“The band name. Rainier and the Go-Aways?”
“Why are you thanking me?” I gave him a slysmile.
“Because I think you could have done much worse if you wanted to. It might be a little weird when I go back off to college though. No one willunderstandit.”
“You’ll just be that legendary musician who outgrew RiverValley.”
When Rainier chuckled in response, I barely stopped my feet from moving toward him. I wanted to touch him. Whether it was a playful punch or slap, even a hip bump. It didn't matter. But we weren’t on those terms, and he began loading his equipment into the trunk ofthecar.
“So, about those lessons,” I said, bringing his attention backtome.
“Whataboutthem?”
“When do you want tostart?”
“Do you even own a guitar,Michelle?”
“I’ll get one." I stood taller and crossed my arms over mychest.
“Just like that? What if you end up hating it? What if after one lesson, you decide you don’t want to do it?Whatthen?”
“Well, maybe we just use your guitar for the first lesson and go from there.” This time, I didn’t stop as my feet brought me closer. I took one step toward Rainier, then another. Then another, until I was close enough totouchhim.
His fingers were tapping against his leg, and he looked at me with a mix of confusion and pain. “Michelle.”
“Just one lesson and we’ll reevaluate,” Ibegged.
I didn't beg. I wasn’t entirely sure why I was now, but I could practically see when the fight left his body. Rainier’s fingers stilled, his facerelaxed.
“Onelesson.”
“It won’t besobad.”
“Only time will tell.” The words were grim, but he wore a slight smile as hesaidthem.
ChapterSixteen
Rainier
Matt cameover the next morning with coffee and breakfast sandwiches from the one fast-food restaurant in town. Not the kind of thing my parents ever bought, even without the bacon. They preferred tea to coffee and made almost everything from scratch. The dough sitting on the counter while my mom waited for the yeast to rise was proof enoughofthat.
Not that I didn’t like homemade bread or the many dishes my parents made. I did. It was so much better than the food offered on and near campus. Of course, it was great to eat something greasy and unhealthy every once in a while. The paper bag in Matt’s hand was just what I needed after a night like the onebefore.
There was so much to think about, and I hoped Matt wouldn’t mind bouncing ideas back and forth with me. He was the closest thing I had to a best friend. We grew up next door to each other and had spent countless afternoons playing outside aschildren.
“I still can’t believe that performance last night,” he said, already stuffing his face with his breakfast. His hair stuck up in several different directions and the clothing he wore was wrinkled. I assumed he'd barely rolled out of bed beforegrabbingfood.
“I know. I’m still trying to processeverything.”
“Likewhat?”
“Like the girls attheshow.”
Matt’s face grew serious, and he put his sandwich down. He then placed one of his hands on my knee. “The feelings you have are natural. You may discover other changes as well. It’s all part of becomingaman.”
I pushed his hand off of me. “Shut up. You know what I mean. I didn’t expect so much attention from everyone. Jenny came up in her shortdress.”
“She did that after your first performance too,” heremindedme.
