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Alison still gives her bangs a firm pat. I watch Vince walk into the coffee shop and glance around; I wave him over to our table.
“Hey, babe,” he says. To my surprise, he drew me close and kissed me in front of Allison. I notice that Allison’s jaw is on the floor when we part.
“You must be Allison!” Vince beams, extending a hand.
“The one and only,” Allison mumbles. Her cheeks are flushed as she takes his hand.
“It’s an absolute fuckin’ pleasure to meet you. I’m gonna grab a coffee, and then you tell me what Lynds was like when she was a kid because she refuses to tell me anything.”
Allison grins. “That I can do.”
Vince orders and returns, sitting in the chair next to me and flinging his arm around my shoulders. He seems so comfortable being out together in public. I figured there’d be paparazzi in Laurel Canyon, but he doesn’t give a shit.
Allison studies with a look of bonafide awe.
“Lynds, do you remember when we did that dance in the 5th grade talent show to “Heartbreak?” I could never forget the time Al and I choreographed a dance to the Imposter’s greatest hit. I was hoping Allison wouldn’t bring it up today.
Vince slams his hands on the table. “You didwhat?”
“It was for the fifth-grade talent show. I wanted to dance, but I was way too nervous about doing it alone. So Lyndsey agreed to be my backup dancer.”
“It was more of a duet,” I say.
“We choreographed this whole dance,” Allison continues, “In my bedroom. And we rehearsed the day before onstage just to get a feel for it. But then, the day of the show, Lyndsey— “
“I tripped over the microphone wire!” I blurt, getting it over with.
“We’re talking a total face plant. In front of the entire school.”
The barista chooses this moment to hand Vince a massive glass of iced coffee and give him a double take.
“Oh, Lynds,” Vince says.
I refuse to make eye contact.
“Wait, is that why you’re so tape-happy all the time? Every gig, Lyndsey triple-checks to make sure everything’s taped down, like all of the pedal boards and the setlist. She goes above and beyond.”
“Maybe,” I mumble, my face reddening.
Vince squeezes me. “It’s okay. I tried to perform “Blitzkrieg Bop” for my talent show in secondary school, with Henry. We got booed off the stage because they didn’t understand punk,and I didn’t understand basic chords.” Vince offers. He looks at me and smiles, and I smile back.
“But that’s not nearly as embarrassing!”
“True. Embarrassing is the time I ripped my pants in half in Glasgow.”
Allison guffaws, “Lynds, at least your pants stayed intact.”
“Now, I have two questions for you. Can you still do the splits, and do you have a copy of the video?”
“No, and I bet my mom does! Oh, shit, we should ask her to find it for Thanksgiving.”
“Priya would lose her entire mind. Priya would pay you for it. I will pay you for it. How much do you want? One thousand? Two?”
“I don’t need anything. Look at Lyndsey’s face!” Allison squeals.
Vince and Allison hit it off immediately. Time falls away as I watch the two people I love most hang out for the first time.
“So then, Lyndsey put one across, and that’s how she annihilated Henry at Connect Four!”
