The door flew open, bouncing off the wall as Vanessa ran into the room. “He was in our house!”
Summer ignored the excited babble of her sister and lifted her hand to her mouth, tracing her lips with her fingers. Well I never…
Vanessa stopped dead in her tracks, staring suspiciously at her sister. “He kissed you didn’t he,” she said slowly. She threw her hands up in the air. “Jesus, my sister kissed Lance Bass! I hate you!” She couldn’t keep the grin off her face though.
Summer pointed at Vanessa. “Tammy, nor any of the other Cabbage Patch Brats, are gonna find out about this, you hear?”
Vanessa groaned. “What’s the fun in having a celebrity come to your house if you can’t tell anyone about it?” One look at her sister’s face and she rolled her eyes. “Your secret’s safe with me,” she grumbled.
“Thanks,” Summer muttered.
“Well try and look a little happier about it, you’re living my freakin’ dream, Summer.”
Maybe she was, but she hadn’t asked for it. Maybe this was more hassle than it was worth. What harm was she doing though? She was having a little fun while the guy was in town; it wasn’t like she was marrying their beloved pinup.
The ball was in Lance’s court now.
Lance sat in the suite he was sharing with Joey. He looked down at the phone positioned on the table in front of him. He’d told her he would call…that was three days ago though. He hadn’t meant to leave it so long, they’d been herded from appearance to appearance, interview to interview non-stop for the last three days though. Any minute they weren’t discussing the new album, tour, or their underwear, they were asleep. Their bodies were tired, their minds tired, but they couldn’t appear to be tired. What was the deal with that? The record company and management could work them ‘til they dropped but God forbid they looked liked they’d been working.
One interview that day and they’d been told the day was all theirs. They’d all looked at each other waiting for the expected “Ha! In your dreams, suckers!” It hadn’t come though. Sure they’d seen the schedule (well, Lance and JC had) which said they only had the single interview, but they’d learnt long ago that that thing could grow until it looked like most people’s 5-year appointments diary.
A few hours of much needed sleep and they were all back in the land of the living. Justin had gone out shopping, Chris was meeting up with some friends, JC was still lazing around his room, and Joey and Lance had ordered room service while deciding what to do with the remainder of their day.
Lance glanced over at Joey who was watching TV. Joey wasn’t paying any attention to him whatsoever so his call would be relatively private. He was stalling, he knew it. He grabbed the phone and searched for her number, hitting the call button before he could stop himself.
“Scott, put the bowl-” Summer groaned as her two-year-old brother poured the bowl of spaghetti down his front. “Why me?”
Celeste sat back and laughed. “Your brother is so cute, Sum.”
“Have him then.”
Celeste took in the face; chubby cheeks covered in orange coloured sauce, the spaghetti he’d grabbed up in his hands, squelching in his tiny fist. “Then again, maybe not.”
“No, you know, have them all. You can have Vanessa too. Kym’s for the taking, I’m sure you can fit Danny in somewhere, and I’ll pay you to take Billy.”
“Uh, I’ll pass, Billy’s over my house enough as it is.”
“Be thankful, Celeste, be very thankful that you’re not the oldest ofsix! I mean, don’t you even find it remotely disturbing that I have a two-year-old brother at my age? I know it grosses me out that my parents are at it after all these years.”
“Your parents are in love.”
“Correction, my parents are sexed-up baby making machines.”
“Whatever, Summer. Even in your warped mind I know you’d like to have what they have one day.”
“Yeah, minus the Brady Bunch kids.” Summer grabbed a baby wipe and started to clean up the mess around Scott’s face. She groaned. “There’s no use, he’s gonna have to get in the bath.” She grabbed Scott under the arms, holding him away from her so that she didn’t ruin her own clothes. “Come on, buster. Let’s go drown you before mom gets home.”
“You’re cruel, Summer!” Celeste laughed, as Summer disappeared up the stairs.
The phone rang as Summer reached the top of the stairs. “Celeste, get that will you?”
Celeste reached for the phone. “Hello?”
“Summer?”
“Nope.”
“Vanessa?” the caller asked hesitantly.
Celeste chuckled. “Nope, wrong again. Do you want to keep guessing or should I put you out of your misery?” She didn’t wait for his answer. “I’m Celeste.”
“Oh…is Summer there?”
She heard Summer telling Scott to stop splashing her. “She kinda can’t come to the phone right now.”
“Oh…”
“Can I ask who this is?” Her role as the nosy best friend kicked in.
“Um…”
Celeste smiled. “Is this Lance?”
“Er…”
Celeste chuckled. “Don’t worry, I’m not another Vanessa, I’m not gonna scream in your face, I’m Summer’s best friend,” she explained.
Lance laughed. “Well she didn’t actually scream in my face.”
“Perhaps the lessons I gave the girl in playing hard to get are actually working then.” She walked through into the living room, picking one of Scott’s toys up so she could sit down. At that moment Vanessa walked though the front door.
