Page 20 of The Drummer's Heart

“Not sure I care about that. You know Cassius. You thinkhewould hesitate to datemyhot cousin, if I had one? I doubt it.”

I crossed my arms. “Well, I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“Why, though?”

I had no damn answer. At least not one I was willing to admit. “I already told you,” I huffed.

“I still might ask her out and see what happens. What do I have to lose? Cassius will get over it.”

Angrier by the second, I snarled, “Why the hell did you ask my advice if you’re not gonna take it?”

“Damn. What’s gotten into you?” He cocked his head. “Wait…youlike her?”

“No,” I snapped. “She’s too young for me.”

“That’s right. You could technically get arrested.” He added, “But that doesn’t mean you can’t like her.”

Asshole.

The age of consent here was sixteen, so while I couldn’t get arrested, she was still too damn innocent.

“I like her as a friend. That’s it.”

He rubbed his chin, looking at me skeptically.

Is he testing me right now? Trying to bait me into admitting something?I needed to leave before he could see the truth written all over my face. “I gotta get out of here.” I took off for my house.

I spent the rest of the day in a horrible mood. Julian was Nicole’s age, and it made total sense that he would like her. He was a pretty decent dude, so I shouldn’t have gotten so damn angry. But it pissed me off that he could make a move on her when I couldn’t. Age aside, I also doubted I’d be good enough for her. She had plans to go away to college. Nicole had made it clear that she wanted to experience living away from home. She’d be leaving no matter what. And anyway, I didn’t even know whether she liked methatway.

Later that afternoon, my doorbell rang. My mom had just left for her evening-shift job at a local factory, so I was the only one home. When I answered the door, there was Nicole. I’d been thinking of her a lot today, so it was odd that she’d shown uphere. She’d never come to my house before—except for standing outside it the first time we’d taken that walk together. She and I had mostly gotten to know each other over at Cassius’s house.

“Hey, you. What are you doing here?” I looked behind me. I hadn’t had a chance to pick up the mess in the living room.

Nicole fidgeted. “Is this a bad time?”

“No. Come in.” I stepped aside. “What’s up?”

She bit her bottom lip. “I came by because I wanted to give you something.”

“Okay…”

“I overheard you talking to my cousin the other day about not being able to go to that music workshop in the city because you couldn’t afford the fee.”

Damn. She heard that? My ears burned.

There was a workshop in Manhattan this summer, run by a retired member of a famous rock band. From what I’d read, they sometimes brought in big names to perform alongside the participants, and to mentor you. It seemed like a dream come true. I’d applied for a spot with a video of one of my drum solos from the basement. But the cost was nothing I could afford. While I had a job working at a local tire shop, I’d given most of the money I’d made over the past few months to my older sister, Tina, to help with expenses after her husband’s death. I wasn’t even sure why I’d applied, since I couldn’t afford it. Maybe I just wanted to see if I was good enough to get in.

“I know why you don’t have money, Atticus, even though you work hard. You’ve been helping your sister out, and it’s not fair that you should miss an opportunity because of your kindness.” She handed me a white envelope. “I want you to take this.”

Are you kidding me?I peeked inside. It was filled with cash.

“Two-thousand dollars,” she said. “That’s the admission fee, right?”

Whoa.I could barely breathe right now. “Nicole, this is the sweetest thing anyone has ever tried to do for me. But I absolutely cannot take this.”

“Yes, you can,” she insisted.

“Where did you even get this kind of money?”

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