The Sound of Us

Chapter Twenty-Two. “Howlin’ for You” by the Black Keys

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

“Howlin’ for You” by the Black Keys

DANTE

Noah wasn’t the kind of man to care about the state of his house, so I did a double take when I walked into his kitchen the next morning and saw the floor.

“What happened here? I didn’t even know you had tiles.” The three-bedroom red brick vintage home in Forest Glen was too big for just one person, but Noah had bought it from the previous station manager for a bargain basement price. He’d converted the top of the garage into a suite, and the big backyard was perfect for his rescue dogs to play.

“Bella is in town.” He looked up from his tablet. His senior cat, Calico, was asleep in his lap. “I thought I should make an effort, so I hired someone to come in and tidy the place up.”

“Since when do you hire people when you’ve got me?” Part of my deal with Noah included helping with the household chores and looking after his pets in exchange for free rent.

“It’s your final year. You’ve got a lot going on. I didn’t want you to have pick up all my shit just because Bella decided to visit.”

“Your sister’s cool. I don’t think she’d care.” I’d met Noah’s younger sister several times over the years. She was the only member of his family to stay in contact after he’d been disowned for following his dream of becoming a professional musician instead of working in the family business. “But she’ll probably tell you that you look like you need a meal and two weeks’ worth of sleep. Seriously, Noah. She’s going to be all over your ass when she sees you.” Noah’s iconic Misfits tee was so loose around his chest, the skull’s eyes were almost crossed.

“Saving the station has become a full-time job. I’ve never filled in so many applications or attended so many meetings in my life. I think I’ve worn out my bolo tie.” He rubbed Calico’s furry head. “Did you just come here to piss on me or was there a purpose for your visit?”

There were a lot of purposes for my visit, none of which I was able to articulate. There was the fight and the whole scholarship fiasco that meant I was lying to two people I cared about and putting Skye at risk; and then there was Skye making me feel things I wasn’t ready to feel.

I had been comfortable with my hookups and one-night stands. No expectations. No commitments. No heartfelt discussions revealing uncomfortable truths in the middle of the night. Skye had taken my comfortable life and turned it upside down. She didn’t hide her scars behind secrets and ink. She pushed through every barrier that stood in her way. To be worthy of her, I needed to do the same.

“It’s about the fight,” I pulled up a chair at the table, dropping my head to my hands. Might as well start with the easy one and work up to the part where I’d sabotaged the best thing in my life before it even began.

“Did the other guy start it?”

“Some dude at the bar went after one of Skye’s friends who was hustling him at pool. We decided to leave, but he came outside with two friends. Nick and Chad were gearing up to get involved so I took the bastards down so no one got hurt.”

Far from judging me or even being annoyed, Noah smiled. “You defended your friends.”

“You’re missing the point,” I snapped. “I broke somebody’s nose. It was the wrong thing to do. Violence wasn’t the answer.”

“Sounds like self-defense to me,” Noah said, gently moving Calico to the floor. “All that time and effort you put into jiu-jitsu was worth it.”

“Jesus Christ, Noah. I hurt someone. What if I’m like my dad after all?” Then it didn’t matter how I felt about Skye. It didn’t matter about the scholarship. I couldn’t get close because there was no way I could risk doing to anyone what he’d done to me.

“Did you keep hitting them when they were down? Did anyone need an ambulance?”

I stared at him aghast. “Of course not.”

“I didn’t think so.” Noah put a hand on my shoulder. “That’s because you’re not your father. You have the strength and the compassion to know when to stop.”

I let out a shuddering breath. Noah tightened his hand on my shoulder, letting me know he was there but not invading my space while I processed what he’d said.

“You’re a good man, Dante. You’re not your father. You’ll never be him. You’ve changed your name. You’ve cut him out. Now you need to let him go and start living your own life.”

It was the same old discussion we’d always had. I’d been open and honest with Noah when I decided to leave my full-time job at the station and go to college with the goal of becoming a lawyer. But I couldn’t move on. Sasha’s final words were burnt into my soul, and I owed it to her to see my father brought to justice. “I’m living my life. It’s just not the life you want me to have.”

“It’s not the life you deserve.” Noah refilled his cup from the pot in the corner. “That guilt you are carrying is a heavy burden to bear. There is a world of happiness out there if you can just walk away.”

