Chapter 218: Valentine’s Day III

I sat down at the piano and began to play:

You Are The Reason (Calum Scott)

♪There goes my heart beating
'Cause you are the reason
I'm losing my sleep
Please, come back now♪

♪And there goes my mind racing
And you are the reason
That I'm still breathing
I'm hopeless now♪

♪I'd climb every mountain
And swim every ocean
Just to be near you
And fix what I've broken
Oh, 'cause I hope you can see
That you are the reason♪

All the couples moved closer together (embracing)

♪There goes my hands shaking
And you are the reason
My heart keeps bleeding
I need you now♪

♪If I could turn back the clock
I'd make sure the light defeated the dark
I'd spend every hour of every day
Keeping you safe♪

♪And I'd climb every mountain
And swim every ocean
Just to be near you
And fix what I've broken
Oh, 'cause I hope you can see
That you are the reason♪

Phil became more emotional, receiving a glare from Jay

♪(I don't wanna fight no more)
(I don't wanna hide no more)
(I don't wanna cry no more)
(Come back I need you to hold me) you are the reason
(A little closer now)
(Just a little closer now)
(Come a little closer now)
I need you to hold me tonight♪

♪...♪

The song was slightly modified to sound like a father–daughter relationship rather than romantic.

After, I sang Shallow and 7 Years.

When I finished, the applause came. I sat back down next to Scarlett. “If the movie turns out to be any good, you might get another Oscar nomination next year for the first song.”

“At least this one will be for music…” I murmured.

Chicago and The Pianist were, and will probably remain, Oscar successes. Now, with Million Dollar Baby and Mystic River, JD might just sweep the entire Oscars next year…

"You are an incredible singer, Jake. But I still prefer you singing in Spanish," Gloria commented.

Scarlett looked at me, surprised. "You sing in other languages?"

"I only compose in Spanish. But I’m training and can already sing in other languages, like Portuguese and French," I explained.

"Italian might be easy for me too, since it comes from Latin. But German or Japanese would take much longer," I added.

"He sang very well at my wedding," Gloria said, smiling.

"Great wedding," I raised my glass to Gloria and Jay.

Scarlett turned her head. "Gloria, by any chance, do you have a sister, cousin, or nieces around my age?"

I widened my eyes slightly. "Oh boy."

"Serves you right," murmured Claire next to me, smirking at the situation.

"Oh, Claire, I should tell Haley about today’s event," I murmured back.

Now Claire widened her eyes and said, "Gloria, we should go to the bathroom," and Gloria quickly stood up to go with her.

Scarlett was narrowing her eyes, smiling at me.

"I’ll tell the whole story. I have nothing to hide. Didn’t do anything wrong," I said.

"No need. You probably hooked up with a girl from Gloria’s family," Scarlett replied.

"You got everything right," I shrugged, "except the number," I murmured.

She glared at me again.

"In my defense, I was innocent, didn’t start anything."

"They started it? Oh, poor you… being forced into kissing two beautiful girls. Must’ve been a torture," she mocked.

"Oh, come on, Scarlett," I embraced her.

"Don’t worry, I’m not angry at you. I mean, I have zero reason to be angry at you."

"I sense a 'but.' There is always a but."

"But, not exactly a great feeling knowing you kissed two girls at the same time..." she pointed out.

"That’s why we don’t ask about the other person’s past. I only told you because I didn’t want to lie to you. I would be okay if you hooked up with a bunch of guys; I just don’t want to hear it," I said.

Nah, I'm a hypocrite (I would feel off)

"Like hell I would do something like that. Besides, I have two overprotective brothers," Scarlett said.

"And are they okay with me?"

"They are..." she murmured, "or they would, if they knew."

"Hey, now I'm the one not exactly having a great feeling, but with no reason to get angry..." I said, a bit indignant.

She laughed.

Phil sighed with a smile. "Ah, youth."

"If you two are good, why don’t you get my wife back?" Jay said jokingly.

"Okay, I will be right back," Scarlett stood up. "I’ll take the opportunity to talk to them about some things," she winked at me.

"Don’t listen to Claire, she’s a bad influence," I said. "Probably her dad and husband’s fault."

Jay and Phil looked at me.

"Oh, you’re men. I don’t need to care about your opinions," I pointed out.

Jay nodded and went back to drink his wine. Phil murmured, "What about my feelings?"

---

The next day, Mother and I were heading to dinner at Jay's house. Gloria had invited me and Scarlett yesterday, but Lettie said she needed to get the place ready where she was going to stay (since she had basically spent yesterday with me).

"So, have you been going out with Gloria too?" I asked Mom, who was sitting next to me.

"Yes, she already went out with us. And now, with Cam and Mitch having less time because they need to take care of Lily, sometimes it’s just the two of us," Mom explained.

"And sometimes I go out with Claire too," Mom continued.

"What? You’re playing both sides?"

"I’m playing no side," she turned her head to me. "They are both becoming my friends. I don’t think I need to choose or get involved in possible fights between them. And you, son?"

"You know I have a weak heart for blondies," I joked.

Mom started to slap me playfully.

"I’m joking, joking. Peace."