Page 16 of Paint Our Song (Cloverlily #1)

C hase and Gil arrive the very next morning, which is a shock because Calvin mentioned they weren’t going to arrive until the weekend. And it’s only the middle of the week.

“Go.” Matthew shoos Gabby away, gesturing for her to get back to the reception counter where she’s now clearly needed. “If their lead singer came too, it’ll be the whole band here.”

At the mention of Theo, Miles gets a twinge of… that sour sensation once more. Gabby adjusts her name-card and quickly runs off to greet Chase and Gil, ushering them toward the reception table. Realizing that Gabby might not have been told that the inn was sponsoring their stay, Miles excuses himself and jogs over to the reception table.

Gil’s the first to notice Miles. He grins and raises his hand in a wave. “Hello! Sorry for the short notice, but Chase here couldn’t wait to come over.”

“Hey, Miles.” Chase gives him a thumbs up. “Gorgeous place. ”

“Glad to have you here,” Miles beams. As he rounds the reception counter and pulls close to Gabby, she eyes him carefully. “They’ve got complimentary stays. Got mom’s permission yesterday but haven’t had the chance to tell reception.”

“Got it.”

They turn back around. Gabby says, “Let me get your rooms prepared.”

“Do you need our credit cards?” Gil asks.

“No,” she says. “Rooms are complimentary.”

“Huh? Why?” Chase asks, surprise in his voice.

Apparently, Calvin had never told them that part. Miles says, “Because you agreed to help with our marketing.”

“These two rooms are right next to Calvin’s.” Gabby hands them their room cards.

Chase grins. “Speaking of which! Where is Calvin!?”

Hiding, he almost replies. After the debacle they had the night before, he’s not sure he’ll see Calvin ever again.

“I’ll call him,” Gil says, already on his phone.

Chase turns to Miles. “What have you been doing with Cal these last two weeks?”

“Hanging out, bonfires, going to the mall, karaoke.” Kissing.

“Hey! Where are you? We’re here at Hannah’s Inn,” Gil says to his phone and Miles’s heart thumps. “Yeah, well, Chase was bored out of his damn mind and we left early. What are you doing there? Come here quick, let’s hang out.”

When Gil ends the call, he tells him that Calvin’s at the bookstore down the street, and that he’ll be getting here soon. Miles didn’t even know that bookstore was still open.

“So, what do we need to do?” Chase turns to Miles and rubs his hands together, excited. “Post pics? Lives? Vlog?”

“Megan—she’s our digital marketing manager—has some ideas,” Miles says. It’s still surreal to say they’ve got a digital marketing manager. Even more surreal is that almost the entire Cloverlily band is staying at their inn. “Nothing fancy, really. Calvin himself posted a few stories, and it’s already a huge help.”

“Cal doesn’t even show his face!” Chase retorts, and Miles stifles a snort. “We got you, Miles! We’ll do everything! C’mere, tell us all the exciting things about your inn.”

“Go on and treat them to some of our sweets, Miles,” Gabby urges. “I’ll ask someone to bring your bags to your rooms.”

They head toward the cafe, where Matthew gets the hint and already has a tray with assorted sweets for them. He greets them and puts the baked goods down at their table, and Chase instantly brightens up.

Before walking off, Matthew shoots Miles a look that says, good luck.

“These are amazing,” Chase says, his mouth full of the strawberry shortcake. He wipes icing off his chin, and it gets all over his wrist, and he doesn’t make a move to clean it. Gil makes a disgusted noise.

Gil takes some photos of the sweets, and he posts it as an Instagram story. He tags the inn too, and Miles is exhilarated. Altogether, he’s pretty sure the pair has more than a million followers—fuck, they’re going to reach so many people.

“Let’s take a selfie,” Chase says, taking out his phone and crowding both Miles and Gil into the frame.

Gil complains, “At least swallow first.”

“Heh. You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

Face going red, Gil swipes at him. Cackling, Chase puts a hand up and blocks it. Strange enough, Calvin didn’t seem to act like these two had anything going on, so perhaps all this teasing and bickering was just messing around.

“What’s your Instagram, Miles?” asks Chase.

When Miles gives it, they open up his profile—and they’re both shocked.

“You’re a hot-shot artist?” Chase bellows.

Miles shrugs. He pokes at his lemon tart, breaking some of its crust. Across the lobby, a group of teenagers who are passing by stop to stare. He’s sure that soon enough, word that more of the band’s at the inn will spread.

“Wait!” Gil scrolls through his account. “I knew your name was kind-of familiar. Miles Curtis… You designed our first cover.”

Chase gasps. He slaps Miles’s shoulder strong enough to knock him to the side. “What!? Why didn’t you tell us?”

