“I’ve got goosebumps!” Savage blurts. “Just like the ones I got when I heard you singing this song with Aloha and the Goats at Reed’s party!”
I stop playing on a dime, my jaw hanging open. “You heard me singing this song at Reed’s party? But you told me you didn’t come inside and see the performance.”
“I didn’t. I was standing outside on the patio and could hear the first part of the performance from there. Don’t stop. Sing me the whole thing. I love your voice on this one.”
“Your wish is my command.” I return my fingers to the keys and start from the beginning again, turning “Fireflies” into a piano ballad, with a few tweaks to the original lyrics, especially for my love:
[Click here to listen to Laila’s cover of “Fireflies”]
Fireflies
You got me feelin’ ‘em
Never before or since
All my life
Been chasing butterflies
And in
Just one night
One perfect night . . .
Boy, you made butterflies your bitch
Oh, Fireflies
Oh, In your eyes
Don’t know if you’re feeling it
These wings and lights
Or if everything’s all in my head
But there’s one thing I know
One singular truth:
I need you
I need you
Boy, I need you so bad
In my life
In my bed
Oh, Fireflies
Oh, in your eyes
Oh, Fireflies
Oh, in your eyes
Fireflies
Fireflies
You got me feelin’ ‘em
With you
And nobody else
You’re a savage
A puzzle
My destination
Would give my soul to the devil
My soul to the devil
To never stop feeling
Those
Fireflies
With you
When I finish singing my version of “Fireflies,” Savage looks absolutely blown away, the same way he always does whenever I sing for him. He kisses and hugs me, whispering, “You sound even more amazing on that song than you did at Reed’s party. I love it when it’s just you and your piano, and no other instrumentation.”
“I can’t believe you heard me singing this song at Reed’s party. I thought for sure you hadn’t.”
“I heard half of it. I left midway through the song.”
“I looked for your face in the audience during the entire performance! And when I didn’t see you, I decided, ‘Screw it, when I’m done performing, I’ll put my ego aside and find him, and be the first one to say hello.’ But when I got offstage, and did a lap of the party looking for you, you were nowhere to be found.”
Savage chuckles. “I heard you singing ‘Fireflies’ and couldn’t stay at the party a second longer. Your voice was so gorgeous, so mesmerizing to me, it made me want to cock-block Kendrick the second you walked offstage. So, I left the party, right then, to keep myself from hitting on you.”
“Oh my gosh,” I say. “I was positive I couldn’t find you because you’d left the party with whichever lucky lady you’d decided to bang that night. Georgina, or the woman you’d been talking to by the pool, or whoever else.”
He shakes his head. “I didn’t want to be a dick to Kendrick. By the way, I didn’t hit on Georgina that night. I mean, I did, but only because that was Kendrick’s birthday dare for me. Although, admittedly, I was thrilled to do it to get you back for flirting so brazenly with Cash in front of me.”
I snicker. “I wasn’t remotely interested in Cash.” I wink. “But I sure did enjoy the look of molten jealousy in your eyes when I flirted with him.”
“You’re an evil woman,” he says with a lopsided grin, but his tone feels like he’s giving me his highest compliment.
I shrug. “I wanted you to hit on me, and you weren’t. All’s fair in love and war.”
“Hell yeah, it is. Too-fucking-shay, Fitzy.”
I bite my lip. “Speaking of ‘Birthday Truth or Dare’ . . . Will you let me play tonight at my birthday party?”
Savage shakes his head. “Only Kendrick, Kai, and I are allowed to play. We’ve never even let Ruby and Titus play on their birthday—and trust me, Ruby’s held a grudge about it for a long time.”
“Well, that’s a simple fix. Let me play tonight and let the twins play on their next birthday. The more the merrier, right?”
Savage pauses. And for a second, it’s like his hard drive is rebooting. Like, he’s truly never considered it could be just that simple to change a longstanding tradition.
“I mean, no worries,” I add quickly. “I’m cool with not playing. I’m just saying you could let me play, if that’s what you want to do. The past is the past. The future is whatever you want it to be.”
Savage stares at me, dumbfounded, making me laugh.
“Don’t worry about it, honey,” I say, patting his hand. “It was just an off-handed remark. You don’t have to change a thing.”
Savage’s face is flushed. I don’t know what just happened inside his brain, but I know him well enough to know he’s having some deep thoughts. “You know . . .” he begins. “You don’t need to be playing ‘Birthday Truth or Dare’ to get me to do something for you—or to you. Whatever you want, your wish is my command, every day of the year. You know that, right?”