“This song takes me back to high school,” I tell him, snapping my fingers to Miguel,Sure Thing.
“Music always takes you back to a place or time. When I hear this, it reminds me of road trips with my dad. He’d play this song, singing off-key at the top of his lungs. I used to act like it annoyed me, but I’d give anything to hear him sing it again.”
My chest tightens and the playful energy between us shifts.
“Sorry. Didn’t mean to kill the vibe.”
“You didn’t,” I say quickly. “That’s…really sweet.”
He smiles faintly.
Trying to lighten the mood, I nudge his arm. “So, did you inherit the off-key gene or do you have thevocals?”
Othello coughs out a laugh. “Oh, I got thevocals.”
The next song makes both of our eyes expand, and we turn to each other in unison. “Oh shit!” He exclaims.
“This wasmysong!” I say, clutching my chest and belting out the lyrics of Bruno Mars,Just the Way You Are.
“What are you thinking when you hear this song?”
“Homecoming. 2007. I was dancing with Tony Wayne. He had the biggest hands I’d ever seen on a ninth grader.”
We laugh. My favorite part comes on when Bruno starts belting his heart out about how this woman is already enough.
Othello joins in, using a water bottle as a microphone as he belts out the lyrics. When he breaks it down on the bridge, I lose it, my side aching from laughing so hard.
“Please, stop!” I holler.
“What? That’s how he looked in the music video,” Othello chuckles, taking mock offense.
The rest of the ride turns into a full-onconcert. A throwback battle neither of us is willing to back down from. Othello croons a Jodeci classic, and I fire back with a power ballad from Mariah Carey, the car filling with off-key high notes and breathless laughter. By the time we pull into the Grand Palms, we’ve butchered at least thirteen R&B classics.
The Hawaiian breeze of the evening wraps around me as Othello opens the car door for me, and I step out with a sigh of relief.
We’re finally here.
The staff of the luxurious resort greets us with warm smiles, handing over frothy cocktails and draping fresh orchid leis around our necks. A bellman gets our names, then wheels our luggage away inside the resort. Othello idly brushes a fingertip over the petals resting against my collarbone.
“I guess this makes it official. We’re on vacation now.”
We finally enter the Grand Palms, a rush of cool air greeting us after being in the heavy Maui humidity outside. The lobby hums with a thrilling, blissful energy. Music plays somewhere in the distance, and guests drift through in a carefree manner.Everything, including the ambiance of the beautiful resort, is so intoxicating that for a second I want to forget about my list, crumple it up, and throw it in the nearest trash bin. I want to go anywhere the Maui wind blows me.
We fall in line at one of the four check-in stations. Each one has a line that makes it clear we’re not the only people eager to start this vacay. My eyes scan around, taking in this haven that will be my home for the next several days.
Across the way is a lounge, where Latin music spills out of its open doors, festive and lively. The soft buzz from the drinks Othello and I had earlier seems to hit me hard right here and now, fueling this sudden sense of freedom. The night is still young. And I’m tempted to do exactly what my mother told me to do.
Othello beams down at me with that same admiring smile he’s been wearing all day. My hips begin to sway before I can stop them, threatening to give a shimmy the judges ofDancing with the Starswould be proud of.
“Well, well, well, look at you. I didn’t peg you for adancing-in-publictype of girl.”
“That shows you have no idea what I’m capable of.”
Othello looks at me with newfound interest. Butterflies have gone mad in my belly. I no longer hear the music or see the people. It’s just the two of us standing there in our own world, my mind on everything I can’t wait to do and want to do to this man.
Let your hair down.
I can do that. And I will. My mouth opens to ask if he wants to meet me back in the lobby after we’ve freshened up. If he wants to go dancing with me and?—
