“It’s her, Kev,” Brian said, excitedly. “It has to be her. Same auburn hair, though it is a lot longer than it used to be, same silver-blue eyes, same tan skin, same-“
“Okay, okay, so say it is her,” Kevin said, collapsing onto the couch and looking up at his incredibly happy cousin. They had about seven minutes left in their intermission. “Do you actually think she’ll be happy to see you when you haven’t even called her since you left Kentucky?”
“I did too!” Brian protested. Kevin raised an eyebrow.
“You called her once, Brian,” Kevin lectured. “Once! Don’t expect her to go leaping into your arms.”
She has to want to see me,” Brian argued, falling onto the couch opposite of Kevin. “Why do you think she came all this way from Kentucky to Philadelphia? It’s not such a . . . ‘nice’ city.”
“Brian, she lives here now,” Kevin sighed. “She moved here after she graduated New York University, the graduation that you were supposed to have come to with me. Didn’t you ever listen when your mother called?”
“But she’s here now, isn’t she?” Brian argued, desperate to find something that would defend his side. “That has to mean something, doesn’t it?” Sighing, Kevin kept silent. He knew his cousin too well to argue with him when he was being stubborn like this.
Kassy knew something was up when she saw a guard walking towards her. He didn’t look like a security guard, so she knew he was one of the guys’ bodyguards.
When Brian had finally looked at her, his eyes had grown wide in realization. She knew he’d recognized her and she didn’t know whether that was a good or bad. When she had finally lifted her head to look at him, they had gazed at each other for a long moment, unsure of what to make of the situation. Then, Kassy had looked away, afraid of what even his look could do to her.
Now that the guard was walking towards her, she knew she wasn’t going to escape easily.
“Carissa Enland?” Kassy nodded, hugging her notebook to her chest. “You presence has been requested backstage.” Shaking her head, Kassy stepped back a little, squeezing herself into a corner. “Brian said you would refuse, but he asked that I not leave you until you said you’d at least consider his offer.”
Kassy bit her lip, seeming to consider the offer. She knew Brian would never let her get by without seeing him. Sighing, she nodded. The guard smiled and nodded.
“Oh, and he asked me to give you this.” Pulling his arm out from behind his back, the guard held out a single stem of tiny, light blue flowers. Smiling, Kassy delicately took the flowers from him and held them up to her nose. They were forget-me-nots. However small, they were still Kassy’s favorite flower; simple, delicate, and blue, her favorite color. Without another word, the guard disappeared.