Debi’s face, he was ninety-nine per cent sure he was only hurting his brother’s chances with her, not helping Daniel after all.
At least she hadn’t walked out . . . yet. But, from the expression on her face, Justin worried she was giving it some thought.
‘So . . .’ She took a deep breath. ‘Can you recommend any good bands for me to listen to? Ones that you like?’
‘Um . . .’ Justin hesitated.
He’d never been any good at pretending he knew anything about music. All those songs that Daniel played non-stop at home were just noise to Justin – he had no idea who any of the bands were. The all sounded the same – miserable, angry, and very eager to shout about it.
‘I . . . like . . . stuff that rocks,’ he said, and tried his best to scowl artistically. Unfortunately, he was pretty sure he just looked like his stomach hurt . . . which it did. How much more of Daniel’s meal could he force down?
‘Like . . .?’ Debi prompted.
‘Uh . . .’ In desperation, Justin stuffed the club sandwich back into his mouth, even as his stomach screamed in protest. He had to buy the time to think somehow! Come on, brain! Last night Mom asked Daniel what he’d been listening to, and Daniel said . . . He said . . .
Nope, it was useless. Justin had tuned out of that whole conversation, too busy thinking about the Homecoming Game. He and Dad had ended up in a big debate over training tactics while Mom and Daniel had talked music.
Oh, great, Justin thought. I’m going to have to eat this whole sandwich just to have an excuse not to talk!
Then something caught his attention on the other side of the room, and he had to stifle a moan of relief.
Daniel was stoop-walking out of the Meat & Greet, just like last time, pausing only long enough to signal in Justin’s direction.
Justin dropped the sandwich back on to its plate. ‘Sorry, I’ll be right back. I’ve just gotta . . .’ He gestured vaguely, hoping she would think up an explanation for herself.
‘That’s fine,’ Debi said, and sighed. ‘Really. Totally fine.’
Uh-oh. Justin grimaced as he hurried away. Anyone who says they’re ‘fine’ twice in the same breath is never ‘fine’.
A minute later, he was pulling off Daniel’s scruffy band shirt and buttoning his own shirt back up with relief. Unfortunately . . .
‘Hey!’ said Justin. ‘You’ve got it all creased!’
‘That’s probably from the stoop-walking.’ Daniel shrugged as he pulled on his own shirt again. ‘Mine’s probably creased, too. So what?’
‘But no one can tell with yours.’ Justin shook his head and did his best to smooth down his shirt. ‘Whatever. I’m just glad to be heading back where I belong. Seriously, dude, don’t ever ask me to do that again.’
‘I won’t.’ Daniel grimaced. ‘Trust me. But look!’ He held out his arm. ‘I’m all back to normal again. No fur! So, thanks – you really did save me.’
‘Yeah,’ Justin said, doing his best to look confident. ‘Saved you. That’s what I did. Yep. Although, I think you should start talking about your favourite bands – Debi seems really keen for some recommendations.’
‘Awesome – that’s conversation I’m actually good at!’
By the time he slid back into the seat across from Riley a minute later, Justin was more than ready to call the not-a-date over. ‘Hey, do you want to get out of here?’
‘What?’ Riley’s head jerked up from the stack of clipboards she’d been studying. While Justin had been gone, they’d somehow multiplied from two to four. Now she ignored them all to stare at him in open shock. ‘You want to leave already? I thought we were having dessert. Your stomach was rumbling just a minute ago – and they make the best ice cream in town here!’
‘Uh . . .’
Justin’s stomach gurgled warningly. Warning! Warning! Explosion imminent!
Riley’s brown eyes were fixed on him. He swallowed hard, fighting back a groan. He knew how much she loved ice cream.
‘Of course,’ he mumbled, and sank down in the seat, giving up. ‘I just forgot.’
‘Oh, good!’ Riley said.
Justin put on his best fake smile as he signalled for the waitress. ‘Two sundaes, please!’
‘Large ones,’ added Riley.
Riley went back to doodling quickly on one of the clipboards, while Justin tried to prepare himself for more food.
This was what sappy singers meant every time they sang ‘love hurts’.
Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.
Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».
Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.
Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.
