I didn’t answer because now I had the unenviable task of explaining myself to his rock star brother. “I can explain. It’s allhisfault.” I poked Keith in the gut. “I told him no, but he wouldn’t listen, and then, before I knew it, Keith was flashing his butt, and there was Pikachu… it was all so disorienting.”
Jake’s look of bewilderment only made me talk faster, and when I was done with the apology, he raised a brow and replied, “Yeah, I can see where that might have gotten confusing.”
Keith’s amused chuckle was cut short by the daggers shooting from my eyes.
“What she means to say is that she’s Samantha Anderson, my girlfriend from high school. You know, the one I told you about?”
Now Jake seemed more interested, less suspicious, and his gaze softened. “No shit?”
“We just found each other in the crowd. Dude, she practically fainted at my feet. It was a magical moment. She’s so lucky.”
Jake smiled, and for the first time, I was able to catch my breath.
“Huh.” I grinned. “I remember it differently, but whatever.”
“Don’t worry,” Jake answered. “I learned over the years to pass everything Keith says through a bullshit meter.”
“Yes. I forgot those existed. Anyway, I’m happy to finally meet you, Jake.”
“You too, Samantha.”
“Actually, everyone just calls me Sam.”
Keith swung his head around, gaping. “Since when?”
“Well.” I paused. “Since you.”
Ah, so smug Keith was, and that grin of his nearly irresistible. “See, Jake, this is how you make an impression on a girl.”
“Yes Jake,” I added helpfully. “Make sure you completely disregard her request to have her name pronounced properly so often that the girl finally just gives in.”
Jake glanced between us. “Why do I feel like I’m no longer a part of this conversation?”
He was right. Our flirting had effectively forced him into the background.
“Anyway, you guys are free to… uh… to do whatever this is…” Jake made a wide sweeping gesture with his hand. “But I’ve got to sign autographs in twenty minutes, so I’m off to the shower. Nice meeting you, Sam.”
And without waiting to make it to the bathroom, Jake pulled off his drenched shirt and tossed it to the floor. My eyes immediately zeroed in on his bare torso because there, hanging around his neck, was my grandfather’s blue-laced stone.
28
Keith: Enough
The second Jake pulled his shirt off I was in full defensive mode, waving my hand rapidly under my neck in a frantic aggressive cease-and-desist motion. Sam’s eyes were as wide as bubbles, but she wisely kept her mouth from popping open until Jake had safely disappeared into the bathroom.
“Um… so… about that,” I said, my finger over my lips as I kept my voice at a hush.
“Yes,” she answered, trying but failing to keep a hushed tone as well. “Aboutthat. You think maybe you could have warned me first?”
“Jesus, Sam, where’d you learn to whisper – inside a helicopter?”
“Excuse me if I’m a little stunned to see my grandfather’s stone around a rock star’s neck.”
“No. It’s around my brother’s neck.”
That stopped Sam in her tracks, and I took the following seconds of blessed silence to explain myself. “I was going to tell you, but I only had thirty minutes.”
“Try fifteen,” she answered, her eyes going into the centrifugal stage of rolling. “I see your math reasoning skills haven’t improved.”
