Page 45 of The Sound of Us

I covered her hand with mine. “For the record, I don’t think a guy who would give up an invitation to spend the night with you just to get to know you better would ever look at you in disgust or pity, but I totally understand. You need to play it safe; just like me. And when the time is right for you, if it ever feels right, I have a feeling he’ll be right there waiting because, Iz, you’re worth waiting for.”

On Monday morning I got approval from both my university professor and the managing editor of theHavencrest Expressto go ahead with the story about the empty buildings. I spent the next two days immersed in my investigation and discovered that six buildings slated for redevelopment had been sitting empty for four years, and nothing had been done since the contracts were signed. After hitting roadblocks obtaining documents from the university administration, I decided to do a shorter piece bringing attention to the fact that the university had partnered with private developers to repurpose the old buildings, which would give outside interests control over most of the student residences on campus.

I wrote all day Wednesday and managed to get the piece in hours before the evening deadline. Isla called Haley over to celebrate, and we partied so hard I had to drag myself out of bed the next morning and was almost late for my shift at the station.

“You look rough,” Chad said on Thursday morning when he walked into the lounge to find me collapsed on the couch, waitingfor the painkillers to take effect so my brain would start working properly.

“I sent in my first investigative piece to theHavencrest Expressyesterday and it’s coming out this morning.” I groaned and flipped to my side to get away from the glare of my lights. “I might have celebrated too much. I can barely remember what we did all evening.”

I had a vague memory of asking Isla and Haley why they thought Dante hadn’t contacted me since our storage closet sexy times and them daring me to use Isla’s phone to anonymously message his show to prove I wasn’t afraid to tell him how I felt. I’d never been able to resist a dare so I’d sent a message asking him to play Jake Scott’s “Like This.” It’s a song about giving up and then finding someone who sparks a fire inside you, and wanting to stay in that moment, wondering if something might happen between you.

“Next time, call me over.” Chad filled a coffee cup from the pot in the corner and brought it over to me. “I have a special hangover cocktail that works in under fifteen minutes. Can you stomach raw eggs?”

“God. No.” I groaned and sat up so I could drink the coffee. “Don’t talk about food.”

“How are my interns doing today?” Dante walked into the lounge wearing a black Jake ScottGoldenboyhoodie. I spat my coffee out on the tile floor.

“You okay, buttercup?” He came over and thumped me gently on the back. “Did it go down the wrong way?”

I nodded, making an indecipherable noise while my brain spun out of control. First, he was acting… normal. Like we hadn’t had sex in a closet and then ghosted each other all week. And then there was the hoodie. Was it a coincidence? Did he know I was behind the call, or had he decided to pull out that particular hoodie because of the request? And how did he just happen to have Jake Scott merch? I had a bad feeling that he knew it was me, and I’d revealed too much about myself with the song.

“I’ll go see if Noah is ready for us.” Chad made a hasty andawkward exit that heightened my state of unease. Was it that obvious something had happened between Dante and me?

I looked up from my half-empty cup, trying to think of something to say. “Are you a Jake Scott fan?”

“I played for one of his opening bands at the House of Blues.” He grabbed some paper towels and wiped up the mess at my feet. “Noah got me some last-minute session work filling in for a bass player who got sick. He hadn’t really been on my radar, but I like his stuff. He’s got great energy on stage.”

My mouth dropped open, and nothing came out. I wasn’t sure if I was more surprised that he liked a pop singer who sang love songs mostly for a younger crowd, or that he’d played with the opening band.

“Surprise is a good look on you,” he said, his voice amused. “I’ll make a note to surprise you more often.”

“Have you had any other gigs like that?”

“A few.” He sat on the couch beside me, placing his hand on the cushion beside mine, close enough to touch. “Noah knows everybody in the music industry in Chicago. He’s been trying to get me to quit my band and do some session work. If I wasn’t planning to go to law school, I’d try and make a living playing bass. My dream would be to go on tour but that was never going to happen with Inferno.”

“Did you quit the band?”

Dante shrugged. “They weren’t serious about playing.”

“I’m sorry. I know what it’s like to have a dream taken away from you.”

“Thanks, buttercup.” His eyes drifted from my face down to the cup clutched in my left hand. “Rough night?”

“I submitted an investigative story about the empty buildings on campus to the university paper and I might have celebrated a little too hard.”

“You should have sent me a message. I would have celebrated with you.” He moved his finger the tiniest bit and stroked mypinky. A bolt of white lightning shot through my body and went straight to my core.

“Hey, guys.” Chad appeared in the doorway, and we jerked our hands apart like guilty teenagers. “Noah’s waiting in his office for us.”

We made our way down the hallway. Noah was at his desk looking paler and more tired than I’d ever seen him. His hair was out of its usual ponytail and hung limp around his face, and he had dark circles under his eyes.

“You look like shit.” Dante cleared off a chair for me. “Is everything okay?”

Noah waved a dismissive hand. “Too many late nights trying to figure out how to convince you to give up saving the world to become the next great bass player.”

“You didn’t have your morning coffee.” Dante gestured to the empty pot. “I’ll fill it up so you don’t keel over from caffeine withdrawal.”

“Law isn’t such a bad profession,” I said after Dante had gone. “He can help a lot of people.”

---