I grinned as I turned on the recordings, excited to see Cass’s reaction. “This one is plasma waves coming off of a moon of Jupiter,” I said. The squeaky warble echoed out, beeping and humming over a static wind.
“Damn,” Cass said, his eyes closed. “That sounds amazing.”
“Yeah?” I asked. “This one is lightning on Jupiter, not far away.”
“Lightning?”
“There’s one storm on that planet that’s been raging for about two hundred years. It’s ten thousand miles long.”
Cass kept his eyes closed and nodded as I played through some more sounds for him, showing off the weird, hypnotic range. The noises sounded out across the hillside, earning appreciate grunts from him every now and then. When we were done, he had a pleased smile on his face, like he had eaten a big meal.
“Anyway,” I said, “I was thinking maybe it would be fun for you to drum to that sometime?”
Cass opened his eyes. “Huh.” He thought about it for a second, then nodded. “Hell yeah. Sounds fun.”
“Yeah?” I said, excited, then stuck my hand on my hip. “You don’t have to say that to humor me if it’s a bad idea.”
“I like it,” Cass said. “You want to give it a try now?”
I looked at the pile of tools on the end of the porch. Maybe I’d be the one distracting him for a change. “Yeah, can I listen?”
“Hell yeah. I’ve been trying to get you back here to listen to a solo for weeks.” He walked into the studio, then yanked the sheet back, sending a rattle through the instruments. I didn’t know the first thing about a drum set, but I could tell his was well loved. Silver and gleaming black, the drums were decorated with a few worn stickers and plenty of dings.
I set up a playlist while Cass dragged the set out onto the porch. He handed me a pair of spongy earplugs and tucked a pair in his own ears.
“When’s the last time you heard live music?” he asked.
I tried to consider it. “My friend Audrey’s sister’s wedding? I was her date last summer.”
Cass whistled. He spun a drum stick in his hand as he sat on a small stool. “A year is too long, Shawn. Now all the pressure is on me to make it special.”
My cheeks warmed. “I remembered you saying that you liked to drift away with your music, which is exactly how those recordings make me feel. Like I’m floating through space.”
Cass banged out a quick beat, then stretched his arms above his head. His muscles popped, and for once, I just let myself appreciate the sweat on his brow and the curls of hair on his chest. “Wait, one second,” he said suddenly, then went back into the studio, emerging a second later with a beach towel in his hand.
“Lay out on the grass,” he instructed. “You’ll be more comfortable, and then the drums won’t be rattling the porch beneath you.”
I took the towel and found a nice spot in the shade. Above me, white clouds dotted the sky, occasionally passing over the sun. The birds were chirping, and the spring buds had matured, filling the hillside with green. It felt good to be out in the daylight, and I closed my eyes, appreciating the warmth.
Cass turned on the recordings first, and the electric waves hummed through the air. Slowly, he started to tap the drums, building up a slow and steady rhythm that ran perfectly beneath the strange sounds. It was like hearing the familiar sounds for the first time all over again, and as the music built, I lost myself in the motion of it.
The motion Cass created. It throbbed out from him, and each beat of the drum reverberated into the heart of me. His strength echoed out, covering me like I was being held close to his body again.
It was amazing. I could hear the music in the crashing drums in a way I never had before. And I heard Cass in there, too, finding himself alongside the music of the galaxy, riding the same journey I was riding as I listened.
I stretched my legs and got comfortable on the blanket. Spangled light came through the tree branches, and I watched the shadows pass over my thighs. I laughed to myself, realizing that skin hadn’t seen the sun since I was a toddler, probably, the way I’d always covered myself up.
I was happy. Happier than I’d be in a long time, I realized.
Happy enough to believe that Cass and I could be real.
Chapter Twelve
Cass
I didn’t finishdrumming until the playlist Shawn made finished, the last beeps dying out slowly. Totally spent from such a long set and riding the endorphin rush that came with it, I headed straight over to the grass and fell down beside him.
“How’d you like it?”
