It does, however, make me happier than it should to hear. Even though it really shouldn’t matter.
“Yeah,” he says quietly. “But I’m glad I invited you.”
I should tease him some more, I think—maybe say something like,Even though you spent a sexless night eating hotel cake and watching a movie about demonic possession?
The words get caught in the lump forming in my throat. “Me too,” I say back, just as quietly.
There’s some muffled intercom voice in the background, and I hear one of the guys—Shane, maybe?—say, “Finally. I thought we’d be here all fucking day.”
Kevin sighs. “I’ve got to go.They’re boarding us now. But—” He hesitates, and I wonder if he’s longing to talk again soon as much as I am. “I’ll call you when I get home, okay? I’ve got a couple days off before the next leg of the tour. Maybe we could watch that movie?”
“Yes,” I say. “Tonight, if you want.”
I shouldn’t have said that. Now I sound desperate for someone to watch movies with, when I’m perfectly capable of watching them by myself. And I also sound like someone who will be awake late into the night.
I am definitely going to have to take that nap.
“Yeah,” Kevin says. “Tonight works for me.”
“Have a safe flight, then,” I say. Which is the lamest of the lame things to say to someone getting on an airplane, because is that really going to keep the plane from crashing? But we all do it anyway for some reason.
“Thanks,” he says. “And you rest up. Because you’ll probably be stuck watching the next dozen of those movies with me.”
I smile. “There’s only five more in the series.”
“Onlyfive,” he says. Okay, well, I’m sure you’ll have others to recommend.”
My heart beats harder. Would he really want to spend that much time together? Even if it’s just over Skype?
I knowIdo.
“So many more,” I say. “And maybe we can catch an episode or two ofSuper Property Brothers.” I bite my lip to keep from laughing at how I already know he’s going to react.
“It’s justProperty Brothers!They’re not a video game!” He pauses. “And you already knew that and are messing with me.”
I grin. “They do their own plumbing, don’t they? Are they Italian? What kind of materials do they use, because I’ve heard that some houses you can just punch right through the bricks and find money insi—”
“Okay, fine, just go ahead, mock away,” he says, but he’s laughing.
There’s another voice from his end: “Seriously, man,now.”
Kevin mutters something that is muffled—possibly by him covering up the phone.
“I’ve really got to go now,” he says, and I wonder if I’m reading too much into how reluctant he sounds. “But I’ll call you tonight, okay?”
“Okay,” I say. We say goodbye and hang up, and I sit down on my bed, the phone feeling too heavy in my hand.
I know I’m right, that dating him—a long-distance relationship with a rock star, for crying out loud—couldn’t work. It would be too difficult, too constantly uncertain. And if I’m already this invested in him after two conversations . . . It’s definitely too likely to end in hurt and bad feelings on both our parts. Friends is better, for sure.
As I curl up in bed, though, I can’t help imagining watching the movie tonight with him in person. Imagining him throwing his arm around me, casually. Wondering how long it would take for our hands to wander further.
I know even before I fall asleep that I’m going to have good dreams.
Six
Kevin
Seriously,” Shane says. He’s standing at my breakfast bar with his sunglasses pushed back up on his head, glaring at me with righteous indignation. “You’re bailing on usagain?”
