Dante Baker (rock god): I wish you were, too.
…
…
Dante Baker (rock god): gotta go.First day and I’ve got to get to my muster
* * *
Three MonthsLater
Dante Baker (rock god):I said, Tyler sounds like a great guy
One and Only Ellery: there’s subtext.You asked me if I was seeing anyone, and all I said was, we’re hooking up, nothing special, and Selene thinks maybe he’d be a good fit for the band.
Dante Baker (rock god): No subtext.His voice is great.He’s definitely a front man.You guys will be super happy together.I’m thrilled I have this video of him on my phone now.
Gotta go.Losing the Wi-Fi
One and Only Ellery: that’s cheap, Dante
* * *
Two MonthsLater
Dante Baker (rock god):Hey.I’m sorry.This cruise is my last.Promise.I’m doing a repositioning that docks in San Diego.My family is all coming.Will you be there?
CHAPTER6
Five Years Ago—Dante
Dante disembarkedthe cruise ship in San Diego, his bass strapped to his back and the handle of his rolling suitcase in his other hand.Above and around him was the flurry of activity as passengers hefted all of their luggage and crew rushed to clean the ship and restock before the next voyage left.
He would miss it.Not everything, not all the time, but he would miss the rush, the constant flow of new passengers, the steady paycheck.Every day somewhere new.After two years on ships, he had been a hell of a lot of places.They blurred after a point.
What didn’t blur was that after two years of being apart and talking whenever they could, Dante was finally ready to tell Ellery everything.The closet stress had driven him up the wall on every trip.With her, hopefully he could finally just…be.
As long as she came.As long as he had the courage.
“Hey!Dante!”his band mates called.They congregated just outside the embarkation zone.“Last day, huh?”
“Yeah.”Dante tilted his face toward the sky, letting the Southern California sun warm his skin.“It feels good to be here.”He slapped their outstretched hands and let himself be pulled into quick hugs.
“Take care.Keep us in mind when you decide you want to be famous.”Jill, the lead guitarist and his shipboard roommate, waved her farewell.
They had been a good team, the four of them.Playing the classic covers night after night in the cocktail lounges, or down in the pit covering the musical revues.He had learned a ton over his last contracts.
But the time away was draining.Six months on, six weeks off.It wasn’t enough.Not for them, not for him.Everything he had missed rose up and tickled the back of his neck.
Jill arched her eyebrows toward him.“We’ll see you back in six weeks?”
His phone buzzed, and when he checked the ID, his heart leaped in his throat.
Ellery.Ellery had texted him that she was here.He hadn’t seen her in two years, not since that night in Los Angeles.All that time texting, becoming friends, not telling her how every time his phone beeped with a message from her he lit up inside.
His emotions must have shown on his face.
Jill whistled.After rooming with him for the last six months, she knew almost everything there was to know.His had been pretty much the only secret kept onboard, but being closeted had been safe.“Tell Ellery to play with us on the ship next time.”
