Page 32 of For One Night Only

“Okay, this place looks incredible,” Caleb says. “You were right.”

“I know that,” I say, grinning at him. It’s a rainbow of colors, both on the walls and behind the pastry counter. The cupcakes are huge and they serve every flavor you can imagine, so I order myself a single caramel bourbon one while he chooses a vanilla Earl Grey. Just like at the Thai restaurant, we tuck ourselves into a booth in the back of the shop.

“Oh my god,” Caleb moans after his first taste, the sound practically pornographic. Heat runs down my spine. I’ve heard that moan too many times before to be left completely unaffected, but I try to remember it’s just a really good cupcake. I play it cool as I take my own bite.

“Good, right?” I ask.

“Amazing,” he says around a mouthful.

“I discovered this place when I was doing callbacks forEpic Theme Song, and I always try to stop by when I’m in the city,” I say. It became my treat for getting through long rehearsals—something my therapist insisted I try to fight burnout.

“I can see why,” he says. “Do you like it? Doing TV?”

I take another bite, considering his question for a moment. There are parts of TV I really hate, but I don’t want to share thatwith him. Even being jaded, I don’t want to discount the meaningful parts of the work. Hell, it’s why I’m still fighting for the show.

“I didn’t think I would—and it’s really different from playing music—but there’s something really special about storytelling for an audience. I know we do that with our songs, but the fans really adore this show. It’s an honor to play a bisexual character who’s allowed to have love interests of different genders, and I’ve had so many fans reach out to tell me how they feelseen.”

He smiles. “That’s really cool. And you’re fantastic in the role, so it totally makes sense that people would connect in that way.”

I blush, suddenly feeling shy. “You’ve seen the show?”

Caleb nods, his own cheeks reddening. “I mean, I haven’t watched every episode, but Carrie always puts it on when she visits. She really looks up to you.”

“I know,” I admit, folding my cupcake wrapper into careful triangles. “We’ve…stayed in touch. She’s actually how I found you.”

“She never told me that,” he says ruefully, folding his hands on the table and leaning forward. “Then again, I’m not surprised. She probably wasn’t sure how I’d react.”

“You’re not mad, are you? We don’t talk about you,” I say quickly. “We mostly just chat about music. She sends me recordings of her playing, and I offered to write her a letter of recommendation for college applications.”

His eyes widen. “You don’t have to do that.”

“I want to, and that’s why I offered,” I say. “She’s incredibly talented. I may not be a classical musician or anything, so my recommendation might not hold much weight, but I want to support her. She deserves every opportunity to pursue her art.”

Caleb leans back, smiling. “Thank you. That really means a lot.”

“Your family has always felt like mine. I know I don’t get to, like, claim that anymore, but I can do this,” I admit.

He opens his mouth to say something, but we’re interrupted by soft voices.

“Excuse me?” they say. We turn to see a group of kids hanging nervously back. They look like they’re about college age, and they’re dressed like…well, us. Band tees, black jeans, flannel. They look like Glitterbugs, but they’re not in our face about it.

They’re so nervous, I want to offer them a hug. But since Caleb is the one who hasn’t been in the spotlight for years, I follow his lead.

“Hi, I’m Caleb,” he says.

“Oh my god, we know,” one of them says. She’s Black with long braids and a wrist full of rainbow bracelets, and she can’t be much older than we were when Glitter Bats took off. “I’m Sophie! We’re all so excited for the reunion!”

“Thank you so much. What are your names?” Caleb asks, gesturing to the others.

“I—” the one on Sophie’s right starts, then stops, staring at Caleb’s shoes.

“They’re Whit, and they’re totally obsessed with you,” Sophie says brightly to him.

Whit—a white kid with freckles and a blue shag cut—blushes. “Shut up. As if you didn’t have Valerie as your lock screen all last year.”

“That was fan art of Wendy the Wonder kissing Shadowgirl!” Sophie says, but she doesn’t look embarrassed.

The guy on her left—a taller Asian boy with short hair and gauged ears—rolls his eyes. “I’m Aiden, and I’ll get my friends out of your hair.”

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