But I am the bigger person in this relationship, and I am not going to make fun of him for being scared of planes even though he’s been through this so many times before.
I pull up the seat divider between us and lean into his embrace. He puts an arm around me, but his shoulders are stiff and he may or may not cut all blood flow in my arm with the way he’s playing with one of my hair elastics.
I touch his hand so he stops. He’s still holding his breath. Deer-in-the-headlights big green eyes. “I’m cool. Flying is cool.” He shrugs, squeezing my shoulder gently. Then he looks away and adds, apparently more to himself than me, “Except there’s nothing cool about defying gravity with an impossibly heavy metal thing floating around.”
We both watch as William spreads his toes in his superhero socks.
“I’m trying really hard not to make fun of you right now,” I say.
He parts his lips, and I smile, closing my eyes and pressing my lips to his. It’s a quick peck, but it awakens all the butterflies that have been going wild inside my stomach since he stepped foot in the United States. Or rather, since he literally swept me off my feet backstage after my big headlining number for the Christmas special.
“I have a theory…,” I begin.
He runs a hand down my curls, careful not to undo them, both absentminded and mesmerized. I like that distracted look on him. “Do tell, Nati.”
“I think…” I take a deep breath. “That you’re more nervous about meeting my family than you are about flying.”
It’s the elephant in the room—the elephant in first class—so I might as well address it. He looks dumbfounded, as if that’d never occurred him. He offers me an awkward chuckle.
“I’m—I’m not nervous. Not about your family. They’re—they seem like perfectly good people.” He smiles with pressed lips, so much tension on his face that it’s a wonder he’s still functioning. “I’m—I’m curious, if anything. Not about your family, that sounded like they were exotic or something. No, I meant curious about Brazil?” William raises his eyebrows. “Brazil seems like a wonderful place.”
“We’re not sightseeing much.” I shrug. “It’s just Christmas with my family.”
The plane jolts with a bit of turbulence. After a pause, he says, “And I’m very excited.”
I follow his gaze to see Mom, in the next row over, fast asleep.
“Seriously?” I ask. He lifts his shoulders again. I roll my eyes, pulling away from him. “Mom’s not going to hear if you trash-talk anything. Brazil, my relatives, Christmas and other Christian traditions, whatever.” I smile. “Don’t worry.”
William’s eyes widen. “Nati, I don’t want to trash-talk any of that.”
I laugh. “Okay. I know that, don’t worry. But, like, is it okay that you’re coming? I mean, I don’t want you to feel pressured or anything. It’s a little late to be asking, but—”
William takes my hand in his. Interlacing our fingers, he brings the back of my hand to his lips. That causes more than a little flutter in my stomach, but I bite back my smile so I can keep the conversation going.
“I’m so happy to be here,” he says, in a tone that makes it sound like he’s admitting a secret. “When you invited me to go to Brazil with you…that’s more than meeting your family. I felt that was you asking me to go and fight your demons with you,” he says, and when I tilt my head to the side, making a face, he’s quick to add, “Your family is not the demon. The demons are your fears and insecurities about going back. That’s what I meant. Just in case that wasn’t clear.”
I squeeze his hand. “It was.” I come closer to him again, but stop before kissing him. “It means a lot to me that we can fight them together.”
He nods, then his eyes lower to my lips. I feel that something-more-than-a-flutter strengthen. A smirk appears on my face as I back away just an inch, just as he was coming a little closer. He laughs and I laugh, and just when we’re about to really kiss…someone clears their throat.
We untangle from each other. There’s a girl about my age standing next to our seats, her phone in hand. “Hi, so sorry to interrupt. I really am. But…Nati, you’re my hero!” Her eyes go to William. She’s still smiling. “And I hope this isn’t weird to say, but I’m so happy to see you guys together as well? You’re totally my OTP.”
I smirk at William. He’s frowning, mouthing to me, “OTP?”
“One True Pairing. Favorite ship. Favorite couple,” I explain. Then, with a wink, “Keep up, London boy.”
He laughs, shaking his head. The girl in front of us looks like she may pass out.
“I was so scared you weren’t together….There was nothing on social media! And there always is,” she says, clutching her phone like she could break it.
“We’re on a bit of a social media cleanse. At least about our personal lives,” I explain.
She nods, like she understands.
“But that doesn’t mean I can’t take a picture.”