“So what can I do for you, Lance?”
Vanessa’s eyes bulged and she pointed at the phone, mouthing, “Is that him?”
Celeste nodded.
“Where’s Summer?” Vanessa whispered.
“Upstairs,” she whispered back.
“Huh?” Lance said.
“Sorry, I was just talking to Vanessa. You were saying…”
“I was just calling to talk I guess. I’m only here for a few more days.”
“Oh, so were you guys gonna meet up then?” Celeste asked, trying to understand what Vanessa was trying to tell her at the same time. “What?” she mouthed.
“She kissed him,” Vanessa hissed.
Celeste raised her eyebrows. Oh she did, did she? She hadn’t been told about that particular detail. The wheels started turning in her mind. “What are you doing tonight, Lance?” she asked, a smirk on her face.
“Hey, Joey?”
Joey looked up from the infomercial he’d been watching. “Yeah?”
“Fancy breaking out tonight?”
Joey raised his eyebrows. He didn’t know where this rebel without a cause side of Lance had come from but he was liking it. “What’s your plan?”
“Did you ever want to go to college?”
Joey chuckled, tossing a handful of fries into his mouth. “What are you gonna do, take me to English 101?”
Lance rolled his eyes. “Like you would have ever gone to classes. Now what you would have been top of the class in is partying.”
“We’re going to a party…with college students?” It sounded like a recipe for disaster.
Lance nodded. “We’re going to see Summer.”
Joey chuckled to himself. “Shit, we’re definitely in trouble. When do we leave?”
Summer sat on the counter in the kitchen, watching two frat brothers battling it out to see who could down their beer the fastest. A group of people stood around them, cheering them on all the way. Contestant number one raised his arms triumphantly and sealed his victory with a loud belch, crushing his can while the crowd cheered. Summer shook her head, wondering what the hell she was doing there.
She tore her eyes away from the night’s riveting entertainment and spotted Celeste dancing towards her, the heavy beats of some hip-hop song filling the house. She didn’t even know whose house it was.
“Having fun?” Celeste shouted.
“Oh yeah, He-Man and his friends over there are a barrel of laughs.”
“The sarcasm is oh so attractive.” Celeste pulled herself up to sit next to Summer, reaching over her to grab a cup of punch. She took a sip of it and immediately spat it out. “Damn, what’s in that? It tastes like someone’s pissed in it!”
“I wouldn’t be surprised,” she sighed.
“What’s up with you?” Celeste asked, nudging Summer’s shoulder. “Us little people too good for you now that you’ve been hanging out with the big-guns?”
Celeste’s voice held no malice, and Summer knew she was only trying to break her out of the funk she was in. “Whatever, Celeste. I’m just not in the mood for this tonight. Who was that guy you were dancing with,” she asked in order to change the subject.
“Kirk, he’s an actor,” Celeste shrugged.
“Celeste, everyone in this town is an actor. What that really means is they’re either “currently looking for work”, or you can spot them in your brother’s porn collection.”
Celeste nodded her head. “I think I’ve seen him working in Pizza Palace,” she shrugged, “he’s got a cute butt though.”
Summer groaned. “Cel, I’m bored.”
“Marcus has been eyeing you all night, why don’t you go dance with him.”
“Marcus is stalker material, he freaks me out. Last month he waited outside my photography class, in the rain might I add, and told me if I ever needed any models for life drawing I should to come to him.”
Celeste scrunched her nose. “Disturbing thought.”
“Tell me about it.”
“You’re all hung up on Lance though, that’s why you’re not having fun.”
“I am not!” Summer Walker did not get “hung up” on guys.
“Whatever, Summer. I know you. While most females get all girly and gushy, you get all pissy.”
“I do not!”
“Denial, it’s not just-”
“You even finish that sentence,” she interrupted, “and I’ll disown you. My dad says that when he thinks he’s being “hip”,” she rolled her eyes.
“Whatever. You can deny it all you want, I know the truth. You’re like me; you don’t like people throwing you off balance. We like to be in control, and Lance has so obviously wormed his way under your skin.”
Summer shook her head. “It’s just so pointless. I mean look at us,” she gestured around the room, “we’re in the middle of Immaturity Anonymous. Lance is probably living it up at some grade A celebrity party surrounded by money grabbing skanks.”
Celeste chuckled. “Jealous much?”
“Shut up, I barely know him.”
“I heard you know him well enough to test out the technical skills of that tongue of his.”
“I’m gonna kill Vanessa.”
“And what’s your excuse for not telling me?”
“What’s to tell? It was your basic kiss and run, never to be heard from again.”
Celeste smirked. “I wouldn’t be so sure of that.”
“What are you talking about?”
Celeste grabbed Summer’s face, angling it so she could see through the kitchen door, into the living room where she could see a commotion building. Her eyes were on the person trying to work his way through the crowd. “What the hell is he doing here?”
Celeste faced her friend with a grin. “Surprise!”
Chapter 8
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