Page 122 of Places I've Never Been

“So now you know all the dirty secrets. My parents keep a room-sized scrapbook of my teen years, and I have a giant poster of you on my ceiling because I had a huge crush on you in high school. But you don’t have to worry about it, because I don’t have a crush on you anymore.”

Mattie breathed out a choked laugh. “You don’t?”

“Nah.” He grinned. “Now I’m in love with you.”

She blinked.

He wasn’t sure what that meant. He hoped it was a good thing. “I love you for so many reasons. The way you watch the sunrise with that dreamy look in your eyes. The way you light up the room with your smile. I love the way you include all the guys when you’re writing songs. Me and Johnny J didn’t do that, but we should have. It’s added a depth that we’ve been missing.”

Her hand fluttered up to her chest. “Adam…”

He held up his hands. “I know I’m a lot to take. I’m almost done, I swear. The reason I brought you here was to make sure you knew that the way you put heart into lyrics is what convinced me to chase after my own dream back then. You’re the inspiration for so many people out there. Don’t ever stop writing. Don’t ever stop making music. No matter what the next asshole says or does.”

“The next…” She swallowed. “What if I don’t want there to be a next?”

He held very still.

She took a small step forward, then another, until she was so close there was practically no space between them. “What if what I want is right here in front of me?”

His heart skipped several beats. “Are you saying you forgive me?”

Her lips quirked. “I’m saying I love you.”

His pulse raced with all the implications that came along with those three little words. “You do?”

She put her arms around his neck. “I love the way you give whoever you’re talking to your undivided attention. I love the way you go all in on whatever it is you’re trying to do. I love the way you look at me when you think I don’t see. I’m a little overwhelmed by your Adam moments, but I love them too.”

She brushed his lips with a soft, sweet kiss. “I love you. How could I not forgive you?”

He crushed her against him and kissed her until the room spun and they were out of breath. Years of waiting, fantasizing, and hoping were finally living and breathing reality.

He pulled away slightly and saw desire in her eyes. “I can’t believe you’re here. I used to dream about this, you know.”

“You did?” She looked a little uncertain at that news. “Was I…never mind. I don’t want to know.”

“Not like that.” He brushed his lips against hers. “Every night I’d go to sleep staring at your face, fantasizing about you standing right here, looking at me just like this.”

“Oh.” She tilted her head. “What happened then?”

“I woke up disappointed.” He looked around at all the things his teenage self found important and realized this was the last place on earth he wanted to be right now. “Thing is, now that I have you here, I’d really like to take you somewhere else.”

“Why?”

“Because there’s no way I’m making love to you in this room.” He shuddered. “My parents are in the house.”

Her eyes sparkled. “I’m sure they think we’re already doing it. They were young once too, you know.”

“No.” He laughed. “Just no. I refuse to picture that.”

She giggled.

“Well now that’s settled, want to go back downstairs? I’m sure Mom has snacks out by now, and Dad’s dying to play twenty questions.”

“They’re sweet. They must be. They made you and Brandon.” Her gaze shifted to the poster on the wall behind him that advertised The Bellamy Sisters first world tour. The three of them formed a triangle in blue sequins with Della in front, Piper slightly behind to the right and Mattie further back onthe left. He’d gone to three shows that summer. “You think we should get back together.”

It sounded more like a statement than a question.

“I think you should do whatever puts the joy back in your eyes. But you’re not the backup, Mattie. You’ve never been the backup. You’re the soul. Don’t ever forget that.”

---