Essence of Emma by Rachel Anne Jones

Author:Rachel Anne Jones [Jones, Rachel Anne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9798886530483
Publisher: Melange Books, LLC

CARE TO DANCE?

We hang out a bit. I mostly listen to JuneBug and Chad yack.

Concert time arrives, and we head to the roof by way of fire escape, feeling all James Bondish. I pay our fees at the entrance.

I shiver as the night air hits me. “I’m heading into the crowd. It’s cold up here.”

JuneBug grabs Chad’s arm. “Come on, let’s go find a drink.”

I remember what my mother said and head off in a slightly different direction to pour my own drink at the long table of snack food and refreshments. Soon enough, Ty is back. He sidles up to me slowly, leaning in. I instinctively lean the other direction. He laughs and throws up his hands. “Hey, relax. I’m just trying to talk where you can hear me, and I don’t want to shout. I don’t want to sound stuffy, but this really is more of Chad’s scene.”

His words relax me. “Same here! I mean, it’s more of JuneBug’s scene.” Ty’s eyes widen a little and he laughs some more.

“So you aren’t like groupies then?”

“Definitely not. The thought alone is mortifying.”

He smiles. “I didn’t think you looked the type.”

“Um, thanks?” I lean in and talk near his ear, as it is rather noisy. “We’re on the way to get a dog. He’s at a shelter in Buffalo and we’re picking him up tomorrow.”

He nods his head. “That’s cool. Right on. We’re in town for, um, a reading by my favorite author, um, J.R.”

I smack him in my excitement. “You gotta be kidding me! I so love his stuff.”

He shakes his head and laughs again and starts up again. “I’m not kidding. He’s like the bomb for me, in a straight literature appreciation type of way. Oh wow. This is not coming out like I wanted.”

I laugh and nod. “I totally get you. Queen of awkward situations right here.” I really like this guy. Not like-like him, of course, but we like totally mesh. “Are you on twitter? I could like talk literature—all day long.”

He holds out his phone to show me his handle. We exchange information. The crowd shifts, and I glance across the room. Everything slows down all slo-mo, like a movie. There, standing in the corner is J.R.! Noooo Wayyyyy. I reach out to Ty in my celebrity-crush stupor, like The Matrix. He’s in his phone! I keep reaching for him, but I’m starstruck. It’s like I’m dragging dead limbs against the current. Finally, I’m capable of a nudge before jerking him toward me, knocking our heads together in the process. “Dude! Get out of your phone” I shout-whisper.

He looks at me. “What?”

I can only stupidly point across the roof into the throng of people- as the night sky grows darker. “J.R. is here.”

He looks at me like I’m nuts. “You’re hilarious. That’s a really crappy joke to pull.”

I look him in the eye. “I wouldn’t kid about this. Straight up. I saw him across the room. Right here. Right now.” I grab Ty’s shirt collar and drag him through the crowd, searching.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.