The crowd slowly quiets, and I hurry through my ending speech. After I say the last thank you and flash a smile, the applause starts up again, and I take it as our cue to leave. I stride off the stage with the rest of the band right behind me. Jon jogs to my side and raises his eyebrows. With a flick of his finger, he turns off his mic, and then says to me, “Excited much?”
“Ali said she’d be waiting backstage,” I say as I switch off my own mic.
“That’s no excuse to sprint away from your audience. You’re going to hurt their feelings, you know.”
I know he’s teasing, but I still jab him in the shoulder, and he just laughs and jabs me right back. We make it backstage, and the stage crew swarms us. I hear a few people congratulate me on playing a good concert, but I don’t really care how well I did. All my attention is on the gorgeous girl pushing her way through the crowd and toward me.
Ali tackles me into a hug, and I wrap my arms firmly around her. I’ve missed her. Sure, it’s only been two weeks since I last saw her, but it’s felt like an eternity. She tilts her head up to look at me, and I steal the opportunity for a kiss. Her lips are soft and warm against mine, and when we finally break apart, we’re both breathing hard and grinning.
“I missed you,” I sign.
She blushes in that adorable way she has. “I missed you, too.”
The stage crew dissipates, giving us some room. I reach down and take both of Ali’s hands, giving each of them a small kiss. “How’s school?”
I didn’t think it was possible, but her expression brightens even more. “Amazing, as always.”
I laugh a little at her enthusiasm. I’ve never liked school much, but Ali is completely different. At Gallaudet University, she has an entire school that understands her deafness, and a huge community of students and teachers to support her. According to Ali, she’s no longer just deaf. Now she’s Deaf—part of a culture that embraces and respects her in a way she’s never experienced before.
I have to admit, I miss having her with me all the time. Now that she’s living at her campus in Washington, DC, I only get to see her on rare weekends like this one. Since I’m recording a new album, I’m almost always far away in Los Angeles. But it’s worth the pain of missing her to see her like this: happy and confident and not at all worried.
“How’s the album coming?” she asks, her eyes lighting with excitement. Ali helped me write most of the songs on my latest album, and now that we’ve entered the recording process, she wants constant updates.
I’m telling her about a song we’re struggling to get right when I hear Killer shriek, “Ali!” Of course, Ali doesn’t hear him, and she yelps in surprise as Killer leaps forward and tackles her into a hug. As soon as she realizes who it is, she starts chiding Killer at the same time she hugs him. Arrow and Jon step forward, and she hugs them, too.
I take a step back and watch as she easily banters with my bandmates, exchanging updates on all the things that have happened in the past couple of weeks. The topic moves back to the album, and they excitedly talk about it for the next minute. Then Ali turns to me and cocks her head, giving me a curious look.
“What are you so happy about?” she asks.
It’s only then that I realize I have a ridiculous grin on my face. I try to shake it away, but it stays right there. I shrug and sign, “You, I guess. And us.”
Ali steps forward and pulls me into another kiss, and as I savor the touch of her lips, I can feel the curve of her smile against my mouth.
That smile is perfect. Ali is perfect. And, for the first time ever, my life feels perfect, too.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
WANT TO LEARN more about the Deaf community Ali joins? You’re in luck—there are many resources available to learn about the rich and beautiful Deaf culture. Some of these include: American Society for Deaf Children: deafchildren.org
Gallaudet University: www.gallaudet.edu
National Association of the Deaf: nad.org
National Technical Institute for the Deaf: www.ntid.rit.edu
World Federation of the Deaf: wfdeaf.org
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
FIRST AND FOREMOST, I owe thanks to my mom. Mom, if I listed all the ways you’ve supported my writing over the years, it would take up every page in this book. Suffice it to say, I never would have made it this far without you.
Thanks also to Ryan, for being an amazing brother and friend, and for encouraging me to write this story from the very beginning.
Thanks to Laurie McLean, who is an extraordinary agent and mentor. Thanks also to everyone over at Fuse Literary, for being the best publishing family I could ask for.
Thanks to Lauren Stewart, for offering valuable critique and invaluable friendship.
Thanks to Verna Dreisbach and Elvira Burlingham, for your dedicated teaching and guidance.
Thanks to Sharon Pajka, for providing information and insight into Deaf culture.
Thanks to Caroline Hanson, Christina McKnight, and Alexandra Mount for offering feedback and support.
Thanks to all my writer friends and critique partners from Stonehenge, Witchy Writers, and Wordforge.
Thanks to all my readers on Wattpad, who encouraged me as I wrote the first draft of this story.