Page 31 of It's a Love Story

I have successfully broken the tension. You’re welcome.

“Don’t bother,” I say. “It’s a thing. If you want to be the leading lady, you need to be capable, thoughtful, a little vulnerable. The funny one is the sidekick. She goes stag to the dance.”

“You’ve given this a lot of thought.”

“Well, I’m Janey Jakes. So I’m kind of an expert.” I turn onto my back and let the sun warm my face.

“Janey Jakes,” he says after a while. “You were funny. I watched a few episodes on YouTube last night.”

“No, you didn’t. Please don’t do that.” My stomach drops at the thought of him watching that version of me. Of course I’d grow up to wear this bathing suit.

“It’s not every day you meet a girl and then get to stalk her all the way back to twelve.”

I turn my head toward him. “How do I erase the internet?”

He moves so that we are a bit closer. “Make the face, likeoof,”he says, so I do and he laughs. The light hits his eyes and the blue deepens. “Do you really play the keyboards? I zoomed in and it looked like you did.”

“I do.”

“Sing?”

“Yes.”

I have his absolute full attention. His eyes hold me in place. “And what about Will Powers? Were he and Hailey really a couple? I mean, it felt like they were.”

“You know the show ended seventeen years ago, right?” I say. “I mean, this is gossip about kids from a lifetime ago.”

“You are so mean if you don’t tell me. Connor was Aid- an’s and my excuse to watch it. We loved it. Connor was sworn to secrecy because we were in high school and that was clearly embarrassing.” The sky lowers again and the sound of the waves goes fuzzy. I don’t know why this feels intimate, lying here talking about an old TV show, but his eyes have me trapped.

“You’re not that pretentious,” I say, and I don’t blink. “But I love my gramophone.”

I smile at his mouth, turned up just at the corner. I smooth the white sand between us. “You’re just kind of honest.” It must be Dan’s honesty that’s making me put so much of myself out there. He’s like a human invitation. I don’t know why I’ve said this, so I look away and answer his question. “Hailey and Will were never really a couple, but Will and Dougie were both madly in love with her. I was the sidekick.” He’s watching my hand as it runs over the sand, and I watch him watch.

“And you never had a boyfriend of your own?”

The truth is no, of course I didn’t have a boyfriend. Except for the twenty-four hours I convinced myself Jack Quinlan was my soulmate. “With a mouthful of braces and nachos all over my pants? No.”

“Well, you’re all grown up now, Janey Jakes, and you’re killing it.”

“How so?”

“Connor thinks you’re hot, and you came this close to going on a date with me.” I kick a little sand onto his towel as he smiles, rolls onto his back, and closes his eyes.

CHAPTER 14

THE OWL BARN IS NOT IRONICALLY NAMED, AS I’D Expected. I was picturing a big music venue that had been decorated in a modern farmhouse style to give it some folksy charm. In reality, it’s basically a barn where you might find an owl creeping in the corner, cleaned up and wired for sound. I love the feel of it. It’s open and authentic without an ounce of Hollywood glitz. No one would ever consider lip-syncing here. Any crack in your voice would mirror the uneven slats that are holding this place up so perfectly.

It’s also surprisingly cool, which is a relief after riding a bike around in the hot August sun all day. My hair has dried in hard curls after two swims in the ocean and a trip back to town for Dan’s favorite sandwich. We got two because he didn’t want to share—turkey, Swiss, coleslaw, and Thousand Island dressing on rye bread. I am now ruined for all other sandwiches and have a big pink glob of dressing on my shorts.

I eyed that pink glob on the ride here, chastising myself for getting so swept up in the glory of that sandwich that I lost track of the main goal, which is to not look like a hot mess when I run into Jack. I stand here now, sunburned shoulders coated in a little sweat, and let the relief of the airconditioning roll over me. Jack’s big enough in every way that I would know if he were here. The air would be electrified.

“Like it?” Dan asks as I look around.

“Love it,” I say. My eyes rest on the stage, which is just a raised platform with a few spotlights overhead. “How many people does it hold?”

“Four hundred.”

“It’s perfect.” They’re going to lose their minds when Jack shows up.

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