“Jake. Yeah, I can kinda see that,” I answered. “He doesn’t really look like him without the jacket, but we’re going to a costume party.”
“Oh, that’s cool! Who are you going as?”
“Uh...” Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jake open the dressing room door and step outside. Once he got within earshot, I said, “I thought about going as Leon. He’s my favorite US member.”
“He’s mine too,” Jake chimed in, coming to stand next to me, the leather jacket off and slung over his arm, hidden among his other items. “Leon’s verse in ‘Hypersonic’? Blew my mind the first time I heard it live.”
“Oh?” the girl questioned politely. “You saw US in concert?”
“Uh...” Jake trailed off. “In one of their livestreams.”
“Yeah, they do a lot of those.”
“She thinks you look like Jake,” I informed the guy who was, in fact, actually Jake.
He pretended to look quizzical. “Jake from US?”
“No,” I teased. “From State Farm.”
Jake nodded solemnly. “I get the Jake Moody comment a lot. It’s nice, I guess? Only I’m much better looking than him.”
The girl scoffed. “In your dreams.”
I pressed my lips together tight, then took a deep breath so I wouldn’t laugh. I turned to Jake, poking his bicep in amusement. “Yeah, in your dreams, Sylvester.”
“No offense,” the girl clarified, eyes widening, like she just realized how it sounded. “I just meant that Jake’s a celebrity. He’s verifiably hot. It’s a job requirement.”
“Definitely,” I echoed, having too much fun.
Jake’s eyes flickered back to me. “You think Jake’s hot?”
“I might,” I replied flippantly. “Don’t you wish you were him?”
“Sometimes.”
I gestured at myself. “I don’t think Jake Moody could handle all ofthis, though.”
Jake met my eyes again, and for the second time since he arrived, I saw himgenuinelysmile.
And it was directed atmethis time.
“Probably not,” he said. “You’re definitely out of Jake’s league.”
Chapter Eight
“The guys and I are bonded for life,” Phillip tells me. “Like brothers,” Aspen adds in agreement. Beside them, Leon nods and pulls Jake into a one-armed hug, as he proudly announces, “We couldn’t be closer.” Grinning, Jake slings his arm around Leon in return, though he does send a rueful look toward their shared tour bus to lament, “We really couldn’t.”
—“A Day on the Road with US,” written by entertainment reporter Emma Cardiff
Outside The Tiny Tiger, I gave Jake a once-over, taking in his dark sunglasses and baseball cap. Approving his disguise, I pushed open the door to the café, and was greeted by soft music and the rich smell of our coffee-scented jungle.
I took a deep breath like I always did when I first walked in, then waved to Amber, who was behind the counter. “Hi. Is Mom here?”
“Yeah, she dropped in a few minutes ago.” Amber’s eyes slid over to Jake, processing his outfit and the way he leanedforward to peer at everything closely. “You okay over there? I can turn the lights down a little, if you want.”
Jake cocked his head, confused by the off-the-wall question. “What?”
“You just got your eyes dilated, right?” Amber asked, gesturing to his sunglasses and the way his baseball cap was pulled so low it shadowed half his face. “I had my eye exam in the spring and walked around like thatall day. The lights in here about killed me. Had to dim ’em.”
