“Bye, guys.”Dante waved at them one last time, letting his eyes rest on the hull of the ship, the familiar activity of a port day, cataloging it for future reference.
Ellery was here in San Diego, and he didn’t want to lose another second before seeing her.
* * *
Ellery
Ellery bounced on her toes outside the arrivals area, ruing her short stature.Too many tall people wearing hats.It didn’t mean she would stop trying.
After two years of spotty communication and missed shore leaves, Dante was back.
She had debated—not for very long—not showing up.Tyler wasn’t thrilled with it.But then, why did she give two shits what Tyler thought?They had hooked up, nothing more, and that was over as of yesterday, as far as she was concerned.She didn’t need a relationship, not while trying to balance more frequent gigs with her boring-as-hell retail job to pay the bills for the minuscule apartment she shared with three roommates.
Besides, she and Selene and Lorraine had fired Tyler from the Vendetta yesterday.They didn’t need his not-so-coy social media insinuations about Selene and Lorraine.Toxic masculine bullshit, no thank you.
She checked the time on her phone.He should have disembarked by now.The ship was already there, enormous and practically blocking out the Southern California eternal sunshine.People congregated and shuttled past, but no Dante.
Over in the departures area of the port, a woman in a sharply-tailored black jumpsuit and large floppy hat stepped from the back seat of a Town Car and paused, casting her gaze around the assembled people.Her bright red lipstick and impractical too-high heels screamedLook at me.Look at me.
Ellery rolled her eyes.Clearlysomeonethought she was a celebrity.Ellery would never do that, never kowtow to the populace that way.Being famous wasn’t about celebrity for the Vendetta, it was about sharing their sound with the world and finding success by influencing other kids with dreams like theirs.Not about a platinum credit card and five-figure outfits.
A few feet away, she saw a family anxiously checking the arrivals gate.“Do you see him yet?”the mother whispered, wringing her hands.She had dark hair and hazel eyes that flashed like gold.Something about her appearance sparked recognition in Ellery, and a warm, coiling sensation pooled inside her.
That, of course, was before the adult son turned to answer his mom and all the air rushed from Ellery’s lungs.
He was the spitting image of Dante.The dark shock of hair, the hazel eyes, the tiny dimple along the bridge of his nose as he smiled at his mother.
“Hello?”Ellery moved toward the group before she knew her feet had moved.
They turned to her en masse, their obvious kinship kindling her long-ignored homesickness.The mother smiled tentatively and opened her arms, like she had been waiting for her.“Oh my goodness, are you Ellery?Dante’s Ellery?We’ve heard so much about you.”
“That’s me.I promise, not everything he said is true.”She pulled nervously at the silver-and-velvet choker at her neck.There was something about this family that reminded her so much of her own.
She hadn’t been back to Milwaukee in far too long.Her parents came out to visit as often as they could, but she should make the gesture.It was only her stubborn wish to buy her own plane ticket, and with her expenses piling up, it had not been feasible.
Soon it wouldn’t matter.Her parents were pulling up stakes and moving to Florida in a few months with her sister.If that left her behind…
Dante’s mom wrapped her in a warm hug, as if she could hear Ellery’s inner monologue.“It’s all right, sweetheart.We are so happy to meet you at last.I’m Siobhan.”
Dante’s father, not much taller than Siobhan with a receding hairline and kind smile, patted her on the shoulder.“Dante talks about you all the time.He sent us one of your videos, from a show?You were playing Aerosmith.”
Dante’s brother shrugged but kept his gaze on Ellery.It wasn’t predatory, more warm and assessing.Like he was deciding which ice cream flavor she was.“Dad’s favorite band is Aerosmith, so you made an instant fan.I’m Casper.”Now that she was closer to him, she could mark the differences between him and Dante better, even if she had talked to her friend only via video chat.A different spray of freckles, a tiny scar on the lower edge of his jaw.
“I know.”Though she hadn’t known about the twin thing.Not that she had seen Dante in person in two years, and even then under shitty-dive-bar lighting, but she could see the slight differences between them.Casper was a hair taller, his ears more rounded.So maybe not identical twins…
She didn’t really care.They were here for the same reason she was.“I’m so happy to meet all of you.”
“Same,” Casper replied.His voice was a little lower than Dante’s, all sultry blues to Dante’s jazz.
Siobhan leaped in the air, waving her arms high above her.The suddenness took Ellery like a whirlwind, but she understood.Understood it before she saw Dante, lips curled in a half-smile, weighed down by the bass strapped to his back.
Everything went misty and soft, and she refused to believe it was because she was crying.She stood a few steps away, just on the periphery of the family, as they embraced and helloed and laughed.Her heart swelled inside her chest.
Then Dante’s gaze found hers, and her entire body sparked like a freshly opened bottle of champagne.
Homecomings.There was definitely something about homecomings.
* * *
