Isaac slid the credit card key down the slot on the door of the hotel room he was sharing with Taylor. His mother and non-band member siblings had stayed home in Tulsa on this particular jaunt, as they were only going to be a couple of days and it was all promotional dates.
Walker and Zac were in the room adjoining Isaac and Taylor’s.
Isaac tiptoed inside and closed the door softly behind him. He sat down on the edge of his bed and began removing his shoes when he heard Taylor’s sleepy voice.
“Hey, man, what time is it?”
“About quarter till two. Go back to sleep.”
Taylor could not be put off so easily. He propped himself up on one elbow and switched on the lamp, squinting until his blue eyes adjusted to the light.
“How did your date go?” he asked.
Isaac smiled. “Tay, it was fantastic. We had the best time.”
Taylor spotted Isaac’s orange wristband. “Nice bracelet.”
“Yeah, we went to a club she likes. It was pretty cool.”
“How’s her face?”
Isaac narrowed his eyes. “How did you know about her face? I don’t recall that I told you about her accident.”
Shit, Taylor thought. I thought if anyone would have gotten us busted, it would have been loud mouth Zac.
“Well, um, the thing is, Ike, Zac and I kind of went to see her tonight before the press conference.”
“You did what?”
“Look, man, we’re just watching out for you.”
Isaac didn’t know whether to be touched by his brother’s concern or whether he should throttle Taylor.
“What did you say to her?”
Taylor grimaced.
“Well, we just kind of told her that we thought you were starting to really like her and that we were worried because she was so much more … you know, experienced.”
“Tay, you make it sound like you were telling her she was old.”
“No, man, it wasn’t like that,” Taylor insisted. “We just told her that you liked her, and we asked that if she wasn’t planning on keeping in touch once we got home that she not see you again.”
Isaac let this information swim around in the grey matter for a minute. But she did see me, he thought. She’s just not the kind of person to lie, especially to kids like my brothers. And I know what I felt. She cares. She really cares.
“Tay, you guys can’t be doing this stuff all the time,” Isaac gently admonished. “I’m an adult now. I can take care of myself.”
“No offense, Ike, but you don’t always make the best decisions where women are concerned,” Taylor reminded Isaac. “And when you get your heart splattered, which always seems to happen, it’s Zac and me who end up picking up the pieces. We share a room, you know.”
“This is different,” Isaac insisted. “Taryn is different.”
“She seems very cool,” Taylor allowed. “She was really upfront with us. She could have just told us it was none of our business.”
“Like I would have,” Isaac said with a smile.
“You’re our brother, Ike,” Taylor said. “We love you. We can’t help wanting to protect you, whether you’re 18 or not.”
“It’s cool, Tay,” Isaac assured his brother. “Did you tell Dad who the girl I was with was?”
“No way,” Taylor said. “You can tell him when you’re ready.”
Isaac lay back on the bed and stared at the ceiling. “She’s amazing, man,” he told Taylor. “She’s so cool and so sure of herself. She’s just got this thing about her … I can’t even tell you what it is, exactly … but I feel like she’s the other half of me that’s always been missing, you know?”
Taylor propped his head up on his hand and looked at Isaac. “No, man, I don’t know. I’m 15 years old. That stuff isn’t happening for me yet.”
Isaac rolled over and looked at his brother.
“It will,” he said. “And when it does, you’ll know it for sure.”
Taylor stifled a yawn.
“Hey, let’s get to sleep, OK?”
“Sure.”
Isaac put on his boxers and a t-shirt and crawled into the double bed next to the one occupied by an already sleeping Taylor. He turned out the light and put his hands behind his head. He stared at the ceiling for a good hour before he finally drifted into restless sleep.
