30
“I’ve got a great idea,” Seth announced.
We’d watched what was left of the King Lear performance, clapping politely when it ended, then decided to head back to my place. Seth had feigned being sick to skip out on rehearsals, so we wanted to take advantage of the rare free time.
“A great idea?” I repeated. “Why am I suddenly nervous?”
He made a face. “Hey, my ideas are always brilliant. They’re legendary.”
“Like the motorcycle pool thing?”
“I really will never live that down, will I?”
I patted his hand where it lay on my hip, his hand curled around me as we sat on the sofa.
“Tell me your so-called great idea,” I said.
“I was just thinking,” he started. “If they choose us as headliners, we’ll probably get a lot of leeway. I could probably pull some strings.”
“Strings like what?” I asked.
“Well…” He sounded oddly hesitant, considering how enthusiastic he’d been. “I was wondering if maybe you’d like to come with me on tour?”
I jolted off the sofa.
“For real?” I blurted out.
“I don’t like the idea of being away so long and not being able to see that cute face of yours.”
“Is that even allowed?” I asked.
“If you’re big enough, you can bring a lot more people along with you,” he said. “I don’t see why I can’t add your name to the list.”
“I can think of one reason,” I muttered.
Seth’s face fell.
“It’s okay if you don’t want to,” he backtracked. “It was just a thought.”
I laid a hand on his arm. He looked at me hopefully. It was encouraging, and flattering, to know he was going to miss me as much as I was going to miss him. I’d been trying not to think about the tour too much, knowing it was going to be hard to be without him for so long.
“I’d love to go with you,” I said. “I also hate the thought of going months without seeing you. But how will we explain to my sister why I’m tagging along?”
“Right,” he winced, running a frustrated hand through his hair. “We’re going to have to tell her, and soon. Eventually she’s going to find out.”
“And I’d rather it came from me,” I added. “Maybe that’ll help soften the blow.”
“I’m sure if we talk to her together, we can make her understand.”
“I hope so.”
“I’ve never been comfortable with us sneaking around,” Seth admitted. “I would really love to have you with me.”
“And that can only happen if Everly knows about us,” I finished for him. “Maybe we can make her understand our feelings for each other, but it’s going to be a hard sell, letting me go on tour. She’s tried so hard to keep me away from the whole sex, drugs, and rock and roll stuff. I know the industry has its dark sides.”
“I’ll never let anything bad happen to you,” Seth said. “I care too much about you.” He looked deep into my eyes, playing with strands of my hair. “I can’t imagine how I’ll survive being away from you that long.”
“I can’t either,” I said softly.
