She gets it.
“Oh, this is only part of it.” I wink before I turn away and start moving for the booth to check it out. There’s a stool and guitar in there, set up and waiting for me. Jared’s the man.
I turn back to look at her before I step inside. Jared’s already in the room with us, getting settled at the board. “You can have a seat,” I tell her, pointing out several opportunities to get comfortable. The chair beside Jared. The sofa along the wall. The two beanbag chairs in the corner. But she just shakes her head.
“I’m not ready to sit yet. I’m still taking it all in.” She sighs, a mix of bliss and appreciation moving over her like a wave, visible in everything from her expression to the way her body settles after it moves through. And something else. Something that instantly takes my breath away.
Love.
Love she feels for me. It comes out of her at such a force, I can physically feel it from across the room.
It’s enough to make me march right back to where I came from, pull her to me and press my lips to hers.
“What was that for?” she blinks up at me, hazy but smirking.
“Looking so damn right in every corner of my world.” I kiss her again. “And wanting to be in it.”
“Uh, y’all want me to leave the room for a minute?” Jared interrupts. “Because it’s getting a little hard to keep pretending to be super focused on the board when no one’s in the booth and the two of you keep canoodling, like, two feet behind my back.”
“I see the novelty of my presence has already begun to wear off,” Kenley jokes and I laugh harder than I expect to. Not that she’s not funny. She is. Just haven’t seen her this way around anyone outside of her circle. She’s reserved with others, like Sila’s friends, or even sitting in the restaurant surrounded by strangers. Friendly but not open. But Jared’s not a stranger. He’s part of my circle. And I kind of love that my circle already feels like hers.
“I’m going, I’m going,” I assure him, smacking one more kiss on Kenley’s perfect mouth. Because I can. And I damn well intend to every chance I get.
I get settled inside the booth, sitting on the stool, one leg propped up, foot sitting on a rung, both in place to support the guitar. It never feels quite right, playing someone else’s instrument, but I’ve been overlapping music with Jared long enough to hold his guitar and find it familiar.
“Ready when you are,” his voice comes through the speakers.
I nod.
My fingers glide over the strings, moving over them a few times to help me get into the zone. I’ve had the same melody stuck in my head since I woke up this morning, but since I haven’t had my guitar, this will be my first time playing it.
I try my hand at a few chords, getting a feel for the sound, making it match with the one in my head.
After a few minutes of working out the first kinks, I nod at Jared letting him know I’m ready.
I find Kenley’s gaze and hold it.
Then I start to sing.
Waited for you
Long before I even knew you
Crazy, yes, but true
All my life I’ve looked for you
Every road went on forever
Seemed so aimless
But my heart led true
All my life I searched for you
And every false north was a chance for more hope
Guiding my heart, like an arrow and bow
