Moon Song

Cristofori

Chapter 3

Only at music camp do you warm up your vocal chords before karaoke. Lydian only half listened to Nigel on their little campus tour, as she was on the lookout for her beautiful giant. She just wanted a glimpse of him. She just wanted to see his face again. Hear his husky voice. Run her fingers through his dark wavy hair. Feel his lips on her neck...

“Woah! Lydian! What the heck? Where did that even come from? Simmer down girl, you're getting your panties all wet and he could be just another pretty boy with nothing behind those gorgeous grey eyes of his.” she chastised herself. She had to get him out of her mind.

She asked Jenny if she could put some music on while they unpacked. Jenny said she liked show tunes, so Lydia cranked up ‘Me First and the Gimme Gimme’s.’ An old group she loved because of their showtune covers put to punk rock music. You know, as God had intended it.

Singing along at the top of their lungs to a rock rendition of “I sing the body electric” from Fame seemed fitting for the first day of music camp. Jenny suddenly stopped and said “So, did you have a boyfriend at your old school?”

Lydian smiled. “No, I’ve never really had a real boyfriend. I’ve never really even had a real crush on a boy.” She didn’t want to sound like a total loser, so she quickly added “I’ve been asked out a few times, but my last schools were small, and the boys were small-minded, and I never really clicked with anyone."

“Aww, that’s too bad. But also, pretty awesome that you don’t just date to date. So many people in our school think you have to have a boyfriend all the time and it seems like everyone in our school has dated everyone else.”

Lydian crinkled her nose. “Um, that’s kind of gross. I don’t think I will be dating anyone at this school either. I’m not big into other girls' sloppy seconds.”

Jenny giggled. “When you put it like that it does sound gross!”

“How about you?” Lydian asked. “Do you have a boyfriend?”

“I do!” Jenny got stars in her eyes as she spoke of the boy she met at work 2 years ago and how they had been dating ever since. He was a first-year student and a music major at a University in Chicago where Jenny was planning to attend next year.

“He sounds great, Jenny! Lucky you! Maybe you’ve snagged the last good guy this side of the Mississippi.”

“Well, what did you think of Cristofori?” She asked Lydian.

“The guy who invented the piano? Um... I’m grateful to him?” Lydian responded as more of a question than a statement, unsure of where the question came from.

Jenny giggled. “No silly!” She threw her pillow at Lydian. “The super-hot tall guy behind us in line! That’s Cristofori Jameson. As in Quinton Jameson of the Tera Corporation's son.”

Lydian's eyes bulged slightly. “That BFE is the heir to the builder of the Tera Center?” She asked giving herself a face palm. “And the first thing I said to him was ‘Huh?’” she put a goofy emphasis on ‘huh.’ “He must think I am such an i***t!”

Jenny laughed again. “I’m sure he didn’t, Lydian. He is really nice. I’m sure you will have another chance to make a good impression.”

Lydian gave out an embarrassed laugh. “I doubt it! A guy that gorgeous will probably never talk to me again as he will be too busy with all the other cheerleader, beauty queen types that don’t trip over themselves when they talk!”

“No really, Lydian! He isn’t like that at all. I mean, I have a boyfriend, so I don’t fall all over him, but for being as good looking and talented as he is, he is really down to earth. You’ll see. Besides, he couldn’t stop looking at you while we were in line. I think your extended vocabulary really impressed him!” She laughed again.

Lydian finally let out a real laugh. “Oh, you think so. I will have to really impress him later with other fancy words like ‘Um’ and ‘Doh!’ and if he is really lucky, I will dazzle him with a sentence of three words or more!”

Jenny laughed as well. “Well, you’ll get your chance tonight at the mixer! I can hardly wait to hear what three letter words you can come up with then. Anyway, let's head over to dinner. I want to get there before all the seats are taken and we can’t sit together or have to eat standing up.”

The girls grabbed their tray and headed to the food line. It was a choice of pasta tonight. Chicken Alfredo or Spaghetti Bolognaise with a slice of garlic toast and some Cesar salad. A small piece of tiramisu finished up the meal.

Lydian opted for the Spaghetti Bolognaise but declined the garlic bread. If she was singing later, she didn’t want to have a gunky throat caused by dairy and didn’t want to be a garlic breathing dragon while trying to make new friends at the mixer. She sadly left the Tiramisu as well.

She had just rolled a perfect bite of spaghetti on her spoon and put her fork to her mouth when a husky voice came from behind her saying “Can I sit here?”

Lydian turned quickly but some spaghetti hadn’t quite made her mouth and noodles dangled from her lips as she stuttered out a muffled “mmhmm.”

Lydian quickly covered her mouth with her hand. She blushed bright red. She managed to choke down her bit of spaghetti but couldn’t keep from coughing as a good portion was breathed into her lungs. Lydian managed a quick “Excuse me!” between coughs as she quickly made her way to the bathroom to get her coughing under control.

“Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!!” she sang inside her head. “Why can’t I just be cool?” She thought as she finally got her breathing under control.

How was she supposed to go back to the table now?? She wasn’t going to be able to eat a bite, but she also didn’t want to just abandon Jenny there. Or leave her tray of food for one of them to clean up. She rehearsed a few witty remarks in her head before taking a few quick breaths to calm down and she plastered her best smile on her face and went back to her seat.

