Love for Both of Us

We hit the dance floor. Aina, Sofia, Josh, and Marco all joined me, and before long, Darcy and Jet joined us as well. And then more people did, and then even more.

“You enjoying yourself?” I asked Darcy

“Yeah, it’s the first time I’ve been to a dance party before,” she replied..

I hadn’t really given much thought about it, but Darcy’s deafness meant she probably couldn’t enjoy events like this. Perhaps people avoided inviting her because they thought she wouldn’t like it, but even if the intention was good, being excluded for any reason must have been lonely.

That’s why we tried to include signing at as many of our concerts as possible so she could enjoy the music as well. But it must have been extremely tough on her—an entire song contest without music.

The only reason we won was her styling and makeup. She was the real hero of our act. She did more than anyone else in the band, yet she had the least to show for it. She couldn’t even hear the amazing music we all performed.

“I’m going to go get some drinks. Do you want any?”

“No, I’ll pass.”

She went off to get drinks, and I had the opportunity to talk with Jett.

“Hey Jet?”

“What’s up shorty?”

“Rather than jokes, can we have a serious discussion? It’s about Darcy.”

His look instantly shifted to serious.

“What is it?”

“I want to do something for her.”

“What have you got in mind?”

I whispered my plan to him, and he smiled.

“I love it, let’s do it.”

“Can you pull it off?”

“Of course.”

“Then let’s go.”

I approached the DJ, who was controlling the music, while Jet went to fetch Darcy.

“Hi, can you kill the music?” I asked him.

“I can, why?”

I explained what we wanted to do.

“Got it, I’m in. I’ll give you the mic.”

The DJ killed the music, and everybody stopped dancing. The eyes all turned to me. I may have performed in front of the Solstice crowd before, but I felt more nervous now than ever before.

“Sorry to kill the music everybody. I know you are enjoying the vibe, but there is someone we need to thank more than anyone.” I paused and took a breath. “Our dear friend Darcy, our makeup artist, stylist and best friend, was born deaf. For a song contest about inclusivity, we haven’t been so for her. Yet she has given her all for us.”

I could see some of the contestants partying seconds ago begin to reflect.

“Anyway, we wanted to perform a song just for her, so I would like to hand it over to my dear friend Jet,” I motioned towards the stage.

Jet hopped onto the stage, and Darcy looked confused.

“Darcy, I love you. I want to perform our winning song to you. Me on vocals and the audience of just you,” he smiled as he signed.

Darcy gasped.

With that, Jet, in silence, performed our song.

As Jet finished, Darcy was in tears. Jet hopped back down from the stage and embraced her.

I took this opportunity to reconnect with Marco and step outside to get some fresh air. There was a small courtyard with a pergola. It was surprising that nobody else was using this space.

I took a seat on the bench beneath the pergola, and we could still hear the faint hum of the music from where we were.

“That was beautiful.”

“It was wasn’t it.”

“Are you having fun?”

I nodded.

“That’s good,” he replied as he slightly flicked the hair out of my face.

I could now see his beautiful brown eyes. The moonlight provided a faint illumination of his face that made my heart flutter. He smiled a loving gaze, leaned in slowly, and gently kissed my lips.

“Do you remember when we promised to tell each other what our wishes were if either of us won Solstice?” He asked.

“Yes,” I responded. “How could I forget?”

“Well, since you won, I want to tell you my wish.”

“I will tell you first,” I replied.

He brought his finger up to my lips.

“No, let me go first.”

That wasn’t fair. I won, so I should be the one to tell him first, not the other way around. That being said, I was embarrassed to tell him mine. I didn’t want to tell him, and I was also curious to know his wish.

“Alright.”

Marco smiled.

“I was a little greedy and wished for a few things.”

“Oh?”

“I wished that either of us would win the contest.”

He locked eyes with me as a smile crept up his face.

“Which came true.”

I could feel my cheeks warm up.

I wasn’t blushing. It was my body’s response to the cold weather, not because of Marco. I tried to reason with myself.

He turned to gaze up at the moon before continuing. “My second wish was to spend the rest of my life with you.”

He turned back to face me. There was longing in his eyes.

“Blake, will you spend the rest of your life with me?”

I said nothing, but I could feel the tears of joy trickle down my face.

“Blake?” he asked concerned.

“That was exactly my wish too.”

I wiped my tears.

“Marco, I love you. I want to be with you always.”

“Then let’s never be apart again.”

He pulled me into an embrace. I fixated on Marco in this moment—the beat of his heart, the warmth of his embrace.

“Shall we head back inside?” I asked.

“Are you cold?”

“No, I just thought others might come out soon, and then we couldn’t be alone anymore.” I leaned in and kissed his cheek. “I would rather disrupt this peace on our terms rather than be interrupted by others.”

“Does being interrupted matter to you?” he asked with a mischievous look on his face.

“Well, I want to be alone with you.”

“I see.”

“Then should we head in?”

He shook his head.

“I had other ideas.”

He leaned in and kissed me.

“Would you like to come back with me?”

─── ༻ ☼ ༺ ───

End of Chapter 46