Chapter 21
Friends in Low Places
Avideo call connects, and I wonder if Sam’s calling Jude to talk me into this nonsense. He already tried. And I did help. I fed Sam and helped with the songs. I should be off the hook now.
“Samuel Elias! My baby boy! What are you up to tonight?” I hear a mature feminine voice that sounds familiar, but the screen is angled away from me.
“Hey, Aunt Judy! You look so pretty! Did you get your hair done?”
That. Dirty. Rat.
“I sure did! You always notice the little things. Where are you, boy?” she asks affectionately, proving Sam’s charms are effective on females of all ages.
“I’m with my most bestest friend, Lucy. I’m trying to convince her to sing with me and play a tiny little bit of guitar at my gig tomorrow, but she doesn’t think she’s good enough. How can we convince her to go with me? You know I don’t like to travel alone.”
The BS is strong with this one.
“You’ve got Lucy? Jude’s Lucy?” she says with delight.
“Yes, ma’am. We’re at her mom’s house. She’s right here.” Sam lowers his gaze and smiles smugly at how she refers to me. I roll my eyes as he stretches his arm out, and I scoot closer to say hi.
My heart skips when a familiar faded Braves hat and smirky half smile appear over Aunt Judy’s shoulder. Jude rests my favorite forearms on the back of the sofa where she sits and I can’t stop myself from grinning right back.
Oh, I miss his face.
I don’t have to say a word. We can have a whole conversation with our eyes and the slightest quirk of our lips. Ugh. I’m not going to win this.
Aunt Judy sees my eyes roam behind her, and glances back at Jude. “Samuel, I don’t like you traveling alone either, and Lucy, you do have a lovely voice. I do hope you’ll use it whenever you have the opportunity. I can’t speak to her confidence on guitar. What do you say, Jude?”
Yes, Jude, what do you say? Because you didn’t tell me about any of this, and we talked for over an hour.
“I know it’s a big step, Punk, but you can do this.”
Not the eye contact. Stop it!
No, don’t.
“I haven’t practiced in months, and my guitar’s at the townhouse,” I say with an edge of panic. Why can’t I blink when he stares at me like this?
“All right, then just sing. You and Sam sing all the time. Please?” He’s still giving me the grin I can’t refuse.
Sam adds, “Maybe some time management? A little percussion? Help setting up?” He rushes to tack on all he can while Jude’s presence sedates me.
“Looks like y’all handled the setup just fine,” I mumble, and Jude’s grin turns devious.
Aunt Judy clearly works for the enemy. “I know it doesn’t help you today, Lucy, but if you’d like some lessons in the future, I’d be happy to work with you so you’ll feel more confident next time.”
“Thank you. I’d love that, but I can’t imagine a next time. I don’t know where the idea for this time came from.”
Jude pleads directly into my eyes. “Stage management and singing would really help, Lu. Jace and I both have to work, and it’s hard to do it alone.”
He knows what he’s doing.
“Whose bright idea was this?” I ask.
They glance at each other then look away as if they’re debating whether to tell me, but Jude speaks first. “Well, we didn’t know the whole situation until you were already gone, so it wasn’t—"
“Jace,” Sam blurts.
“Oh, what-EV-er. He wasn’t serious.” I sigh, rolling my eyes. “You know he’s full of crap. Sorry, Aunt Judy.”
“Quite all right, sweetheart.” She grins knowingly. “I’ve seen him in action.”
Jude studies my face sincerity in his expression. “He said, word for word, that you get stronger and we sound better every time you sing with us, and you’re solid on the few chords you know. I agree with him.”
Sam nudges me. “Me too.”
“Help us out?” Jude asks.
You mean, would I walk to Canada and back barefoot in a blizzard for you? I think we all know the answer.
“No guitar. No percussion,” I say flatly, not taking my eyes off Jude.
“I think babysitting Samuel and singing on a few hours’ notice is quite enough, don’t you, boys?” Aunt Judy adds.
“Hey!” Sam scoffs.