“So sorry about that! I’ve been caught by surprise before, but this was the first time someone literally took my breath away!” Lydian stated more casually than she felt. As soon as the words left her mouth, a flashback caught her.

Blue flashing lights of an ambulance, an oxygen mask, painful cracked ribs from CPR. Ok, maybe this was the second time someone had taken her breath away. She wasn’t going to correct herself. She blinked the memories away. Her heart was hammering as she looked into his smiling face.

Cristofori saw the laughter in her eyes leave for a split second before her pupils dilated. Her smile was still plastered on her face, but she wasn’t smiling. As soon as it happened, it was gone and she was back again, gazing into his eyes. He tried to offer her a warm smile. He could hear her heart beating crazy fast. He wanted to reassure her; he was just a normal guy. Mostly. OK, he wasn’t that normal. He was Midwest royalty as the heir to a fortune, five hundred company, and a werewolf, but otherwise he was totally normal.

Lydia thought his eyes looked otherworldly. They weren’t grey, they were silver... and clear... like a mirror. In fact, she was almost positive she could see her reflection in them. Surrounding his eyes were thick black lashes that highlighted the contrast between his light eyes and his tanned skin. He had left his boyish good looks back in the dust and looked all man. He wasn’t only tall, he was big. Like muscle big. A seventeen-year-old had no right to look that good, or that ruggedly handsome. She was sure he was sporting a bit of a five o’clock shadow too. It was so hot that he could probably grow a beard if he wanted to. She secretly thought he would look amazing with a well-manicured beard. She wondered what other manscaping he was doing underneath his jeans and t-shirt. That thought made her blush again.

“Sorry, I’ll be sure to make more noise next time. I didn’t mean to startle you. I’m Cristofori. I’ve not seen you at camp before.”

“I’m Lydian. This is my first year here. My family just moved here from Florida.”

“That must have sucked! Ending up in Kansas after a great place like Florida!” he exclaimed.

“Family farm. My dad had always planned to take it over one day, and that day is here! I don’t mind though. The farm is great, the spiders are smaller than in Florida, and cows are way more fun to sing to than alligators are.”

“So, you’re a singer then?” He asked.

“I try! I like to think I’m decent at it, but mostly I just love it. “Lydian lit up as she mentioned her love of music.

“Well, I can’t wait to hear you. Maybe we can do a duet at the mixer karaoke tonight?” He suggested.

“Yeah, I’d love to.”

“Well, I can’t wait to hear you both!” Jenny cut it.

“Oh Jenny, I’m sorry! You probably know Cristofori from previous years?” I asked to not give away our earlier conversation.

“Yeah, we were catching up when you excused yourself earlier.” Jenny said. “I didn’t mean to interrupt you two, but I thought I would let you know I’m going to turn in my tray and head to the mixer.”

“Oh, I’ll come with you!” Lydian said, grabbing her tray of uneaten food.

“I’m finished as well. I’ll walk with you.” Cristofori said.

Just then, another girl sat down next to Cristofori and gave him a big hug. “Chris! I’m so glad you made it again this year! I didn’t see you at registration and thought maybe you weren’t going to make it.”

“Melody! It's nice to see you too.” Cristofori said, settling back down at the table and turning his attention to the blond bombshell sitting next to him. Melody was absolutely gorgeous. Her shoulder-length blond hair fell in natural curls that framed her face. She was also very tall. Lydian thought she was close to six feet tall. She was also wearing a tiara, which was kind of weird, but Lydian found herself wishing she was wearing a tiara too.

“Hey Melody! Have you been having a nice summer so far?” Jenny asked.

“Hi Jenny. Yeah, it’s been good. How about you Chris? Have you been having a nice summer?”

“It’s been busy, Mel.” he emphasised her name, as though he was slightly annoyed at her calling him Chris.

“Oh, you silly!! Call me Melody! You know I hate being called Mel!”

“Ok, Melody! But only if you call me Cristofori.” He smiled.

Melody’s smile faltered for a moment before she recovered and said “Of course! Are you going to sing a song with me at the mixer?”

“Sure Melody. That will be nice,” he said.

“Melody, this is Lydian. She is starting at our school in the fall.”

“Oh, hi Lydia! That’s nice.”

“Thanks. Its Lydian, actually. I like your tiara!”

“I know, right? I swore if I ever got a tiara, I would wear it every day!” Melody answered, oozing confidence.

Lydian smiled warmly. “I love that! What a great idea!”

“Thanks Lindon. I am full of them.” Melody said, getting her name wrong again. Lydian had the faintest desire to call her Mel, but recalled what Jenny said about her being a fierce ally or formidable enemy. Lydian definitely wanted her to be an ally.

“You ready then Lydian?” Jenny nudged her gesturing to go.

“Yeah! Let's go mix!” Lydian said grabbing Jenny’s arm. The two of them headed for the door, leaving Cristofori and Melody behind.

Lydian’s heart squeezed, leaving him behind. When she glanced back, Melody was sitting so close to him their bodies were touching. Melody was laughing with this feminine grace befitting a Hollywood movie star from the 1940’s.

“You didn’t mention Melody was so stunning.” Lydian said.

Jenny patted Lydian’s arm. “Honestly, I don’t really see it. With all the makeup she wears, I’ve always thought she looked a bit like a drag queen.”

Lydian arched an eyebrow before bursting into laughter. “Oh my god! I can’t unsee it now! How am I ever supposed to look at her without bursting into laughter?”