“Zilphia?” Jace’s deep baritone intrudes on my dismal musings.
I look over at him. “Mmm.”
“Are you okay?” he asks, his eyebrows pinched low on his forehead.
“Yeah, of course,” I reply, forcing a small smile. “Why?”
“I called your name, like, five times.”
“Oh,” I mutter, noticing we’re parked in a driveway. “I just have a lot on my mind. That’s all.”
“Look, we don’t have to rehearse today if you’re not feeling up to it.”
“No, I really want to,” I assure him, placing my hand over his on the gearshift. “It’ll take my mind off things.”
“Okay. Let’s head inside.”
I follow Jace into his house and sit on the sofa.
He shrugs out of his hoodie and tosses it on the ottoman. “Want something to drink?”
“Sure. What do you have?”
“Gatorade, tea, or water.”
“Water is good.”
He bows theatrically. “Your wish is my command.”
I survey the one-story home. It has an open-floor design with the living room, dining room, and kitchen all sharing the same space. Small, but cozy and inviting.
“Here you go.”
“Thank you,” I say, accepting the cold bottle. “Are your parents home?”
“It’s just my father and me.” Jace settles beside me. “He works on Sundays.”
“What does he do?”
“Security over at Bright Horizon.”
“That’s an indoor amusement park, right? I heard a few kids at school talking about going.”
“Yeah,” Jace answers. “It’s a great place to hang out. Wanna go next weekend?”
“Heck yeah!” I exclaim. I’m already forgetting my troubles, for a little while at least.
“It’s a date.”
I arch an eyebrow. “A date?”
“Not a date, date,” Jace backtracks, his face turning scarlet red. “Just two people hanging out.”
I laugh. “Relax, I’m only joking.”
“Oh.” Jace laughs with me. “You had me going for a second there.”
“We should get started. I don’t want to be out too late.”
