by Emily Lowry
“Hailey Danielson, would you PLEASE come outside or whatever?”
I nearly shrieked with delight.
Hailey: Yes, I’ll be right there. And thank you for asking so nicely.
Trey: You have two minutes. I mean it.
Two minutes? I was in my pajamas!
But I didn’t doubt his threat. I grabbed the nearest jeans I could find, and shoved my feet into winter boots, for once thanking my lucky stars for parents who were always out. I would have to explain the security footage later.
I pulled my parka straight on over my pajama camisole. It would have to do. I ran past the mirror on my way out, and the sight of my bare, makeup-free face almost made me cancel this crazy plan all together.
He couldn’t see me like this. What would he think of me?
The part of me that was embarrassed by my appearance warred with the part of me that was dying to see him, to know what on earth he was doing at my house.
It was a battle easily won.
As I ran outside to meet him, scooping my messy hair into a makeshift ponytail, a part of me wondered — had I pushed Trey Carter too far? And what would the consequences be?
He wasn’t the type of boy to let a perceived slight go unpunished.
Trey was cold as an arctic wind when I climbed in the van. He stared straight ahead and drummed his fingers on the steering wheel.
I rolled my eyes. Boys could be so dramatic. “You can relax. Your reputation is intact — no one saw you be polite. Though I might use the footage as blackmail. Haven’t decided.”
“Whatever.” The van came to life, and we were off. I snuck a sideways look at Trey. He was wearing a worn leather jacket over a white shirt, with ripped jeans. Dark stubble framed his angular jaw. He looked ready for a rock concert.
He looked… sexy. And I looked like a total mess.
Where were we going?
I was beginning to wish I’d at least put proper clothes on.
“So, where are you sneaking me off to, so late at night?” I asked. As much as I didn’t want to admit it, I felt a slight thrill slipping out of my house on a weeknight at 11pm. Adam had begged me for our entire relationship to sneak out and spend the night at his place, but I knew what that meant. Adam had a one-track mind.
Trey was different. Trey had something else in mind for tonight, and I was dying to find out what.
He also still hadn’t answered my question.
I batted him playfully on the shoulder. “Come on, is it really so bad that you asked me out?”
“I DID NOT ASK YOU OUT,” he said.
I burst out laughing.
Trey, seemingly realizing how over-reactive his response was, grinned. “This isn’t a date, Hailey. It’s an opportunity.”
Hailey. He was using my name instead of calling me Cheerleader or Rich Girl. A sign of progress. I wondered what had made him change his mind. “I put your video up on Click.”
“Hope it does well.”
Hmm. So he hadn’t seen it yet. Not surprising.
“So will you tell me where we’re going?”
“Somewhere you can’t get in,” Trey said. “Unless you know the right people.”
“And I suppose you’re the right person?”
“You know it.”
“Fine,” I said. “I’ll play your game. But you need to play too. And you know what that means? We’re talking about Wuthering Heights.”
He groaned.
“You made the deal,” I said. “So. Wuthering Heights. It’s about a tragic love affair between Nelly and Heathcliff—”
“Catherine.”
I raised my eyebrows.
“Catherine and Heathcliff,” Trey said. “Not Nelly. Nelly’s the servant.”
“Right. Catherine.” I raised my eyebrows. Why had I said Nelly? I must not have been thinking clearly. And how did he know I got the name wrong? I brushed it aside. He probably just read the back of the book. “Anyway, Catherine and Heathcliff are childhood friends. And there’s Catherine’s brother — I can’t remember his name, it’ll come to me—”
“Hindley.”
Right again. But… how?
“I read the stupid book,” Trey said. “So, if you’re just going to give me a summary — especially one where you get all the names wrong, don’t bother.”
“YOU READ THE BOOK?”
I was speechless, and he knew it. Trey grinned devilishly and cranked the music. We spent the rest of the drive listening to rock bands from the ‘60s and ‘70s. It was almost a relief, in a way. When I thought about it, I’d never spent time with Trey alone. There was always someone else there. What would I talk about? I knew he thought of me as the dumb rich cheerleader, and that made me both angry and nervous. I wanted to prove him wrong.
But, when I thought about it, hadn’t I been wrong about him? The first time I talked to him I basically accused him of stealing from Notes.
Not your best first impression, Hailey.
