“What?”
“C’mon.” She grabbed Maya’s hand and put one finger to her lips. She quietly led Maya to the top of the stairs, just out of view from the front door.
They heard Deepak-mama grunt and open the door. Maya peeked her head around the corner and caught a glimpse of Sam standing just inside the doorway, clean-shaven and beaming. He flicked his eyes around, looking for her, and she flushed, grateful that he couldn’t see her. He was simply dressed in khaki shorts and quite a nice-fitting T-shirt the slate blue color of the ocean just before dusk. The color did amazing things for his skin and eyes. Maya peeked around the corner again to see just how well the T-shirt molded around the muscles of his shoulders, grazed his chest and hung loose just past the waistband of his shorts.
Sam exuded energy as he extended his hand to Deepak-mama. “Uncle!” Maya noted that Sam used “uncle” to address Deepak-mama, rather than “Mr. Shah.” It was what Indian kids did: it showed respect, but maintained familiarity. It was different than the titles like mama and mami,which indicated a blood relation. She grinned to herself.Half-Indian indeed. “How are you?”
The confidence in his voice reverberated all the way up the stairs.
The older man hesitated as he took Sam’s hand and shook it, a bewildered look on his face. “Great,” he said. “And you?”
“You know, it turns out that my dad does know you,” Sam said.
“Oh?”
“Yes.” Sam made eye contact, and his smile was genuine. “He remembers meeting you at a medical gathering a few months ago. Apparently, internal medicine and cardiology shared a conference...”
Deepak-mama tilted his head. “Yes, I do remember that. Your father is too modest. He spoke at that meeting. Very impressive. Dr. Hutcherson has a wonderful memory.” Deepak-mama’s mood turned amiable, as if Sam’s father’s ability to remember him made them all old friends.
So much for round two.
Sejal finally nudged Maya. “Are you going on this date, or is my dad?”
Maya smoothed out invisible wrinkles in her clothes and went down the stairs. She caught Sam’s eye over her uncle’s shoulder before she hit the last step and he paused midsentence, breaking into a wide grin. Deepak-mama turned to follow his gaze, and Sam took advantage of the moment to wink at her, as though they shared an intimate secret. Between the grin and the wink and how he looked in that T-shirt, it was all Maya could do to simply smile back in response.
She took the last step down. “Hi.” She forced her voice to sound as casual as possible. “I’m ready when you are.”
She watched as Sam turned his eyes to Deepak-mama. Her uncle leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. “Okay, beta, have fun.”
He turned back to Sam, his voice once again stern, though this time Maya heard a hint of amusement escape his lips. “Midnight.”
Sam nodded, his demeanor relaxed and comfortable. “Absolutely. Yes, sir.” Maya was unable to tear her eyes away from him.
The door had barely shut behind them before he leaned toward her, eyes ablaze, and whispered, “Hey, you look amazing.” His breath tickled her ear, sending shivers down her spine. He took the two porch steps down in one stride, and turned to Maya. She was eye to eye with him, and he reached out and took her hand as if they had been holding hands for years. His hand was warm and firm, and the way their fingers intertwined made her feel safe.
As he started the car, she breathed deeply in an attempt to gather herself and failed miserably when she was filled with his clean scent mixed perfectly with something that was uniquely Sam.Say something!“Nice handling of my uncle.”
Sam wrinkled his brow. “I wasn’t ‘handling’ him. My dad really did remember him.” He gave her a crooked smile. “And besides, he’s ‘in charge’ of you this summer, right?”
Maya nodded.
“Well, I’m really hoping this isn’t our last date.”
Heat rushed to her face, making her sweat despite the air-conditioning.
On the ride over, Sam explained that Merriweather Post Pavilion was an outdoor concert venue and that over the years, any number of big and little bands had passed through. He had seen at least one concert there every summer for as long as he could remember. He told Maya that the best times had been when his brother was still alive and the two of them, along with their parents, would bring a picnic and enjoy the lawn seats.
When they arrived, Maya got out and leaned around to peek in the trunk. “You packed a picnic?” She grinned at him. “Impressive.”
“I’m trying.” His smile was almost as shy as it was proud.
Her heart did a little flip at the idea that he was still trying to impress her. No one had cared enough before to bother. She got lost in the grace and strength of his movement. He caught her staring again and raised an eyebrow at her. She snapped out of it and grabbed the blankets, hoping that the heat that rushed to her face didn’t show.
The evening was warm without being humid, but a breeze would have been nice. They laid out their blankets and opened a couple beers, just in time for the first notes of the opening band. Sounds of laughter and people singing drifted in the air. Cigarette smoke wafted from all around and mixed with the scent of grilling meat and the sugary-fried aroma of deep-fried funnel cake. A group of what appeared to be high school kids in the audience were singing an Ace of Base song about it being a beautiful life. At that moment, it really was.
Maya sat side by side with Sam. He was close enough that she could have touched him by simply leaning her shoulder into his. The scant inch between them was charged with electricity, and a few minutes into their conversation, she leaned toward him and closed that gap.
Sam had one of those smiles with a dimple on one side of his face. His perfect teeth were framed by lips that curved into a smile when he looked at her. Maya got light-headed every time she saw that smile, because it didn’t only come from those amazing lips. There was a touch of amusement and maybe even admiration that came from his eyes. His whole face seemed to light up when he looked at her, and when he smiled, she felt like it was meant just for her. He turned this smile on her as her shoulder met his arm, and Maya blushed as if he could read her thoughts.
