Page 26 of The Heartstrings of Harry
Of course I knew the song.
I played it on my guitar almost every night.
But I never listened to it on the radio. I didn’t want to listen to the version everyone else knew. I preferred to keep his songs pure, simple strums on the guitar strings just like when I heard him play in his room, untainted by whatever LA had done to his music to make all his songs chart-toppers.
Madeline sang.
Dean downed the beer I gave him, and I couldn’t take my eyes off his lips wrapping themselves around the neck of the bottle, my heart screaming like one of his obsessed fans at the sucking sound when he pulled his mouth away from the beer.
God, I could have watched those lips on that bottle all night.
As the thought crossed my mind, he suddenly glanced at me, almost like hewantedme to watch.
I looked away instantly.
Before I knew it, Madeline was out of her chair and grabbing for my hand. “Dance with me, Harry.”
“Oh, no, no, no, no. I don’t dance.” I looked at Dean. “No offence. It’s a great song.”
Dean chuckled good-humoredly.
“Aw, come on,” pressed Madeline. “Everyone can dance.”
“Nah-uh. Not me. I’m like a bear… with two left feet… on ice.”
Madeline laughed as Andy stood, rising from the table, trying to clap in time with the music and doing a terrible job of both.
“I’ll dance with you, Madeline,” he said, stumbling a little, the beers already gone to his head.
Madeline caught him. “Woah, steady there, Fred Astaire.” She held him by both hands as they danced, more for the purpose of keeping him on his feet than keeping him moving in time with the music.
Madeline sang along with the words.
Andy tried but clearly didn’t know the song well at all.
I dared to glance at Dean. “Did you ever picture this as the pinnacle of your music career? Because I honestly don’t think it gets any better than this.” Thank God he laughed. He got my humor. Dean always had.
He shuffled his chair closer to mine and my heart pounded even faster. “I kinda love that Dad has no idea of the words to my songs.”
“You do? I mean, you don’t mind at all?”
He shook his head with absolute certainty. “Not one bit. God, I’d hate to have one of those obsessed parents who wants to control every little thing about my career. Look at Britney, look at Whitney, look at the whole Jackson 5. As far as I’m concerned, fame and family donotgo together.” He sighed. “I’m not sure fame andanythinggo together.”
I shuffled my chair closer and my arm brushed against his. I didn’t mean for it to happen and I inched my body away slightly, just enough so we were no longer touching. “Are you sure you’re happy out there? Are you sure it’s what you want?”
He half-laughed, although there was no humor in his reply. “Of course I’m happy. Besides, I’ve got contracts I’m committed to. I’ve got a new album to finish. I’ve got a tour coming up, they’re talking about including Europe and Asia. Apparently, they love my songs in Japan and South Korea. They think I’ve got a whole K-Pop look happening.”
“They think you look like a breakfast cereal?”
He laughed again, genuinely amused, and all I wanted to do was kiss those lips of his. “No, K-Pop is… never mind… Clearly, I need to give you an education on modern music trends.”
I couldn’t help but smile at the thought of it. “I’d like that.”
He seemed surprised. “You would?”
I pulled myself up. “Oh. Um. Yes? If you wanted to. Or were you just joking around?”
“No. I’m not sure. I guess not. Do you really wanna know about modern music trends? Or areyoujust joking around now.”
