Not professional or anything. But his voice is warm. Rich. And the lyrics?—
“I’ll kiss you longer, baby, any chance that I get
I’ll make the most of the minutes and love with no regret…”
A song about love and loss. About holding on to each moment while it lasts, even while the end is barreling toward you.
I think I could cry.
The chorus comes back around, and I join back in.
We’re not looking at the TV screen.
We’re looking at each other.
And the room disappears.
Just vanishes. Gone.
It’s just us. Just this song.
“Wherever we’re standing, I won’t take you for granted
’Cause we’ll never know when, when we’ll run out of time…”
My voice is failing by the end, rasping out each word. It feels like Barcelona all over again, that heavy heartache, knowing all of this is temporary. It’s not even real.
Except, I think…maybe it is.
The song ends.
He still hasn’t looked away. The room is so quiet, I think you could hear my heart pounding.
And then?—
Brody’s hand cups my face. Gentle. Careful. Like I’m something that might break.
And then he kisses me.
In front of everyone.
On this makeshift stage with twenty-five people watching and at least five phones recording.
His lips are soft. Warm. Moving against mine like he’s been thinking about it. Like maybe he’s been falling apart the same way I have. Like maybe all that distance these last two weeks was him running from this exact moment.
His other hand finds my waist. Pulls me closer.
Not for show.
Not calculated.
This feels?—
Real.
My hands find his sweater. Grip the soft fabric. The microphone falls from my other hand—thunk—but I don’t care.
The room is losing it. Cheering. Whistling. Tyler’s yelling something. Lauren’s actually crying. Someone’s chanting “KISS! KISS! KISS!” even though we are literally already doing that.
