Chapter 6 #2
“Surprisingly well. I crushed it. Only got two wrong.” I’d wanted to text JJ the news straightaway but figured it was better to let him reach out first. The last thing I wanted was for him to regret giving me his number.
“I feel like I should be able to cross number four off, but I have to go three months without a traffic violation before I can apply for my real license.”
On top of that, I had six behind-the-wheel sessions to complete, along with ten hours of supervised drive time.
Mom, remembering her experience teaching Stella, had volunteered Dad for the job.
Then there was my actual road test, which would probably be beyond nerve-racking, but I could worry about that later.
“That’s awesome, Cara. Congrats,” JJ replied. “With that being said, I’m a little hurt you didn’t tell me sooner. I thought I was your bucket list buddy?”
I choked at his comment. He thought I was my what?
“Sorry.” I cleared my throat. “I’ve been a bit preoccupied lately.”
“With what?” He sounded genuinely curious.
“Reconnecting with my friend Trixy. She’s the one I wrote the list with? We used to be best friends, but we had a falling-out last year.”
“Well, I suppose making up with your BFF trumps coolest member of your favorite band.” As he spoke, I could clearly picture the smirk on his face. “But if you want to get in my good graces again, I expect some major groveling.”
“Coolest?” I mock scoffed. “I don’t know about that.”
“Whoa, excuse me?”
“I’d say it’s a toss-up between Alec and Oliver. Alec because he’s the strong, silent type, and Oliver because—well, he’s Oliver.”
JJ was silent for a long second. “Holy shit,” he said at last. “Do you have a thing for him?”
“What?” I exclaimed, nearly dropping the phone in mortification. “Me? No! No, not at all. Is he attractive? I mean, yeah a little bit, but it’s a big nope-ity nope for me. He’s dating my sister.”
Oh my God. Had I really just used the phrase nope-ity nope?
“Suuure.” He snorted. “What’s that Shakespeare quote again? Something about protesting too much?”
“I’m being serious!”
“Keep telling yourself that. Maybe after the millionth time, it will actually sound convincing.”
I took a deep breath. Allowed myself a moment to accept the fact that my most closely guarded secret was out.
Then, in the most menacing voice I could muster, said, “I swear to God, JJ, if you ever repeat this conversation to Oliver or Stella or anyone else for that matter, I will disembowel you. And if by some miracle you’re still alive afterward, I will force-feed you your own intestines. Are we clear?”
“Cara, relax.” His response was soft and calm, like he was trying to soothe a startled animal, and I found it a much-needed reprieve from his usual teasing manner. “There’s no need to go all serial killer on me. I won’t say a word, I promise.”
“Okay,” I said, albeit grudgingly. “Thank you.”
“So… How long has this been going on for?” he asked, and I could tell from the quaver in his voice he was trying hard not to laugh.
“Before Stella even met you guys,” I said with a groan. “It’s not like I’m in love with the guy. I hardly know him. But he was my celebrity crush for, like, three years, and now he’s just hanging out at my house making freaking frittatas! The entire situation is beyond awkward for me.”
Not to mention weird. I was talking to a member of the Heartbreakers about my crush on another member of the Heartbreakers. What in the fan fiction heck was my life turning into?
“Well,” JJ said pointedly.
“Well what?”
“You could always pull a twin switcheroo and bang him out of your system.”
I released a long sigh and moved the phone to my other ear. “Remind me again why I’m talking to you about this?”
“Hey, if you don’t like my suggestion, that’s fine, but I don’t hear you coming up with any brilliant solutions.” He said this as if my predicament was an issue that needed to be resolved. Which it wasn’t.
“There aren’t any solutions.” So far, the whole do-nothing-and-ignore-my-feelings approach was working out just fine. Might as well stick to that. “The only thing I can do is pretend like everything is fine until I…”
“Until you what?”
“I don’t know. Find my person?”
JJ snorted. “That’s a great idea. You can add it to your list. Number seventeen: Find someone who makes me forget I want to fuck my sister’s boyfriend.”
My cheeks flamed at his words. “All right, I think I’ve had enough of your sass for today.”
“No, wait. I’m sorry,” he said, still snickering to himself. “I’ll drop it.”