“You’ll be just like a blond Donny and Marie! Oh, I hope you will, Lucy.” She beams.
Thanks to my grandmother, I do know who Donny and Marie are. I’d laugh if I wasn’t scared to death. Aunt Judy asks Sam what type of gig and how many songs, and they begin talking about what instruments he brought with him.
Terrifying. All of it.
Jude tips his head down to remove his hat, raking his hair back, then flips it backward with the banded arm, causing me to suck in the most obvious breath when he leans a little closer to the screen. I pinch the bridge of my nose and scrunch my eyes closed.
That was completely unnecessary. When I open my eyes, he’s doing the smoldering stare thing, and our dance begins. I give him a squinty glare and the tiniest hint of a headshake to let him know he can’t play me with a hat flip. It’s … it’s like extortion or something.
And it’s totally working.
His hazel eyes swirl with fire, and a savage smirk hides just behind them.
Words? Goodness. I used to know some.
My lips twitch to suppress a smile as I slowly twirl a piece of my hair and glide my fingers down a strand, pulling it across my cheek to remind him I know his weakness. I can play this game too.
He nods almost imperceptibly, shifting his eyes away to take a breath before returning my gaze with a subtle grin as if to concede the point.
Sam reaches an arm around me and leans in. “Ya okay there?” he whispers in my ear with obvious amusement. “Huh?” I jump when I realize he’s inches from my face, knowing he can read it like a billboard, so I elbow him in the ribs.
“Ahem.” Jude clears his throat, directing a murderous expression at Sam.
“What?” Sam laughs at him.
Aunt Judy glances back and smacks Jude’s arm.
“Stop, you two. You’re asking for her day off. What does she get in return?”
“Sam provides your caffeine. You’ll be the passenger princess all the way,” Jude says.
“Are y’all telling my mom that I’ll be ditching her on the one day I’m here? Also, Sammy, if I do this, you’re going with me to see my dad.”
“Yes! I can do that!” He pumps a fist in the air.
“He thinks he won something. That’s cute,” I say fighting the cynicism my dad brings out in me.
“Wait, is that bad?” he asks.
“How do you feel about dental procedures?” I snark at him and then back to Jude’s concerned expression.
He doesn’t know everything, but he knows enough, and he reads my face well.
He pulls out his phone, and in seconds my phone vibrates under my leg.
I slide it out inconspicuously to see a single koala emoji.
I didn’t know there was a koala emoji, but that’s exactly what I want right now. I bite my lip, trying not to react too much when my eyes meet his again.
Aunt Judy instructs Sam to listen when he sings so he doesn’t drown me out, which just adds to the absurdity because it’s his gig and this isn’t a choir. I wonder if she knows we sing together all the time, just never for real—the two of us on our own.
And how can she see me sitting right up against Sam at my mom’s house and still call me Jude’s Lucy. I mean, I guess I all but confessed to … well, I don’t know exactly what, but she’s not shocked to see us together.
I feel my phone again, and I glance at it.
Jude Daniel (Take a Sad Song and Make it Sexy Crawford: Sorry, Lu. I’ll go with you next time if you want.
If he wants to take a road trip, I’m all in, but surely, we can find somewhere better to go. I’m texting him exactly that when I look up and meet his eyes again. I’m looking for the playful grin, but it’s gone. Only a soft gaze before he looks back at his phone.
I look down to see his reply and hear Sam say, “I don’t know what’s taking them so long. Lock it down or stop holding up the line.” I grimace slightly as his arm around me squeezes tighter.
Aunt Judy is laughing and, Heaven help me, I think she said something like, “shirt off and she’ll agree to anything.” They’re cackling when I look up and realize they’re watching Jude and I text each other.
Jude casually scratches an eyebrow with his middle finger. My sentiments exactly, Sam.
“Huh?” I ask again in a very classy sort of way.
Jude straightens up behind Aunt Judy, her eyes brimming with laughter.
“All right, I need to get home.” Jude says, rolling his shoulders and stretching his back after leaning forward for several minutes.
