nose at me with a flirtatious grin. I made note of the raise of his one eyebrow—the left one that rose in question along with his left ear—when I saw that, I discovered something. Blake liked me. I wasn't just some new notch to be carved, he wanted to know me. He didn’t even flinch at meeting my brother.
“So where did the two of you meet?” Emmet asked with his usual slow way of speaking. I told him it reminded me of syrup one time and he laughed and said he got it from our dad—he was never in a hurry.
“We met last night at Henley’s,” I said as I took a drink of water and my nerves heightened as Conall took the stage.
“Oh man. I haven’t been there in years,” Emmet said. “Are you from around here Blake?”
“Yeah, born and raised here. My dad is the owner of Lawson Siding and Roofing.” He was speaking to Emmet, but kept giving me a glance to make sure I listened as well. I wanted to focus on him but I kept looking at Conall and the stage in fear.
“Brecken, why do you have your resting bitch face going on as you stare at my kid?” Emmet asked with a laugh, bringing my attention back to them.
“Well, because your son is pushing me to get on stage and sing with him. Why don’t you get up there?” I asked with a raise of my brow.
Emmet laughed, “Because Brecken, I suck and you know it. My son gained that talent from somewhere and definitely not from me.” He looked to Blake, “It was nice meeting you man, I’m going to go chat up some people,” he said as he walked farther into the crowd. His eagerness to leave the conversation was from my prodding him to get up and sing.
“Hello everyone,” Karl said from the stage.
Blake leaned his left shoulder against the wall next to me as we both watched Karl. I felt every breath he took as he stood that close to me. I tried to focus on Karl, but Blake’s breathing seemed to win. I leaned my left shoulder against the wall in front of him, which forced him to stand directly behind me. I couldn’t see him in my peripheral any more or I might just explode.
This was a mistake because now I felt him pressed against my back. I felt him inch closer to me and I could swear he took a breath close to my hair. Focus Brecken. This is about Karl, not hooking up with some guy. I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, then opened them with renewed focus.
Karl fidgeted on the stage, and nodded to the guys in the band before he stepped to the microphone again.
“Okay. Hello again, everyone. I appreciate every one of you coming here tonight. These boxes aren't just boxes to me. They each hold a special place—a story if you will. I was going to say I hope they mean something to you too, but I realized we each have our own ideas on things. I just hope they affect you—whatever your perception of them might be. I don’t care if their meaning is wonderful or horrid, only as long as you open yourself to possibilities. That’s what each of us are here on this rock to do, accept the experiences laid out before us and find the connection,” he said as he rocked between his feet. It was crazy seeing Karl as a man. He was always an interesting kid, and then he became an interesting teenager. He wanted to save the world. That was why he joined the military. He held grand hopes of saving everyone.
“But now, I’m going to shut my mouth and stop rambling. Conall is going to sing a song I requested,” Karl said. “It’s one of my favorites and one thing I do hope is that each of you listens to the words. Thank you,” he said with a nod of his head and stepped from the stage.
My nephew took the microphone and he broke into singing an acoustic cover of Social Distortion’s Reach for the Sky . I always loved lower tempo covers of songs because they make it about the lyrics. I love punk. I love rock, but when it's brought to a raw level as this, the soul of the words take over the song. This is what I loved.
The song ended and small applause filled the room,
“So where did the two of you meet?” Emmet asked with his usual slow way of speaking. I told him it reminded me of syrup one time and he laughed and said he got it from our dad—he was never in a hurry.
“We met last night at Henley’s,” I said as I took a drink of water and my nerves heightened as Conall took the stage.
“Oh man. I haven’t been there in years,” Emmet said. “Are you from around here Blake?”
“Yeah, born and raised here. My dad is the owner of Lawson Siding and Roofing.” He was speaking to Emmet, but kept giving me a glance to make sure I listened as well. I wanted to focus on him but I kept looking at Conall and the stage in fear.
“Brecken, why do you have your resting bitch face going on as you stare at my kid?” Emmet asked with a laugh, bringing my attention back to them.
“Well, because your son is pushing me to get on stage and sing with him. Why don’t you get up there?” I asked with a raise of my brow.
Emmet laughed, “Because Brecken, I suck and you know it. My son gained that talent from somewhere and definitely not from me.” He looked to Blake, “It was nice meeting you man, I’m going to go chat up some people,” he said as he walked farther into the crowd. His eagerness to leave the conversation was from my prodding him to get up and sing.
“Hello everyone,” Karl said from the stage.
Blake leaned his left shoulder against the wall next to me as we both watched Karl. I felt every breath he took as he stood that close to me. I tried to focus on Karl, but Blake’s breathing seemed to win. I leaned my left shoulder against the wall in front of him, which forced him to stand directly behind me. I couldn’t see him in my peripheral any more or I might just explode.
This was a mistake because now I felt him pressed against my back. I felt him inch closer to me and I could swear he took a breath close to my hair. Focus Brecken. This is about Karl, not hooking up with some guy. I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, then opened them with renewed focus.
Karl fidgeted on the stage, and nodded to the guys in the band before he stepped to the microphone again.
“Okay. Hello again, everyone. I appreciate every one of you coming here tonight. These boxes aren't just boxes to me. They each hold a special place—a story if you will. I was going to say I hope they mean something to you too, but I realized we each have our own ideas on things. I just hope they affect you—whatever your perception of them might be. I don’t care if their meaning is wonderful or horrid, only as long as you open yourself to possibilities. That’s what each of us are here on this rock to do, accept the experiences laid out before us and find the connection,” he said as he rocked between his feet. It was crazy seeing Karl as a man. He was always an interesting kid, and then he became an interesting teenager. He wanted to save the world. That was why he joined the military. He held grand hopes of saving everyone.
“But now, I’m going to shut my mouth and stop rambling. Conall is going to sing a song I requested,” Karl said. “It’s one of my favorites and one thing I do hope is that each of you listens to the words. Thank you,” he said with a nod of his head and stepped from the stage.
My nephew took the microphone and he broke into singing an acoustic cover of Social Distortion’s Reach for the Sky . I always loved lower tempo covers of songs because they make it about the lyrics. I love punk. I love rock, but when it's brought to a raw level as this, the soul of the words take over the song. This is what I loved.
The song ended and small applause filled the room,
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