“See them after,” Liam says, like it’s so obvious.
“Uh, no thanks.” Who do I have to buy a gift for? My parents couldn’t care less that I’m touring America right now. They don’t want a souvenir from me.
“Then go. We’ll meet up with you after.” Tanner heads for the exit without waiting for my response.
I look at Penn, who blinks at me. “Come with us. You might find something you like.”
“Not likely. Me and Ellie will go see the cats.”
“Oh, uh, yeah. Sure,” she says, failing to hide the disappointment in her tone. Fuck, she wants to go to the damn gift shop, too.
“Fine, let’s go.” I grab my trash, which isn’t much thanks to Ellie, and follow them out.
The gift shop isn’t as bad as I imagined. In fact, it has some cute-as-shit knickknacks. I’m still browsing when I glance up and see Ellie staring at the rack of keychains. Basic ones with the most basic names.
She spins the shelf round and round, her frown deepening the longer she searches.
“No luck?” I step behind her.
Her shoulders slump. “No. They never have my name on these things.”
I snatch one off the rack before she turns it again. “But they always have mine.” I hold up the colorful chain with animals and my name printed in black letters. “Ya know why? Because I’m a basic bitch. You’re special and unique. There’s not many Ellie Mays in the world and there’s none at all like you.”
Her head slowly turns around, and she scans my face. I hold her gaze and watch a flicker of something pass over her expression, but then she snatches the keychain dangling from my finger before I can make out what it is. “I’m buying this foryou. When you get your car running again, you’ll have something to put your keys on.”
“Oh, May, why do you think I’m busting my ass making magic on this tour? That’s the first thing I’m doing when I cash my checks.” I give her a sly grin, and she rolls her pretty green eyes and struts toward the register.
My dad left me his 1969 Chevy Chevelle when they took off. She’s red with a double pinstripe down the hood. She’s a beaut, and he probably loved it more than he did me. But he was too old to keep messing with it. I never wanted to help, opting to play music with Penn. He never asked for my help anyway. It has sat in Penn’s uncle’s garage, waiting for me to give it the attention it deserves, and Penn and Ray have both offered to help me fix it. I’ve never been in a rush, not to mention I haven’t had the extra money. Penn’s always been my personal chauffeur, even after he moved out. But he has Olivia now, so I need my own set of wheels.
I grab a blank keychain, add it to the pile in my hands, and head to the checkout.
13
ELLIE
I bounce on my toes,in the lobby of the airport. My eyes dart around, scanning the area for the familiar, long locks of golden hair on top of my best friend’s head. I’m so excited I can hardly stand it. It’s been so long since I’ve seen her in person. We FaceTime constantly, but it’s not the same.
A load of people come barreling through, and I squeal to myself. A wave of anticipation washes over me as the crowd thins, and a pop of golden waves hit my line of vision. Right next to Liv’s shiny hair is a head of much darker, shorter strands—Pacey. I hop up and down. I’m a short girl, barely five foot two, but I refuse to go unnoticed. I wave my hands around until Liv’s eyes lock on mine.
She picks up her pace, rushing toward me. I start sprinting and we crash into each other, locking into an embrace that might suggest we’ve been separated for years, not months, but that’s how much we love each other.
“Oh my God!” I cry. “I can’t believe you’re here!”
“I know. It’s so good to see you in real life!”
Pacey approaches us, and I drag her into our hug, too. Wehaven’t hung out much, but only because before the tour she’d been really busy. She started school and got a job. I’m glad she was able to come. We’re going to have the best girls’ weekend.
On the ride, Liv fills me in on the grand opening of her store in the coming months. Penn was adamant that he be a part of it, and as long as Calvin doesn’t pull any sneaky shit with adding surprise shows, we’ll be home. I can’t wait. She’s going to be an amazing business owner. Hell, she already is.
We bypass the venue where the guys are doing sound check and go straight to the hotel next door, so Olivia and Pacey can get situated. Pacey is bunking with me, but Olivia is staying across the hall with Penn, sadly.
Pacey wheels her suitcase to the other side of the room and flops down beside me. “I’m so tired. I wasn’t prepared for jet lag. I’ve never flown before. Should I nap before the show or just chug an energy drink and hope for the best?”
“Nap,” Olivia answers at the same time I say, “Energy drink.”
We all look at each other and laugh.
After they’ve showered, Olivia slips out to have lunch with Penn. Pacey is sprawled out on the bed. “I can’t believe my brother is on tour. Like, as the headliner. I’m so proud of him.”
