River cracked up and replied, “Maybe not.”
“Just put me in as Ken and leave out the last name.”
“Okay. Done.”
River added Kennedy’s number to her contacts and sent her a text with the link to her playlist.
“I listen to music to destress, too,” Kennedy said when she received it. “Let’s compare our musical tastes, shall we?”
“Hey, I didn’t share it with you to be judged.”
Kennedy looked down at her phone and replied, “No judgement. This isn’t bad.”
“Not bad?”
“Want to see mine?”
“Your playlist?”
“The one I use to relax, yes. I have a workout one, too, if you want that.”
“Are you saying I need to work out?” River teased.
“No, I’m not saying that at all,” Kennedy replied.
River’s phone lit up, and her heart did a ridiculous little dance because she had just received two text messages from Kennedy Gannon.
Ken: For you.
The second message was a link, so River clicked on it and checked out the playlist that Kennedy used to unwind. It wasn’t all that different from her own.
“Want to listen to mine first and maybe yours after?” she suggested. “I know the ocean is pretty loud, but we can share my headphones.” River held up her headphones, pulled them out of the case, and handed one earbud to Kennedy. “Here, take one. I’ll take the other. We can still talk that way, too.”
“Okay. Sure,” Kennedy replied and put the earbud in.
River did the same before she pressed play, and they sat there in silence for a long time, just listening to the music and the ocean mix together. She hadn’t felt this at peace in a long time, and after a few songs, she turned to glance at Kennedy, who had her eyes closed, and she looked so beautiful to River that she wanted to lean over and kiss her. Instead, she turned back toward the water and focused on the music.
“Do you have any siblings?” Kennedy asked.
“I have a brother. He’s older. You?”
“Only child.”
“What’s that like?” River asked. “I’ve always had an older, annoying brother to deal with.”
“Lonely,” Kennedy replied, and when River chose not to say anything, she added, “I love my parents, but my mom started mein catalogs. Then, I was auditioning for commercials, and next thing I know, I was on a hit TV show.”
“Did you not want that?”
“Not at first. I wanted to be a normal kid, but my mom thought I had the face and the talent for the business that she never had and always wanted. My parents are fine now, but it was rough there for a while. I’ve often thought that if I had a sibling, maybe I wouldn’t be where I am now.”
“Why?”
“Because my mom would’ve focused on them instead of me, or at least, I would’ve gotten a break from time to time. I do love acting now that it’s more my choice than hers, and I miss it when I’m not working.”
“Is it weird that I miss making candy whenever I’m not working?”
Kennedy chuckled and said, “No. You just found what you love to do. I don’t think that’s weird at all. I found it, too, what I love to do. I’m just worried that I lost it.”
