Music Inn

Sam and I didn’t discuss what had happened on Wednesday night, and although I knew it was because nothing had really happened to begin with, I still felt like it caused a shift in our relationship, like now there was a “before” and an “after.”

We’d woken up on Thursday morning to our alarms, and instead of jokingly asking if we had time for a quickie, Sam merely rolled over and pressed his face into my neck, mumbling, “Morning.”

“Hey,” I’d answered, feeling confused and nervous but also kind of happy because this was nice. Then, the spell was broken and Sam was yawning and sitting up and suggesting that we shower together to “save water.” I decided it was just better not to mention it to anyone.

♫ ♫ ♫

On Saturday, July 4th, Hazel called me at around nine in the morning. “Hello?” I said groggily.

“Morning,” she chirped. “What are you doing right now?”

“I was sleeping,” I said grumpily, trying to be quiet so Sam wouldn’t wake up, although he was a heavy sleeper anyway, so I really didn’t need to worry. “What do you want?”

“Well then,” Hazel said, pretending to be offended, “I was just calling to see if you wanted to come over and help me bake some stuff to bring to the fireworks tonight.”

“Hazel,” I groaned, “it’s so early.”

“I know. But I bought bagels from the bakery you like near us.”

I sat up. “Geno’s?”

“Yup. And I’ll even let you use our fancy espresso machine.” In addition to being a music snob, Dan was also a total coffee snob. He insisted on using an expensive espresso machine with tiny little capsules to make his coffee instead of just brewing it the way everyone else did. I always said there was no difference between his coffee and the coffee Kiera and I had, but there secretly was.

Kiera would’ve said no anyway and gone back to sleep, but I had trouble saying no to people. So I sighed. “Okay, fine. I’ll be over in a few minutes.” I really didn’t want to leave Sam, but bagels were bagels, after all.

I got out of bed, wrote him a quick message on a sticky note, and stuck it to his forehead. Then I threw on some shorts and a tank top and brushed my teeth before grabbing my keys and leaving. As soon as I stepped out of the building and into the street, it was like I was hit by a wall of heat. It had to be at least 80 degrees out, and it wasn’t even ten o’clock yet.

Dan and Hazel’s was only two subway stops away from where we lived, and it was nice and cool underground. She buzzed me in and opened the door with a big smile on her face. “Good morning!” she all but sang.

“I can’t stand how cheerful you are right now,” I said, moving past her to go into the cool, air-conditioned apartment. “Where’s Dan?”

“Showering. Nice to see you, too.”

Dan and Hazel’s place was one of my favorite places in the world. Their walls were covered with vintage photos, records, and other cool pictures and objects. The furniture was mismatched and had funky patterns all over it. Since it was Dan and Hazel, they had a bunch of wire racks that were packed with records, CDs, and tapes, and they had a huge state-of-the-art sound system that was always blasting music (Hazel liked to say they would be paying for it until the day they died).

The kitchen table was covered with flour, sugar, eggs, and other various baking products. “Jesus,” I said, surveying all of it. “What are you planning on making?”

“Brownies, maybe,” Hazel said. “Want to watch?”

“Sure.”

I made myself a cup of coffee with the fancy espresso maker and toasted a cinnamon raisin bagel before sitting at the table to watch. Hazel tended to be a control freak when she was baking, and it was just better for her to do it by herself.

“Something on your mind?” Hazel asked as she stirred the batter.

I blinked. “No . . . why?”

She shrugged. “Usually you talk up a storm. You seem kind of quiet today.”

“Hmm,” I said absently. I thought for a few more seconds before I said, “Can I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

“How did you know you were in love with Dan?”

She stopped stirring. “How did I know I was in love with Dan?”

“Yeah. You don’t have to answer, I was just —” I started to backtrack, cursing myself. Hazel’s past was a bit of a sore spot: she’d been in a handful of abusive relationships throughout her teenage years. Dan got pissed whenever anyone brought them up, but Hazel didn’t mind talking about them in little pieces.

