The Songs in Our Hearts: A Young Adult Romance(44)

We heard the bell ring from the distance, and watched as the tennis players gathered their racket bags and extra balls, and raced back toward the gym.

“We should go back in,” Micah said, patting my knee gently. I had never noticed just how warm or large his hands were. He stood up and held out a hand to me. “Come on, C.” I took it without hesitation and, for a moment, I swore I felt him squeeze mine.

Micah led us back to the building, back to where everyone would watch us walking in, hand-in-hand.





“All Through the Night”

Sleeping At Last





“SO, WHERE IS YOUR BOYFRIEND?” Dad asked as I picked up his plate from the dinner table and brought it to the sink.

My eyes darted to Josh, sitting quietly at the table. He looked at me, just as confused. I knew by Josh’s shrug he had no idea where that had come from either.

“My boyfriend?” I asked, lowering the plate into the hot, soapy water.

“Yeah, that Micah kid.” Dad turned in his seat to look at me.

“Dad, he’s not my boyfriend. We’re just friends. English partners, really.”

“You’re sure he’s not your boyfriend?” Dad asked again, this time with a hint of laughter in his voice. I rinsed off the plate and placed it on the drying rack.

“I’m really sure, Dad,” I said again, smiling now. “Really. There’s nothing going on between us.”

Sometimes, my dad had a way of knowing things. In times like these, I wondered how transparent I was to him.

“I’m bound to see more of him, right?” he asked, still eyeing me.

“Yeah, because of the project,” I insisted. Dad shrugged and glanced at Josh.

“You’d tell your old man if she was dating someone, wouldn’t you, Joshua?”

I pulled the plug up from the sink and wiped my hands on a towel, eager to hear what Josh would say. I wondered if he’d bring up Friday night.

“I would tell you, Dad,” Josh grinned. “I mean, of course I’d tell you. I think it’s pretty safe to say that Charlie isn’t dating him.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, he’s sure!” I interjected with a laugh, and came to sit back down at the table. My mom emerged from the hall, having had just changed out of her work clothes. She glanced at us curiously.

“What are you three going on about?” She pulled up a chair.

“Dad is interrogating me about Micah,” I explained. “He’s thinks Micah’s my boyfriend.”

“Oh, your English partner?” Mom asked.

“He’s just a friend,” I repeated.

“If that,” Josh mumbled. I’d forgotten to mention to Josh what had happened at lunch earlier that day. But his comment hadn’t gone unnoticed by my dad, who was already looking at him, intrigued.

“What does that mean, Josh?”

“It just means that Micah is kind of a punk kid, and if he doesn’t watch himself, he’s gonna get his face busted,” Josh said, a bit too seriously. I bit the inside of my cheek.

“Josh…” I hissed, hoping he’d catch my warning. Do not mention the bonfire! Not in front of Dad! His expression challenged me not to test him, so I didn’t.

“He’s a punk and you know it,” Josh murmured.

“No, he isn’t. His friends are,” I huffed. Mom and Dad glanced warily between the two of us. I pushed myself from my chair with a sigh. “I need to get a few more things done for the English project.” I hugged my dad tightly. “You’ll always be my number one man, Dad,” I smiled. “Don’t worry. I don’t have a boyfriend. Not yet!”

“Not ever,” Josh and Dad said at the same time. I found myself giggling as I headed upstairs.

I was dreading the huge pile of homework waiting for me in my room. It wasn’t the only thing waiting for me. As I glanced at my phone, I noticed Micah had sent a few messages.





MICAH: Hey, r u around?



MICAH: I know how this is gonna sound.



MICAH: Can I come over?



MICAH: Charlie?



CHARLIE: Hey, Micah, sorry! I was at dinner!



CHARLIE: What’s going on? Are you okay?



MICAH: I need to get out of the trailer. My dad is kinda...



MICAH: Do u wanna hang out?





I stared at the screen, wondering what had happened. Micah hardly spoke about his dad. I walked back down to the kitchen, phone in hand as I approached my parents and Josh.

“Can Micah come over, Dad?” I asked, unable to hide the concern in my voice. “He just texted me and I think something is going on.”

Dad’s gaze was inquisitive. I had just spent the last few minutes trying to convince him that Micah wasn’t my boyfriend, and yet, there I was, asking if he could come over…again.

“He said he needs to talk to me about something going on with the sets,” I quickly added, thinking of a white lie. I didn’t want to explain anything about Micah’s family when I really had no idea what was going on. Josh looked at me with a very clear what the hell expression on his face.

“It can’t wait until tomorrow?” Dad asked, crossing his arms over his chest. “It’s a school night.”