A wicked grin curled on my lips. “Yes, but you stilllikeme. You want me to be yourgirlfriend.”
“Yes, I do,” he said, catching my wrists and not letting go. “So will you?”
My smile softened. “On one condition.”
Eyes glittering, he heaved a theatrical sigh. “Indie, I’ve already told you—no alien role-playing, okay? I’m just not into that kinky stuff.”
I scoffed. “No, E.T. I want you to kiss me.”
Xander released my wrists and leaned over, taking my face in his hands. “Now that,” he said, his calloused fingers caressing my cheeks with gentle strokes, “is something I can do.”
As my eyes fluttered closed, our lips met in a desperate clash, and then we were kissing like never before. There was an urgency to the way Xander’s mouth moved on mine, like he was trying to kissaway any lingering doubts I had about his feelings for me, but I had none, not after the speech he’d given me. My hands slid up his chest, over the soft cotton of his shirt, until they reached his lean, lightly muscled shoulders. I dragged him closer, wanting to feel his body against mine. He responded hungrily, letting go of my face and bearing down on me until I was pinned between him and the backrest of the couch. When his teeth grazed my bottom lip, I let out a shuddering gasp. This was the kind of once-in-a-lifetime kiss that stories were written about—a kiss that could set your heart ablaze and devoured you whole. I never wanted it to end.
After another minute of kissing each other senseless, Xander broke away from me. “Are you sure?” he asked, gasping for breath.
“About kissing you?” Considering what we’d just been doing, I thought my answer was pretty obvious. “Obviously.”
“No, about being my girlfriend.”
Ohhh.“Well, now that you mention it, I have one more condition.”
“Mm-hmm?” he replied, nudging his nose against mine.
“I want to hear your song.”
Chapter 17
Alec withdrew a ring of keys from his pocket, sifted through the collection of clinking silver and gold until he found the correct one, then unlocked the door. He flipped on the light to the control room, and we filed inside.
The space was long and rectangular, with a couch and coffee table to my left and a massive analog mixing board on the right. The board was positioned in front of a glass window overlooking a live room, the performance area for instrumentalists and singers alike. It was outfitted with microphones and mic stands, along with a plethora of instruments including a rack of guitars, a drum set, and a grand piano.
“Give me a moment to start up my laptop,” Alec said, lifting the flap of his messenger bag and drawing it out. After making my request to hear his song, Xander had gone out to the parking lot to retrieve him, and he’d brought us here.
“Does he have to turn on all that for me to hear the song?” I whispered, nodding at the expensive-looking equipment. There were all manner of buttons and dials and screens, none of which I knew the purpose of.
Xander stuck his hands in his pockets. “Nope. It’s on his computer.”
“Then why are we in here?” I asked, still taking in the control room. It was a fascinating place, a combination of my imagination—fueled by the glamorous portrayals of recording studios I’d seen in movies and TV shows—and reality, which had more of a cozy home vibe; the furniture was worn, multiple water rings stained the wooden coffee table, and an oversize Persian rug covered the majority of the floor.
“Since you didn’t get to watch us record the song, I thought you might want to hear it where you could get a sense of the process.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Is that stupid?”
“Of course not.” I felt a slight pang of guilt knowing I’d missed such an important moment. I should have been here for Xander, especially after he’d opened up to me about feeling like the odd one out among his bandmates. Leaning over, I pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Thank you. This was such a sweet gesture.”
When I pulled away, Alec was standing in front of us.
He passed his laptop to Xander. “You can hit Play whenever you’re ready. I missed a call from Felicity, so I’m going to call her back.” Whether it was the truth or an excuse to give us privacy, I was grateful as Alec slipped out of the room, the door clicking shut behind him.
“Shall we?” Xander asked, nodding at the couch. There was a note of nervousness in his voice, so I offered him an encouraging smile.
“I’ve wanted to hear this song ever since you agreed to write it,” I told him, plopping down onto one of the threadbare cushions and folding my legs beneath me. “I can’t wait.”
“Well,” Xander said, sitting down next to me, “I hope it doesn’t disappoint.”
It didn’t.
When he hit Play, I expected to hear an upbeat country song, not a slow-tempo acoustic ballad. When his voice spilled from the computer, I closed my eyes and listened.
That first summer I was bathed in light
