AllFreeNovel
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Hitting pause on my playlist, I ask, “Is it time to set up already?”
He frowns and checks his phone. “Considering it’s only ten, I hope not.”
Already ten?Did I disassociate so hard that I fucking travelled through time? How have I only accomplished writing a few lines when I owe so many artists a chunk of my no-good, tattered soul?
Hail plops down beside me and steals a wireless headphone. He reaches an arm over my body to hit play on my phone, then snuggles up next to me in the soft grass.
I can’t keep my eyes off him. I watch every little shift in his features, in awe of this perfect human. His is something good. Pure. Unearthly.
I will surely break him.
“Classical,” he murmurs, closing his eyes. “Knew it. Did you take lessons?”
“It became the only thing for me.”
“Same. Probably why I failed out of classes senior year. I didn’t actually graduate,” Hail admits. His head rolls to the side to meet my watchful eyes for judgment. “It tore my family up pretty good. Or I should say, it damaged their reputation.”
My brows furrow, a dull pain spreading through my chest. “Do you miss them?”
“Sometimes. Sometimes I wonder if I just miss the idea of family. I send my mom messages occasionally, but they go unanswered. Stasi and I talk sporadically. I think it’s Max I really miss. He’s my oldest sibling. I tagged along with him constantly when we were kids.”
His growing frown gives tell to how that relationship progressed. “What happened?”
Hail sighs and gazes up at the drifting, fluffy clouds. “Nothing happened. I became an embarrassment. Didn’t like me hanging around his elitist friends. Even when I proved myself with music, it didn’t change anything because I wasn’t playing therighttype of music. And now look at me.”
He motions lazily over his body. My gaze trails down and then back up to meet his eyes once more. I let every bit of admiration bleed out into my next words. “I’m looking, Hail.”
His Adam’s apple bobs when he turns his head to face me. His teeth sink into his bottom lip as he scoots close enough that our arms press together. He tips his chin enough that his lips are a breath away.
Logic tells me to stay away. To protect him.
But sensing his need for intimacy, I close the small distance between us and press my mouth softly to his. We kiss through the remainder of my playlist, never taking things beyond the careful movement of our lips and tongues mapping each other, slow and warm and mind-numbing.
His pinkie finger curls around mine, and I’m hooked on this expanding, heated, fluttery feeling all over my body. Better than any drug I’ve taken.
When the music switches to something jarringly pop, I break away. Hail’s smile is sweet, his eyes warm pools of honey. I’m glad we’re in a public place, or I’d be tempted to climb on top of him and ride him right here.
I hand him my phone with the Spotify app open. “Pick something you like.”
Rapid fingers type, and I snuggle my head into the crook of his neck to glimpse him spelling out Jinjer, a band I’ve never heard before. Instantly, I’m enchanted by a stylistic, feminine voice. When she starts into soul-shattering screams, I can’t help but chuckle. “Whatisthis?”
“Talent,” Hail replies with a smirk. “She’s one of my favourites.”
We fall into an effortless rhythm, taking turns passing my phone back and forth. He introduces me to a French band called Gojira. I’m perplexed by the skill of their drummer and the melodic tone of the vocalist as he screams. Then I share an FKJ song with him, enjoying the tapping of his fingers on the back of my hand and the little bobs of his head to the jazzy, rhythmic beat.
“It’s good.” He smiles. “We should swap music more often.”
My heart sinks a bit at the comment. There will come a day when we don’t share anything. No lyrics. No music. No heated glances. No kisses.
While last night was the most intimate I’ve been with anyone in a long time, this right here, this brief moment in time, will live on forever in my heart.
Hail’s phone rings, startling him out of our little peaceful bubble in the centre of the park.
“Yeah, we’re headed back.”
I can hear Sondra chewing him out on the other end, but can’t make out her words. Sighing, I watch him roll up onto his feet and ruffle his hair awkwardly. I don’t make a move from my spot, though I can sense he wants something from me. I don’t have the courage to ask what though.
“Come on, sunshine. Back to the grind for us.” His eyes shimmer with hope.
