“Where?”
“None of your business, Suit. Feel free to go back to your hotel and take a nap. Or a shower. That last one is strongly encouraged.”
Heavy footsteps sound behind me and suddenly Theo’s at my side. “I think I’m going to tag along.”
I turn to Ginny and roll my eyes. I’m starting to think this man is a masochist.
“Says the woman talking to her dead sister,” she says.
“I told you, no reading my mind.”
“What?” Theo frowns.
I wave a hand at him. “Nothing. Come if you want. It’s a free country.”
“You guys still need to practice before tonight,” he says breath-lessly. “You didn’t even finish rehearsing ‘Family Fruit.’”
I arch a brow at him. “Shop talk so early?”
“I’m still your manager.”
I keep hustling. Soon we’re out of the neighborhood and coming up on the quaint cluster of shops and restaurants near the beach. The streets are lined with palm trees, fronds swaying in the breeze. In the distance, early morning beachgoers drag umbrellas across the sand. A rock song drifts from someone’s portable radio. I take a deep, steadying breath. The air smells like salt, sunscreen, and a dash of herbal weed. The real reason I stayed in Long Beach is that ever since Ginny moved here with me in college, it’s felt like home.
“Rilo Kiley’s on the radio,” Ginny says. She’s fitter than Theo, so not out of breath. “That’s a sign it’s going to be a good day.”
“I would kiss Jenny Lewis’s feet if she’d let me.”
“You and every other perv with good taste in music.”
“Again,what?” Theo follows me around a turn.
I must’ve said that part out loud. I’m doing a poor job of keeping myself in check this morning.
My destination appears ahead of us. Alamitos skate park—our sanctuary. We get to the chain-link fence and I wipe my hands on my jeans.
“Wait.” Theo eyes the fence. “That sign says private property. What are you doing?”
“Letting myself in,” I say, and start climbing.
“Jesus. What is it with you and rules?”
“What is it withyouand rules?” When I drop to the grass on the other side, I wave goodbye through the chain-link.
“Stop! You’re going to get arrested for trespassing. And when you do, I’m going to have to bail you out. Do you know how much paperwork that will mean?”
I face him. There’s something about the way Theo’s staring back at me from the other side of the fence that reminds me of Ginny’s face when we were young and I would run off to play with other kids at recess.
“He’s staring at you like a lost puppy,” she says.
It makes me feel guilty, but not enough not to turn my back on him.
“Wait,” he calls again, and by the time I glance over my shoulder, he’s already climbing. He reaches the top of the fence and slings one long leg over. For a moment, he grins at me, triumphant, then loses his balance and tumbles the rest of the way down.
“Ugh.” Theo examines his dirt-streaked hands. “Great.”
“You could’ve shown him the gate,” Ginny says.
“And miss that display of athleticism? I think not.” I walk the perimeter of the skating bowl until I get to a thick wall of hedges, drop to my knees, and pull out my hidden skateboard. The underside’s painted a gorgeous baby blue, just like my guitar.
