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"Bing Crosby wasn't still touring. Mick is." I put a final nail in the conversation.
I had followed Jon as a distraction. A cute, shirtless distraction I thought would scratch an itch I carried. A no-brainer hot, young, attractive boy toy who seemed to understand signals and had the courage to go after what he wanted. But I was wrong.
He's an innocent kid filled with juvenile jokes, more content with hanging out with his friends, and fixated on setting a world record for the number of times a human can say the word awesome in one afternoon. I push the bottom of my bottle of beer into the sand and stand. "Look at me. What do you see?" I place my hands on my hips and strike a Supergirl pose.
"A freaking rock goddess." Emily does what best friends do. She pumps me up.
"A rock goddess," I repeat. I reach down with both hands and pull her to her feet. "And look at you. The cutest, most adorable hottie on the beach. What the hell is wrong with this picture? We should have men lined up three deep for us."
Emily points toward Jon and his friends, who look as if they've broken into a game of rugby.
"I said men!" I cup my hands around my mouth and shout at the top of my lungs, no longer concerned with offending anyone. I don't apologize. I lower my hands when the thought rings in my head. Adam. He's the true itch I'm feeling. I kick the sand and wonder why this time it feels different.
I've had men chase after me. Aggressive, sexy, experienced men who knew what they were doing and what they wanted. I've pursued guys. Post-concert hookups, bad-boy musicians who I thought had the same outlook on life as me. Hell, I once tried a hometown relationship that was doomed from the start. But this, him… it feels different. It has from the start.
He's a quiet, introspective soul who forces me to look inward. A place I typically avoid. It feels uncomfortable, but after the dust settles, I've come to realize he's led me to a better place.
That song.
He challenged me to make it mine. And while I can only guess what he meant by the words, to me it became crystal clear. It speaks to me about my mom. The pain, the history, the confusion, and the hurt. Especially the hurt.
It aches to sing that song. No way I could sing it in front of the boys, let alone a music audience. That's the reason I blew off the rest of the session. The reason I showed up at Emily's hotel room and dragged her out to the beach. I may give Adam grief about facing the demons in his life, but he's been doing the same to me.
"A!" Emily calls me by my college nickname. I lift my head in her direction. "You know how I always kid you that one of your superpowers is manifestation?"
I give her a quick headshake. What's she talking about?
She has a goofy smile on her face, one similar to the time I introduced her to Damien Harrelson, one of her favorite artists. "Slowly, look behind you."
"Let me guess, they're burying themselves in sand?" She shakes her head.
"Em, if I turn, and they're peeing their names in the sand, I'm going to take it out on you."
"Uh, no, ewww!" She takes a small step toward me. "Trust me, you're going to want to see this."
My ears pick up the tinny sound of a guitar. A light melody that scratches at a warm memory. I twist my neck in its direction, the darkness of the night hiding whoever it is in darkness. The music gets louder with the approaching body, a faint outline becoming visible. The flicker of flames flashes for a brief second. The approaching man is holding a tiny speaker in his hands high above his head, and it all clicks.
The posture, the song, the man.
Adam.
He emerges through the darkness just as Peter Gabriel's voice hits the famous bridge to "In Your Eyes," and I hold my breath. Adam is a dozen yards away and continues to close the distance between us. His handsome face fills with a look of determination I've only seen when he's playing the guitar. This time, it's focused on me.
I can't prevent the tug of a smile pulling on my face as I connect the man, the movie, and the memory. Adam is recreating the famous romantic scene from the movie Say Anything. The bold declaration by the romantic lead played by John Cusack. Him standing on the lawn outside the bedroom of the girl of his dreams.
I glance over his shoulder, and for once, Laredo is in the shadows. A look on his face I never expected to see, one of admiration for someone other than himself.
Emily steps next to me, her finger brushing mine. "About time. I sent him the text a half hour ago," she whispers, and my heart drops.
He's not here for me? He's here for Emily?
My shoulders clinch, and I try to slip on the best friend cape Emily always wears for me. "You've picked a real winner. I'm so happy for you," I whisper and take a step back, ceding the spotlight to her.
Of course, the nice guy with the tender heart would want the girl with the matching pair. Emily's one of the kindest, most supportive women I know. I think back to them connecting that first night. Her fainting in his arms, her laughter filling the air next. Every night, I've seen them laughing and whispering. It's been staring me right in the face. All this time.
I feel a pull on my finger as Adam stops a few feet in front of us. His gaze remains locked on me, and I force a polite smile on my face. "Idiot. He's here for you," Emily whispers, and my heart begins a gallop like it's never experienced before.
"But I thought…"