“Someone needs a smoke detector battery changed. Love you, Aunt J. You two, be careful tomorrow. Sam, I mean you. If you drop Skittles while you’re driving, leave them. ”
“Lu Lu can feed ’em to me so I don’t drop any,” he taunts.
“Knock it off,” Jude warns, but I’m not sure why. This is level one Sam. Harmless.
“You did this,” I mouth to Jude, watching his playful grin return. He taps the side of his head and subtly points at me. A kiss on the head. That was all for me.
I watch with full-on jealousy as he hugs Aunt Judy while we all say our goodbyes and end the call.
“Sam, that was low.”
He wraps his arms around me with less force than his usual attack hug. “I know. But I like watchin’ my theory prove itself,” he says with a satisfied sigh.
“What theory?”
“The theory that you’ll do anything for him.” His hug tightens, but I don’t wiggle away like I usually do.
“Obviously, I’d do anything for you too since I just agreed to this nonsense,” I argue.
“You do a lot for me, but I wouldn’t have won this time.”
“You called Aunt Judy on me! How was that fair?” I lightly pop his arm.
“I never play fair, Smalls. Don’t ya know me at all?” We laugh for a minute, and he kisses my head with a loud smack like someone else does. “I heard you needed that.”
“I’ll bet you did.” I squint my eyes, knowing he’s mimicking Jude.
“Cross my heart.” He holds up his phone to show me the message banner across his screen.
Danny: Kiss her head for me. Then leave and stop smothering her.
I stare at the message until my eyes blur, and Sam’s too quiet for my comfort.
“I’m in a mess, Sammy,” I say almost in a whisper.
“I know. But we’re gonna have fun tomorrow, and y’all are gonna figure it out.
Sleep in and take your time. I’ll stay at Cade’s tonight, and we’ll leave around three tomorrow afternoon.
Go call him.” He stands and pulls me off the couch.
“Don’t worry about the gig. Just follow my lead and do what we always do. The crowd’s gonna love you.”
The word crowd is not a word I want to hear.
“Everyone loves you. I plan to remain anonymous,” I tell him.
“We’ll see.”
“You’re over a foot taller than me. I can be invisible.”
“I guess we’ll find out. Get some sleep.” We slap hands and bump shoulders, or more like my shoulder to his elbow. “Love you, Lu Lu. I’ll text you when I’m on my way tomorrow.”
“Love you too. Be safe.”
“I will. Go call your man and distract him from being mad at me.”
“Why would he be mad?” I ask, knowing we’ll start talking all over again, and he grins because I didn’t correct him.
“The couch? I had my arm around you, and one time I, you know … I leaned. Also, the you can feed me Skittles comment. He was not happy.” He laughs again, so proud to be a menace.
“Really? I don’t even notice that stuff. It’s just you.”
“Ouch.” He mock-stabs himself in the heart.
“I mean, you’re always like that,” I clarify.
He shrugs. “True.”
“You know, if you ever genuinely like one girl, you’ll have to treat her differently than every other girl or she won’t take you seriously.”
“I know, but it’s scary. What if I decide she ain’t right for me, or she decides I’m too much for her.
What if she’s a friend who’s used to dudes flirtin’ with her all the time, and she doesn’t realize I’m serious?
” He raises one eyebrow at me and pokes my side.
“It could happen. Either way, somebody gets rejected and somebody gets hurt. I ain’t ready for all that,” he says, taking an introspective turn I never see coming.
“But you’re the one who said all the take the jacket off stuff!”
“And I mean it, but it still sucks. Nobody wants to be the bad guy.”
“This is why you’re my favorite. You get it. And you’re going to be the best thing to ever happen to some very lucky girl one day. I’ll probably hate her a little.”
“I’ll tell her you’re my sister and make it so weird.” He grins.
“You better.”
“Love you, Squirrel.”
“Love you back, Moose.”
“Kiss right here?” He points to his cheek.
“Get out.”