“I might be seeing things, yeah. What’s the soundproofing like in here?” He pushes one of the chairs away from a desk, making room to sit. He stretches back nearly the same way I did and scans the room and the offices off to the side.
“I doubt you hear much. Hang on, let’s test it.” I hold up a finger and move to the door. “As soon as I shut it, scream as loud as you can. They’re gone upstairs. It’s just us.”
James nods. I step outside and back away a few paces, waiting several seconds and hearing nothing at all. When I come back in, James is still singing “Don’t Stop Believing”as loud as he can. He stops mid lyric and his eyebrows lift. I shake my head.
“Nothing.”
Our mouths mirror each other, our smiles a reflection of plans.
“Party?” James suggests. That was my plan all along, only with a caveat.
I hold up a palm.
“Exclusive party. Me, you, and Cameron—we say who can come, and who needs to go.”
James chuckles.
“I like it. Yeah,” he says.
He leans back again and spins slowly in the chair. When our eyes meet again, he sucks in his bottom lip.
“Lily. You cool if I invite Lily?” His eyes squint as he studies me, waiting for a reaction.
I laugh through closed lips.
“Sure. Whatever.” My inner-voice curses, the words in my head so loud I wonder if James can somehow hear them.
Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!
“Nice. So, this weekend, yeah?” If I’m going to have to share this place with my least favorite person in the world, I may as well start making her feel unwelcome right away.
James stands and reaches out his hand. I take it and we pull in for a bro hug.
“As long as you really think this place is on lockdown.” He levels me with a look that feels like a contract waiting to be signed. He’s awfully anxious to break rules for a guy who’s so worried about getting caught.
“Key’s up in my dorm room. Deadbolt will be ordered online tonight. Now it’s just a matter of booze.”
“I know someone who can help with that,” he responds.
Look at James, full of surprises.
We make our way out the door, and he helps me cover it with the overgrowth again once we get it shut. I follow him back to his apartment to check on my clothes, and despite every fiber of my will begging me to let it drop, my mouth betrays me as soon as we’re back in his laundry room.
“Lily, huh?” I laugh it out, the way a father would teasing his son over a crush. My eyes are dead, however, since my back is to James.
“I don’t know. She’s . . . interesting.”
I close my eyes and feel my clothes, ticked when I find they’re still super damp.
“You think I can just grab these tomorrow or something?” I have to get out of this place. Right now.
“Yeah. I’ll bring them to practice. No problem.”
“Thanks.” I shut the dryer door and let the cycle continue.
She’s interesting.
“We’ll talk more tomorrow, about . . . ya know.” His voice is a whisper at my shoulder as he walks me back through his living room and to the door.