Date With A Rockstar by Sarah Gagnon

Author:Sarah Gagnon
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Spencer Hill Contemporary
Published: 2015-02-14T16:00:00+00:00

TWELVE

AT THE RESTAURANT I sit at the bar instead of our usual table. I wave the attendant over and she shows me how to enter my table number into the menu screen so that the studio will pay for my smoothie. I’m so thankful I don’t have to sit at table L27. All of the other girls have become my enemies. I don’t know when the transition started, but I can’t think of them as potential friends anymore. Which really shouldn’t be any surprise to me. Not if I want Jeremy. But I can’t just go along with this staged dating plan the producers have. No one can form a real connection with an audience and cameraman spying on them. I remember Praline’s half-conscious words on the floor. Why? Oh, Jeremy, why? Clearly I’m not the only one feeling the effects of this competition.

I watch the attendant deliver drinks and shuffle leftovers into the cleaning rack below the bar. This could be my future. Though her job is probably better than what I’ll find in Boston. The girl isn’t much older than me and appears happy enough. And if she’s not happy, she’s at least not miserable.

I punch in a strawberry-blackberry smoothie and pull my scratch pad out of my pocket. I got the pad for Christmas last year and it’s almost full. The paper-thin sheets of hardened resin are bound together in a five-inch rectangle. Each piece is coated in black paint that I scratch away in patterns to reveal the golden yellow below. The girl delivers my drink and I try to forget my possible future by losing myself in pattern and design.

I order another smoothie and flip to another new page. On this one, I scratch in an outline of Jeremy’s face and peel away the black to show the curve of his smile. I should take Mom’s advice and kiss him, but I’m still so mad.

“Is that me?”

His voice startles me and I almost knock over my drink. “Jeremy,” I whisper, sucking in the word. “What are you doing here?”

“Getting a drink, same as you.” He punches his selection in and the bottles in front of us rotate around. The machine beeps and the attendant hands him the concoction.

He sniffs the dark and smoky drink.

“What is that?” I ask.

“Double shot of caffeine, one shot green plant liquor, one shot brew, and vitamin medley.”

Ew. “Does that taste good?”

“Nope.” He shakes his head, laughing, and then downs half the glass. “But it sure as hell wakes you up. I need a boost after that date from hell.”

“Didn’t you have fun this morning?”

“They had me paddling around a lake for hours. It was exhausting. I think they’re trying to make me suffer.”

“Yeah, there’s been a lot of suffering all around today.” I think back to Praline sprawled on the floor, but that image is quickly replaced with the hotness of Jeremy navigating the lake. “You do look damn good paddling without your shirt on.” Ugh, did I just blurt that out? I take another sip of my drink to hide my discomfort.

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