I blushed as I felt him glance sideways, taking his eyes off the road for a moment to look at me. I felt naked with no makeup on, stripped bare.
“You look different.” He said it ambivalently.
Different? Was that good? Bad?
“How?” I painted on false bravado in place of mascara, pretending not to care that I felt like a mouse, not a swan.
“I dunno. More… you.”
I was still wrapped in my winter coat, but that didn’t stop the shiver zipping down my spine.
I stared straight ahead, too scared of what my mind would do if I dared to look at him.
We parked on a side road about a block from Main Street. Trey hopped out of the van, and without waiting for me to follow him, strolled down the sidewalk.
“Wait,” I said.
“Walk faster,” he replied.
I looked around for a mound of snow I could throw at him. Unfortunately, mid-February had been unseasonably warm and most of the snow had melted. The snow that hadn’t was streaked black and grey with dirt. So, frustrated as I was, I walked faster. The street was pitch dark, and I ran to keep up with him, not wanting to be left alone.
“Watch your step,” Trey said. He led me down a metal staircase to an enormous door. He banged on the door and it swung open.
The biggest man I had ever seen stood on the other side.
“Carter,” He nodded, friendly.
Then he saw me. He frowned, then glowered at Trey and shook his head.
“You bring company. That is not allowed.”
“No sweat, Haus. She’s cool,” Trey said.
I was hardly cool. I was standing there like a flushed idiot, totally makeup-free, still wearing my pajama top under my coat.
“What is cool?”
“She’s with me.”
“She’s too young.”
I once again cursed my choice to leave the house without makeup on. And where were we anyway?
“Technically, the place doesn’t exist. Which means, technically, there’s no age limit.”
Doesn’t exist? Age limit?
I took out my phone and sent Jordyn my location. Just in case. Where was Trey Carter taking me? Morbid curiosity was sparking through me like electricity.
The gigantic man pressed his thumb into the center of Trey’s chest. “She is your problem. If she is problem, you are my problem. You do not want to be my problem.”
The big man’s growl made me shiver. If it was up to me, we would’ve turned tail and found something else to do with our evening. But Trey stayed, an easy grin on his face. He winked and grabbed the man’s thumb, shaking it like it was his hand. “Deal.”
Well, at least one rumor was true. Trey Carter really was fearless.
We slipped past the big man and into an arched tunnel. The muffled sounds of live music came from the other end. We reached a door.
Trey paused. “People don’t know about this place.”
“Okay.”
“They cannot know about this place,” he said. “
This doesn’t go on Click or the deal is off.”
“Okay.”
“You need to promise.”
Again with the drama. “I pro-mise,” I said, over-enunciating every syllable.
“Everyone who’s anyone in the music industry in Evermore comes here. This is the stage I need to play at — officially, not just on an open mic — if I want to get a record deal. If you’re my publicist, you need to know these people.”
I nodded. “I will try my best.”
“Not good enough.”
Of course not. Why would trying be good enough? “Fine. I’ll DO my best.”
A smile crept across his face. “In that case,” he paused dramatically, “welcome to Prohibition.”
17
Hailey
Prohibition was unlike anything I’d seen in my life.
A step inside was a step into a different century. People danced under dim lights. Leather booths lined the walls. At more than one table, people were playing dice. The only thing that was missing was the cigarette smoke, and for that, I was thankful. There was a four-piece jazz band on stage and they were absolutely killing it. Even people who weren’t on the packed dance floor were dancing.
At the center of the action was a woman who must have been in her 70s — not that you could tell by the way she moved. She held a drink in the air and shook her hips. She was constantly laughing and danced with whoever got close — young men, old men, young women, old women.
The music was loud and intoxicating. I felt light-headed, like nothing could go wrong. My feet had already found the beat, and despite how self-conscious I felt, I had the overwhelming urge to charge the floor and throw myself around.
Trey rested his hand on my shoulder and leaned close so I could hear him over the music. When he spoke, I felt his breath, warm on my neck. I shivered. “The woman — the older one — that’s Lucy. She runs the place. You want me to take Wuthering Heights seriously? She’s the one that gets you there. I’ve got some folks to talk to. Good luck.”
He walked off, leaving me standing there alone.
