Face the Music (30 page)

I felt myself blush again.  “I was just remembering the first time we met.
  I was so nervous, did you know?  I could hardly talk.”  I laughed.  “
I’m glad you came over to see to Sam that day.” 

His lips curved into a sly smile. 

“What?”

“I didn’t exactly come to see Sam that day.”  He turned and leaned so his back was against
the railing, fixing me with a heated
gaze.  “I came to see you.”

My heart skipped a beat.  “Me?  Why?”

“
Sam told me how great you were. 
I wanted to check you out for myself.”

“Huh.”  Not exactly the best response, but I
didn’t know what else to say.  “What’s with you two, anyhow?  I
’ve
never understood why
you like
hang
ing
out with a seventeen-year-old kid.”

Chris
grinned
.  “It’s not like I’ve got a lot to choose from.  Have you seen the people we work with?”

I couldn’t help but laugh.  “True enough.”

I glanced at my watch.  It was nearly four.  The afternoon would soon fade into evening, and he
had to get back for practice.

“I had a great time today.  Thank you for inviting me to come
along
with
you,
”
Chris said.

“I’m really glad you came.”  I looked up into his warm eyes and wished I could freeze time.  “What was your favorite part?” 

He didn’t answer, so I probed a little harder.  “The zoo?  The beach?  Butterflies?  What?”

He cocked his head.  “The best part was getting a small glimpse of your world, Allie.” 

I felt as though I had swallowed a hundred butterflies when he leaned
down
and rested his forehead against mine.  I closed my eyes and just existed- didn’t think, didn’t worry, simply existed. 

Chapter 16

“Where have you been all day?” Emily asked when I opened the door.

I pulled off my sweater and joined her on the couch.  She and Molly were watching cartoons.  “Lincoln Park.”

She looked puzzled.  “For what?”

“I took Chris.  He’d never been there.”

“Yeah?  Yo
u had a beautiful day for it.”

“
We
sure did,” I said, and then frowned.  “
Guess who called me this morning.”

“Frankenstein?”

I couldn’t help but laugh.  “Close, but no. 
Paul.” 

“
What?”
  She turned down the volume on the TV.

“He wants me to go up for awhile.  Says he misses me.”

She shifted around in her seat, her posture stiff.  “Did you tell him to go to Hell?”

“I didn’t tell him anything.  Chris showed up.”

“The nerve of some people!  It amazes me.”
  She shook her head, obviously disgusted. 
“Did you eat yet?  I picked up stuff for tacos.”

We left Molly to her cartoo
ns and went to make dinner. 
I w
as frying the hamburger when
someone knocked on the door.  Emily went to answer it, and Jake followed her into the kitchen.

He inhaled deeply. 
“Mmmm, s
mells good.
”

I looked at Emily, confused.
  Was I missing something?

“He called earlier and invited himself over,” Emily explained.  “I told him you were out but…”

“I came anyway,” he finished.  “I figured you’d be home sooner or later so I brought a couple movies and drinks.”  He held up a case of Budweiser.  “Thought we could hang out.”

I put him to work shredding cheese, and when it was a
ll ready to go
,
we loaded up our tacos and sat in front of the TV, catching the tail end of the news.  After we finished, Emily put Molly in the tub, and Jake helped me with the dishes.

Once everything was cleaned up and Molly was in bed, the three of us settled in the living room to watch the movies.  Jake had
put in
some action-
packed karate flick.  There wasn’t much of a plot
, but at least the main actor was nice to look at
.  Washboard abs, a killer smile, he was very easy on the eye. 
The second movie was
awful
.  It was a foreign film that had received high reviews, but I couldn’t get into it.  I was tired and went to bed before it was over
. 

Jake was still there when I came out the next morning.  A pile of wrinkled clothes was on the floor next to the recliner, and he was stretched out on the couch, wrapped up in a quilt, sound asleep. 

What the hell?

I tip-toed into the kitchen to make coffee.  The case of beer, now
filled with empty cans
, sat on the counter.

