Phone Calls From a Rock Star (6 page)

“
Yes, Jake,” I said with a
grin. “I got ya.”

“
I mean it,” he
threatened.

“
I know. Go take a nap.
Break a leg tonight and all that other stuff.”

He barked out a short laugh. “I’ll talk to
you later. Take care of yourself.”

I ended the call, stupid smile still on my
face, but it fell faster than a sprinter at the pistol shot when I
turned to find the flabbergasted faces of Annie and Cammy. They
rose from the other bed in perfect unison and continued to gape at
me.

“
Who was that?” Cammy
asked.

Such a simple question with a not so simple
answer. I bit my lip. “My friend, Jake.”

“
Who is Jake?” Cammy
continued.

“
My friend.” Okay, not the
snappiest of answers but I was under pressure.

Annie folded her arms over her chest in a
matronly manner. “Um hmm and where did you meet your friend
Jake?”

“
What’s his last name?”
Cammy asked.

I was so busted. I did want to tell them
about my adventure with Jake but I was afraid they wouldn’t believe
me - I still didn’t think Seth totally believed me. But, they were
my best friends and something this big was not the sort of thing I
could keep from them. I took a deep breath. “I met him at the
concert. Well, after the concert, actually.”

“
His last name?” Cammy
persisted.

I chanced a quick glance at Annie whose eyes
were narrowed and trained on my face. “Johnson,” I whispered.

Cammy cocked her head. “Jake Johnson? That’s
so funny! I can’t believe you met a Jake Johnson at a Controlled
Environment concert when Jake Johnson is the name of the lead
singer.”

Annie’s arms fell same time as her jaw. She
gawked at me like a goldfish that had jumped out of its bowl and
landed on the carpet. “Jake Johnson?”

I nodded quickly, gnawing frantically on my
bottom lip. I hoped I had enough lip balm to repair the damage.

“
The
Jake Johnson?” Annie gasped.

I nodded again. Annie screeched and I
winced, covering my ears. Cammy’s eyes finally grew as the
realization hit her. “Oh! So it wasn’t a different Jake Johnson? It
was the Jake Johnson from Controlled Environment?”

I nodded for the third time. Cammy’s shrieks
joined Annie’s as they each grabbed one of my arms and yanked me in
a sitting position on Cammy’s bed. They pelted me with questions so
quickly I couldn’t answer them. I finally had to hold up my hands
to end the inquisition. “Okay, stop! I’ll tell you what happened if
you’ll shut up, please!”

They both zipped their lips and waited,
bodies tense and eyes nearly leaping from their sockets. I sucked
in a breath and told them the entire story. Their eyes turned from
excited and surprised to a glaring anger by the time I
finished.

“
Why didn’t you tell us
this immediately?” Cammy asked.

“
You just got here,” I
defended, jabbing a finger in her direction. She couldn’t fault me
there.

“
But I was here yesterday,”
Annie said. Okay, so she could fault me. But really, I wasn’t sure
I wanted anyone to know. I mean, I did, but I didn’t. What if it
got out? Was that night something Jake wanted on the entertainment
websites? In gossip magazines? I didn’t think so.

“
I wasn’t sure if you’d
believe me,” I admitted in a soft voice. “It’s a really strange
story.”

“
Of course we believe you,
you idiot,” Cammy beamed. She squeezed my hand. “Wow. I can’t
believe you actually
know
Jake Johnson!” Her eyes grew and sparkled. “Wait
until everyone hears!”

“
No!” I shot to my feet,
startling them both with my shout. “I don’t want anyone to know. I
don’t want people bugging me about meeting Jake.”

“
Want to keep him to
yourself, huh?” Annie grinned. Sure, it was selfish but I
did
want to keep him to
myself. He was
my
friend. No one else was there that magical night. Jake and I
had bonded in a way I didn’t think I ever could with anyone else. I
didn’t know a whole lot about him but I felt like I
knew
him. No, I didn’t
want to share.

“
I just don’t want anyone
to know right now.”

They both nodded. “You know we won’t,” Annie
vowed.

Cammy’s eyes grew serious.
“I can’t believe he
kissed
you!”

