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

When he finished, the last note seemed to hang in the air, unwilling to disperse. Larry wished he could record Geoff’s voice and play it back on earphones pressed deep into his ears so it would fill him up inside. Every fiber of his being hummed with the aftermath of it, like glass resonating with the sound. For a long moment, Geoff met Doug’s open-mouthed stare with a look of impertinence.


Then that stormy gaze flickered back to Larry, who felt a jolt of electricity shoot through him. He no longer really reallyliked Geoff, no. He was tumbling head over heels in love with the guy, friendship be damned.


With a smirk, Geoff asked Doug, “So yeah, I can sing.”


For the rest of the afternoon, Doug hung around the attic trying to convince Geoff to join the band. “You’re in,” he said, as if that settled it.


“In what?” Geoff asked. “I don’t want to be in anything. I have a scholarship to maintain.”


Chapter 12