“Did you say hi?”
“No, I didn’t say hi. He won’t know who I am. I can’t just go up to him and remind him I met him once, that’s so embarrassing. Please come and reintroduce us.”
“I’ll be right there,” I promised. If she’d had any idea that only yesterday he’d been lying on her bed, she would have died.
She led me to him, in the front room, where the crowd was thickening. Where chatter was loud and wine was being swilled and Georgia and Rose were lurking off to the side, trying to play it cool while waiting for their introduction. Lulit was showing him one of Joanna’s pieces: a bold lifeguard tower, shadowed by Ben-Day dots in sunset colors, rendered on a large slab of wood.
I caught his eye as I approached him, and the expression on his face was pure sex, and I knew we were not going to make it through the night without one of us fucking up.
“Hi.”
“Hi.” He smiled.
“You came.”
“I came.”
Lulit smiled knowingly. “I am going to leave you two alone, yes. I have people to flatter, art to sell. Hayes, can I get you a drink? Wine? Water?”
“No, thank you. I’m fine.”
“Well, if you need anything, don’t be shy. Although I’m sure this woman will take good care of you.”
“I don’t doubt she will.”
I leaned in to kiss him the second she stepped away, one of those double-sided French cheek kisses, which was something I’d never done with him before and which felt so awkward and foreign that we both started to laugh. But I could feel it: people watching him, watchingus. Including the newly minted teenager just beyond my shoulder. The one who would later sleep at her friend’s house, completely oblivious to the fact that her mother was engaging in unspeakable acts with one-fifth of the world’s greatest boy band, just down the hall from her pink-and-white bedroom. Keep calm and carry on, indeed.
“Hayes, do you remember my daughter, Isabelle?”
“Isabelle. I believe I do.”
“Hi, Hayes.” Isabelle was divided between offering up the biggest smile of her life and hiding her braces.
“How have you been?” He hugged her, and she visibly turned to mush, her arms folding in at her sides, her hands not knowing quite where to go.
Oh, if she knew… If she knew…
“I can’t believe you’re here.”
“I’m here.” He placed his hand atop her head. “I think you’re taller. Are you taller?”
She nodded, beaming up at him.
Something fluttered in my chest. Something like betrayal.
“And you brought your friends?” Hayes continued, sticking to the script.
Rose and Georgia had sidled up to us. I reintroduced them to their idol and watched as they fawned.
“Congratulations on your VMA,” Georgia blurted.
“We were really hoping you would perform,” Rose chimed in, flicking her red hair over her shoulder. According to Isabelle, she’d had it blown out earlier that day, signifying just what a big deal this evening was.
“They teased us and made us think you were going to be there, but you weren’t really there, so it was just a whole lot of Miley.”
“Ah, yes, Miley.” Hayes smiled.
“My mom doesn’t approve of that video,” Rose said. “She says she’s a bad influence and she’s putting ideas in our head.”
