The Low Notes (18 page)

Nina found it somewhat amusing that she wasn’t worried. It was funny to her that having a meal with Kevin had become more normal than a meal with her family. She started in on half a turkey sandwich thinking to herself how good it was.

“
So who’s that guy?” Kevin asked to which Nina looked at him blankly. She knew the question would come sooner or later, she just didn’t think it would be this soon.

Nina cleared her throat. “What guy?”

“
Todd. The new kid,” he spoke in a quiet voice in between bites.

Nina avoided his eyes since she couldn’t avoid the topic at hand.

“
He’s not new. He used to live here and he just moved back. We used to be...friends.”

“
Friends.” His face looked paler than normal as he repeated her words softly.

“
Our dad's are old friends so…” she replied, tucking one side of her hair behind her ear. She caught a glimpse of Kevin nodding as he finished his half of the sandwich.

“
You know the senior concert is next week. The one where I close the first act,” she said, changing the subject. Kevin let a sweet smile grace his face.

“
Is that an invitation?”

“
Yeah, I guess it is,” she said, watching as his fingertips smoothed over the back of her hand sweetly before linking his fingers with hers.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

A few days later Kevin sipped the last of his beer at The Black Jewel. He put a twenty on the table to cover his meal and a tip. He noticed the crowd was made up of only a handful of people and most were people he’d started to recognize as regulars. He supposed he fit into that category as well.

Nina was sitting at the piano playing some of the standards, singing about every third song. He was so happy when he heard her sing. He knew she was aware he was in the audience so when she let a sweet note hang in the air and lifted her eyes to the crowd, he knew it was for him. Though their routine seemed like it was developing into a sort of normalcy, he was still unsure what they had. It felt big. It felt right. He was finally starting to feel at peace, a feeling he hadn't had in a very long time.

It had been years since his chest didn't ache with tension waiting for the next big blow. His own senior year of high school had probably been the last time he felt completely at ease. His father, not yet ill, surprised him with a trip in the middle of the school year for no reason. They went camping along the Appalachian Trail. It wasn't the beauty of the land or the serenity that gave Kevin the calm feeling. It was his father. Sitting in silence with him. While it might seem like torture to anyone else, Nina specifically, to Kevin it had been wonderful.

His dad told him story after story about his time spent traveling the globe and all of the adventures he'd enjoyed on that trip. It was the first time Kevin thought about writing it all down, writing an account of his father's amazing life.

Kevin headed for the door as Nina finished her set. Pulling out his cell phone, he typed a quick message as he picked up the pace toward his home.

You were great tonight. Meet me at my place?

Sasha was waiting by the door with a swinging tail when Kevin walked into his house. Not since the first day he moved in had he looked around the house only to be flooded with memories of growing up there. He tried to change the look of the house enough to keep him from being reminded of the time he’d lived there as a kid. But now it was different. With his father having been on his mind all day, suddenly Kevin was overcome with grief. Thinking about that trip and the rest of the year before he left for college was painful. Thinking about how much he wanted his father back, how he craved that time, was nearly unbearable. He wondered if his dad would've liked Nina. Would he have approved? Kevin wondered if his father were alive would he have told him already.

Staggering through the kitchen, he opened the back door to let Sasha outside. When the cold air wafted over him, he couldn't keep from crying.

****

Nina parked in Kevin's driveway and headed to the front door with a spring in her step. She’d read his text before changing back into her school clothes and she was giddy with the thought of seeing him.

The door opened and she called out his name in a song.

She didn't see him or the dog anywhere so she headed back to the kitchen. And that's when she saw him. He was standing with his hands pressed against the kitchen table and his back turned to her but she could see a slight tremble roll through his body.

“
Hey,” he said with a crack in his voice.

Nina rushed to him without thinking and tried to look at him but he avoided her stare.

“
What's wrong?” she asked.

Kevin scrubbed at his eyes and sighed heavily. “It's nothing. It's stupid.”

He moved past her and leaned against the island for a moment, his breath still quaking, slowing down. Nina followed him and hopped up on the island putting herself in front of him, their eyes at the same level. She put her hands on his face tenderly and looked into his deep chocolate eyes. They were glassy and bloodshot. Clearly he'd been crying.

“
What is it? You're scaring me,” she said.

He cocked his head to one side and stared at her forlornly, his brow tense, his red eyes heavy.

“
It's my dad’s birthday today,” he said quietly.

A sad sigh came from Nina's lips before she could stifle it. She had no idea what to say. Kevin had only mentioned his father a handful of times and she still knew little about the circumstances. She saw the light in Kevin's eyes every time he mentioned the elder Mr. Reed. Never having lost someone, she didn't know the right thing to say.

“
It’s stupid. It's just a day,” he mumbled, rubbing gruffly at his face again before pushing his hand through his hair.

“
No. No it isn't,” she said clearly.

He moved in between her legs and they instinctively wrapped around his waist. His silence was killing her. She wanted him to be able to tell her anything. She wanted to help him when he was sad or hurting. That was what having someone to hold was all about, right? Unexpectedly he pulled her close to his chest and smoothed his hands down her back, the feeling wonderful. It was a simple hug but the comfort it gave Nina was indescribable. She only hoped Kevin felt the same.

“
Do you want to talk about it?” she whispered into his chest.

He started to speak without pulling away from her. “I just miss him,” he choked.

Nina tightened her arms around his back, squeezing him before pulling back and meeting his eyes. She saw him chewing on the inside of his cheek, struggling to keep from crying.

