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She leaned in closer to me, speaking low so that the people in the adjoining cubicles couldn’t hear. “So, how was the kiss? On a scale of 1 to 10. One is a peck on the lips, five is an average, enjoyable kiss, and ten is a five-alarm fire.”
I tapped my chin, pretending to think about it. “It started off as an eight, but then quickly morphed into a ten. I had to push him out the door before I started getting naked. He has this crazy, wonderful effect on me. I just want to jump his bones when I see him.”
She snickered. “So, all it took was some flowers and you folded? What happened to Little Miss I Don’t Need a Man?”
I slouched in my seat. “Yeah, I folded like a cheap suit. I’ve been missing him like crazy and I regretted the way I didn’t even give him a chance. But he showed up out of the blue. After all this time, he showed up. That means he must feel something for me, right? And he agreed to the two of us dating, which he doesn’t do. We hung out together and watched television for hours and we didn’t even have sex. Those are all good signs.”
She looked at me like I was insane. “Only you would think not having sex was a good thing.”
“You know what I mean, right?”
Celia tucked a dark lock of loose hair behind her ear. “What was the thing on Saturday night that he ask you to do? And why did you turn him down again?”
I’d brushed over that part of the story quickly because I knew she’d give me grief about it. “It’s a concert that he’s working at and then he was talking about attending an after-party together.” I shuddered. “There’s no way I’m going. Who wants to go to a concert by themselves, anyway? There’s only one ticket, so it’s pretty useless, but you can have it if you want it.”
“What concert is it?”
I didn’t even know. “It’s at the Shrine.” I pulled my purse out of my desk drawer and took out the envelope. I broke open the seal and pulled out the ticket and a lanyard. “What is this?”
Celia pulled them out of my hands and looked at the lanyard. “Oh, my God. An all-access pass. He must have a lot of pull.”
I was reaching for the lanyard to take a look when she shrieked like a stuck pig and then slapped a hand over her mouth.
“Quiet down,” I urged. “You’re going to get us in trouble!”
Her eyes were wide with shock. “Summer, these tickets are for the Ghost Parker concert. It’s some special concert they’re playing. The tickets were wickedly expensive, and it sold out within minutes.”
I sat back in my chair. “Scotty said it was a charity concert.”
“Ghost Parker, Sum!” She put her hand on my knee and squeezed. “Do you know who that is? They’re so hot right now.”
“Not really,” I admitted. “They sound familiar.”
“That songOkay Babe? You have to know that one. It’s on the radio all the time. You’d recognize their songs if you heard them. God, Summer. The lead singer is so hot. They’re all really hot.“ Celia fanned herself like she was overheating.
I shrugged. “You can have the ticket if you like them so much.”
She held up the all-access pass in front of my face. “You could go backstage and meet the band.”
I frowned. “I don’t want to meet the band.”
She threw up her hands in disgust. “I can’t believe you turned this down. How could you pass this up? It’s once in a lifetime. And the after-party? It’s probably going to be filled with celebrities and rich people. I’m sure Scotty went through a lot of trouble to secure this ticket for you.”
How could I make her understand? “What am I going to do at a rock concert?”
She clenched her jaw, furrowing her brow. Her lips drew down into a tight line as she sighed heavily. “I don’t know, Summer.” She forced a smile and shrugged her shoulders. “Have fun? Live a little. Why are you so scared of living life?”
“Am I really that lame?” I lowered my voice, almost whispering.
She placed her hand on my arm, the understanding in that gesture reaching far beyond words. “I get it,” she said softly. “You’ve got a few battle scars—it’s okay to be a little gun shy. But don’t let a few assholes dictate your life. Get out of your own damn shadow and enjoy yourself.”
“You think I should go?” I was hoping she’d say no, but she didn’t.
“Let me put it this way: if you don’t go, I’m going to kick your ass, girlfriend.”
Chapter 23
Summer