“No wonder Cal seems to have taken quite a liking to you,” Gil grins. He raises his eyebrows at Miles. And—what? What is Gil even talking about? Taken quite a liking—? “Cal’s never invited anyone backstage before. Now it makes sense.”

Miles is going to self-combust. His face is incredibly hot, and he pokes at his tart some more.

“Cal likes artsy stuff,” Chase explains. He puts his phone down and stares at Miles, just like Gil is. It’s as if they’re putting him under a microscope and studying him. “He’s into deep things.”

“Must be why he’s such a brilliant lyricist,” Gil quips.

“Exactly!”

Gil points toward the door. “Speak of the devil.”

It’s stupid how Miles’s heart does a leap when he turns and Calvin’s there. Calvin greets Gabby at the reception desk and makes his way toward the lounge, and both his friends greet him by knocking their shoulders together. What, is that a band thing? It’s funny how Calvin grimaces in response, muttering something under his breath. Chase pulls over a chair and puts it between him and Miles, so now Calvin has no choice but to take a seat beside him. Miles debates knocking his shoulder against his as a joke, and also to ease the tension between them.

He gives Miles a weak smile when their eyes meet, and Miles’s chest tightens.

“What do you suggest we do while we’re in town, Cal?” Chase asks.

Calvin shrugs. “I like the gym and the bookstore.”

A beat passes. Chase turns to Miles and asks, “What do you suggest we do while we’re in town, Miles?”

Calvin rolls his eyes and sighs.

Miles figures out quickly that Chase isn’t into the same slow, quiet things that Calvin is. “There are hiking trails to some waterfalls. You can rent a yacht, go swimming. We’ve got paddle boards and canoes. We have bonfires on the weekends.” What else was there to do around here, really? Miles scratches his chin. “There are some bars along the lake, but nothing as lively as the ones they have back in the city.”

“I’d love to see waterfalls,” Gil says. “Isn’t the water chilly during this time of year, though?”

“It is.” Frowning, Calvin looks out the window. There are a few teenagers out in the lake. For someone who supposedly likes the lake a lot, he’s never actually in it. “I don’t want to get in the water.”

Chase, apparently, is very much into this idea. He sits up straight and his expression lightens up. “Let’s go see the waterfalls! Can we go right now!?”

“Sure. Crescent Falls is about half an hour away, and it’s not that difficult a trek. The weather’s good right now, too.”

“Aren’t you tired?” Calvin asks. “You drove two hours.”

“No,” Chase and Gil say in unison. They grin and high-five each other, and the synchronization is truly impressive. At least it impresses Miles. Calvin frowns.

They split up to grab their things, and Calvin drags his feet the entire time. Miles finds it pretty funny, especially when Chase suggests they play chicken fight in the water, and Calvin’s expression morphs into about three different versions of mortification. Miles meets them out front. Today, he’s going to be a tour guide for his favorite band. It’s a dream he never knew he had.

“It’s not too far from here.” Miles snickers at Calvin’s frown. “Terrain’s easy, too.”

“Awesome!” Chase says.

Apparently, Miles’s judgment was wrong. Maybe it’s because he’s lived here his entire life and he’s gone down this trail hundreds of times, but he didn’t realize that it’s not that close, and the terrain’s not that easy. This is exactly why he isn’t cut out to be a tour guide. The road’s rocky and some trees have fallen over because of last season’s storms, so they need to climb over those. Fortunately, Chase and Gil seem to love it. They laugh as they mess around, and when Gil almost slips on a mossy rock, Chase snickers.

“This isn’t an easy trail,” Gil says. “But it’s fine. I like it.”

Though Calvin seems to be holding up much better than his two friends, he’s quiet. When he reaches up to wipe his forehead, his shirt rides up, and Miles realizes he’s got more tattoos. There’s a small lily, right above his waistband, on the joint of his hip, and Miles’s brain short-circuits.

“Hah!” Chase points a finger at Miles. “You’re all red! It’s not easy for you, either!”

Miles’s cheeks grow even redder, especially when Calvin turns his head in his direction. He splutters uselessly, attempting to say something, anything, and then gives up and picks up his pace.

When they finally get to the waterfalls, Miles’s guests seem impressed. Gil quickly takes out his phone to take photos, and Chase has the biggest, giddiest grin Miles has ever seen on him. Even Calvin’s frown melts away, and he slowly looks around with what can only be described as amazement.

“You’ve painted this.” Calvin’s standing about a foot away from Miles, and above the sound of the falling water, he almost doesn’t hear him. Chase and Gil run ahead, throwing their bags to the ground and pulling their shirts off.

“Yup.” It’s one of the paintings he did back in university, in his first year. It’s framed in the inn, near the reception .

