I twirl the ball around. “Just enhancing the fun.”
“Fun,” he chuckles darkly. “Alright, hit me.”
I set the ball to him and he bumps it back effortlessly. The sand slips between my toes as I shuffle to the left to return it but end up hitting it off the side of my arm, and it plops to the ground.
“Guess I get to go first.” He grins. “I’ll go easy on you. Favorite snack?”
“Psh, easy. Clementines.”
“Clementines?” His nose scrunches up. “What kind of snack is that?”
“Only the best one ever. I could eat a whole bag of them in two days.”
“Well damn, guess I should’ve added those to the grocery order.”
“You would’ve done yourself a favor.” I bump the ball back to him and after a few volleys, he drops it. My turn to ask a question. I also ease him in with an easy one. “What’s your favorite song? And any of yours don’t count.”
He scoffs. “Like I’d be so vain as to pick my own songs.”
I arch my brows and he flips me off.
“I mean, fuck there’s a lot. I guess ‘Sweet Child O’Mine’ is one of the first songs I remember hearing and falling in love with the guitar. It’s what made me want to learn how to play, so I guess I gotta go with that one.”
I miss the next ball and he asks me the same question.
“‘Limits,’” I say, feeling heat creep up my neck and to my cheeks. “The acoustic version.”
A knowing look grows on his face. “Any particular reason?”
I roll my eyes at him, which he can’t see behind mysunglasses, but I’m sure he can sense.You know damn well why.
I do, he says silently. Then out loud, he argues, “The regular version is better.”
“Wrong, but whatever.”
“Not wrong, but whatever.”
We hit the ball back and forth again, and he’s the one to drop it this time.
“Where’s your favorite place you ever visited on tour?”
He takes a moment to think about that one. “Ah, there’s been a lot of really cool places. Maybe Tokyo?”
“You’ve been to Japan?” I gape.
“Yep. We did a small East Asia tour after our second album.” His posture relaxes and I can practically see the memories flashing across his face. “It was one of the coolest experiences we ever had together. None of us ever would’ve thought we’d have the reach to go overseas, and yet we sold out every single show that tour.”
“Do you miss touring?”
His face shutters and he bats the ball back in my direction. “One question at a time.”
I drop the next pass and he asks, “If you had to pick a brand new job tomorrow, and it could be anything you want, what would you do?”
It’s only the question I’ve been trying to answer myself for the last few years. I open my mouth to argue just that but he cuts me off.
“Don’t overthink it, just say it.”
“But I don’t?—”