I wanted to believe him. Over the last six weeks I’d had a taste of a life that wasn’t driven by guilt or vengeance. I wasn’t utterly consumed by the black hole at the center of my chest. I’d seen light at the end of the tunnel. I’d felt pure emotion stir my heart, and I wanted more.

My fingers uncurled from the edge of the table, the tension easing in my chest. I was going to tell him about Skye and the scholarship. Maybe he could help me untangle the mess.

“There’s something else…”

“Can it wait?” Noah asked. “I need to take a shower before Bella arrives. We’ve got some meetings over the next few days, and she wants me to be presentable.”

“No problem.” I bit back my disappointment. “I’d better go. I don’t want Bella screaming at me because you’re not ready on time.”

“Dante,” Noah called out as I pushed open the back door.

“Yeah?”

“I’m glad to hear you’re finally making friends,” he said with a grin. “But no more fighting in the playground.”

“Fuck off, Noah.”

He laughed and I realized I hadn’t heard him laugh like that in a very long time.

Midterms kept Skye and me apart for the next four days. We messaged constantly and shared our study playlists. I preferred chill or instrumental beats. Skye listened to Spanish flamenco guitar. I don’t know why it surprised me. She was a woman of hidden depths. Of course, it didn’t stop me from dragging her about it. Seriously? Spanish guitar?

She showed up at the station on Wednesday in a pair of tight black leggings and a form-fitting running jacket for a quick lesson on how to use the sound board. Chad was already in front of the mic with the headphones on, listening to himself croon “Blue Suede Shoes.”

“I’m planning to go for a run when we’re done and I didn’t want to waste time going home to change,” she said when I couldn’t tear my gaze away.

“Very commendable.” I tried to think about baseball and grades and things that didn’t involve Skye in tight clothes. “We like healthy interns at the station.”

“And interns like healthy bosses.” She licked her lips, and I felt every stroke of her tongue as a bolt of heat in my groin. “Maybe you should take up swimming. I noticed they had Speedos for sale in the athletic center.”

“Naughty,” I muttered under my breath. “This is a workplace. No suggestive licking of lips or inappropriate imagery allowed.”

“I thought you liked naughty,” she whispered when Chad was looking the other way. “Or is that not what you want?”

What I wanted was to get Skye alone again. What I wanted was my hands on her body and her lips pressed against mine. What I wanted was to take her home so I could spend another night with her, but this time in my bed. Instead, I had to deal with switches and microphones, sensors and headsets.

After I explained all the equipment and showed them how to cue up their music, Skye practiced with a pre-taped podcast and Chad did a fake live staring at his reflection in the glass as he reported about a bar fight that ended in a local man sprawled on the ground with a broken nose, all because he’d been hustled at pool.

“How did you learn to fight like that?” Chad asked, taking off his headphones. “You had that guy down in three seconds flat and you didn’t even break a sweat. You should join the wrestling team.”

“Jiu-jitsu. I’ve also done some karate and boxing. I’ve never been into team sports.” Team sports required parental involvement. They meant using team locker rooms where you couldn’t hide your bruises. They meant leaving your little sister alone for hours at a time.

“I can see that,” Skye said. “You’re more of a lone wolf type.”

“It sounds like you’ve given that considerable thought.” I liked the idea that she’d been thinking of me even though we hadn’t seen each other for almost a week.

“Are you fishing for compliments?”

“I don’t have to. The compliments write themselves.”

Skye lifted an eyebrow. “And there’s that ego we’ve heard so much about.”

And there was the woman who kept slipping past my walls. I pulled up Duran Duran’s “Hungry Like the Wolf” from the music database on the screen. Moments later the room was filled with the polished keyboards and powerful guitar riffs of the 1980s pop sensation. Over the years, people had debated the meaning of the song, but at its essence it was about a guy who wanted to get it on with a girl. Skye looked over at me and laughed.

“Why don’t you do a few more mock broadcasts,” I said to Chad. “I need to get Skye’s opinion on something.”

“What is it?” Skye asked, half jogging to keep up with my strides as I slammed open the station door and led her partway down the storage room hallway.

“This.” I took her hands and pressed her palms to my face. I needed her touch, her lips, her eyes on me like I needed to breathe. I wanted to feel her, connect. I needed to know that the other night had been real.

“My opinion is ten out of ten. Highly recommend.” She pressed her lips to my neck, and then we were clutching at each other, arms and hands and mouths and tongues until we were so close, we were like one person, not two.

