Page 93 of Symphony of Salvation

“Yes. To me it does.”

“Then no.” But the answer had more layers than I cared to explain while lying in bed after sex.

August seemed to see what remained unsaid.

“Let’s try,” he said after a long silence.

“You and me?”

“Yes.” He shuffled closer, lips lingering near mine as he whispered, “Écho tyflotheí.”

“You’re doing it again.”

His mischievous grin glowed in the dark.

“You hate it when Constance speaks ASL because you don’t understand her.”

“This is different.”

“How?”

He kissed me, drawing me against his body. A new blaze burned in my core, and I wanted him again. I wanted the slow way he’d made love. I wanted to feel worshiped.

“Auggie,” I said against his mouth. “Tell me what you said.”

“Another day.”

“You’re aggravating.”

Unaffected, August kneaded the globe of my ass cheek, hiking my leg higher so it sat on his thigh. “Tell me something random.”

“You’re changing the subject.”

“Yes, I am.”

“Fine. Like what?”

“Doesn’t matter. Surprise me. It can be anything at all. A funny story, something personal, an anecdote from your childhood. The first thing that comes to mind. I want to know you, Niles.”

“All right.” I considered for half a beat, then smiled. “During my first year of university, I was meant to accompany a female vocal student doing a term-end performance, a gorgeous German aria. I can’t remember the name of the piece, but it doesn’t matter. We practiced a handful of times before she had to take to the stage, so I was relatively familiar with the lyrics despite not having a lick of German in my repertoire.

“Midway through the performance, she starts singing words that are completely unfamiliar. I panicked thinking I’d missed a cue or messed up, but as the piece progressed, she made no indication anything was wrong, but I knew we weren’t on the same page. Anyhow, we finished, and the second we’re offstage, I turned to her and said, ‘What the hell happened?’ and she explained that she had lost her place and her mind went blank, so she conjured every German word she knew and sang them as though they belonged there.”

August howled. “Oh my god. You’re kidding.”

“Nope, and she aced the exam.”

“The faculty grading her didn’t know the difference?”

“Apparently not.”

“Wow.”

“Her name was Analise. We stayed friends for a long time after that. She ended up on the West Coast, so I don’t see her anymore, but we text occasionally. She swore me to secrecy, so you can’t tell anyone.”

“Meine lippen sind versiegelt.”

“German?”

---