“Why is Jake sleeping on our couch?” I asked Emily when she came in
a few minutes later
.  She was wearing an oversized pink t-shirt and a pair of checkered boxers.  Her hair was pulled back into a braid. 

She giggled.  “He drank way too much.  Passed out before the movie was over.  I just didn’t have the heart to wake him, and I didn’t think he needed to be driving.  I threw a blanket o
ver
him before
I went
to bed.”

***

Several people, including Jake, Eddie, and Chris, were gathered at a large table near the far end of the snack bar.  The seat between Chris and Eddie was empty.

C
hris
pulled out the chair and invited
me to sit down.

“Thanks,” I said. 
I decided that the hot guy in last night’s movie had nothing on Chris.  Even in his dark jeans and h
ooded sweatshirt he was gorgeous.

I turned to Eddie. 
“What brings you down here?  Slumming it today?”
It was a rare thing to see a judge in the studio
, much less eating lunch with the crew
. 

He twisted a ruby ring around his pinky.  “Just looking for good
gossip
. 
What’s new and exciting around here?”

I popped a
Doritos
into my mouth.
“Nothing worth mentioning.”
 
I turned back to Chris.  “Are you ready for tonight?”

“Yeah, I think so.”

“What are you singing?”

“You’ll have to wait and see for yourself, Miss Allie,” Eddie said from my other side.

I turned to him. 
“
Any luck finding a
calico cat
?” I asked, remembering our last conversation.

“No.  You were right, but I found a cute little brown tabby. 
He’s not exactly what I wanted, but I guess a pussy is a pussy,” he said loudly.

Conversation at all tables ceased.  Everyone turned to look at us.

I covered my embarrassment with a laugh and
glanced at Jake.  He was devouring a bag of cheese puffs and a Coke.  A pack of Twinkies and a Twix bar were on the table in front of him.  “On a health kick there, Jake?”

He
gave me a crooked grin and then
let out a loud groan.  “You really need new furniture, Allie.  I though
t the hotel mattress was bad!”  He twisted around in his chair, popping his back.

“Maybe you should sleep in your own bed.”

Eddie looked back and forth between us.  “Do we have some romance budding behind scenes?”

“God, no,”
I said quickly.

Jake winced.  “We
ate
dinner and watched a couple movies Saturday night.  What was the
name of that last one?  It sucked ass
.”

Before I could answer, Chris stood up and gave his chair a rough
shove.  “I’ve got to
go,
”
he mumbled.

“Bye,” I called, turning to watch as he stormed off.

“What’s with him?”  Jake gave me a curious look.

“I have no idea.”

Jake gulped down the rest of his Coke and almost inhaled the Twinkies.  “Guess I should get back, too,” he said, stuffing the candy bar in his pocket.

Only Eddie and I remained at the table.  He fixed me with
a
disapproving glare.  “Oh, honey.”

“What?”

“Why do you do that?”  He continued to stare at me, as though what he was talking about should have been obvious.

“Do what?”

“
Give him hope
and then throw him in front of a bus.  That’s just cruel.”

I
gave him a blank look.  “
I’m not following.  Who are we talking about?”

He pursed his lips together.  “Was I the only one here just now?  Don’t you see
?  Your little
tech
friend ou
ted you.”

“Outed me?”

“Uh-huh.  And now
your
poor
beau
doesn’t think he has a chance.  Things are much more exciting aroun
d here than you give credit for
!”

“
Beau
?”  I was totally lost.

I replayed the scene in my mind, and it
finally
dawned on me what had just happened.  “Oh my God!
”  My eyes were wide.
 
“
Jake all but told everyone that we spent the night together, didn’t he?”  I gathered up my trash and stood.  “He fell asleep on the couch, Eddie.  Nothing happened!”

He sighed and waved a dismissive hand.  “That may be, but
your Superstar
doesn’t know that, now does he?”

“I gotta go!”

“Of course you do,
”
he said
with a wave
.

I walked the entire studio in search of Chris and finally found him in a rehearsal booth.  A pair of headphones covered his ears, and he was belting out
Everything Changes
,
the
latest chart topper
from Staind
.  His back was to me.