“
I just want to know if he would've been proud of me. If he would've thought...I was a good person,” he stammered and averted his eyes.

She felt the wind knocked out of her for an instant. Was he saying what she thought? Was he worried about whether his father would've damned him for their relationship? Her stomach twisted into knots. There was no way she could say anything to him about how he felt. She had no idea what he was going through. She had no idea how she would feel if she lost her father.

Her fingertips rose again and she barely touched his jaw line. His mouth relaxed and his lips parted as he looked back at her.

“
You
are
a good person. You're a good man,” she said firmly.

Kevin nodded absently and leaned forward, kissing her gently before wrapping his arms around her again. Nina nuzzled back into the warmth of his chest, her arms around his back and her legs around his waist as she sat on the edge on the cool countertop. She breathed in the subtle scent of his cologne and wished for things to stay the way they were forever. She couldn't put her finger on what the moment should be labeled. It was different from any other exchange they'd had. Nina felt Kevin kiss the top of her head.

“
I'm really glad you're here,” he said in a trembling tone. He grew heavier in her embrace and she heard him quietly crying against her.

She felt his sadness ripple through her and she ached for him. There was far more than lust between them. It was a closeness Nina had never felt with anyone.
Intimate.
That's what the moment was. It only made it clearer to her that the words she’d been thinking were true. She wanted so badly to say it to comfort him but a quiver in her stomach kept her from doing so. Nina imagined he would know soon enough and deep down, she believed he felt the same way.

Chapter Forty

Nina dragged the soft bristled brush over her cheek and saw the pale pink shade liven up her skin. Her worries made her even paler than she normally was. The blood seemed drained from her. For a moment she stared blankly into the mirror, letting the bright vanity bulbs the size of softballs wash her in sparkling light. Her lips were painted soft pink, her eyes rimmed in black, the false eyelashes already beginning to feel uncomfortably stiff against her eyelids.

James appeared in the mirror behind her, popping his head around the door she’d made sure to pull shut earlier. He smiled at her at warmly. He was clad in a black suit and tie and his hair was slicked back and parted on the right. A giggle escaped Nina’s lips at the sight of him. The perfectly tailored suit showed just how skinny he was. He rolled his eyes at her, shutting the door behind him.

“
I’ve been looking everywhere for you. Why are you getting ready in here instead of in the band room with the rest of the girls? No one ever uses this tiny dressing room. I can understand why, too. It smells like 1982 in here,” James’ made a face as he looked around the small room. It was true. A musty smell had absorbed into the walls. Nina felt like being alone as she prepared for her performance. Plus, she wanted the comfort of being in the room where she'd spent time with Kevin. Maybe it would somehow give her the assurance she needed to sing her song in front of everyone. She glanced at herself in the mirror again and smiled brightly.

“
This room makes me feel like a star,” she teased.

The truth was Nina was more nervous about this show than she let on. She'd been singing in front of audiences for months now but tonight was different. It was special.

“
I think Nick is going to come out to me tonight,” James blurted, causing Nina to turn to him with wide, inquisitive eyes.

“
It’s kind of obvious but he’s shy. Something's been going on between us since we started working together in our group.”

“
What kind of something, James?” Nina pressed.

James ran a soft hand over his gelled hair as he stared at himself in the lit mirror. “I think we almost kissed last night when we walked out to our cars.”

Nina’s mouth dropped over-dramatically as she imagined James would have done had it been her scandalous confession.

“
Well, go get ‘em tiger,” she kidded him.

As their laughter subsided, Nina took notice of the clock. It was almost show time. She had to suffer through playing the piano for all of the other performances before she got to go on. Last.

Someone rapped on the door and it opened before James or Nina could grant the stranger entry. Nick. His head poked in and the moment he saw James, he rolled his eyes and sighed relief.

“
Thank God you’re in here. I've been looking all over for you,” Nick huffed, stepping in just enough to grab James’ hand and pull him out the door. James turned before being yanked completely into the hall and smiled knowingly at Nina and blew her a kiss for good luck.

Nina’s last quiet moments were spent fixing her hair a few more times, smoothing out the silver dress she wore and layering on another coat of lip gloss. Then she was off to the pit to take her seat at the piano, still unable to name the tremble in her gut. Her mind was elsewhere as she played through each song easily. She was in a trance when Mrs. Benson tapped her on the shoulder to take over. That meant one more song and Nina would be up.

“
You're gonna nail it,” Mrs. Benson whispered, giving Nina a sweet, encouraging smile.

The audience whopped and hollered for James, Nick and the other boys as Mrs. Benson played out the end of their song. James beamed at the microphone, eating up the crowd’s reaction. Nina caught the subtle glance James and Nick shared as they made their way into the wings when the curtain came down. James looked as though he was going to jump out of his skin as he twirled around and grabbed Nina’s shoulders, spinning her as well.

“
I love you, break a leg,” he whispered in her ear before kissing her cheek.

He turned on his heels and headed down the back hall where Nick was waiting for him when he turned back to Nina and whispered.

“
Professor Hot is dead center. Can’t miss him. He's right in front of Todd.”

The news put a pin-prick in her head and butterflies in her stomach. The orchestra boomed down in the pit signaling Nina to take her place on the stage before the curtain rose. Her steps were careful as she moved, her head reeling. The microphone was at her rosy lips when the red velvet curtain rose swiftly, revealing a spotlight and a packed house.

Her stomach continued to flutter as her eyes adjusted to the glowing light and then she saw him. Kevin’s lips stretched wide across his face as his eyes locked with hers. She took a breath and sang out the song she'd written for him.