Page 18 of The Mouse and the Maestro

Emily poked her head in the room. “What are you guys doing in here?”

“I was picking out her clothes,” Nick said.

“Ah. Did you tell her to change her hair, too?”

“Et tu,roomie?” Jane asked, laying her hand protectively over her hair again.

“Change is good, Jane. Embrace it.”

“I’ll think about it. Maybe you guys can do pizza without me. I’m kind of zonked and tomorrow’s a big day.”

Emily and Nick made stilted eye contact. “You wanna?” Emily asked.

“Sure,” Nick said. He rolled off the bed and poked Jane. “Schemer.”

“Be nice,” she said, blowing him a kiss.

“Be brave,” he returned, and she made no reply.

Chapter 10

Blue knocked on Jane’s door at six the next morning, and a man answered. “Oh,” he exclaimed because he hadn’t expected to see a man. “I’m looking for Jane.”

“Yes,” the man said. He seemed to be waging war with himself until at last he stepped aside and granted Blue access. “Come in, I’m Nick. That’s Emily.”

“Hi,” Emily called. She sat at a tiny table drinking something out of a mug. There was another mug across from her and a selection of bagels. “Would you like coffee or a bagel?”

“I’m good, thanks,” Blue said, adjusting the strap of his messenger bag. The rest of his luggage was waiting downstairs in the taxi.

“Janie, your ride’s here,” Nick called.

Jane poked her head out, eyed Blue, and emerged with her suitcase. “Good morning,” she said, smiling.

“Good morning,” Blue replied.

“Did you meet Emily, my roommate, and Nick, our friend and temporary couch mate until his apartment situation gets worked out.”

“We met, thanks,” Blue said.

“Okay. Goodbye,” she said, turning to face her friends. To Blue’s further surprise, they both stepped forward and hugged her tightly. The guy also kissed her cheek.

“Be safe, we love you, text to let us know you got there,” Nick said.

“Will do,” Jane agreed.

“Have fun,” Emily added.

“But not too much,” Nick said.

Jane made no reply. She wheeled her suitcase through the door and closed it behind them.

“Here, let me,” Blue offered. He reached for her suitcase. Their hands brushed, and she did the thing where she jumped and jerked her hand away. Now that Blue knew why, he found it kind of flattering. And it was also making him hyper aware of those little touches, to the point where he was tempted to reach for her hand with his free one and hold it. Today she wore a light pink dress with some kind of print on it, horses on closer inspection, and it was the first time he’d ever seen her wearing anything other than black. The change brought more color to her cheeks, or maybe that was her embarrassment over jumping again when he touched her.

They reached the taxi downstairs. The cab driver tossed her suitcase in the trunk along with Blue’s, and they were off.

“You seem especially close to your roommates.”

“We go back a long way, since freshman year of college,” Jane explained. “They’re like family.”

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