***

I dropped my backpack on the table with a
loud thump. Cammy and Annie eyed me fretfully as I plopped in a
chair and hid my face in my arms. It was only the first Wednesday
of the school year, and already I had a ton of homework. Most of it
was Calculus, which was definitely not my strongest subject.

“
What’s the problem,
Bella?” Cammy asked. I peeked at her and grimaced as she chewed on
something unidentifiable. Not like I wanted to identify it.
Gross.

“
I hate school,” I mumbled,
hiding my eyes again.

“
But it’s only the first
week,” Annie said. I peered at her, preparing to give her a
menacing one-eyed glare, but the food on her tray caught my
attention. Roast beef sandwiches, salad, fruit. Yay. No junk food
today.

I sighed one of my infamous Drama Club sighs
and heaved my body from my chair. I stumbled to the food line and
piled my tray with various things. When I returned, I plunked my
tray on the table and picked up my fork.

“
I can’t wait for this
weekend. I’m leaving campus and eating all things greasy and
yummy.”

“
You’re going to have a
heart attack before you turn twenty-five,” Cammy chastised as she
took a dainty bite of her salad. I stuck my tongue out at her just
as Lance and Dean placed their trays on the other side of the
table.

“
How’s the first week
going, girls?” Lance asked. He smiled, flashing beautifully perfect
teeth. My mind turned to mush.

“
Great,” Annie said as she
kicked me under the table.

“
Ow,” I cried. Glaring, I
fought the temptation to throw my apple at her head. “What was that
for?”

Lance turned his smile on me, and I forgot
that I wanted to injure my best friend. “Did you get that Calculus
assignment done yet?”

I was fortunate enough to have Lance in my
Government and Calculus classes. “It was just assigned about ten
minutes ago,” I blurted. Annie’s toe struck my shin again. I opened
my mouth to chastise her, but the firm look in her eyes stopped me.
“But I’ll get to it tonight.”

Chuckling, Lance and I discussed the
assignment until Krysti’s shrill laughter distracted him. I glanced
over my shoulder and spotted her giggling and flirting with Kevin
Albertson. I honestly didn’t know what she could possibly see in
him. He was cute, true, but he was also severely lacking in the
brains department.

“
So, Lance,” Annie said,
bringing his attention back to our table. “Are you going to the
Fall Festival?”

He frowned and the grooves in his forehead
deepened. “Not sure. I probably will.”

“
Who are you taking to the
dance?” Cammy innocently asked. I nearly took a page from Annie’s
book and kicked Cammy under the table - Lance just broke up with
his girlfriend, after all. Instead, I took a bite out of my
sandwich.

“
Maybe I’ll take Bella,
here,” Lance said with a grin.

I choked. It wasn’t pretty. I could actually
feel my face turn purple. Lance rushed around the table and whacked
me on the back as I managed to swallow the food constricting my
airway. I attempted a weak smile as I took the juice he offered and
sipped it slowly.

“
Are you okay?” His dark
eyes were laced with concern. I only nodded, not trusting my mouth.
“Good. So, how about it? Do you want to go to the dance with
me?”

Did he even have to ask? Well, okay, I guess
he did. I mean, I don’t think he could read my mind. Oh, imagine if
he could! He’d run, screaming, as fast as he was able. Annie nudged
me and halted my internal rambling. “Um, sure. I’d like that.”

My idiotic friends were positively glowing.
I would have hit them if I hadn’t been positively glowing
myself.

“
Great,” he said as he gave
me a wink. My heart pounded in my chest, and I prayed he couldn’t
hear it. “I’ll talk to you later. I need to get to
class.”

He stood, tray in hand, and smiled once more
before sauntering off to the garbage cans, Dean trailing him.

“
I told you he was
interested,” Annie said proudly.

“
Oh, Bella, you’re going to
need a smashing new outfit,” Cammy stated.

“
This is it, Bella. This is
going to be your year,” Annie proclaimed.

What did I just get myself into?

Chapter Five

Groaning, I dropped my shopping bags and
fell to my bed. Shopping with Cammy and Annie was plain murder.
They did have more of an eye for fashion that was for sure, but I
was far more comfortable in an old pair of jeans and a t-shirt.

