Page 6 of Wish We Were There

“I think that would be best, too,” she agreed. “Don’t wait too long, though, okay? They’re worried about you, too. And the band being in limbo like this is stressful for everyone.”

He nodded grimly. “I will.”

They remained in silence for a beat, then Kylie stifled a giggle behind her hand.

“So you were with Parker, huh?” she teased, and he rolled his eyes, hoping the flush creeping up his face wasn’t obvious.

“I told you it was for his podcast,” he said. “And I talked for like ten minutes before I freaked out and bailed. So I’m seeing him again tomorrow to hopefully record something decent for him. That’s it.”

Her expression softened as he spoke. “Well, I’m glad you’re talking to him, at least, if you’re not talking to us.”

“I’m not not talking to you,” Taylor protested, but she laughed and waved him away, standing up.

“Yeah, yeah,” she said. “I just came to check on you, so I’ll get out of your hair. Answer my texts every once in a while now, okay? Let’s plan something with Dean and Angie soon.”

He watched her go pensively. “Yeah, soon.”

Chapter Three

Parker

Then

“Hey, you, uh, you said you play piano, right?”

Parker remembered that Taylor played piano, of course, but he wasn’t sure how else to bring it up; and the sight of the cutest guy in his poetry class still made his heart beat faster and his brain not work correctly. The other boy blinked up owlishly at him from where he’d taken his seat next to Parker. His big blue eyes widened at first—the way they always did when Parker started talking to him, as if surprised all over again at his attention—then they crinkled with a smile as Taylor nodded.

“Yeah, I do,” he replied, his voice lilting with a stifled laugh—they had talked about their majors before, of course, so he knew Parker knew he played piano. “Why?”

“I have a friend who’s starting a band,” Parker continued, sitting down next to him. “And he’s looking for a keyboardist. Think you might be interested in something like that?”

Taylor hesitated. “Oh, uh... Well, maybe. What kind of music?”

Asking him seemed like a mistake, Parker thought. Taylor was so pretty, with his dirty blonde hair falling elegantly to his shoulders and the sweet pink flush to his skin, the way his eyes brightened when he smiled—he looked like he should be an art student sculpting masterpieces, or painting lovely ethereal landscapes, not at all like a member of a rock band like Zach was envisioning. But when Zach said he’d been looking for a keyboardist, Parker had mentioned the cute guy in his poetry class who was a music major and played piano; and Zach had all but begged him to put in a good word for him. So here he was, trying to pitch a band that didn’t even exist yet to a guy who was probably more suited to playing Beethoven and Bach.

“Er,” Parker said. They had been staring at each other in silence for several awkward seconds. “Do you know My Chemical Romance?”

Taylor’s expression morphed into one of surprise, then amusement, as he snorted with laughter. “Yeah, I know them.”

“That kind of music. Sort of,” Parker laughed. “That would be the closest band I can think of that has a keyboardist that I thought you’d know.”

Taylor only laughed, covering his mouth with one long-fingered hand, filling Parker with a weird embarrassment, even as his chest ached with longing.

“No worries if you’re not into it,” he stammered quickly. “He’s just looking for a keyboardist, and you play piano, so... I don’t know. I told him I’d help him look, so, you know.”

“No, I’m—I’m interested,” Taylor chuckled before he could yammer on any longer. “It’s funny you say that. I’ve been wanting to try to, uh, expand my repertoire, I guess. So something different like that could be fun. Are there try-outs or something?”

“I don’t think he’s that organized, no,” Parker laughed, half-relieved that Taylor didn’t think the question was stupid, but the other half of him now anxious that he would have to follow through with Zach. “I’ll text him to let him know you’re interested and get more details for you, alright?”

Their professor walked into the room before Taylor could respond, but he whispered over his shoulder as he turned to face the front of the classroom, “Let me know what he says.”

Parker nodded, feeling heat rising in his face. If Taylor joined Zach’s band, they’d be seeing each other a lot more often. He could find some excuses to hang around their band practices more often, surely, and then maybe...

But he might not even join the band. Parker shook the thoughts away as the professor started on his lecture, trying to focus. Each time he glanced over at Taylor, though, the other boy had a small smile on his face, as if he was thinking the same as Parker.

Now

Somehow, Parker managed not to dwell too much on Taylor for the rest of the day. But the other man showed up at his apartment the next morning bright-eyed and put together, and Parker couldn’t take his eyes off him. He’d been a little scruffy the day before, sure, but Parker could hardly hold that against him, all things considered. Today, though, he was clean-shaven and his shoulder-length hair was shiny and smooth. He wore an orange flannel with the sleeves half rolled-up over a black t-shirt and skinny jeans with black Converse, looking like he’d walked right out of one of their early album covers.

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