Even with the heat from the fire pit and a borrowed sweatshirt from Ryan, Katie felt the chill of the late-October evening as she sat in a lawn chair beside Emma, her knees pressed into her chest and her arms cradling her legs as she listened to Ryan strumming his guitar. Several of Ryan’s friends were there, but so far there was no sign of Matt, who, despite getting Katie’s number from Emma, hadn’t called her.

Another thirty minutes passed before Ryan stopped playing his guitar, nodding as he focused on someone behind Katie. “Hey, dude. I was starting to think you weren’t going to show.”

“I had to get a shower after work.”

The chill in the air was forgotten, and butterflies fluttered in Katie’s stomach. She stole a look over her shoulder at the boy she hadn’t seen since Ryan left for college two months earlier but who continued to consume an inordinate amount of her thoughts. Besides the addition of a black leather jacket, he looked just as she remembered him in worn jeans and a black T-shirt, his dark hair spiked up on top of his head.

“How did the audition go?” one of the other guys asked.

“Good.”

“When will you know?”

“I got it.”

“Fuck yeah, man!” There was a chorus of equally enthusiastic congratulations as the other guys jumped up to slap Matt’s hand or pat him on the back.

“Got what?” Katie asked, too curious to stay quiet.

“Matt auditioned for a legit band in Baltimore that plays some serious venues and shit,” Ryan answered.

“Are you going to remember us when you’re famous?” Emma asked.

“Yeah, right,” Matt said.

“Hey, take my chair,” Ryan said. “I’ll grab another from the barn.”

“Just share with Katie,” Emma said. “She’s tiny. She barely takes up any space.”

Katie looked up at him, her heart skipping. “If you want.”

When she began to slide over, he held out his hand, his eyes meeting hers. “You can sit on my lap.”

She didn’t say a word as he pulled her to her feet and then down into his lap, his hands resting on her jean-clad thighs as she leaned back against him, the heat from his body warming hers.

As Ryan started playing again, Katie began to relax, heat spreading through her chest in response to Matt’s closeness. She became conscious of the beating of his heart, the hardness of his chest and the feel of his thighs pressed against the backs of hers. If it had been up to her, the moment would never have ended.

“Do you want to play something?” Ryan asked Matt, pausing after a song.