Page 259 of Rock Me All Night
"It will be good to have you around," I say.
"Aren't you working at your mom's company in San Francisco?" she asks.
"Maybe." Deep breath. This doesn't need to be a secret. "I got into a teaching program at UCLA. For English."
"You have to do that." Meg turns to me. She grabs my shoulders and stares right in my eyes. "Screw the boy bullshit. You'll make a perfect English teacher. And you hate finance."
"I do." I check my reflection again. Add a little eyeliner and dark lipstick and I look like the perfect groupie.
We'll be at a show. There will be musicians there. They will flirt.
And if Drew really is around, well, I'm sure he'll get jealous.
Meg's plan is simple but effective.
"You want to talk about it?" she asks.
"No," I say. "I want to make this happen."
She checks her reflection. "I think a skirt. Better to convince my pervert to drag me to the car to have his way with me."
"Does he need convincing?"
"No." She blushes. "But it will be easier in a skirt." She takes a look at me. "There's no way Drew is going to think anything butneed girl now."
I laugh. "That's a very flattering impression."
She steps into the dressing room then emerges in a short denim skirt. "I've been working on it."
* * *
The club is throbbingwith the heavy beat of a rock song. There's a band on stage—four guys with dark hair and dark clothes. They're no Sinful Serenade, but they're not half-bad.
Meg hooks her arm with mine. It's alarming how much we've swapped roles. I am supposed to be the one giving makeovers and pep talks. I am supposed to be the one who drags her out to have fun, who meddles in her love life to fix it.
I suppose there's not much meddling left to do now that she's found the one. A silly concept I know, but I can't get it out of my head.
We push through the crowd, until we're in the most well-lit part of the mosh pit slash dance floor. There's a VIP upstairs area. No sign of any of the Sinful boys. Likely they're up there, shrouded in the dark.
The song picks up. I sway my hips and throw my arms over my head. I'm desperate to burn off some energy, to distract myself from that nagging feeling in my gut telling me how fucked things are with Drew.
So much for falling in love with my best friend and living happily ever after. The guy is a rock star. It's way too good to be true.
The singer has a throaty, breathy voice. If my body wanted anything besides Drew, I'd find it sexy. But my poor, stupid body is desperate for Drew. Nothing else will do.
Maybe it will subside in time.
Meg dances with enthusiasm. She jumps up and down. She whispers in my ear and motions to the corner of the room. "I think I see the Guitar Prince himself."
"Did I miss this nickname?"
"It's a band thing. I think it's behind Drew's back." She waves to the guy standing next to me. "Hey, have you met my friend, Kara? She loves dancing."
I shake my head. Girl couldn't be more obvious, but she's trying.
I turn back to the guy. I barely register him. It's like my body is flashing with a sign that saysnot Drew.That's all that matters. He's not Drew so who the hell cares?
Still, I throw my arms over my head and I dance. The guy is polite enough to keep his distance. More or less.
