40. Chapter 40
Chapter 40
Sloane
I sleep late on Sunday, and I think Bryn did, too because she's in her pajamas when I shuffle into the family room with a bowl of cereal. I join her on the couch where she's watching the movie, She’s Having a Baby for the umpteenth time. She loves movies with babies and I can’t stand them. "Last night was amazing," I say to her. "Thanks again for being so cool." Sammy hops off the sofa and trots over to me for attention.
Bryn looks at me out of the sides of her eyes. "Yeah, you kept me out too late. I'm so tired."
I know she had fun going out and hanging out with us and is just giving me a hard time. "Me, too," I say as I stop petting Sammy and sit on the love seat where he joins me, "but you wanted to come along." I eat a spoonful of cereal, then say, " Wasn't Evan so nice? I couldn't believe it."
"Uh-huh," she says. "He was nice alright, and he was totally flirting with you."
I cock my head, my spoon hovering over my bowl. "No, he wasn’t."
"Sure," she says with a laugh.
“He just seemed like a nice guy,” I say as I take a bite of cereal.
“Uh-huh,” Bryn says with innuendo in her response.
I toss a throw pillow at her. “It wasn’t like that with me.” I say. “Those girls who were in the room when we got there probably spent the night," I tell my sister as I think about last night. "Besides, I'm dating Ky, and I'm not that kind of girl, anyway. Plus, he's way older than me."
"Well, he was looking at you differently than everyone else.” Bryn thinks a boy likes you if he’s being nice to you, so that’s where this is coming from.
I laugh, then finish my cereal. "Well, it was fun, anyway," I tell her as I stand and take my cereal bowl into the kitchen, rinse it, and put it in the dishwasher. When I’m back in the family room, I add, “I’ll have to call Tameka and see what she and Ray thought.” They spent the night at Tameka’s house and I know her mom is happy to have her home since it’s always been just the two of them.
After I shower and dress, I grab my journal and sit on my bed. I write down every detail about meeting Evan Dando. I still can't believe how nice he was, and that he invited us to hang out. And, he serenaded us! I write so fast that my hand cramps up. I'm trying to remember every detail so someday I can look back at this and recall what was officially the best night of my life so far. The phone rings as I'm writing and after a moment, I hear Bryn holler for me.
"Sloane! Lover boy is on the phone," Bryn calls up to me using her nickname for Ky.
I'm instantly mortified, hoping he hasn't heard her and rush to grab the phone beside my bed. "Hey!" I say as I pick up the phone.
"Hi, good lookin', how are you?" Ky's voice drips with his South Georgia accent, sending a wave of warmth through me.
I smile. "I'm good, how are you?" I ask as I lean back against the pillows on my bed.
Ky ignores me. “Lover boy, huh?” I can hear the smile in his voice.
I feel myself blush. “Oh my gosh, I was hoping you didn’t hear that.” Ky laughs through the phone. “It’s what Bryn calls you, not me, so don’t worry.”
“I think it’s pretty funny,” Ky says, then proceeds to tell me about how boring it is in Thomasville and how much his job sucks. "I'm sorry you missed The Lemonheads show," he says.
"Me, too, but the coolest thing happened." I relay the entire story to Ky.
"Wow," Ky responds, but there's a tone in his voice I can't identify. "That's crazy. So, he was pretty nice?"
"So nice," I say, a bit too enthusiastically.
"Well, he's a rock star, and you're a beautiful girl…"
And there it is. I realize what he’s thinking. "So, he can't just be a nice person?"
Ky huffs out a laugh. "He's a guy. A rock star. I don't think he was just being nice."
I bristle at this and sigh audibly. "Well, he was nice." I pause. "To all of us." I think back to last night and either I’m na?ve, or everyone else is jumping to assumptions.
"Sloane?" I hear Ky say as my mind drifts.
"Yeah, sorry," I say. "Well, he didn’t do anything weird. Besides I wasn't thinking of him that way because I have you." And he’s a rock star who certainly has girls throwing themselves at him all the time. I’m not interested in that, and Ky should know I’m not that kind of girl.
Ky's tone changes noticeably when I say this. "I'm glad," he says sweetly. "How would I stand a chance against a rock star?"
"Oh, please, you don't need to worry about that," I reassure him.
"Good, because I got a bit worried when my girlfriend told me she went to a rock star's hotel room."
I can tell by his tone that he needs a bit more reassurance. "Oh my gosh, it wasn't like that at all." I laugh. "Tameka and Ray knew how bummed I was that I had to miss the show, and when I told them Evan gave out his hotel info on the radio, they suggested we go down there. You know I would never have gone there by myself, and I wouldn't have gone to try to hook up with him, right?"
Ky waits a beat, then says, "Yeah, I know." But I'm not sure I believe him and it makes me mad that he would think I would loosen my morals for a rock star.
I realize a change of subject would help us both. "I'm so excited that Spring Break is coming up. Do you think you'll be able to come see me for a couple of days?" I ask hopefully.
"I hope so, it would be so good to see you," he says, then adds, "but it all depends on work and when I'm scheduled."
My heart sinks a little because I've been thinking about how awesome it would be to hang out with him on the beach and watch the sunset in his arms. "I hope so, too," is all I can say.
"Don't be disappointed if I can't make it," Ky says. "Between work and school, it’s tough, and I know prom is important to you."
I feel myself brighten a little. "It is," I say. "My mom and I are going dress shopping next weekend." I feel the excitement course through me. "I know you're always coming up here. I just figured if you could swing it, I'd be really close to your neck of the woods."
"I know," Ky says. "I'll try. You know I would love to come to the beach and wrap my arms around you."
Warmth runs through me when he says this. "I know," I say softly. "It's so hard not being in the same place."
"Yeah, it is," Ky says.
I really like Ky, and it's so cool having a boyfriend, even if he lives four hours away, but the distance is tough, and our conversations are getting kind of dull. Sometimes Ky just says stuff that's, well, I guess immature for his age. While he's only two years older than me, I think I have more interesting conversations with Kurt and Tyler. Heck, even Billy, although most of our conversations are joking and silly. I think I’m also still irritated that he seemed to question what I said about meeting Evan.
"Sloane?" I hear through the phone.
"Sorry, I'm here," I say, realizing that it was probably a shock to hear that I was in a rock star’s hotel room last night. I guess that would intimidate the heck out of me if the roles were reversed. No, I know it would. "At least you'll be here for prom in May," I say. I start to get excited thinking about going to prom with Ky on my arm and hanging out with my friends.
"Do you," he pauses, "think we should get a hotel room for prom?"
I feel a lump form in my throat and my pulse quickens. "You know I'm not ready for that yet," I reply as my heart pounds. We've talked about this before and I told Ky that I would tell him when I was ready. I'm totally not ready.
The line is quiet for a moment. "Do you think you'll ever be ready?"
I huff out a laugh, "Um, yeah, someday, but I'm not ready now." I feel defensive immediately.
"I know you'll be ready someday, but I mean," he pauses, "do you think you'll be ready…with me?"
I'm totally caught off-guard. "Uh, yeah, of course," I say and hope I sound convincing because I'm not so sure I'm telling the truth.