“The sweeps in the middle of the adagio. The phrasing is a little like a round. I didn’t realize it until we were all swaying in opposite directions, just for those four measures. Then you brought us all back together.” She looked at Jonathan with appreciation. He could be a real hardass sometimes, and too much of an artiste, but he was good at guiding their quartet.
“My favorite tonight was the Tchaikovsky,” said Ethan, giving her hand an unobtrusive squeeze. The piece had special meaning to the two of them—it was one of the pieces they’d played the night they first hooked up a few months ago. Ethan wasn’t just a best friend—he was a best friend who provided sexually adventurous benefits, and she was grateful for that. She squeezed his hand back as they exchanged a grin.
“Oh, no,” said Steve. “Not this again.”
Ruby looked at him in surprise. The other two guys didn’t usually complain about her and Ethan’s occasional hookups. But Steve wasn’t looking at her. He was looking toward the other side of the dance floor, a frown creasing his normally laid-back expression.
“Oh, no,” Jonathan echoed with more feeling, just as Ruby noticed why.
“Your crazy fangirl,” said Ethan. “I can’t believe she followed you all this way.”
“How’d she get into this party?” Ruby scowled at the young woman. “She crashed it?”
Jonathan rubbed his forehead, shoving back his dark auburn hair. “Why the fuck won’t she develop a crush on someone else?”
He’d been dodging the attentions of this overexuberant fan for almost a year now. Jessa Britton was a graduate student from their former music school, an aspiring violinist. She’d shown up to several of their concerts and appearances, and befriended Jonathan under the guise of asking advice. She was pretty and sweet, but he’d picked up a weird vibe from the beginning. They all had. She was a little too into their shows. He’d offered her his mentorship, but ended up fending off her advances when she started flirting and hinting she wanted more.
That was when she really started wanting more.
Well, Jonathan was tall, charismatic, and fine as hell. Even Ruby, who bickered with him regularly, had to admit his thick auburn hair and striking lionesque eyes were gorgeous. He maintained a meticulously fit body, and used it to play his instrument with intense physicality and emotion. As first violin, he often attracted female attention, as well as devoted fans, but Jessa had become obsessed to the point of craziness. Months after he’d distanced himself, she was still fangirling and barraging him with attention on social media.
Now she’d flown all the way from Chicago to L.A.…
“You should call the police,” said Ethan. “File for a restraining order.”
Jonathan laughed. “What’s she going to do to me? She’s just a fan. I don’t need protection from her.”
“I agree with Ethan,” Steve said. “I mean, look at her. No, don’t look at her. Yikes. She always has that hungry look in her eyes when she stares at you.”
“She can be hungry all she wants as long as she leaves me the fuck alone. It’s creepy, the way she pops up everywhere.”
Ruby leaned into Jonathan, feeling protective of her friend, and stared Jessa down. The ebony-haired woman angled her body away from them, but not before she shot Ruby a heated glare.
“Well, fuck you too,” said Ruby under her breath.
“Watch out,” Steve said. “You’re making Jessa jealous, standing that close to him. She’s gritting her teeth and going red around the ears.”
Jonathan looked at Ruby, confused. “Why would she be jealous? She’s seen me with Ruby dozens of times.”
“She’s seen you play together,” said Steve. “When you’re both cool and professional, staring at pages of music. But we’re at a party now. She’s never seen you and Ruby hanging out over drinks. Judging by her expression, I’d say she doesn’t like it much.”
Ethan snapped his fingers, catching onto Steve’s idea. “That’s how we solve this. Rube, you’ve got to play Jonathan’s girlfriend.”
“What?”
“Yes, very affectionately and convincingly,” Steve agreed. “Starting right now.”
She and Jonathan looked at each other. “We don’t have the chemistry,” said Jonathan. “Not sure we’d be able to pull that off.”
“I’m not saying you two should strip down and get busy in front of everyone,” said Ethan. “Just smolder and flirt with each other.”
“Smolder and flirt?” Ruby laughed. “With Jonathan?”
Ethan let out a beleaguered sigh. “You know what I mean. Pretend to be into each other, so Stalker Girl will stop showing up at our quartet appearances to drool over Jonathan. It’ll annoy her to see the two of you playing together if she thinks you’re in a hot and heavy relationship.”
Jonathan scoffed. “We’re not in a hot and heavy relationship.”
“Do you want to discourage Jessa or not?” asked Steve. “Take Ruby’s fucking hand. Gaze into her eyes. If you’re convincing enough, Jessa will flounce out of here within fifteen minutes, and hopefully give up the conquest altogether.”