“Good.” Huffing out a breath, I collapsed against my pillows. No one had shone a spotlight on my love life—or lack thereof—quite like JJ had, and I found it disconcerting. Sure, I gossiped with Willow and Stella about boys on occasion, but neither had guessed my secret. “How’s your tour going?”
“It’s fine,” he replied, and I instantly noticed the change in his tone. He sounded almost…strained? “We have three more stops on this leg. The last one is in Miami on the twenty-ninth.”
“Oh, that’s nice. How long of a break do you get?”
“Three weeks.”
“That’s not very long.”
“Nope.”
Why did our conversation suddenly feel stiff? Maybe JJ had as much interest in talking about the tour as I did my feelings for Oliver. “So,” I said, scrambling for a topic change, “since you’ve dubbed yourself my bucket list buddy, what do you think I should take on next?”
JJ instantly perked up. “I’d love to be of assistance, but I don’t remember what’s on it.”
“Hold on.” I pulled my phone away from my ear and texted him the picture of my list. “Did you get it?”
“Yeah, I’m looking it over now. Any chance you’ll explain what some of these mean?”
“Depends…”
“What about sixteen?” he asked. “All I can read is the first word.”
“Your guess is as good as mine.”
“Well then, I vote for six because it sounds badass and I actually know what it means. Where exactly can you hold a baby alligator though?”
He posed a good question. Where did one go to hold a baby gator? I knew it was a touristy thing people could do in Florida, but I couldn’t just hop on a plane and jet halfway across the country, could I?
* * *
Flying first class wasn’t what I expected.
I was pretty sure fifteen-year-old me had conflated it to the glamour and luxury of a private jet, and while I’d grown up enough to know that was a far cry from reality, I was still underwhelmed by the experience.
Being able to board before everyone else was nice enough; I didn’t have to worry about finding room for my carry-on in the overhead compartments, but that was the only perk that appealed to me.
Sure, the seats were bigger and there was more legroom, but I was too tiny to appreciate the extra space.
The flight attendant served us drinks while the rest of the passengers boarded, but being able to sip my OJ forty-five minutes before everyone else wasn’t worth cleaning out my measly savings account for.
It wasn’t like I expected to be served surf and turf on a gold plate as I lounged in my own private cabin, but I figured at the very least my seat would recline all the way back.
Imagine my disappointment when it didn’t.
That was how I learned there was a huge difference between domestic and international flights.
At least I’d crossed another item off my bucket list.
And blew eight hundred dollars to do it, I thought as I made my way through the crowded terminal. How people could afford to spend that kind of money on a regular basis for such a letdown was beyond me. I supposed it was easier for people who had jobs, unlike myself, but honestly—what a rip-off.
The lodging situation wasn’t any cheaper, and I almost changed my mind about flying down to Miami when I saw the cost of staying in a hotel for one night.
Mom offered to let me use some of her credit card points to book my stay, but I couldn’t bring myself to accept.
Not when I wasn’t being entirely truthful with her.
Even though I was technically an adult, I knew my parents would want an explanation for why I was taking a spur-of-the-moment trip to the Sunshine State.
I told them I was meeting Stella, who was supporting her boyfriend at the final show of the Heartbreakers’ North American tour.
It was a big fat lie, but if they knew I was visiting the band on my own, there would be quite a few questions I wasn’t ready to answer.
If I explained my list to Mom, she’d support me.
But for some reason, I wanted to keep this to myself.
Nobody could hold me accountable or push me to finish if I kept them in the dark.
Obviously JJ knew, but that was different.
He wasn’t a real part of my life, not like my family, Willow, or Trixy were.
JJ was just…a friendly voice over the phone.
A funny text message. There was nothing concrete or permanent about him.
We’d be hanging out tomorrow, but after that, who knew when I’d see him again, if ever?
And that was what made it so easy for me to be open with him.
Before I’d made a decision about my hotel dilemma, JJ came to the rescue. He was so enthusiastic about me coming down to Miami that he’d taken care of my room for the night. I’d be staying at the same place as the band, which would make meeting up a lot easier.
An hour later, after catching a taxi to the Golden Seacoast Resort and checking in, I collapsed on the bed, tired from my day of travel. How in the world did the guys do this on a regular basis and still have energy to perform for months on end? The thought alone was exhausting.