Stew, however, refused to let it go. “You’re not the first person who has commented on our likeness. In fact, just last week, Shannon and I were confused for the Weasley siblings – which, by the way, is just beyond ridiculous given the fact that Shannon was clearly wearing a Hermione cloak.”
It was clear by Keith’s expression that he hadn’t spent much time in the wizarding world. The clueless look on his face reminded me of the time I’d tried to explain to him that guerrilla warfare did not, in fact, mean that there’d been an uprising at the county zoo.
“All right, well… now that we got that out of the way…” Keith paused to raise his hand. “Who wants to go backstage?”
* * *
No more than ten minutes later, the four of us were watching the concert from the side of the stage. Keith made obtaining exclusive backstage access look easy. A few words here, a back slap there, and suddenly we were making our way past the scantily clad women crowded around the side entrance hoping for the coveted invitation that would bring them one step closer to their musical idol.
Snuggling into Keith’s side, it felt like I’d never left it. “That was impressive back there. I thought scoring backstage passes was more challenging than that – like signing over your first born child or, at the very least, being on a list or something?”
“You don’t need a list, Sammy, not when you’ve got me.”
Keith spoke with the confidence of a man who was very familiar with the interworking of concert life. As if reading my mind, he nodded and confirmed what I’d been thinking.
“I worked for Jake for awhile.”
Angling my head to get a better look at him, I asked, “But not anymore?”
“No.” The slightest tense of his body belied his confidence. “I sort of wrote my own eviction notice.”
“Uh-oh,” I said, gripping his chin between my fingers and planting a smooth kiss upon his lips. “What did you do?”
Keith glanced over his shoulder surveying the area. “Let’s go find someplace quiet to talk.”
“At a rock concert?”
“Well, okay, quieter.” He ran his hand along my arm. “You think Stewart might stop hugging me long enough for us to slip away?”
Keith wasn’t exaggerating. Stew really couldn’t keep his hands to himself. It was like high school all over again – the geek trying to get the attention of the cool kid. Stewart took to nudging and patting and even made the misguided decision to massage Keith’s shoulders.
“It’s like no one ever taught him the maximum hug time rule. For guys, it’s a strictly enforced three seconds. Anything over that is painfully awkward.”
“He’s just excited. I’m sure you’re the coolest thing that’s happened to him since he met Pikachu at last year’s Comic Con.”
Keith chuckled. “Well, then, we might want to keep him away from Jake. He’s not big on the touchy-feely shit.”
After letting Shannon know I’d find my own way home, I left hand in hand with Keith as he searched for that elusive quiet spot. I watched him intently, intrigued by the man he’d become. From just the snippets he’d provided, I knew he had a story to tell; how bad it would be was hard to tell. Although he certainly wasn’t that goofy boy who’d condemned me for sprucing up his vocabulary all those years ago, he didn’t appear to be overly damaged either.
“You up for a little hide and seek?” he asked, peeking his head around the corner before redirecting his attention to me.
Confused by the question, I stumbled on my words. “Um… I… I don’t know. Is that something you like to play?”
He laughed. “I like to play it if I have Samantha Anderson with me and I need a quiet place to talk to her. So here’s what’s going to happen. I’m going to distract the guard, and you’re going to slip into the first door on the right.”
“What’s the first door to the right?”
“Let’s put it this way. If we let Stew inside, he’d be humping the furniture.”
I gasped. “You’d better not be asking me to sneak into Jake’s dressing room!”
“See, you’re catching on to this game. Now, be ready. As soon as you hear the code word, bolt for the door.”
“What? No,” I whispered, panic beginning to rise. “What’s the code word?”
With a grin, he replied, “You’ll know when you hear it.”
Before I could protest, Keith was gone, disappearing around the bend. With my ears peeled to the discussion he was having with the guard, I couldn’t resist a peak – this was hide and seek, after all.
