Page 68 of Strings

I nod as she reaches down and unbuttons two buttons on my shirt.

“Amy!”

“Okay, fine.” She rebuttons one of them.

“Put your phone on vibrate. I’ll let you know when he’s on his way.”

I pause and my body stiffens. “Are you sure this is going to work? I’m starting to think it’s a bad idea.”

She shrugs. “You can call the whole thing off, if you want. Then you can try to apologize to him later without him understanding how he made you feel.”

Narrowing my eyes at her, she shrugs. “I’m just saying…”

“Fine! Let’s do it. Knowing him, he’ll think it’s funny and encourage me to date him.”

“You don’t give yourself enough credit. Trust me. This is going to work.”

As the concert ends and ticketholders pour out of the doors, I slowly amble my way to the reception room. Peeking inside, I see a few orchestra members, but there’s no sign of Sebastian.

My phone pings with a text and I immediately turn it to vibrate as I read Amy’s message.

Amy:Still shaking hands.

I place my phone back in my pocket and bite my nails. What am I doing? Why do I care how he feels? Why would I want him to be jealous, anyway? There’s nothing between us. Nothing at all. I overreacted.

My phone vibrates and I consider telling Amy to forget the whole thing as I lift it out of my pocket. Only, it’s not a text from Amy, it’s Cherese.

Cherese:Do you still want a ride home?

Cherese. Ugh. All the feelings I had when I saw her hand on him come rushing in. Does she want him back? I need to know.

Me:Yes, but can you give me a few minutes?

Cherese:No prob. I’m still packing up.

Everyone has cleared out, so I step inside the room. I drop my bag on the floor. My nervous energy is overwhelming me, so I start cleaning up. It gives me something to do.

My phone vibrates again.

Amy:Oh his way.

Who is on his way? Sebastian or Stuart? I start to text as Stuart leans on the doorframe.

“What are you doing back here?”

I shove my phone in my pocket. “Um, I thought I’d clean up a bit.”

“Isn’t that above your pay grade?” he asks.

“Nothing is out of my range in this job.”

“Need some help?”

“Isn’t that above yours?”

“Well, I can’t leave a pretty girl like you back here all alone, can I?”

I snicker. “Oh, Stuart, I bet you say that to all the girls.”