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Our eyes met.
She smiled, mischief in her gaze. As if she and I had just spotted each other across the room at a club meeting for a group neither of us knew the other was a part of. My stomach dropped, and my grip tightened around my chilled glass.
Oh God. She’s here.
I quickly spun around, facing Sean again, and like a scared boy at a middle school dance, I pretended to not notice the girl I had a raging crush on.
Chapter Five
Kat
Jonah had been sneaking glances at me since the moment he noticed I was in the room, and he was being so obvious that even Becca picked up on it.
Halfway through Calvin’s set, while he was taking a quick break to get a drink of water and use the bathroom, my friend pinched me in the arm and pointed towards the bar.
“Okay, don’t look now, but that guy over there has been staring at you for like, the whole night.”
I laughed. “I know,” I said. “That’s Jonah.”
Her jaw dropped. “That’sJonah Hollis? As in, your boss? CEO of the company?”
“All of those things, yes.”
She went wide-eyed. “I mean, I know you said he was attractive, but you’ve got to be kidding me. I didn’t know men his age could be that hot!”
“Yeah, he’s alright,” I said with a noncommittal shrug. “If you’re into that sort of thing.”
She shoved me gently. “You are insane. Why are you playing hard to get? Go over there and talk to him. He’s clearly into you!”
“I’m not playing hard to get,” I said. “I’m just waiting for him to come to me.” I stared down into my cup so that I would have something to look at, and better avoid the urge to glance back at Jonah.
“He’s not coming to you,” Becca said. “But your brother is.” I watched as she nervously fiddled with her dress and ran her hand down the sides of her head to smooth her hair out.
Why is she acting so weird?
“Hey Calvin!” Becca said, talking a little too loudly. My brother smiled at her as he approached the table we were sitting at. Then he looked at me and the smile faded into a smirk.
“Hi,” he said to Becca, and I knew from the way he furrowed his brow that he didn’t remember her name.
“Becca,” she said.
“Becca! Right. Of course. It’s good to see you again. I haven’t seen you since you and my sister were in high school.” He looked at me. “Then again, I’ve barely even seen my sister since she was in high school.”
I felt my face get hot, but not with anger.
With shame.
“Calvin,” I said. “Let’s not get into all of this right now. You only have a short break. The first half of your set was amazing, by the way. I had no idea you could play so well.”
“Yeah, well, that’s what happens when you disappear for ten years. Other people continue on with their lives, with or without you.”
His expression was like a knife to the heart and his words were him twisting it around.
“Cal, that’s not fair.”
“No,” he said. “It wasn’t fair. You leaving wasn’t fair.” He scowled. “But hey, you were right, I don’t have time to get into this right now. I just came over here to ask you how you knew about this gig?”
I smiled. “Jonah told me about it. I would’ve preferred to hear it from you, but you have been dodging me at the office all day.” He started to look over at the bar, but I stopped him. “Don’t blame Jonah though! I would’ve found out either way. Your flyers were all over the sixth floor!”
