Page 41 of The Mouse and the Maestro

He closed his eyes and groaned. “Please no.”

“Don’t be a welcher, Bishop. Let me see the goods.”

“I’m already regretting this,” he said, reaching for a shelf that contained his old yearbooks. He flipped a few pages and turned the book to face her.

“Oh, no,” Jane said. She reached for the book and drew it closer, squinting. “I had no idea people actually wore headgear.”

“What?” he asked, coming alongside her for a better view. “That’s not me. That kid is Asian. That’s me.” He pointed a few spaces away.

“Oh,” she drawled. “Aw, you were so cute.”

“You can say it—I was fat.”

“You were fluffy,” she amended. “Besides, you seem to have…” she trailed off, her eyes traveling the expanse of him.

“Oh, geez,” Blue said. He took the book, tossed it away, and kissed her. Eventually a sound from the kitchen startled them apart.

“How do you do that?” he asked.

“What, kiss? You press your lips softly together. I’m surprised you’re asking because you kind of seem to know what you’re doing. In fact, you’re rather amazing at it,” she said.

“No, I mean I don’t even know who you are, really. I only half trust you, I’m more than halfway mad at you, still not sure youdidn’t have me kidnapped, know for certain you left me at the airport with my hands tied, but I get within five feet of you and lose all control.”

“You think you’ve got problems? The guy I like thinks I’m a criminal,” she said.

“Are you?” he asked, only half joking.

In answer, she stood on her toes and kissed him. He responded, his hands reaching for her, pulling her closer.

“Blue, Mom wanted me to…oh, hello.” The door to the bedroom opened and a man poked his head inside. He looked similar to Blue, but his hair was sandy blond and he was shorter and more muscular. They were kind of like a before and after of someone who was put on a rack and stretched. “I’m Tad.”

Startled and flustered, Jane said the first thing that popped to mind. “I’m not a criminal.”

“No, I know,” Tad agreed. “Pennsylvania decriminalized kissing last year, so you’ve caught a lucky break. Still doesn’t explain who you are or why you’re kissing my brother.”

“This is Jane, a…colleague,” Blue said.

“Okay. I’m going to pretend that long pause in front of the word colleague was in no way suspicious. Hi, Jane, I’m Tad.” He stepped forward and offered up his hand to shake.

“Hi, I’m Jane,” Jane replied.

“Jane was it?” Tad said, touching his finger to his ear as if to hear her better.

“It’s short for ‘Incredibly Awkward When Meeting New People.’ I’d like to say it gets better, but it takes about a decade,” Jane said. “In ten years, I’m going to come across as really smooth and polished.”

“Something to look forward to,” Tad said. “In the meantime, Mom wanted me to tell you supper is ready.”

“Thanks, we’ll be there in a minute,” Blue said.

Tad nodded and eased out of the room.

“He seemed remarkably incurious about the fact that he walked in on you kissing someone. Has that happened a lot?”

“Literally all the time,” Blue said. “I mean, you’ve seen my middle school pictures. The ladies were lining up to get a piece of me. I have three on standby in the closet for after you leave.” He took her hand and drew it to his chest. “Does that make you jealous, Jane?”

“Do you want me to be jealous, Blue?”

“Kind of. Not like snatch someone’s hair off her head crazy person level jealous, but maybe secretly Facebook stalk my exes level jealous.”

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