Her face lights up. William offers his hand so he can take the picture of us, and I start getting up. The girl gestures for me to wait, and after another beat she asks, “Would it be…okay…for all three of us to be in the selfie? It’s not because you’re Nati’s boyfriend! That’s how I first saw your movies, but…Rendezvous is now my favorite! I couldn’t stop thinking about it….And I’m so happy to see you’re going to be in the next The Picture of Dorian Gray retelling!”
William parts his lips. My gorgeous boyfriend with his cheeks turning pink. His lips are pink, too. I want to kiss them.
He looks so damn proud of himself. And he deserves it. Deciding to steer clear of blockbusters and only pursue passion projects, even if they’re mostly indie and don’t make that much money, has been something he was always clearly headed toward, but it still took courage to decide upon.
I am proud of him. Taking ownership of his career, too. Just like me.
William grins. “I’m happy to hear that. I can’t wait to start shooting come the new year. And, of course, I’d love for us to take a selfie together.”
The girl jumps at that, letting out a little scream. Someone in the row hisses at the noise, since the lights are dimmed for sleeping. She composes herself, still smiling big. “Cool! I’ll get in the frame, then.”
She lowers herself so we can both stay seated. William’s arm is around me and the fan’s beaming grin is mirrored in the screen as she snaps a thousand pictures for the perfect one. When she’s done, she seems so happy that I’m about to tear up as well.
“Thank you so much,” she says, looking down at her phone. Then at me. “And I really love your shirt.” She points. I’m wearing a white crop top with the words latina af in red. “You two have a wonderful flight.”
We wave goodbye. Then I turn to him.
“She couldn’t stop thinking about you,” I whisper.
He holds back, but I see that for what it is: He’s about to giggle. “Well, you’re her hero.”
I hum. “Seems like all your fears came true, and we’re a power couple.”
William ponders that, then shrugs. “I guess I can live with that. But now, more importantly, where were we?” He taps open the map on seat back’s screen.
I pull his face closer to mine, and before kissing him, I say, “Right where we’re supposed to be.”
Mamis, obrigada. Sem o teu apoio incondicional, eu não estaria aqui. Obrigada por acreditar em mim muito antes que eu pudesse acreditar em mim mesma. Todas as minhas vitórias são dedicadas à ti, hoje e sempre. Te amo.
I am so happy to say that Like a Love Song is a product of love from a Dream Team. Thank you so much to Chelsea Eberly, who I’m proud to call my agent, who saw the potential of this book at a pitching event and helped me shape it into something much more meaningful for submission. Thank you so much to Hannah Hill, my brilliant editor, who sw
ooned with me on a video call and convinced me from the first minute that she was the perfect person to continue to shape this book into what you hold in your hands now. Also, have you seen that cover? I am so grateful for Casey Moses, the wonderful designer, and Erick Dávila, the wonderful illustrator, for this phenomenal job. I am never going to get over this beautiful cover. To the Delacorte/Underlined team, Wendy Loggia, Beverly Horowitz, Tamar Schwartz, Colleen Fellingham, Andrea Lau, Dominique Cimina, Elizabeth Ward, and John Adamo, you are truly magical.
This book wouldn’t be the same without the never-ending support from Robin, Natasha, Vanshika, Elisa, Sofia, Ams, Priyanka, Mith, Joana, Adriano, Camila, Luma, Isa, and Lily. You have all held my hand through multiple manuscripts and this process too. I am forever grateful to you, friends.
A special thank-you to Adiba, the first person I asked, “What if I wrote a rom-com?” Thank you for being by my side through drafting pains and sub pains, always celebrating my victories. All the positive adjectives in the world can’t describe you.
A major thank-you to book bloggers, librarians, and teachers. You’re all the backbone of this society! I can never thank you enough, not only for supporting my book, but also for putting so many amazing books in my hands throughout the years.
I’ve been a teacher myself for a decade, and I want to thank my students for these wonderful years. I have a hard time thinking about our classes together without choking up. Thank you for inspiring me and for listening to me when I opened my heart, and for opening your hearts to me. I meant every word I said about how I know that each of you is going to change the world. I love you. I hope you never forget that. Titier ama vcs bbs.
Finally, thank you for giving this book a chance. It means the world to me.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Gabriela Martins is a Brazilian kidlit author and linguist. Her stories feature Brazilian characters finding themselves and finding love. She was a high school teacher and has also worked as a TED Ed-Club facilitator, where she helped teens develop their own talks in TED format. She edited and self-published Keep Faith, an LGBTQ+ anthology, with all profits going to queer people in need. When she’s not writing, she can be found cuddling with her two cats or singing loudly and off-key. Like a Love Song is her debut novel.
gabrielawrites.com
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