Russell fussed with Maggie's hair as they walked into the theater and she shooed his hand away. "Russell!" she snapped. "Stop it."
"Well, excuse me, Miss Thang," he said huffily, "but we're about to be reunited with the James Keller, and I would think you'd want to look your best."
Maggie halted and whirled to face him. "Okay, one, my hair is fine, and two, this isn't high school, Russell. The only reason I'm here is because Alisha shanghaied us."
Russell fixed her with a prissy smirk. "Denial, thy name is Maggie. I saw the giddy look on your face when she told you he'd be here, and you changed your outfit three times."
She opened her mouth to protest, but his arched brow and crossed arms made her roll her eyes instead. "You're such a little bitch sometimes," she laughed.
"This is not news. How do I look? On second thought, I already know I'm fabulous. Come on, let's go get our seats." He hooked his arm through hers and off they went.
Maggie felt her heart race a little when she spotted the boy she'd had such a crush on a decade ago and felt ridiculous. She was a grown woman now, not some silly sixteen-year-old. Alisha had told her he was still boyishly good-looking, and Maggie had to agree as she politely skirted past other patrons in row twelve to get to her seat that had her right next to James. She was nearly to her seat when Russell gave her a little shove and she went flying right into James Keller's lap. "Oh my God! I'm—I'm so sorry," she sputtered, wanting to kill her friend for humiliating her. She looked up into James's puppy dog eyes and felt her face flame scarlet as the feelings she'd had at sixteen came flooding back.
"Are you okay?" James asked, his hands at her waist, steadying her.
"I'm fine," she smiled kindly at him. "My friend here must've tripped," she told him, flashing a quick, murderous glance in Russell's direction. "He's clumsy like that."
"Sorry," Russell said in a sing-song voice, fluttering his fingers at them.
Big watched, perplexed, as the scene unfolded before him. That blonde was hot and currently making goo-goo eyes at his best friend, and if he wasn't mistaken, her little gay friend was also.
"I'm Maggie," she said, offering her hand and getting to her seat. "Maggie Louwer."
James shook her hand and smiled. "I'm—"
"James Keller," she finished for him. "I know."
He studied her, confused for a moment before it dawned on him. "Oh, you're Alisha's friend!"
"Yes," she smiled again.
"Who's Alisha?" Annie Keller inquired, leaning forward in her seat.
"She's this girl that Big rescued the other day from a fire. She got us these tickets."
"Did she now?" Rosemary Biggerman asked, shooting her son a heated look. "I thought you said you bought these tickets, Jake."
Big gave James a thanks a fucking lot look and smiled sheepishly at his mother. "You assumed I bought them, I didn't correct you. We're here, Ma, what does it matter?"
Rosemary opened her mouth to give her son a piece of her mind, but Maggie intervened. "Thank you for pulling our friend to safety. We've been giving her a hard time about it ever since."
He gave her a grateful smile and shrugged his shoulders. "No big deal," he said, wondering how in the hell this night got so weird so fast. He slanted a look at his mother who was now smiling proudly at him. He fought the urge to roll his eyes at her total one-eighty, knowing that even though he was twenty-eight and they were in a theater full of people, she wouldn't hesitate to slap him upside the head.
"How do you know James?" Annie asked Maggie.
Maggie blushed, but smiled politely and told them the abridged version of her crush and how they'd gone to rival schools in New York.
"And where is this Alisha that you saved, Jake?" Rosemary asked.
"Oh, she's in the show," Maggie said proudly.
"Really? My Jake saved a Broadway star?"
"Ma, stop. She's just in the chorus," he muttered, shifting uncomfortably in his seat.
Maggie snorted and exchanged amused glances with Russell. "Is that what she told you?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Big asked, his brows knitting together.
The house lights dimmed, and the music started. "You'll see," Maggie grinned. She settled back into her seat and her arm brushed against James's. She looked over and he smiled at her. Awkward meeting aside, she was glad for this strange twist of fate.
Big scowled and folded his arms around his chest. He hoped this show didn't last that long. He wasn't in the mood to listen to show tunes all fucking night.
The theater was shrouded in darkness as the jazzy intro started. The lights went up on stage and a group of dancers appeared, moving along to the beat. He saw a woman with a short dark bob and a killer pair of legs rise out of the floor dressed in a skimpy black outfit that was akin to tasteful lingerie, replete with fishnet stockings. Really all of the actors on stage were dressed like that, and he thought that maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all. She lifted her head and sauntered down the stairs, flanked by the dancers. He cocked his head to the side and stared closely at her. Fucking hell. Was that—Alisha?
Maggie glanced over and saw the dumbfounded expression on Big's face and nudged Russell. They exchanged another amused glance. "Just wait until he hears her sing," Russell said, smirking.
C'mon babe
Why don't we paint
