Page 144 of Let's Pretend I'm Okay

“What’s wrong?”

Her jaw drops. “What’swrong?” She looks down at herself. “I can’t meet them like this. Look at me. There’s a brown stain all over my shirt. They’re going to think I’m a disgusting person. I can’t have them thinking that.”

He smiles and nods. “You’re right. We can’t have them thinking that.”

She bites her lip and glances around her. Her eyes roam over my outfit, then backstage, and finally lands on him again. “Let me borrow your jacket.”

He points to himself and raises an eyebrow. “My jacket?”

She nods. “You said you’d make it up to me.”

“I did say that.” He slides it off and hands it to her.

She slips into it and pulls it closed in the front to hide the stain. “How do I look?” she asks, turning in a circle. “It’s not too big, is it?”

“Let me just—” He adjusts the collar. “Perfect.”

She looks in my direction. “Good?”

I chuckle. She’s so obsessed with this band that she doesn’t realize she’s having a movie-worthy moment right now with Mr. Jean Jacket.

“Good,” I say.

“Can I knock now?” he asks.

“Yes.”

He knocks and a security guard opens the door. “Hey,man. Are the guys back here? These two girls were supposed to be at the meet and greet.”

The security guard glances behind him and then back at us nodding.

Mr. Jean Jacket leans into the room. “This is Annie.”

We walk in. One of the band members is sitting in a chair in front of a mirror, and the other two are sitting on a couch in the corner of the room. The lead singer asks Annie what her favorite song is, and I swear she almost faints. She’s so stunned she can’t speak.

“She’s obsessed with your latest album,” I chime in.

Annie nods. “Especially ‘Sunrise Love.’”

He smiles. “Well, it’s a good thing we’re playing it tonight.”

The whole band is nice, briefly letting us take photos and get their autographs. I wish we could visit longer, but the concert is about to start.

The whole interaction happens so fast I don’t notice that Mr. Jean Jacket wandered off until we leave that room. Annie’s face is the darkest shade of red I’ve ever seen. She’s ecstatic, eyes sparkling. She’s practically floating.

Our seats are close to the stage, and by the time we make it to them, the venue lights dim and the stage lights up blue, getting ready for the opening act. Seconds later a guy in a white T-shirt runs on to the stage with a guitar strapped to his back. “How are we doing tonight?” he says and the crowd goes wild.

I grip Annie’s arm. “Is that who I think it is?”

She covers her mouth and nods.

On stage is Mr. Jean Jacket. “My name is Tucker West, and I’ll be opening for Broken Sage!”

The crowd screams again.

Annie grimaces. “Did I just steal a famous guy’s jacket?”

I nod. “It appears so.”

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