The Fall Festival consisted of a bonfire
Friday night and a dance Saturday night. It wasn’t a formal event
so it wasn’t necessary to purchase fancy gowns. Annie and Cammy had
settled on a white skirt that covered my knees and a deep green,
thin sweater that they claimed brought out the color of my eyes.
They forced me to try on pair after pair of shoes until deciding
that one inch heels would be perfect. I was sure they’d be perfect
for breaking my ankle.

Although I tried to hide
it, I was actually excited and edgy. Lance had taken to walking me
to nearly all my classes. He was fun and flirty and always laughed
at my nervous rambling. But each time I looked up at his face and
caught his gaze, my heart went wild. I began to believe that Annie
could be right – this
was
going to be my year.

I hung my new clothes in my closet next to
the polo shirts I had to wear to class. Our school emerged from the
dark ages years ago and adopted a new uniform of khaki pants and
navy blue polo shirts with the school’s crest embroidered on them.
It was much, much better than the plaid skirts the poor saps had to
wear before I ever started here.

I hadn’t talked to Jake in
over a week. I did call to tell him about Lance asking me to the
dance. He had said he was thrilled, but his voice hadn’t been very
convincing. He’d sounded tired, and I was glad he was on a short
break. I knew he was in Chicago this week, spending time with his
family. I hoped he was able to rest and relax before hitting the
road again. Still, I was a little put out that he hadn’t taken a
second to call me and let me know how things were going. My
birthday was fast approaching, and I hadn’t forgotten his promise.
I wondered if he had. I knew it wasn’t possible for him to take me
for that Big ‘Un Friday because of the Festival or Saturday because
of the dance, but there was always Sunday. And, I really wanted to
see him again. I think my brain wanted verification that that night
had actually happened, and the Jake I spoke to frequently was
really
that
Jake.

My friends and I had taken to watching VTV
while doing our homework each night. I’d stop when one of
Controlled Environment’s videos came on so I could watch Jake
intently. He seemed like a totally different person than the one I
had spent an entire evening with a few weeks ago. Of course Annie
and Cammy would giggle and nudge me and watch me watch Jake. Talk
about irritating.

After I hung up my new purchases, I wandered
down to Cammy’s room. Annie was there helping coordinate jewelry. I
stifled a groan and an eye roll as I plopped on the empty bed. I
did like being a girl, but I didn’t like being all girly-girl.

I watched them compare necklace and earring
ensembles for about ten minutes before I grew terribly bored.
Huffing, I stood, glaring at them both. They dropped the jewelry
sheepishly and smiled. I took one of each of their hands and
dragged them from the room. I led them to the Student Center to see
if anything was happening. There wasn’t much to do in the tiny,
nearby town on a Sunday so most of the students sat around the
tables in the Center and talked or munched on snacks from the
machine. We had a couple of pool tables, a foosball table and a big
screen television at our disposal.

Lance and Dean were taking
advantage of one of those pool tables when we entered. I nervously
smoothed down my shirt, grateful that Annie had forced me into my
best pair of jeans and a nice tank top. I did have
some
curves under my
bulky clothes, and I wanted Lance to notice. Shallow much? Maybe
so, but I’d been in love with Lance since our freshman
year.

Cammy sidled up to Dean and batted her long,
thick eyelashes. I wondered briefly if I should do the same to
Lance. I decided not to because I was positive if I did, I’d look
like I had something in my eye. Not the least bit attractive.

“
Do you want to play pool,
Bella?” Lance asked as he gestured to me. My mind turned to mush as
my feet moved slowly to his side.

“
I’m not very good,” I
admitted.

He smiled, and I was nearly certain the
overhead lights glinted off his teeth. “That’s okay—I’ll help. Me
and you against Cammy and Dean.”

Cammy’s face lit up brighter than Lance’s
smile while my insides turned cartwheels. Dean racked the balls
while Lance chalked a stick. He hit the cue ball and sent the
others flying all over the table. Two fell in the pockets and he
motioned for me to his side of the table. He positioned me in front
of him and handed me a stick. He placed his hands over mine and I
hoped my trembling wouldn’t cause the stick to shake. His chin was
just above my shoulder as he whispered instructions in my ear. A
pleasant chill ran up my spine, and I found it very difficult to
concentrate on his words.