Chapter 7
So Long, Seattle
I woke up with a feeling in my chest that bordered on delirium. Today was Friday, my last day in Seattle. By this afternoon, I’d be in Kellan’s arms in Los Angeles. I couldn’t wait. I bounded out of my makeshift bed and nearly tripped over the girlfriends sprawled around the living room floor.
Jenny groaned when I bumped her elbow, but she didn’t wake up. Giddy, I hurried upstairs to take a shower and get ready to go. Anna was picking me up soon, and I wanted to be fresh and sparkling clean for my reunion with Kellan. It had only been a couple of weeks since he’d left me, but it felt like an eternity. That always happened when he went away. Time’s continuity seemed to depend on Kellan’s proximity to me—the farther away he was, the longer time stretched.
When I emerged from the shower, I smelled the heavenly aroma of freshly brewed coffee. My mouth watered at the smell, and Kellan was instantly in my mind . . . not that he’d ever really left. He was usually somewhere in the back of my brain, but coffee always brought him right to the forefront.
After I was dressed and ready to go, I grabbed my bags and hurried downstairs to set them by the front door. Most of the girls were awake by then, rubbing their eyes, sipping on mugs of coffee while they started putting their stuff back together. Jenny gave me a one-armed hug as she held a travel mug of coffee out for me. “Anna just called. She’s on her way.”
I nodded as I took a sip—it burned my tongue a little but it was gloriously creamy. Jenny glanced around at the still-full living room. “I’ll make sure the girls get home, then lock up the house before I leave.”
Her words reminding me of something, I dug through my bag to find my key ring. After freeing it from the book I was hoping to read on the plane, I flipped through the keys until I found the one for the Chevelle. “Can you do me a favor today?” Jenny nodded as I handed her the key to Kellan’s baby. “I made arrangements with the auto body shop below Evan’s loft. They’re going to garage the Chevelle for me until I come back. Can you drop off Babe-ette?”
Jenny smirked at my nickname for Kellan’s car. “Sure thing. Rachel and I will drop it off this afternoon.”
Rachel came over to stand by Jenny and rested a tired head on her shoulder. We’d stayed up way too late last night. The exotic beauty let out a loud yawn, and Jenny sympathetically patted her dark head. Her almond eyes blinked at me a moment, then she lifted her head. In a quiet voice, Rachel asked, “Would you mind saying hello to Matt for me? And telling him . . . I wish I could be there with him?”
The demure girl bit her lip, and a light flush tinted her tanned cheeks. I immediately told her I would. I knew exactly how it felt to be kept apart from the person you loved. It sucked. But Matt and Rachel seemed to have the long distance thing down pat, and I felt pretty good about them making it through the crazy lifestyle the boys had—or were about to have.
I also felt good about Evan and Jenny’s relationship. Looking over to my best friend, I told her, “And I’ll give Evan a great big bear hug for you.”
Jenny gave me a wide smile, then reached into her back pocket. She pulled out a lime green box of candy that had been flattened and folded into thirds. With a mischievous grin, she handed it to me. “Can you give him this too?”
Curious, I unfolded what turned out to be a box of Jujubes. As I refolded the box, I asked, “You want me to give him your garbage?”
Jenny started giggling. “Don’t worry, he’ll get it.”
I tucked the box in my bag, wondering just what inside joke I was being the messenger of. Well, however I could help was fine by me. Evan and Jenny were my rock star role model couple after all.
Cheyenne and Kate came over to give me goodbye hugs. As Kate pulled away, she said, “Hey, Justin is in L.A. right now. If you happen to see him, will you tell him I said . . . hey?”
She laughed, and her springy ponytail bounced around her shoulders. Justin was the lead singer of a band that was already pretty big—Avoiding Redemption. The five-man group had been the ones to “discover” the D-Bags, inviting them along on their sold out tour. Kellan’s band got noticed by the industry while on that tour. In fact, Justin’s label was the label that had scooped up the D-Bags. Kate had a thing for Justin, and I think Justin had a thing for her as well. Ever since the pair had met, they’d been texting each other on a regular basis. Her golden brown eyes sparkled with excitement when I told her I’d keep a lookout for him.