There was a pause. Then a smile in his voice. “Mark. Hey. Didn’t expect to hear from you.”
“Yeah, sorry, I know this is out of the blue.” I rubbed the back of my neck, pacing a little. “I just remembered what you said about Noah and Ethan maybe not being able to make the Winter Festival. I was thinking…”
I hesitated. The silence stretched just long enough for me to question every decision I’d ever made.
Then I blurted it out. “Would you maybe want to perform together? For the audition, I mean. Just to see if it works.”
For a second, I thought the call had dropped. Then I heard a faint exhale, like he’d been caught off guard.
“You want to perform with me?” Zack asked.
“Yeah.” I forced a laugh, trying to sound confident. “I mean, no pressure. We could just try it out, see how it goes. If it’s a disaster, we pretend it never happened.”
Another heartbeat of silence.
“I’d like that,” he said.
It took me a moment to register the words. “You—really?”
“Yeah,” he said again, softer this time. “Honestly, I was dreading having to cancel or perform with Maurice’s band. You showing up with an offer like that feels like good timing.”
Something eased in my chest, a warmth spreading through me.
“Great,” I said, grinning despite myself. “We can pick a few songs, rehearse a little before the audition. Whatever you need.”
“Sounds good,” Zack replied. “You free tomorrow evening? There’s a small studio we can use.”
“Tomorrow works,” I said quickly.
He chuckled. “Alright then, it’s a date.” My brain short-circuited for half a second before he added, “A music date, obviously.”
“Right,” I said. “Music date.”
“See you tomorrow, Mark.”
“See you,” I said.
When the call ended, I stood there for a long moment, staring at my phone, heart still racing. The night air buzzed around me, but all I could think about was Zack’s warm voice.
4
ZACK
2Years Ago
My legs felt weak,muscles loose and trembling, my breath stuttering out of me in uneven gasps.
Mark was pressed close, heat everywhere, his weight grounding me even as my body kept shivering through the aftershocks.
I tried to move with him when he shifted, tried to keep up, but it only made the sensation crest again.
It was too sensitive, too much. A soft, broken sound slipped out of me before I could stop it.
Mark groaned and then went still, his forehead dropping to my shoulder as he caught his breath. A second later, his body sagged against mine, tension finally giving way.
We stayed like that for a moment, tangled and slick and breathing hard, the room filled with the quiet hum of the heater and the sound of our lungs slowly calming down.
I laughed softly, more breath than sound.