“I missed you.” I rested my forehead against hers, our lips close enough to touch.

“We message or video every day.”

“It’s not the same.” I breathed in the scent of her hair, pressed my cheek against her temple. I didn’t understand this, the naked need, the all-consuming want. I felt raw, exposed, adrift for the first time since Noah saved me. I usually pushed people away. I didn’t know how to keep them.

Her mouth softened in a smile, and she rubbed her nose against mine, her lips one breath away. I could smell her; feel her pressed against me. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Relief crashed over me like a tidal wave of emotion so fierce I thought I would crack in half.

“God, Skye—” I cupped her face in my hands and kissed her. Touching. Tasting. Harder. Deeper. With a fervent, urgent need I’d never known before. I broke for air and buried my lips in her neck, feathering kisses over her collarbone, her chin, and cheeks. She tasted like rain and sunshine. My heart was pounding against my chest. I thought I might explode.

Skye pulled back with a low groan. “Chad will be waiting for us.”

“Fuck Chad.”

“I was hoping you’d fuck me instead.”

I pulled her close. Kissed the top of her head.

“Let’s get rid of him and we’ll have the station to ourselves for at least ten minutes.”

Skye laughed. It was the world’s most beautiful sound.

We didn’t have to get rid of Chad. He had a hot date with a shot-putter who was apparently an expert with balls. After he’d gone, Skye and I headed upstairs. Our ten minutes alone had become ten seconds when the next show host arrived early.

“All that kissing made me hungry,” she said. “Do you want to grab some pizza?”

“I thought you had to run.”

“I already worked out today. I just needed extra stress release, but you took care of that.”

My chest puffed with satisfaction. I’d done that. I’d helped her relax. I could get her food and help with that, too.

“I’m in. I’ve been eating leftover lasagna three nights in a row.”

“Was it frozen lasagna or did you make it yourself?” Her hand brushed against mine as we walked toward the pizza restaurant, sending a bolt of electricity straight to my groin.

“I learned how to cook after my mother died. My dad wasn’t into the whole parenting thing. My sister and I ate Fruit Loops and ham sandwiches every day for a month until I figured I’d better learn how to make something else, or we’d die of malnutrition.” Except for Noah, I’d never talked to anyone about my family. It was both freeing and disconcerting. I wanted to let her in, but I couldn’t let her get too close.

“You were a good big brother,” she said. “She was lucky to have you.”

We reached the counter, and I pulled out my credit card. “I have a responsibility to ensure our interns don’t die of starvation so I’m buying, unless you order something boring like pepperoni and then you’re on your own.”

“Ham and pineapple.”

I tipped my head back with a groan. “That’s the musical equivalent of Apocalyptica. Mixing contrasting styles like classical music and heavy metal just isn’t right. Next you’ll be telling me you listen to Mumford & Sons or the Avett Brothers.”

“I think they’re innovative and refreshing, just like pineapple on pizza.” She tipped her head to the side. “What are you going to have?”

“The Wild Man. It’s got everything on it except pineapple because that would just be wrong.”

“So, your musical equivalent is Mr. Bungle, or maybe Naked City.” She gave me a sideways glance. “I’m learning so much about you today. You don’t talk much about yourself so I have to collect what little tidbits I can.”

“Can I show you something?” The words came out before I could stop them, but I was already keeping one secret from her. I didn’t want to keep any more.

She tipped her head to the side. “Is it something that shouldn’t be seen in public and could get you arrested?”

“No. Jesus. What kind of guy do you think I am?”

“I don’t know. You are as mysterious as you are multifaceted. We’ve had sex twice and I still feel like I don’t understand you.”

“Come on an adventure with me and I’ll show you who I am.”

She rested her chin in her hand, her eyes sparkling. “I might have seen enough the other night…”

“I’ll try your pizza,” I offered.

Her eyes lit up. “You have to swallow it. No gagging. No spitting it out…”

“Did you really just say that?”

I could see the moment understanding dawned on her face. Her laughter, bold and beautiful, rang out around us. “I did just say that. You’re a bad influence. But you have a deal. I’m up for an adventure. You take a bite and I’ll come with you.”

I would do anything for Skye, so after we got our food I took a bite of her pizza, holding her gaze as a disgusting combination of tangy sweetness and salty cheese assailed my taste buds.

“What do you think?” she asked.

“Do you have a bucket?”