Page 83 of All at Once

Luca glances at me for a second. “Yeah, we can go together,” he replies apprehensively, while I breathe a sigh of relief at how he must notice the way I’m still anxiously looking at Enrique.

Luca then walks to their group, and when he comes back lets me know how one of their friends who’s sober is going to drive them.

Once we’re in his car, I relax into the comfy seat, but frown when I open my phone. “Ugh. Really?”

“What?” he asks.

“I wanted to play music,” I say. “But I just checked my battery, and I’m probably better off saving it.”

“Here.” Luca hands me his phone. “You can use mine.”

“Are you sure?” I ask, surprised at his offer. If I were to create a list of things that showcases someone’s vulnerability, I’d assume that sharing music would be pretty high up there.

“Yeah,” he replies, his lips curving into a smirk. “But before you get mad at me, I have Spotify Premium.”

Wondering if he’ll ever forget about my comment about the streaming service, I say, “The only thing I’d get mad at you for is thinking that Spotify isbetterthan Apple Music.” He chuckles, while I search through the app, fascinated by the countless options. Noting our strong mutual interest in music, I voice, “I think you might even have more playlists than me.”

“Why did I have a feeling thatthat’sthe first place you’d go?” he says.

“I think you know how nosy I am by now. But you still gave me the opportunity. Too late to take it back now.”

“My heart’s beating really fast.”And now mine is after hearing him say that.But then he just laughs. “I hope I don’t regret this.”

As I’m about to press shuffle on the playlist I selected, I say, “I love how creative your playlist titles are. Like this one could have easily been ‘nighttime,’ but instead you called it ‘space.’”

“That’s not the space that you’re thinking of,” Luca clarifies. “It’s more like the one you need from another person.”

I snort. “God, you’resocryptic. It’s hilarious.”

“What?” He glances at me, his cheeks noticeably flushed. “It could be both.”

“Whatever you say,” I reply. Once the opening note of the first song plays, my reaction makes him jolt, now for the second time while he’s driving. “Are you serious?! ‘Creatures in Heaven’ is one of my favorite songs right now. You listen to Glass Animals?”

“I don’t. Which is why they’re on my playlist.” When I roll my eyes, he says, “Yeah, they’re one of my favorite bands.”

“Thanks to anApple Musicplaylist,” I exaggerate, “I revisited their music earlier this year and have been listening to their stuff ever since.”

“Finding new music randomly is the best feeling,” Luca replies, grinning. It’s nice sitting in the passenger seat again, since it means that I can observe his more nuanced features that I otherwise couldn’t without him noticing. As I’m drawn to the small freckles on the side of his neck, I hear him add, “I’ve realized that some of my favorite songs were introduced to me in the strangest ways.”

I guess, “Like the suggested videos that would pop up on the side of the screen, while watching YouTube tutorials at 4 am for a test that you had at 8 am?”

His jaw drops obnoxiously. “How did you know?”

While chuckling, I notice how Laufey’s “From The Start” has started playing and eagerly sit up. “Okay, Ilovethis song.”

He smiles. “You can never go wrong with Laufey.”

“Seriously,” I say. “Do you know how to play any of her songs?”

“Just a few chords of ‘Bewitched,’” he says.

“Ooh ‘Bewitched’ is stunning! I bet it sounds magical on the guitar,” I reply, now desperately wanting to hear him play the melody.

“It was a nice surprise,” he says. “I just think her voice is perfection.” As if his remarks aren’t striking enough, Luca glances over at me as we approach a stop sign with a sparkle lighting up his eyes. “Have you ever fallen in love with someone’s voice while listening to a song? Like just closed your eyes, not even listened to the lyrics or the melodies, just the person’s voice.”

Woah. Where did that come from?

Everything Luca’s said about relationships hasn’t sounded even remotely romantic so far. But he looks pretty starry-eyed to me right now.

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