Back in college, Larry Carson played drums in a friend’s band and fell in love with the lead singer, Geoffrey Mason. But all that’s in the past. Larry’s now thirty-five, divorced, and father to a precocious thirteen-year-old daughter. One day, when Larry picks Crystal up from school, a song comes on the radio by a new rockstar climbing the charts. Larry recognizes Geoff’s voice immediately, though Crystal calls him Geo and claims he’s the hottest new singer on the scene. Just hearing him brings back a flood of memories, reopening wounds Larry thought long healed. The more he listens to Geo’s music, the more Larry falls in love with his former boyfriend all over again. Partly to prove to his daughter that he used to know Geo back in the day, and partly to reconnect with his old friend, Larry buys tickets to an upcoming concert and manages to score backstage passes. But there was a reason Larry and Geoff lost touch -- and stayed out of touch for so long. Will Geo even want to see Larry again after all this time? Or will the magic of their old familiar song bring about a harmonious duet?

Old Familiar Song

On the other side of the small elevator car, the guy tugged out his earbuds and stared at Larry in disbelief. “Was that an earthquake? Here?”


Herewas northern Virginia, not exactly a hotbed of seismic activity. If this was what people in California had to deal with on a regular basis, Larry was happy to stay right where he was, thank you very much.


Larry didn’t dare breathe again until everything stopped completely. Then he took a shaky breath and laughed. “Well, that was exciting.” He glanced at his watch—what felt like hours while the earth shuddered around them had been less than a minute. He was almost disappointed. Surely he couldn’t be expected to actually show up to class after that?


Chapter 6