mood.
“I had the last final for my summer class. I just walked in the door. What was the message? Did the blue sweater not make it?”
“Very funny,” he said, his tone dry and dismissive. “What are you doing for the next couple of weeks?”
“Studying for my fall classes and helping Uncle Mitch out in the dealership office. I already told you several times,” Alice replied, dreading what Rich would request. What are you doing for the next couple of weeks was a far cry from overnight me that blue sweater .
“Not anymore,” Rich said. “Pack some things and get a ticket to Chicago. The band will be there tomorrow night. I need you to finish the tour with us, Alice. It’s kind of an emergency.” A strange desperation had crept into his voice.
“What’s this about?” she asked suspiciously. Rich was a capable manager, and Alice knew nothing about music. She could barely hum a nursery rhyme, and her management skills stopped short of bookkeeping.
“We have fifteen shows left and things are starting to fall apart. Just this morning Andy tried to leave the tour.”
Alice’s breath caught in her throat at the mention of Andy. Throughout high school, she’d had the biggest crush on the drummer. Even though they’d spent a lot of time together, she’d always kept an emotional distance from the enigmatic Andy Steele. The protective way he’d treated her growing up had seemed almost parental at times. With Rich gone working most days and nights, Andy had kept an eye on her during her wild high school years. Alice still wondered what motivated him to practically stalk her at times. He’d had a tendency to show up at the most inopportune moments—like when she was about to slip into a college party at SU or skip school to spend a day at the beach.
A sharp sadness squeezed her heart. It was a stupid, pointless crush. Someone with a killer body who was in a famous band was clearly out of her league. Alice aspired to graduate from college and get a quiet, steady job so she could finally be independent. Andy aspired to put out record after record with his rising band. Didn’t he? Even before Soul Smashers made it big, Alice was water and Andy was oil. At least when it came to the things they wanted out of life.
“Andy wants to quit?” she asked, careful to maintain a neutral tone.
“Yes and that’s why I need you,” Rich said. “Some groupie broke his heart and now he wants to quit.”
“What am I supposed to do about that?” she asked. A moment of silence passed, and then the veil of confusion lifted. Her stomach clenched painfully. “You have some nerve, Rich.” Her brother had known about her crush on Andy. Back before their parents died, he used to tease Alice endlessly about it.
“I’m not asking what you think I’m asking.”
“Really? Because it sounds like you’re asking me to fly to Chicago and comfort Andy. I’m not some groupie, Rich. I’m your sister. How could you ask such a thing?” Alice gripped the phone so hard her knuckles turned white. It was bad enough that Rich never laughed or smiled or joked, but now this? She was his sister, not a whore.
“Andy had a crush on you when you were still in high school,” Rich finally said. “He got really drunk and told me about it one night. He never acted on it because you weren’t legal. Remember that time you came to see Soul Smashers on opening night in Virginia after your eighteenth birthday? He spent an hour picking out his clothes. He was actually nervous about seeing you, Alice. I swear it.”
Alice remembered the night clearly. Soul Smashers had played in Virginia Beach. She’d watched the concert from backstage. Of course she’d brought her at-the-moment boyfriend along, and Andy hadn’t spoken more than two words to her the whole night.
“You’re not my pimp,” she said, but her tone was contemplative. If Rich claimed Andy had a crush on her once, she believed it. Rich might not be a ray of sunshine, but he’d
“I had the last final for my summer class. I just walked in the door. What was the message? Did the blue sweater not make it?”
“Very funny,” he said, his tone dry and dismissive. “What are you doing for the next couple of weeks?”
“Studying for my fall classes and helping Uncle Mitch out in the dealership office. I already told you several times,” Alice replied, dreading what Rich would request. What are you doing for the next couple of weeks was a far cry from overnight me that blue sweater .
“Not anymore,” Rich said. “Pack some things and get a ticket to Chicago. The band will be there tomorrow night. I need you to finish the tour with us, Alice. It’s kind of an emergency.” A strange desperation had crept into his voice.
“What’s this about?” she asked suspiciously. Rich was a capable manager, and Alice knew nothing about music. She could barely hum a nursery rhyme, and her management skills stopped short of bookkeeping.
“We have fifteen shows left and things are starting to fall apart. Just this morning Andy tried to leave the tour.”
Alice’s breath caught in her throat at the mention of Andy. Throughout high school, she’d had the biggest crush on the drummer. Even though they’d spent a lot of time together, she’d always kept an emotional distance from the enigmatic Andy Steele. The protective way he’d treated her growing up had seemed almost parental at times. With Rich gone working most days and nights, Andy had kept an eye on her during her wild high school years. Alice still wondered what motivated him to practically stalk her at times. He’d had a tendency to show up at the most inopportune moments—like when she was about to slip into a college party at SU or skip school to spend a day at the beach.
A sharp sadness squeezed her heart. It was a stupid, pointless crush. Someone with a killer body who was in a famous band was clearly out of her league. Alice aspired to graduate from college and get a quiet, steady job so she could finally be independent. Andy aspired to put out record after record with his rising band. Didn’t he? Even before Soul Smashers made it big, Alice was water and Andy was oil. At least when it came to the things they wanted out of life.
“Andy wants to quit?” she asked, careful to maintain a neutral tone.
“Yes and that’s why I need you,” Rich said. “Some groupie broke his heart and now he wants to quit.”
“What am I supposed to do about that?” she asked. A moment of silence passed, and then the veil of confusion lifted. Her stomach clenched painfully. “You have some nerve, Rich.” Her brother had known about her crush on Andy. Back before their parents died, he used to tease Alice endlessly about it.
“I’m not asking what you think I’m asking.”
“Really? Because it sounds like you’re asking me to fly to Chicago and comfort Andy. I’m not some groupie, Rich. I’m your sister. How could you ask such a thing?” Alice gripped the phone so hard her knuckles turned white. It was bad enough that Rich never laughed or smiled or joked, but now this? She was his sister, not a whore.
“Andy had a crush on you when you were still in high school,” Rich finally said. “He got really drunk and told me about it one night. He never acted on it because you weren’t legal. Remember that time you came to see Soul Smashers on opening night in Virginia after your eighteenth birthday? He spent an hour picking out his clothes. He was actually nervous about seeing you, Alice. I swear it.”
Alice remembered the night clearly. Soul Smashers had played in Virginia Beach. She’d watched the concert from backstage. Of course she’d brought her at-the-moment boyfriend along, and Andy hadn’t spoken more than two words to her the whole night.
“You’re not my pimp,” she said, but her tone was contemplative. If Rich claimed Andy had a crush on her once, she believed it. Rich might not be a ray of sunshine, but he’d
Similar Books
