“Speech! Speech!” Freddy yelled.
“Freddy. Pink hair? Seriously?” I teased.
“What kind of speech was that?” He joked.
“Harper, pink-hair-dude is Freddy.” Freddy waved. “This is Tie-Dye Tom, as you can tell from his tie-dye t-shirt.” Tom stuck his hand out.
“Tie-Dye, eh?” Harper asked.
“Yes, milady. I own seventy-seven of them.”
“Congrats?”
“Thank you.”
“And you know Cherry,” I say. Cherry hugs her hello. “And this is SO.” I point out our most Gentleman’s Quarterly member.
“A pleasure,” Harper said. “SO, is it?”
“It’s not my real name,” he corrected smoothly.
“That’s right, SO’s real name is Henry or something stupid like that,” Cherry chimed in.
“What does SO stand for, then?” Harper asked, ignoring Cherry.
“Smooth Operator,” we all said in unison, then laughed out loud.
SO takes Harper’s hand and kisses the knuckles. “Did I mention we are a dramatic bunch?” I asked. I point to each remaining member of the group as I mention their name. “Kelly, Cross, Marty, Aaron, Nat, Jared and Josiah, but we call them ‘the twins’ because, well, they’re twins, and last, but not least, Sam, short for Samantha.”
Everyone smiles and nods, finally taking note of Harper, mesmerized by the sheer beauty of her. Samantha patted the seat next to her and Harper took the offered seat. I found an empty place next to Cherry and watched Harper talk to Sam.
“You’re smitten,” I heard to my left.
“I’m not,” I tell Cherry.
“You’re smitten, dude. It’s obvious.”
“No, I’m not!”
“Callum, you wear your emotions all over your face. Plus, Harper’s sitting directly next to Sam, whom, by the way, I would have bet money on that you were in love with just two days ago, and you barely took note of her. You’re smitten with that girl.”
“I can’t help it,” I blurt out. Cherry laughed. “I really can’t, Cherry. I’m going out of my mind. I’m mad at you, by the way.”
“What? Why?” She demanded.
“We had this moment earlier. The one you interrupted. Ring a bell?”
“Oops,” she laughed. “Sorry.”
I forgave her with a reluctant smile.
“Oh my God, Cherry. I have never met anyone like her in my entire life.”
“What exactly did I interrupt?”
“It’s embarrassing but it was this strange flirtation. We were close enough to kiss but we never closed the gap.” I gripped the sides of my hair with my fists. “Gah! She is like no one I’ve ever known. She drives me batty.”
“And Sam?”
I shook my head. “Sam who? She’s a poor man’s Harper Bailey.”
“Damn, boy. Never thought I’d see the day you got over Sam.”
“Sam’s Charlie’s, anyway.” I said without thinking. I cringed when I realized what I’d said then peered over my shoulder at Cherry. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?” She pretended.
“I know you’re in love with Charlie.”
“I’m not,” she said, her eyes wide.
“Cherry, come on. You and I are the king and queen of unrequited love.”
She shoved her shoulder into mine. “Am I as transparent as you?” She teased.
“Shut up,” I laughed then smiled stupidly. “Probably not.” I watched Harper’s mouth. “I want to kiss her so badly, Cherry.” I turned back to Cherry, leaning my head on the railing.
“What ya’ tellin’ me this for? Tell her,” she said, bringing my attention back to Harper, who was now staring and smiling at me.
I stood and walked over to Harper, grabbing her hand, barely acknowledging Sam. “Come with me.”
“Where are we going?” She asked.
“We go on in fifteen, Callum! Don’t stray too far!” Freddy yelled.
“We’ll be there,” I yelled back, keeping my eyes on Harper.
I looked across the rooftop deck and found a dark corner with our names written all over it but Harper surprised me by bringing up the furthest topic from my mind.
“Callum, when Charlie comes back from touring. Where are we going to stay?”
What surprised me the most in that question wasn’t the fact that she was concerned about what was going to happen but what’s going to happen to us.
“Don’t worry, Harper. I’ll take care of us.” And I meant it. I’d figure out a way. “We’re going to be fine. I have two weeks to figure something out. We can save our money and cross that bridge when we come to it. Now, for tonight, stop worrying?”
“Alright,” she grinned.
I tucked a stray hair behind her ear and hugged her tightly.
“Callum Tate,” we heard over the scratchy speakers. “You’re needed near the stage.”
I sighed loudly. “I’m gonna’ kill Cherry. Come on,” I said, dragging Harper back down the stairs and into the main hall.
We dug our way through the crowd and stood close to the edge of the stage. Cherry poked her head from between the curtains and winked at us. So many beautiful sounds surrounded us and I grabbed Harper’s hand as I listened to them; glass bottles clanked like bells against others, happy people laughing all around us, the pumping of awesome tunes coming from up above, Cherry’s band tuning their instruments.