Page 281 of Silver Sweet

This week with Tom has left me in a state of bliss.

And I’ve been dreading its end. Nothing Personal flies to Liverpool in two days. I have a ticket with my name on it. Tom knows I won’t be back until next year.

No one bothers us in the restaurant.

Shades over the windows block out the several cameramen who’ve followed us here, snapping photos and shouting questions. They keep asking if Tom and I are together and the status of The Carraways.

We never reply.

I forget they exist. The same way I forget Tom’s bodyguard is at another table.

I just keep looking at my boyfriend.

“You hear that?” Tom asks. The kitchen is sizzling, and other oblivious couples chat at high-top tables. But he’s referring to his pair of AirPods we share, music coming out of them.

“I hear you slurping a noodle,” I say.

Tom huffs. “I don’t slurp.” He eats a radish very politely.

He’s not looking up, so he can’t see my smile.

His fingertips clasp mine under the table, hidden near the wall, and I know I’m so in love with him because I use chopsticks with my left, nondominant hand just to keep touching Tom.

I struggle to pick up a noodle.

Tom doesn’t even notice.

He bobs his head to the beat playing in our ears, and I watch him hum and tilt his head side to side while the guitar riff picks up. His guitar riff.

We’re listening to our demo for a new single.

I like the pace we’re working on the second album. It’s slower. Letting us breathe. We’ve already extended the deadline with the label. Tom was the one who said we needed more time, and we shouldn’t risk our health just to finish it.

“That,” he points out fast again. “You hear that?”

“Yeah, your pitch should be higher.”

“Agreeeeeed.” He sucks in a breath, then bangs his head with me to the chorus that sounds like gasping breath while running. It scratches an itch.

Yeah, that’s fucking good. We’re both grinning at each other. My lungs just completely fill with light. I feel buoyant.

Weightless.

I know my student loans were a load I’d been carrying, and I finally have financial stability.

I’m debt-free.

Unbelievable that I paid off all my loans before even seeing royalties. That massive check will come next year.

It was our merch sales that ultimately unburdened me, and it’s part of why I’m lighter and happier.

The bigger part is him.

As the music fades in my ear, his lips begin to fall heavy. He swishes his miso broth with his chopsticks and sighs, “Two days left.”

I glare over at him. “I take it back.”

“Take what back?”