“The only place you know I am for sure is a hole in the ground at Fairview Cemetery.”
I startle so hard I dip beneath the water. “Don’t say that.”
She touches my shoulder. “Sorry. Just kidding. I’m right here, and I always will be.” She looks off into the distance. “Someone else is here, too.”
I follow her gaze. Of all people, Theo strides across the long stretch of golden sand, wearing nothing but black Wayfarers and olive-green swim trunks. He spots me and waves, and I’m so busy wondering at the sight of him that I don’t sense thenext wave until it knocks me under. This time, when I surface spitting salt water, Ginny’s laughing.
“Not a word,” I warn, stalking out of the ocean. I meet Theo on the sand near my blanket and drop my board, tossing the leash. “What are you doing here?”
“Bowie told me that, uh . . . ” He looks around. The San Gabriel Mountains tower in the distance. “You were out here surfing for the first time since . . . ”
“So you came to babysit me?”
Without being invited, Theo drops onto my blanket. “Since we have the day off, I figured we could keep working on that song we started on the plane.”
I catch the zipper of my wetsuit and pull. The Pacific is frigid, but here on the shore the sun’s so warm it’s already making me sweat. Theo’s gaze drops to the sand as I step out of the suit, his opaque Wayfarers hiding his eyes. “You want to work on our day off?” My tone is doubtful.
He brushes sand off the blanket. “Or we could just . . . hang.” I walk over and yank off his Wayfarers. He blinks up at me, startled, his Adam’s apple bobbing.
“I don’t like not being able to see what you’re thinking.” I slide on his glasses. “And I guess I can work on the song.” I drop down next to him, comb through my wet tangles as best as I can, then squeeze water out of my hair like a dishrag.
Theo clears his throat. “How do you want to start? Just, uh . . . jump in?”
I’ve been imagining this new song with a clipped, tense drum intro, like a racing heart. Using my thumb, I tap the rhythm on my leg.Dun-dun-dun-dun-dun-dun-dun-dun dun-dun-dun-dun.
“Slow down, you’re moving too fast,” Theo sings softly, surprising me. I bite back my smile when his voice warbles. His singing voice is as bad as he warned, but he gets an A for effort.
I keep drumming as he adds, “I want to catch you, sit beside you.”
“My dad keeps calling me,” I sing.
Theo smiles. “My friends keep texting me.”
I let my voice lift as high as it will go. “Sorry, guys, I’m out of range.” I take a deep breath. “They just want to know if I’m okay.”
Theo catches my eyes and we start laughing at the same time.
“It’s bad, isn’t it?”
He draws his legs up and wraps his arms around his knees. “The sound you’re building is great. We can fine-tune the lyrics later.” “Look at that grin.” Ginny appears, leaning forward and slapping my leg. “You’re happy, admit it.”
“Shut up.”
“What?” Theo’s eyes widen. “Why?”
“Never mind.” But Ginny’s right, and suddenly I can’t repress the feeling. It’s like some locked door has been cracked open with a crowbar, and happiness is streaming out. I nudge Theo’s thigh with my toe. “So you really love your job so much you came all the way out here to do it on your day off? That’s more dedication than most musicians I know.”
“I do love it.” He catches my foot, even as I try to twist it away. “I might’ve mentioned I minored in music theory—”
“What, at Dartmouth?” I gasp. “Is that where you went to school?”
Theo rubs his thumb against my foot. “Are you trying to tell me I drop Dartmouth a lot?”
“It’s part of your charm, Suit.”
He gestures for me to give him my other foot. And because I’m still buzzed from my first time back on a board in nearly a year, I do. He pulls my feet into his lap and circles his fingers around my ankles, like he’s fastening me to him. “So you can’tleave,” he explains. “No matter how many times I talk about where I went to school.”
I turn to smile at Ginny, but the sand where she sat is empty. She’s gone.
