Shit. If I say hot dog,
my groupies are gonna
howl. I turn my back
on them completely.
“Want some lunch?”
I gesture toward
the gathered X fans
all happily munching
Polish sausages. Nikki,
red-faced, shakes her head.
Her mom, all stuck-up,
slides her arm around
Nikki’s shoulder. No.
Her dad looks slightly
amused, but his voice
is stiff. We already ate.
“Oh. Okay.” How do
I make this right? “Nik,
can I talk to you a sec?”
She starts to say no,
but if I don’t fix this
now, it might be unfixable.
“Please?” I take her
arm, pull her away
from her mother’s grasp
and off to one side. “Hey.
Those girls are listeners.
You are the one I love.”
I NOTICE HER MOM AND DAD
Watching us. Standing