TWELVE
THE SONG OF THREE HOURS
SEBASTIAN
Ever since I was a kid,I’d wondered about the small parking lot in front of the Seastone town sign. I knew national parks and forests had them so people could take pictures. But Seastone was just a small town with a hotel that, in a desperate marketing ploy, branded itself as the heart of the Appalachians. In the process, they built this parking lot, only to essentially destroy its tourism a few years later, making this abandoned patch of asphalt the epitome of this place’s hubris.
It wasn’t until Alex drove onto it that I realized its potential.
He stopped in the spot closest to the trees, where no one passing by could see into the car. Without even turning off the engine, he pulled me into a kiss. His hands moved up and down the back of my head, and finally, our tongues met—something we couldn’t do in the airport.
His cheeks turned red as he leaned back in his seat and tilted his head so some strands of hair could hide the blush.
“That’s what I call a warm welcome,” I joked. My thumbs ran over my knees, caressing them, when what I really wanted was to touch him.
“It was easy to wait while you were so far away,” he said. “But having to wait another day while you're within reach?” His hairswayed as he shook his head, parting just enough to reveal his gleaming eyes. “That’s just torture.”
“Now you understand why I couldn’t hold myself back at the airport.”
“Sorry about that again, by the way. My brain completely shut off when I saw you.”
“Good,” I replied, and it made him grin. I reached my left hand over and patted his thigh. “Only twenty-four more hours. No, less actually. They’ll leave after breakfast, right?”
“Probably.”
“I hope you don’t mind pretending until then.”
“Not at all. I prefer it this way, too. At least for now.” He leaned back in his seat and stared at the trees in front of us. “Is what we’re doing stupid?”
“It’s a little late to question it now, isn’t it?” I tilted my head so our eyes would meet. “I don’t think it is. If I thought it was, I wouldn’t be here.”
Would I call it love at first sight? No. More likeattraction at first sight. But it had been enough to make me want to get to know him. The more we talked, the more we flirted. And before long, I couldn’t deny that I truly had a crush on him. Maybe it was a little unfortunate that he worked for my parents, but other than that… I was going to finish my degree soon, and the physical distance between us could shrink in the foreseeable future if we both wanted it.
“Let’s not overthink this. If we both still like each other at the end of this week, then we can decide whether to tell them. For now, we’re allowed to be excited about spending spring break together.”
“I guess Las Vegas would’ve been a lot more fun.”
“And a lot more distracting. Not to mention, Nora would’ve been there the whole time and probably wouldn’t have left usalone. So, I prefer this solution. I guess my parents will love seeing me again so soon, too.”
“They definitely do. Your mom was beaming all week.”
We shared another smile. The trees swayed in the wind, parting enough for a sunbeam to glisten on Alex’s face and make his lips shine.
“One more kiss?” I asked.
His lips curled. “Just one?”
Before I could even getmy second foot into the house, Mom shrieked and wrapped her arms around me.
“I’m so happy,” she yelled. “I wasn’t sure I was going to make it in time, but now I did and…” She let go of me and studied my face as if she hadn’t seen me only a month ago. “It’s so nice to see you again.”
“Thanks for letting me come here to study,” I said, trying to maintain appearances. I had brought some books with me, but I wouldn’t really need to look at them—except for an accounting assignment that shouldn’t take me more than two hours—thanks to actually sticking to my goal of studying ahead.
“You have to thank Alex,” Mom replied, looking at him over my shoulder. “He’s your host for the week, after all.” Before I could turn to Alex, she linked her arm through mine and guided me toward the kitchen. “We set you up in Mila’s old room, because it still has a desk. But no studying today. I actually booked us a table at theMountain View Diner.”
“Sounds good.”
“Oh, Alex,” she said, turning to him. “Before I forget, you’re coming too, right? I booked it for four without asking.”