The water falls down from moss-covered rock faces, right into a pool. The pool itself opens to a stream that leads toward the lake, and the currents are gentle enough that people can swim in it. There’s a lot of greenery and wildflowers surrounding them, and rocky shores where Miles has fallen asleep many times before. The painting he has framed back in the inn was from a memory when he was younger, in middle school, when Dad brought him here.

There’s a splash as Chase jumps into the water, and Gil follows after him.

Miles peers at Calvin for a long moment. He’s quiet most of the time, but his silence is even thicker today. He wonders if his friends have also noticed it. “Are we okay?” he asks, softly.

“Yes,” Calvin says. “I’m tired. I got up early and jogged around the lake… didn’t know these two were coming.”

Is that it, really? He knows Calvin jogs almost every morning, and that’s never been used as an excuse for a shift in his mood. Miles has a very strong feeling that his silence has a lot to do with what happened last night. It’s clear with how Calvin’s struggling to meet his eyes.

“Want to go in?” Miles points toward the water. There’s sweat on Calvin’s neck. He looks like he could use a swim.

“Not really.”

Miles snorts. He must really hate swimming. Calvin really does have the personality of a grouchy cat. “C’mon, what the hell? Have some fun.”

“I’m having fun.”

There’s a tense pause. Miles asks, very seriously, “You do know how to swim, right? ”

Calvin squints at him. “Yes, Miles, I know how to swim.”

Touchy. Laughing, Miles walks toward the water. He takes off his shirt, kicks his shoes off, and he’s left in only his board shorts.

“Suit yourself!” he yells toward Calvin. For a split-second, Calvin’s eyes flicker to his arms and his bare chest, then he glances away the same moment his ears redden. It does something for Miles’s ego, but he doesn’t call Calvin out for clearly checking him out.

Miles jumps into the pool where Chase is trying to dunk Gil under the water. Calvin, determined to stick to his quiet guy image, keeps to himself and sits on the shore. He seems sleepy, his eyes fluttering half-lidded, and he yawns a few times.

The water’s cool and refreshing, and Miles swims off to the falls while Chase and Gil mess around. The current’s nice nearer to the rocks, and he sighs in contentment. It’s been a while since he’s been here. He lazes around a bit, alone, and maybe he does get why Calvin prefers being alone. It’s not so bad.

When he swims back to the group, Chase is trying to convince Calvin to get in the water.

“Come on!” Chase insists.

Shrugging, Calvin shakes his head. “No, thanks.”

“Fine. Can you hand me my phone, at least? I want to take a photo.”

With a grimace, Calvin relents. He rummages through Chase’s bag, searching for his phone. Miles approaches them, watching, and paddles toward a rock and rests his arms on it.

“Chase. No.” Gil’s voice is low but commanding. There should be a game based on how many times he says that, along with stop, and quit it.

Chase snickers. “Chase. Yes.”

“Don’t. He’s going to hate it.”

What are they up to? Calvin approaches them, leaning down to hand Chase his phone. With a huge smirk, Chase takes his phone, tosses it to the ground, and grabs his hand. Calvin’s eyes widen as he’s yanked into the water. There’s a huge splash and Chase hoots loudly, swimming away before Calvin’s able to reorient himself. He reemerges, spluttering, and pushes his wet hair back from his face. Calvin clenches his jaw and the muscles in his neck go taut.

Gil sighs. “I told him not to.”

“Chase!” Calvin yells. His shirt clings to his skin. Cursing under his breath, Calvin furiously rubs his eyes.

“I’m so sorry,” Gil says. Chase is already on the other side of the pool, cackling.

Calvin blinks rapidly, then he sighs. “I accidentally rubbed a fucking contact off.”

“Did you bring your glasses?” Miles asks, still resting his arms on the rocks.

“Yes. In my bag.”

“I’ll get them.”

When he carries Calvin’s glasses back to him, Calvin’s cursing under his breath and is flicking something to the ground—his other contact. While Chase is still alone on the other side of the pool, Gil is nearby and watching Miles quietly. Rather—them. Gil is watching both Calvin and Miles closely, his expression calculating.

“Here.” Miles hands Calvin his glasses .

“Thanks. Can you hold it for a second?” Calvin mumbles. He pulls his shirt off.

Miles finally gets to see Calvin’s tattoo in its entirety. The flowers and vines map his shoulder, the edges of the vines reaching his collarbone and downward toward his elbow.

He looks away.

“Thanks.” Instead of putting it on, Calvin puts his shirt on the ground, and his glasses on top of it. Then he turns toward Chase.

“You’re not getting out?” Miles asks, maybe too eagerly.

“I’m going to drown Chase first.”

Chase yells for help when he sees Calvin paddling over to him, and Miles snickers when Calvin tries to dunk his head underwater, the same way Chase did to Gil earlier. Amazingly, Chase lets him—just splashes water back at him.