“No, it’s okay,” Hazel said. “I just wasn’t expecting you to ask me that.” She sighed. “I guess . . . I guess I knew because I knew Dan was different. He wasn’t like the others. It was just so easy to be with him. I never had to lie about where I was or cut off contact with anybody because of jealousy or be careful about what I said. Dan just . . . liked spending time with me. He liked me for who I was, and he showed me.”

I nodded. “Okay. Thanks.”

“Why, are you in love with somebody?” she asked teasingly.

“What?”

Dan came out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around his waist. “Oh, hey Lex. Not sure what the protocol is for seeing your boss in a towel, but we’ll just pretend it didn’t happen.”

“Will do,” I said, giving him a two-finger salute.

“What are you ladies talking about?” he asked, going to the coffee maker.

“Just about how much I love you,” Hazel sang.

Dan turned back. “Really?”

“Really.” He looked at me, and I nodded.

“Huh. I’m flattered. Alexa, maybe one day we can talk about how much I love Hazel.”

“We already do. Every day. At work.”

“Oh, right.”

“You’re full of it,” Hazel said, but she was smiling.

“And if by ‘it’ you mean ‘love for you,’ then absolutely,” Dan said, grinning. He leaned over to kiss her cheek, wrapping his arms around her waist, and I felt a pang of jealousy. I could see why Hazel never felt the need to doubt Dan’s love for her: it was so tangible I could practically touch it.

“Please don’t forget that I’m right here,” I said before things could get inappropriate. Dan laughed and went into their bedroom to change. Hazel resumed her stirring, a goofy smile on her face.

“So, you never answered my question from before,” she said. I’d been hoping she’d forgotten about it.

“What question?” I asked innocently.

“Are you in love with somebody? Somebody who, say, is in a band and lives in your building and sleeps in the same bed as you every single night?”

“No!” I said, a little too loudly. “I was just wondering.”

“Look, it’s okay if you do. You spend practically every minute of every day together.”

“No we don’t. He’s not here now, is he? And we both have our own jobs and our own lives. We’re just hooking up for the summer, that’s all.”

Hazel smiled at me as she poured the brownie batter into the pan. “I think Sam is great. We all do.”

“He is great,” I said, getting up from the counter and sitting on their couch. “What’s on TV?”

“You better not get any bagel crumbs on the couch,” Hazel warned, distracted. “Or I’ll kill you.”

I spent a few more hours at Dan and Hazel’s, watching TV and listening to Dan and Hazel bicker and laugh before I finally decided to go home. It was a little after noon, so I stopped at a deli near our apartment and bought sandwiches for Kira and I.

When I opened the door, Kiera was sitting on the couch, watching TV and packing a bowl. “Hey,” she said, brightening when she saw the sandwich in my hand. “Where’d you go?”

“Dan and Hazel’s,” I said. “Is Sam still here?”

“Sam’s here?” Kiera asked, knitting her eyebrows.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” I said, walking past her into my room. Sure enough, Sam was still fast asleep in my bed. I felt a little bad waking him up, but twelve hours of sleep seemed like plenty. I climbed into bed and poked him a few times until he stirred, groaning. “Good morning, Sleeping Beauty,” I said with a grin as he blinked up at me.

“Ugh,” he said, his voice deep and croaky. “What time is it?”

“Almost 12:30. You slept for a long time, pal.”

“I sure did, bud.” He rubbed his eyes before noticing the sandwich in my hand. “Is that for me?”

I realized that I hadn’t gotten him a sandwich, figuring he’d be gone by now, and felt bad. “Uh, it’s for both of us. I thought we could split it.”

“Cool,” Sam said happily, sitting up. We went into the kitchen and he made himself a cup of coffee while I got out two plates. “Hey, Kiera,” he called. Kiera merely lifted her hand and waved, not even bothering to turn around.

