Smitten

“Cool.”

“They have the best damned vegan enchiladas in the world.”

“Well, since I’ve never had vegan enchiladas, I’ll take your word for it.”

“You should. They’re amazing.” I take a sip of my champagne and sigh happily against his shoulder as we lean against the railing of the balcony together. “Tomorrow, how about I give you a tour of campus?”

“I’d love to see campus. If I’d gone to college, it would have been Berklee.”

“Oh! My summer professor would love to meet you. She’s a huge fan.”

“No way.”

I nod effusively. “If you’re up for it, maybe you could come with me to class on Tuesday! I was planning to play hooky from class all week, in order to hang out with you, but if you’re willing—”

“I’d love to sit in on a class. I’m honestly dying to do that.”

“Not just sit in. Maybe you can do a Q and A for the class. Everyone is going to shit a brick when I walk in with you.” I snort. “Prepare to be mobbed, dude.”

“I’ll wear my suit of armor.”

“You squeezed a suit of armor into that little suitcase?”

“I’m an excellent packer.” He smiles. “Honestly, I’ll probably have as many questions for your professor and the class as they have for me. I wish I could have gone here. It seems so cool.”

I grin at him, feeling overwhelmed with love for this humble, sweet boy. “Oh! I’ll take you for cupcakes at my favorite bakery! They make the best cupcakes ever.”

“Okay. I’ve got to stop you right there, babe. Your bakery might be good. Maybe even great. But the best cupcakes ever are made at my favorite bakery in Seattle—which, by the way, I’m taking you to at my first opportunity.”

I gasp excitedly. “You’re going to take me home to Seattle?”

He nods. “I’ve already told my mom about you. She’s dying to meet you.”

“What’d you tell her about me?”

He turns to face me, placing his palms on my shoulders. “Well, let’s see. I told her I have a girlfriend who’s the most beautiful, sweetest, most talented woman in the world. I told her I’m in love for the first time in my life, and it’s the best feeling in the world. And I think I told her you like it doggie style.”

I swat at him as he guffaws.

He leans his side into the balcony railing. “Have you told your mom about me?”

“I did. But only because she was getting mobbed with messages about us, after you serenading me in New York was all over the news.”

“Did you want to keep me a secret?”

“Of course not. I just wanted to tell my mother about you after we’d said, ‘I love you.’ Which, as you know, was that same night.” I sigh. “The truth is, my mom is really sweet. But she’s kind of an opinionated person about certain things. Like, she doesn’t believe in premarital sex, for instance. That sort of thing.”

“Ah.”

“So, I just figured I’d tell her about you, and how much I love you, when I could say, ‘Yes, Mom, he’s my boyfriend and we’re hopelessly in love. Yes, Mom. We’ve said, ‘I love you’ to each other. Yes, Mom. He’s really, really good to me.’”

“I get it.”

“When I called her, she’d already seen footage of you serenading me all over the news, so she was already duly impressed.”

“Who knew that story would blow up like that, huh?”

With today’s rapid-fire news cycles, our moment to shine didn’t last long. But for a hot minute, clips of Fish singing to me, and me freaking out on the jumbotron, were everywhere on social media. The feel-good story of the moment.

“The good news,” I say, “thanks to those clips, is that you’ve already won my mom over. After seeing those clips, she told me, and I quote, ‘He’s a keeper.’”

“Ha! That was easy.”

“Will I have as easy a time with your mom? Is she the kind of mom who thinks nobody is good enough for her darling baby boy?”

“Well, I’ve never brought anyone home before, as you know. So I don’t know about that. But even if Mom were the toughest nut to crack in the world, I know, without a doubt, she’d still instantly love you.” He takes my hand and kisses the top of it. “If someone doesn’t love Alessandra Tennison, then they also don’t love puppies and kittens and fields of flowers and the ocean and music.”

“Oh, Fish.” I slide my arms around his neck. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.” He kisses me gently. “Today is the happiest day of my life, Ally.”

I’m shocked. Fish doesn’t say that constantly, the way I do. And he didn’t say it like he was kidding. But how could this day possibly surpass all the amazing days he must have had with his band? All the fabulous milestones and accomplishments and adventures he’s experienced? All we did today was wake up and have sex, have some brunch, and then head to the airport for our flight to Boston.