Page 102 of On the Rocks

I looked up from my phone. “Huh?”

“They want you real bad.” Jennifer crawled over to me, showing me the comment section on my latest Masked Mixer video. “‘Looks fire! We can’t wait to try it out.’ They’re really sucking up.”

I smirked. “Well, my answer is still no.”

“Are you sure? You’re a hot commodity right now. They’d probably offer you double what was in your original contract. Look at all these other brands dropping fire emojis under their comment. They want you, Cora,” Jennifer said, pitching her voice dramatically. “They need you.”

I covered my face with my hands, laughing as she carried on. Now that it was clear that the Masked Mixer had parted ways with Elixir, more and more brands were sliding into my DMs with partnership offers, brand deals, and even a few gig invitesaround the city. It was everything I had hoped to get as a result of my Elixir partnership, and it was probably time to start taking some of them seriously—at least the gigs.

Now that I’d also parted ways with my sweet Elixir paycheck, Jennifer and I were all about a free night on the town. “How would you feel about being my plus one to the opening of Penny’s?” I read the invite in my email to her. “NYC’s newest penthouse bar. It has a roof garden, if that sways you at all.”

“I am swayed,” Jennifer said, cocking her head as music drifted in through the window. “Let’s hope the appetizers are better than the ones they had at Bottom of the Barrel.”

“I don’t actually have to mix any drinks this time,” I said. “Just show up in persona. So it should be a relatively chill night.”

“Sounds great.”

The music got louder. I looked up from my laptop, in the middle of editing my Souped-Up Bloody Mary video. “Are the neighbors throwing a party we weren’t invited to?”

“No…” Jennifer said. “I don’t think so. They’ve always invited us before.” She glanced down at her phone. “I don’t have any texts. I think someone must be having a midweek throwback jam.”

The music got even louder, and I finally recognized the song.No freaking way. I sat up straight, my laptop sliding off my knees onto the couch cushion.

Jennifer’s eyebrow arched slowly. “Wait. This is Lifehouse.” I stared at her. She stared at me. “Didn’t you say that was the?—”

“Yeah.”

“On the football field?”

“Yeah.”

We both jumped to our feet, racing for the window. There stood Aiden on the street, staring up at our apartment, a boombox held up over his head. My heart skipped a few beats, and I pressed my hand to my chest. What the hell was he doing?

“What in the John Cusack?” Jennifer muttered. She pulled back from the window, breaking into wild laughter. “Where did he get a boombox?” She laughed so hard there were tears in her eyes.

She laughed until I started laughing too. Then the shock melted into disbelief. I couldn’t believe Aiden was standing down there, in the middle of the street, with a freaking boombox, like I’d somehow landed in the movieSay Anything.

Jennifer sobered and opened the window all the way until we could hear the music better. She settled me with a pointed look, flicking her head down in Aiden’s direction. “So, this is happening.”

I released a heavy breath. “It sure is.”

“Right.” Jennifer put her hands on her hips. “What are you gonna do about it?”

Aiden

Lifehouse poured from the speakers of the old boombox, practically deafening me as I sang along. I stared up at the window where I could just barely make out Cora and Jennifer. My arms were starting to ache, but I didn’t dare move. Not until I managed to talk to Cora.

To explain.

To tell her how wrong I was.

To apologize.

Finally, she stuck her head out the window.

Yes!This was my chance.

“Isn’t this a little irrational?” Cora called down at me.

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