Page 27 of Love Song, Take Two

“What do you wanna try first?” Micah asked once Harriet was gone, turning the tray sideways so both of them could see all the glasses.

“The rainbow sparkles. What did she call it?”

“My Little Rosé.”

The name made them both smile and he picked up the small glass to sniff. It was a brighter pink than most rosé he’d drunk, but it was the glitter that really threw him. Micah arched an eyebrow at his hesitation and after toasting her, he took a quick sip. He’d been prepared for something else, so was pleasantly surprised when the wine went down smooth.

“Surprisingly not offensive,” he mumbled and handed it to her to try.

Nodding at his assessment, she reached for the next one—a white that was almost colorless—and pursed her lips at the glass and sipped, her nose scrunching up as she held it out to him. “That’s tarty.”

“It is called Tartonnay,” he teased, reading off the small name cards he didn’t see before. He took a sip of the wine and grimaced as a shudder worked its way through his body. It was good, but maybe a little too much for his palate. “Damn, okay.”

She laughed and nudged at the tray. Fletcher reached for the dark red one and peered at the card. “Dark of Noir. Seems like the most unimaginative name.” But he took a sip and was relieved that the Pinot erased the tarty Chardonnay off his tastebuds.

Micah seemed to think the same thing about the Pinot, because she set it beside the rosé and reached for the final glass of white. “It only says Blanc, so maybe it’s not anything too fancy?”

“Or maybe it’s really boring,” he countered with all of the skepticism he could muster.

She laughed and sniffed the wine, eyes widening slightly before she took a sip. Holding glass away, Micah whistled. “Oh, it is fancy.”

He narrowed his eyes and took the glass from her, sniffed and shrugged before taking a big sip. The explosion of flavors was most unexpected and as the grapefruit, guava and hints of chocolate swirled around his mouth, his eyes slipped shut. When he opened them, he found Micah watching him with a playful smile, bottom lip tucked between her teeth.

“I think this is the winner,” he said softly, not wanting to say something cheesy and ruin the moment.

Micah

You ruined me too.

The fact that Micah thought she could be around Fletcher and not completely lose her mind was a joke. They’d barely done anything together that day and she was already wondering if he still kissed the same way, if the calluses on his hand would still scratch against her naked skin seductively. When they talked about the song, she wanted to ask who he dedicated it to. For so long, she’d forgotten about the mermaid tattoo on her back, so when Fletcher had pointed it out, she’d been startled. Jealousy had sparked through her at the thought that someone else had inspired him to write a song about being drawn into the deepest depths of the ocean to lose himself. Was it silly to wish that the song was about her? Probably. But anybody listening to the song would wish that he’d written it with them in mind.

She still remembered the first time she heard the song—six months pregnant and standing in line at the grocery store. They were playing a local radio station and the host was talking about how a new song by The Rescuers was holding the top spot on the charts. Micah hadn’t listened to their music since her night with Fletcher, so she’d been caught off guard. What really stumped her was that when the song started, it was slower than their usual stuff and had a more acoustic sound to it. Then instead of Jack’s smooth and silky vocals, a deep and scratchy sound came through the speakers. The memory of Fletcher singing softly in her ear that night, his wants and desires whispered as they fucked filled her mind. And it only got worse when she heard the lyrics.

Luring me away from the shore

She’s got me moving my oars

Bringing me in closer with every smile

I’d row for miles just to have her again

Those hands in my hair,

A mouth that stole my air.

She’s got me moving my oars,

Luring me away from the shore

She’s got me hook, line and sinker

Dragging me into her depths

The brightest star, a siren

My mermaid.

Everywhere she went for a year after that—bringing Emery home from the hospital, visiting her doctor for a standard check-up, doing another grocery run—Fletcher’s voice followed her. When Emery was a year old, Micah made the decision to get the tattoo. Because of Geoffrey, she decided to get it on her back where he wouldn’t see it. After all, it was a tattoo she got in honor of a man that blew her mind and nobody else needed to know anything about it.

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