Close to You (Fusion 2)

“That was after everyone else had left the church and Landon wanted to say a few things to me privately. We didn’t realize that the photographer stayed to take a couple photos, but I’m so glad she did. That’s one of my favorites.”

“What did he want to talk about?” Addie asks.

“That’s one of the few things that I’m not going to share with you guys,” I reply. Those words were too important to share them with anyone else.

“Well, it’s a great picture,” Kat says. “She did a really good job.”

“Thanks, I think so too.”

“Hey, Kat, did you buy your airline tickets for your trip yet?” Mia asks, making Kat frown again.

“Yes, but I’m telling you guys, I don’t want to go.”

“You do want to go,” I correct her. “You just don’t want to fly.”

“I don’t need to go,” Kat says.

“It’s a freaking wine convention in the Sonoma Valley. Of course you need to go,” Riley says with a laugh. “It’s shocking that you’ve never been down there before.”

“I’ve never had time to drive down there before,” Kat says.

“You’re one of the most badass women I know,” Addie says, and shoves a chunk of pineapple in her mouth. “I don’t know why you’re so damn afraid of flying.”

“Because I just don’t like it,” Kat snaps. “You don’t like things. Sometimes people just don’t like things.”

“Okay, look.” Riley looks back and forth between them, warning them to chill out. “Kat, it’s not going to suck. It’s not a long flight from here.”

“Did you book an aisle seat?” Mia asks. “That will help. Looking out the window might freak you out.”

“I got an aisle seat,” Kat says. “Can I get drunk before I get on the plane?”

“I don’t see why not,” I reply with a shrug. “Also, think of all of the hot guys that will be down there for the convention.”

“Sexcation!” Addie exclaims, and claps her hands happily. “There’s your silver lining. You can go down there and hook up with some hot wine dude. You can have lots of hot sex in the rows of grapes.”

“Ew,” Riley says, wrinkling her nose. “Don’t have sex in the grapes. Someone is going to end up drinking those.”

“That’s kind of sexy,” Kat says, sitting back to think it over. “It has been about six months since I last got laid. A sexcation sounds damn good.”

“See?” Addie says, proud of herself. “I knew someone would end up taking advantage of the sexcation idea. It’s a really brilliant idea.”

“So to recap,” Kat says thoughtfully, “I can get drunk for the flight and have no-expectations sex all week?”

“Yeah, that pretty much covers it,” I reply with a nod. “You should totally do it.”

“Okay, I’m in. But I have to be really drunk for that flight.”

“We can do that.”

Jake’s song for Addie, “If I Had Never Met You,” specially written and recorded for Listen to Me, is available for purchase from music retailers!