The Melody of You and Me (Lillac Town Series Book 1)
Page 9
“Yeah, Mom. Sorry about calling so late, I had something important I wanted to tell you.”
“Oh, don’t worry! I was actually watching this documentary about white deer on the…” She stops with a sigh. “Never mind. I’m just so happy you called. What’s going on?”
“Just promise me first that you won’t be angry?”
“Okay, I promise. Please, tell me you didn’t do anything dangerous.”
“I got a partial scholarship for a teaching degree in a music school.”
There is silence on the other side of the line for far too long.
Then, her mother answers with a shriek.
“Are you serious?”
Chris jumps and stares at the phone screen for a second. She had never heard her mother speak so fast before.
“…this is so amazing, dear,” she hears when the phone is back to her ear. “Why didn’t you tell me you were applying? Oh God, I need to tell your father.”
“Wait, Mom. Are you okay with that? I mean, it’s not in a university or anything.”
Part of Chris still won’t let herself be excited about her future prospects by believing her mother is honestly happy about her news.
“Christine, is that what you want to do?”
“Yes,” she answers firmly.
“Then I’m happy for you. It’s all I want now. But just promise me that you won’t shut us out again.”
“I promise, Mom.” Then she adds, “Well, I guess this is a good moment to also tell you I’m with someone new.”
“Oh… what about Tabitha?”
“We broke up months ago. You know that.”
“Yes, of course. I just thought maybe… It doesn’t matter anymore. I can’t wait to meet the new person. Is it a girl or…?”
“It’s a girl. You’ll love her,” Chris says with a smile.
***
Half an hour later she manages to end the call after a long overdue talk with both of her parents.
As happy as she is about getting in contact with them again, she just wants to cuddle with her girlfriend for the rest of the night.
When she finally gets comfortable against Josie’s back again, she sighs contently. She is too tired to reach for her earphones or remember a whole song to lull herself to sleep tonight. And yet, she’s still aware of a soothing melodic beat that she can’t quite pin down.
It takes her a few minutes to realize it’s just Josie’s heart that she can feel beating through her skin.
Epilogue
She wakes up wondering why there is no music in her ears.
Frowning at the light coming through the open blinds, Chris groans and rolls on her side, finding empty sheets.
She gets up and grabs some underwear and a flannel from the floor. Her hair is sticking to the side of her head, and she almost trips over one of her sneakers while moving slowly to find the bathroom door.
In the mirror, her reflection shows her the many hickeys on her neck, and she smiles thinking about the girl who marked her.
After washing her hands, she goes to the kitchen, feeling more awake and ready for the day now. There, she finds Josie already busy on the stove while talking on her phone at the same time.
“Love you too, Dad. Bye!” she says and hangs up.
Josie plays with the buttons for a second and music starts playing through the place. With the smell of bacon wafting through the apartment, Chris watches as Josie dances in a silly, yet entrancing way around her kitchen.
Chris chuckles and then the girl finally turns to her. She laughs even harder when she notices the shirt Josie is wearing with the words girls heart girls in pink letters across her chest.
Did she bring this with her in her ballet backpack?
“You are a vision this morning,” Chris lovingly mocks.
“Thank you!” Josie sings.
Chris walks to the small table and throws her body carelessly onto one of the chairs.
“What are we having for breakfast?”
Josie hums under her breath while she prepares the food. Once she is done, she dances all the way over until she places the food in front of Chris.
Bacon and eggs in a smiley face.
Perfect, Chris thinks in amusement.
“Was that your parents on the phone?” she asks around a bite of her food.
“Yep. They found out through Jessie about my recital and aren’t too happy about me hiding it. Seeing as we’re so busy at work, I can’t apologize in person, so they’re coming to visit me next week.”
“That’s good.”
Josie nods slowly, her eyes trained on her own food.
“Do you think… do you think we can tell them about us?” she asks uncertainly.
“I think that’s a great idea,” Chris answers. “Besides, I may already have told my parents too.”
“What? When?”
“While you were sleeping. I was just telling them about my scholarship, and I may have gotten too excited.”
“Well, at least it’s one less thing for both of us to worry about then.”
They laugh and eat in silence for a moment.
Suddenly, the song on Josie’s phone changes to a new one. After a few verses, she recognizes the voices of Au Revoir Simone. Chris smiles at the lyrics, a warm feeling spreading through her chest.
What a great way to wake up; the girl she is falling in love with dancing around her kitchen and cooking breakfast for them.
Is this how good life feels when everything is working out for you?
A pair of legs is thrown on top of hers, interrupting her reverie.
“Massage my feet, please?” Josie asks with a pout.
“Your stinky feet?”
“Pleaase… They’re still hurting so much from last night.”
Chris stares at her for a moment and then she brings one of her hands to her face dramatically.
“Oh, the things I do for love.”
Josie slaps her softly on her arm and moves closer until their noses bump together affectionately, both their faces locked into big grins.
If this was just the start of their love story, Chris could hardly wait to see what else life had in store for both of them.
Acknowledgments
For me, writing has always being a shared experience. I write to make people feel something, to see the reactions they give right after reading an important scene. There is nothing that makes me happier than being able to provide stories that people will love. Nothing of this would be possible without the help of many people who were behind this novella.
To my beta readers and editors, who gave me so much advice, and helped me on making The Melody of You and Me a good enough story to be published, thank you for all your patience and help. Izzy, Yahtzee, Niall, Kate, you guys are amazing and keep teaching me every day how to become a better writer. Sue, who keeps pushing me always for the better and with whom I have the best book talks. My first readers who told me this was the right story to be told: Jessica, Laura, Steph, Angele, Núbia, Jules. To Jenn, Guinevere, and Libertad, who write such important and amazing stories and for inspiring me to keep trying. Allison, Melissa and all my Tumblr friends who hold my hand at all times.
My best friends E, C, and P, thank you for all the long talks where you made me believe in myself. Your excitement about my writing and the support you give to every big dream that I have, made it possible that I believed in them a little bit more.
To my family, who still doesn’t know exactly what this story is about, thank you for always encouraging my love for reading and writing. I hope one day I’ll be brave enough to tell you all about what I write.
And finally, to you readers that give us writers the chance to keep writing. The fact that you decided to take your time to read my story means a lot to me. I hope it brings you the happiness and comfort you need.
About the Author
M. Hollis could never decide what to do with her life. From the time she was a child, she has changed her ideas for a c
areer hundreds of times. After writing in hidden notebooks during classes and daydreaming during every spare moment of her day, she decided to fully dedicate herself to her stories. When she isn’t scrolling around her social media accounts or reading lots of femslash fanfiction, you’ll find her crying about female characters and baking cookies.
The Melody of You and Me is her first LGBT+ New Adult Novella.
The Lillac Town Series will continue in the next installment from Lily’s POV. Title and synopsis to be announced.