Page 80 of Even Beneath the Stars

Xavier works his way through the top row with surprising speed despite his injured ribs. "Keep up, LeClair!"

The music builds, mechanical chimes and bells and tinkling notes layering over each other in beautiful chaos. A circus melody crashes into what might be Mozart, while something that sounds suspiciously like Queen'sBohemian Rhapsodycompetes with a classicalpiece I don't recognize.

We meet in the middle, hands bumping as we reach for the final boxes. The cacophony of almost twenty music boxes playing different songs at different tempos fills the hallway—it's gloriously chaotic, exactly what I hoped it would be.

We're doubled over, laughing like idiots to the soundtrack of the manic orchestra, trying desperately to complete our ridiculous mission while Xavier keeps making horror movie sound effects.

I collapse against the wall, breathless from our frantic dash to wind all the boxes. Xavier leans next to me, his shoulder brushing mine as the music swirls around us in waves of competing melodies. His hair is mussed, chest rising and falling rapidly, and there's a brightness in his eyes I've never seen before.

"That was…" He trails off, shaking his head.

"Incredible? Insane? The best idea I've ever had?" I grin up at him.

"All of the above." Xavier tilts his head, listening. "It's like being inside a broken kaleidoscope, but with sound instead of color."

He's right. The overlapping tunes create something entirely new—haunting and beautiful and slightly manic all at once.

I close my eyes, letting the cacophony wash over me. As each box gradually winds down, the overall melody shifts and morphs, creating new patterns, new harmonies. We stand there in comfortable silence, shoulders touching, as the mechanical orchestra plays its unrehearsed symphony around us.

My heart is still racing, but not just from our mad dash to wind all the boxes. There's something intimate about sharing this moment, this pocket of magic we've created in the dark hallway. I sneak a glance at Xavier's profile, catching the slight smile playing at the corners of his mouth as he listens.

"That was… awesome." I smile at him. "Thank you."

He nods, running his fingers through his hair, eyes still locked on mine.

Only a handful of music boxes still play. The frantic energy from moments ago has settled into something softer, more delicate.

"We should do something," I whisper, not wanting to break the spell completely. "It just… It feels wrong to just let it fade away. I feel like we need to mark the moment somehow."

"Yeah." Xavier's voice is low, matching the quiet intimacy that's settled around us.

I laugh, but it comes out shaky and uncertain. My eyes dart around the dimly lit hallway before landing back on his face. "I mean, I don't actually know what we should do. Maybe cheers with champagne glasses? Or, um…"

Xavier moves with a fluid grace that makes my pulse skip. His hand slides around my waist, warm and steady through my thin pajama top, pulling me closer. His other hand comes up to rest between my shoulder blades, fingers spreading to cradle the nape of my neck. The touch sends electricity dancing along my spine.

The look in his eyes steals my breath—desire and raw vulnerability wrapped up in something almost luminous. There's a certainty there too, an unwavering intensity that makes me feel simultaneously exposed and protected.

He leans in slowly, deliberately. His eyelashes brush my cheek as he tilts his head, tickling my skin.

My breath catches in my throat.

"We could mark it with…" his words ghost across my lips, warm and impossibly close.

Then just as his full lips brush against mine, I inhale a stuttered breath and pull back, lifting my hand to push lightly against his chest. "Wait."

Confusion flutters in his eyes as he pulls back, just slightly— his face still impossibly and wonderfully close. His pillowy lips open and then close, eyebrows raising in silent question.

"It's just…" I start, inhaling another shaky breath, because it's hard to concentrate when he's this close. Looking this beautiful. "I don't…" I try again, dipping my gaze, suddenly annoyed by what I'm about to do. Disappointed, even though I'm the one doing it. But I made a vow to myself, and I can't break it just because this boy is more alluring and more beautiful than any that came before. Taking a deep breath, I meet Xavier's eyes. "It's just—I have this rule."

He squints, his Adam's apple bobbing as he swallows.

I continue, "I never kiss a guy before a third date."

Xavier's brows knit together, and he squints at me like I've just started speaking in tongues. Those full lips—the ones that were just barely touching mine a moment ago—part slightly as he licks them. My chest tightens as the last tinkling notes from the music boxes trickle away one by one, leaving us in silence.

He takes another small step back, his eyes bouncing between mine like he's searching for something. "I can't tell if you're joking or…" The sentence hangs unfinished between us, like he can't figure out what the alternative might be to me joking about this.

"No," I say firmly, even though part of me wishes I was joking. Even though every cell in my body is screaming at me to forget my stupid rule just this once. "It's a rule I made for myself when I was fifteen," I explain. "As a built-in charminator repellent."

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