Page 253 of Rock Me All Night
Drew: You have any idea what you do to me? I can barely concentrate on playing. My hands don't want to do anything but touch you.
Does he have any idea what he does tome?
I tap a reply.
Kara: On my way.
I put the address into my maps application and follow it mindlessly. Ten minutes pass, and my phone buzzes with another flurry of text messages. I keep my eyes and attention on the road, my hands on the wheel or the gear shift.
The texts sure are damn tempting.
There's a smattering of traffic on the 10. The 110 and 101 are a crawl. It's far enough into the afternoon that I'm brushing up against rush hour. But, then again, rush hour is a constant state in Los Angeles.
I pull off the freeway. My phone buzzes. Another flurry. Almost there. I park outside the studio. It's a rundown little street in Hollywood. The concrete is dirty. The buildings are dark and covered with posters for concerts.
It's very rock and roll.
I'm more out of place than I'd like to be. I'm usually good at blending in, but I just don't wear my jeans and t-shirt in a very rock and roll way.
My phone rings again. Drew's never this impatient. Is it really possible he wants me around this badly?
I answer. "Hey."
"Kara, sweetie."
Crap. That's not Drew. It's my mom.
"Hey Mom," I say. "How are you doing?"
Her voice sinks. "Did you get my message?"
"Yeah, absolutely. It sounds like we have a really busy break." I bite my tongue. I have to find a way to tell her without crushing her.
"I'm taking Friday off. We can go to Napa for the weekend."
"That would be nice." I take a deep breath, willing it to fill me with confidence. It doesn't.
"I was thinking you could take your old room. Rents in the bay are getting so expensive." Her voice brightens. "It would be great having you at home."
Yeah, and it will be awful having me away.
It will be awful if I tell her no.
"Maybe," I say. "I haven't thought about it."
"There's always a place for you here, sweetie."
If I do it fast... like a Band-Aid. I take a deep breath. "I..." And I stall. "What if I didn't start immediately? I'm, um, I'm really liking Los Angeles and I think it would be nice to spend the summer here."
"Oh." The happiness drains from her voice.
It's like I just punched her in the gut.
Like I told her I go around beating puppies.
"If that's what you want," she says. "But Sugar and Spice would love to have you right away. You're going to be so great for the team."
Of course. It's not just Mom who needs me. It's the whole damn team.
