STUDIO SESSIONS
NORA
The studioat night is a different world.
All the lights are off except for the soft glow coming from the control room.
The main space is dark, vast, filled with shadows and the ghost of music that's been played here.
There's an intimacy about it—like we're the only two people who exist.
Nate unlocks the control room and flicks on a single lamp.
Warm light spills across the mixing board, the leather chairs, the walls covered in photographs and gold records.
"Sit," he says, gesturing to the couch against the back wall. "I'll get you some water."
For the first time tonight, I do as I'm told a sink into the leather sofa while he disappears, then returns with a bottle of water and what looks like aspirin.
"Drink," he orders gently. "All of it."
I take the water gratefully, suddenly realizing how thirsty I am.
“Do you ever get tired of it?”
“Tired of what?
“Taking care of me?”
“Of you?” He smiles and it undoes me. “Never.”
I take a sip of the water, hoping it cools me down and helps clear my head slightly, washing away some of the alcohol haze.
He sits on the coffee table in front of me—not too close, maintaining that careful distance he's been practicing—and watches me drink.
"Better?" he asks when I finish the bottle.
"Yeah."
I'm still buzzed—warm and loose and brave—but the sharp edge of drunkenness has dulled.
"How are you feeling? Honestly."
"Honestly?" I consider the question. "Clearer. Still... warm. But clearer."
He studies me for a long moment, like he's assessing whether I'm telling the truth.
