ғʀᴏᴍ ᴘᴏʀᴛʟᴀɴᴅ ᴛᴏ ʟ.ᴀ. » ᴅᴀɴɪᴇʟ sᴇᴀᴠᴇʏ

Chapter Four

Sunday, June 17, 2018

Immediately after I entered Sojourn to attend the eleven a.m. service, I spotted Anna, who approached me and invited me to sit with her for the morning. I accepted her offer happily, and not long after that, met her parents for the first time.

I exchanged greetings with Keri and Jeff Seavey before spotting Daniel standing on the other end of the row, opposite me. He mouthed, "Good morning!" to me and smiled, just as the worship band began to play at the front of the sanctuary. I smiled back and found myself slightly disappointed in the fact that we were both sitting on the ends.

An hour and a half later, after one of the pastors ended the service, Keri invited me to go to lunch with them. Though it took several minutes for her to convince me that I would not be intruding on their family time, I conceded.

Anna and her parents are involved in their own conversation at the table in Panera Bread so I turn to Daniel, convincing myself that I need to talk to him about what's been on my mind all morning long.

"I listened to your music last night."

Daniel shifts in the seat to my right.

"You did?"

"Every single song."

He looks at the table, undeniably attempting to hide a grin.

"You guys are amazing," I say quietly. He meets my eyes.

"And," I continue, "I am a little biased, but your parts are my favorites."

Whoa. I cannot believe I actually said that to him.

A faint blush appears on his cheeks and this time, he doesn't hide his smile.

"Thank you," he says.

I force my gaze away from him, heart pounding, since it isn't apart of my daily routine to compliment a guy to his face.

I move on, trying to act normal.

"How long have you been a band?"

"A little under two years."

I shake my head, absolutely amazed.

"The sound you're producing... and the content... it's amazing. I have no words."

"Thank you," Daniel repeats, humbly but sincerely.

"How old is everyone in the group?"

"Well, Jonah Marais is the oldest. He turned twenty just yesterday. I would've canceled this trip if he had been staying in L.A. on his birthday so that I could've celebrated with him and the boys but he ended up traveling home to Minnesota to be with his family so canceling wasn't necessary."

He pauses before continuing.

"Corbyn Besson and I are nineteen, Jack Avery is eighteen, and then Zach Herron is seventeen."

I shake my head again.

"How can you guys be so young and still produce music like that?"

Daniel chuckles and shrugs.

"Like I said, it's our passion and dream. We work hard at it."

Over an hour later, the Seaveys and I exit Panera. Mrs. Seavey grabs onto my arm once we're outside.

"Sweetheart, it was so nice to meet you and get to know you. Please, feel free to join us anytime."

"Thank you so much, Mrs. Seavey," I say. "I enjoyed every second of it."