“You excited for the fireworks?” I asked as we ate our sandwich.

He nodded. “Yeah, totally.” He lifted his mug into the air, a pink and white one of Kiera’s that said CAFFEINE QUEEN in gold lettering, and said, “Happy birthday, America.” I didn’t have a drink, so I raised my sandwich in the air, making him laugh.

Sam watched TV with Kiera and I for a little while before he decided to go back to his apartment and shower. “What time are we meeting at the beach tonight?” he asked as he struggled to put his shoes on while standing up.

“Seven, I think,” I said, watching with mild amusement. “That way we have time to eat and get reasonably drunk before the fireworks actually start.”

“Cool beans,” Sam nodded, giving me the thumbs-up. He hovered over me for an awkward second before leaning in and kissing my eyelid. “See you then.” Before I could even open my mouth, he scampered off down the hallway.

“That was weird,” I said, shutting the door behind him.

“You guys are weird,” Kiera answered. I couldn’t argue with that.

♫ ♫ ♫

Later that evening, Hazel, Dan, Jesse, Kiera, Matt Eddie, and I walked to the beach together. Jesse and Matt were each carrying a cooler; one had burgers, hot dogs, s’mores ingredients, and brownies in it, and the other just had a lot of alcohol.

Sam had texted me saying he and the guys were already at the beach and had found a nice spot to set up chairs. As we walked along the crowded beach, Matt Eddie and Dan waved and shook hands with pretty much everyone we passed.

It didn’t take too long to find the guys, and even Kiera had to admit that they’d claimed a pretty good spot. It was a little farther down the beach, so it wasn’t as packed, allowing us to spread our chairs and blankets out on the sand.

“I picked out this spot myself,” Sam announced proudly.

“No you didn’t, asshole,” Thomas said calmly, opening the can of beer Jesse passed him, “I did.”

“Well, I agreed that it was a good spot,” Sam said, jutting out his lower lip in a pout.

I laughed, rubbing his back. “It is a good spot, you’re right.”

He smiled at me. “Thanks, bud.” Behind his back, Kiera, Jesse, and Matt Eddie pretended to throw up. I ignored them.

We ate burgers and hot dogs and cooked s’mores over the George Foreman grill Dan had brought, and by the time the sky was dark enough to light off the fireworks, everyone was pleasantly full and drunk.

With a loud boom, the fireworks began, soaring into the sky and exploding in bursts of color. Everyone cheered as they rained down back into the water. “Hey,” Sam said, poking my arm. “Come sit.” He was sitting in one of the chairs we’d brought. I went over and sat sideways on his lap so he could still see, resting my head on his shoulder.

I watched the fireworks for a few seconds before I glanced at my friends: Hazel was settled in a beach chair, Dan sitting on the ground in between her legs. Kiera and Thomas were squished together in another chair, sharing a beer. Jesse, Colton, Fletcher, and Matt Eddie were sitting on a blanket, passing around a joint, and Sam was warm and firm against my back. The light from the fireworks illuminated all of their faces, and I felt a sudden rush of happiness travel through my entire body. It was summertime and I was surrounded by so many people I cared about.

I leaned up and kissed Sam’s jaw, right by his ear. He looked down at me, surprised. “What was that for?” he asked, raising his voice so I could hear him over the noise.

I shrugged. “Just wanted to.”

He laughed. “Well, thanks.”

“You’re so cute when you laugh,” I pointed out. “Your eyes get all crinkly.”

He rolled his eyes, but I didn’t miss the way his cheeks turned a little pink. “How drunk are you?”

“Pretty drunk,” I admitted. “But I’m also just happy. I had a great day today and I think you’re the most beautiful person in the world.”

For a second, Sam just stared at me, and I was afraid I’d said too much. But then he slowly smiled. “Oh, I’m so getting laid tonight.”

I punched his shoulder lightly. “Just watch the fireworks, stupid.” But I didn’t deny it.