Just in time, he turned to flip it. “Thanks.”
“I’m glad you’ve decided to try to fix things with your bandmates,” she told him. “I know it takes courage. And… I will come with you. Not because you need me, not because you can’t do it without me — you absolutely could — but because you want me with you. That means something to me.”
“Nella-bella, I want you with me all the time.” He lifted the last pancake out of the pan and added it to one of the plates, which he then brought over to set in front of her. “And especially for this. I’m so ashamed and afraid to face them, but you were right all along. I need to do it. Thank you.” Having said that, he seemed to relax. “What d’you like on your pancakes? Ah, that is, I hope you like pancakes. I’ve got syrup, jam, whipped cream, cinnamon sugar…”
“You and your sweet stuff in the morning! Got any peanut butter? If not, I like them fine just plain.”
He produced a jar of peanut butter from the cupboard, then grabbed his own plate of pancakes and loaded them up with syrup and whipped cream before sitting down at the island bar next to her. “I’ve got to tell you, though…” A note of doubt crept into his voice, and he forked up a big mouthful of pancake, effectively stopping what he was going to say.
Nell deliberately rolled her eyes at him. “What? You’ve already told me some pretty dark crap. Whatever it is now can’t be worse, honestly.”
He swallowed, cleared his throat. “I want you to come with me. More than anything. But we… have to do it my way.”
“And what exactly is your way?”
“I’ve seen you being a ninja. You haven’t seen me being a rock god yet.”
“I absolutely have seen you being Easy — at the hospital, among other times. You’re flirty and charming and you smile a lot. That’s not so terrible.”
“It’s more than that. I can’t roll up in an old t-shirt and a budget rental car — it’s a first-class flights and limos kind of deal. I know to expect media attention and camera flashes, and you’ll be with me, so…”
“Oh.” Nell thought about that for a moment. How bad could it be? People took pictures of her competing at tournaments all the time. Then something else he’d said struck her. “You said flights. As in, taking an airplane? Just where are your bandmates right now?”
Eamonn shrugged and said, “Time Rock.” It sounded as though he thought she’d know what that meant, but no, so she made an exaggerated inquiring face at him, and he threw his hands out in a forgive me gesture. “California.”
“Right.” She’d assumed they’d be here because he was, even though that made little sense once she thought about it.
“You don’t have to come,” he said, with hardly any hesitation in his voice, but she suspected he was regretting his words even as he spoke them.
“I promised,” she told him. “Don’t worry, I don’t break my promises. I’ll go with you.” She could see the relief in his posture and his smile, and the way he dug into his pancakes with more appetite.
“Good.” He spoke between bites, but not with his mouth full, which she appreciated. “I’ll book our tickets.” Bite of pancake, sip of coffee. “You’ll probably want to go home for a bit to pack, and all that?”
Nell almost choked on a mouthful of tea. “Uh, when are we going?”
“Got to see when we can get a flight. Tomorrow, or maybe this evening.”
Slow down! “Tomorrow is good,” she said firmly.
As soon as Eamonn had dropped Nell off at her place, once she was inside the front door of her building and out of his sight, she texted Amy: I need to look like a rock star’s girlfriend. By tomorrow. What do I do?
Amy sent back a shocked-face emoji, almost immediately followed by the chimes of an incoming video chat request.
Nell let it chime away as she hustled the rest of the way up the stairs and down the hall to her apartment, then answered it with one hand as she unlocked the door and let herself in with the other.
“Nell! What’s going on?” Amy asked as soon as they were connected. “Are you going to a costume party? Why not go as a rock star instead of just the girlfriend?”
“It’s not a costume party. I’ve, uh, kind of been seeing someone.”
Amy gasped. “Bestie, you’re telling me that you’ve hooked up with a musician? So out of character — I’m impressed! So, are you going to a show or just a party? Who are you trying to impress? Bandmates? Manager? Or letting other women know he’s taken?”
“The media, actually.” Nell grinned at Amy’s stunned expression. “I’m told it’s very likely there will be pictures taken at the airport.”
“Are you telling me I’d, like, recognize his name?”
“Well, his name is Eamonn, but… Easy Yarrow.”
“No shit! Easy, as in the bass player who was kicked out of Smidge?!” Amy stared at Nell through the phone screen, her face a mix of envy and concern. “Nell, you know he’s not exactly the good guy in any of the stories I’ve heard…”
Nell sighed. “He’s told me what really happened. People make mistakes, right? It’s what you do afterward that matters.”
“Hmm.” Amy didn’t look or sound convinced. “Funny thing, a guy I know is touring with Smidge now. I could call him up, try to get the other side of the story for you.”
“No! Promise me, Amy. Don’t say anything to anyone. Eamonn’s going there to apologize to them, to Smidge. Do not mess this up for him. But that’s why I need help. I’m going with him, and I’m—”
Amy waved a shushing hand at the screen as she interrupted. “You’re you, Nell. That’s not a bad thing.
