Kiss The Sun

Chapter 3

Danny suggested the local coffee shop, unaware that it was the place my friends and I had been going for 3 years. And the place where Lilianna had convinced me to take this deal in the first place. I hung a step behind as everyone else walked over. I admired the people who would soon be my roommates. My travel mates. My family. Danny and Lilianna were up front. The way she sashayed in her perfectly fitting bootcut jeans made me smile to myself. She held herself with so much confidence, I could only hope to exert half of that on stage. Behind them, Beth, Jake, and Josh were laughing at some unknown, supposedly hilarious thing. From afar, it dawned on me how similar the two really looked. Their heads cocked to the side, Josh's thrown back in laughter, Jake bent forward. Like two sides of the same coin. Beth looked comfortable simply laughing alongside them. Cat was off to the side taking a photo of the group ahead of her. I was already excited for the upcoming photo dumps I'm sure were to come.

I didn't notice Sam falling into step beside me until he spoke.

"I've gotta know," He nudged me so slightly with his elbow I thought I may have dreamed it. "What's the story behind College Graduation?" 

Though Lilianna had told me multiple times that they heard my music and loved it, his knowledge of my songs displayed visible shock on my face. 

"Woah," He held his hands up and chuckled, "touchy subject?" He looked at me like he truly cared about my answer.

"No, no," I shook my head in response to him. We reached the door and he held it open for me as we joined the line. "I was just shocked. It's not often I get asked about my music by anyone besides those three," I said, motioning at my friends. "My friend from back home, Emma. She skipped her college graduation to go on a road trip with me. I wrote it about that experience." 

He nodded, holding eye contact with me. "I wish I could write like that. It's like I can see your lyrics in my head. All I do is pluck a few strings and play some keys. Not that many people care. They usually just care about the one on electric guitar. The one with all the showy riffs." He crossed his arms, nodding to Jake, and smiled, but I could tell he wasn't joking. 

"Hey, bass and keys make or break a song. Especially in rock n roll. Don't sell yourself short. Plus, you're a young guy in a rock band. I don't think everyone would just go for the electric guitar guy." In front of us, I heard Jake order a small black coffee, no cream. Seemed fitting.

"Well, it's our first headlining tour. Anything can happen." The way he emphasized his words sounded like it had a hidden message behind it, but the barista was asking me what I wanted before I could read too much into it.  

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We sat in the corner booth of the coffee shop for 2 more hours before the workers announced it was time to leave. I learned a lot about my new tour family. The town they were from, their families, how the band got started. Jake wasn't wrong when he told me he had practically started it. My heart ached hearing about him accomplishing his dreams. I hugged each of them goodbye before climbing back into Beth's car.

"I love them," Beth smiled, "I absolutely love them!" She snuck a glance back towards the boys still lingering by the coffee shop door. 

"Right? And their hair! It's perfect!" Cat added, laughing. She grabbed Beth's phone and played Flower Power.

"And Sam? I think he was flirting, Brooklyn." Beth smirked at me in the rearview. 

"Oh please. We just met! And he was just being nice. Plus, I'm not getting into anything with these guys," I promised them, but also reminded myself. "Not after what I've been through before. It's not like we would have any privacy anyways," I added.