B: I played the zombie game without you this afternoon J: YOU DID WHAT?!
B: I’m sorry. But I had a break in between classes. I tried to call you, but you didn’t answer.
J: I was in the studio. I got in trouble for texting yesterday and they made me leave my phone in my room B: Those bastards
J: I know, right?
B: Forgive me?
J: I could never stay mad at you.
B: I beat your high score.
J: This friendship is over
***
J: You still up?
B: Barely
J: Sorry. The band had a dinner we couldn’t get out of and it ran late B: No worries
J: I missed hearing your voice tonight B: Ditto
J: Call you in the morning?
B: Yes, please :)
J: Good night, doll
B: Night, Jacks
Chapter One
Jacks
My forearms were straining. “Yeah, that’s perfect. Right there.”
“Okay, good. Don’t stop.” I could almost hear her biting her perfect plump bottom lip.
“Wait, watch me, I’m coming behind you.”
“No! Stay back there. You said I could be in control this time.”
I shook my head, even though she couldn’t see me. “I know…but I’m better at it, doll. Just let me in.”
“No way. It’s my turn to win.”
“Ugh! Fine. You are such a brat.” I fell back to let Bryan take the lead on the apocalyptic war game we were playing via speaker phone. Who knew this volleyball-spiking, gorgeous klutz would be a good gamer? “B! Come on, how did you miss that shot?! See? This is why I need to be in front.”
“Shut it, Jacks. It was one missed shot. Look at the screen, my average is better than yours this round.”
I glanced to the bottom right-hand corner—she was right. “Well, look at that. Good job, B.” I fired off two rounds in the zombie coming up on my left. “Although, you are only improving so much because of my excellent tutelage.” I was the lead guitarist of The Devil’s Share, one of the hottest bands in the nation. I met plenty of great girls. But Bryan? She broke the damn mold. She had this amazingly down-to-earth personality. And she was gorgeous. Like a lingerie model: tiny waist, perfect curves, ice blue gorgeous eyes. I’m sure she turned heads everywhere she went, and I’m also sure she barely even noticed. If she were any other girl, I’d be hitting her up with the sexting on the regular. But I actually cared about her, like as a human. And although she was the coolest chick, ever, sex complicated things. AKA, it made nice girls turn into crazy clingy super fan stalkers. I wasn’t willing to lose her, or get a restraining order. So I kept my dick and my dirty thoughts to myself.
Bryan laughed. “Yeah. My zombie shooting skills have gone up and my grade point average has gone down. Thanks for the mentoring, Jacky Boy.”
I smiled. I was always smiling when I was spending time, well, virtual time, with Bryan. I’d only actually seen her in person once, at this music festival in New Orleans a month or so ago. She was visiting her older sister Dylan, who happened to be our tortured bassist’s new girlfriend. Bryan and I had clicked instantly. And by clicked instantly I meant that I’d tried to kiss her (my dick went rock-hard the second I laid eyes on her) and she punched me in the gut and then tripped on a floor cable, twisting her ankle in the process. She never ratted me out and we’d been long-distance besties ever since. My bandmate’s girlfriend’s baby sister was the best friend I’d ever had.
“You still dating that frat strap?” She’d been going out with some preppy frat boy for a few months now. Although, I talked to her for at least an hour every night, so I wasn’t really sure when they actually spent time together. She didn’t mention him much, which was fine with me. She may be my friend, but I was a selfish dude, I didn’t want her attention to go to anyone else.
“Kind of. I guess.”
“Kind of? I guess? It’s a yes or no, doll.” I took out a zombie coming up on her right. “I thought you liked him.”
“I did. I do. I don’t know.”
“He isn’t good enough for you.”
She laughed. “How would you know? You’ve never met him.”
“First, no one will ever be good enough for you, because you are the best. Second, his name is Shepard. I picture tossed-to-the-side old-school Bieber hair and Polo shirts galore.”
She laughed again. I’d grown to cherish each and every one of those I got to hear. In a totally friends-only kind of way. “You aren’t far off.”
“Figured.” I paused the game when I heard a knock.
“What the hell, Jacks?”
“Sorry, someone’s at the door. Just give me minute.” I threw my legs over the side of my enormous bed. I had yet to get up and head downstairs even though the sun had been up for hours now.
“Crap! No, just call me back later. I lost track of time, I have a final in twenty minutes.”
“Physics or poly sci?” I flipped the game off.
“Physics, poly sci was yesterday.”
I grabbed a t-shirt off the floor, smelling it before pulling it over my head. “Good luck, baby doll.”