My toes curled. My heart was beating faster than it should. I instinctively rested my hand on my shoulder, where Trey’s had just been. I couldn’t get over the fact that this place, this amazing place, was part of his world. How many mysteries were you hiding, Trey Carter?
Focus, Hailey.
Okay. I had a mission. Talk to Lucy, get Trey on his stage.
I marched towards the bathrooms. I could see Trey across the bar, his eyes full of laughter directed right at me. He thought I was chickening out.
I’d show him.
I checked my parka into the coatroom and went into the bathroom. I stared at myself in the mirror. I looked like a lost little girl — definitely not the girl who would come to a place like this.
But that attitude wouldn’t work. I needed to prove I could belong here, even if it was only pretend. How hard could it be to add one more mask to the roles I was playing? Head cheerleader. Straight-A student. Evermore’s Golden Girl. If I could pretend to be all of those things, I could pretend to be an Underground Club Music Promoter.
I unpinned my hair from its ponytail, letting it cascade around my shoulders. I pinched my cheeks to give them some color. No makeup, no problem. I was a pro at improvising. I gathered the bottom of my lacy pajama cami and tied it in a knot, forming a makeshift crop top. It worked. Well.
I gave myself another long look in the mirror, channeling all the confidence that loose hair, pinched cheeks, and an exposed midriff could give me.
I stepped onto the dancefloor and danced my way through the crowd, throwing my hands in the air and acting like I’d been doing this every night of my life.
Trey’s jaw hit the ground when he caught sight of me. I ignored the smile threatening to creep across my lips, and I ignored Trey, too. There was no time for boys when you were on a mission.
I danced until I was close to Lucy. The music increased in tempo, and she stuck her hand out towards me. I grabbed it and we danced together. For a moment, I was worried that if I did the wrong thing, pulled the wrong way, she would spin out of control. Break a hip.
Oh, how wrong I was.
Lucy had dance moves that I couldn’t even comprehend, let alone do. I tried to keep up and match her move for move as a small circle formed around us. I laughed as I moved, grateful to all my cheer training that I could somewhat dance. What was my life right now? I was mid-dance-off against a grandma in a secret underground night club I never knew existed.
It was getting hot quickly. Sweat trickled down my forehead.
I pulled out every dance move I could think of, spinning and dipping and kicking my feet. But no matter what I tried, Lucy had a better answer.
She jolted, grabbed her hip.
The crowd gasped.
Then she cracked a grin and perfectly segued into pretending she had a walker, then doing a robot.
Prohibition exploded in cheers.
I laughed and curtsied. I knew when I was beat.
Lucy put her arm around my shoulder. “You’re an absolute dime, remind me of myself a very long time ago. Let’s grab a little something and cool off.”
18
Hailey
She led me to a reserved booth in the back corner of the club. I hid my grin as Trey stared at me in utter disbelief from his seat at the bar.
Ha.
One bartender was immediately at our side with two drinks. Lucy picked them both up, sniffed one, and gave it back. “You can’t serve this to a minor. Get her a Shirley Temple.”
The waiter came back a moment later with a tall glass filled with ice cubes, two cherries, and what looked like pink soda. It was delicious. “Thank you.”
Lucy swirled the ice cubes in her drink, then took a sip. “I try to shoot it straight when I can, but it’s a hot one tonight. I saw you walk in with a stray cat under your arm. What’s a little doll like you doing with a boy like him?”
“Trey Carter? I’m working as his publicist.”
“Cute,” Lucy said, but her smile didn’t patronize. “He’s still trying to get his band going, is he? Good for a boy to have a hobby.”
“It’s not a hobby,” I said. I surprised myself with how quickly I came to Trey’s defense. But that was part of being a publicist, wasn’t it? “They’re good. He’s good.”
“You sound like him.”
“Have you heard his music?”
“Haven’t bothered.” Lucy waved the idea away. “I like the boy, he’s got guts, but I get a demo a day dropped through my mail slot. Don’t have time for all that. If someone’s fantastic, I’ll hear about them. If that boy wants to make it, he needs to get on stage.”
“Fine.”
Honestly, I don’t know what came over me. But I stood, marched through the dance floor, and hopped on the stage. The band stopped playing, the lead saxophone player raising his eyebrows, but saying nothing. The crowd calmed, too. If you could call confusion a type of calm.
My legs felt weak. What was I doing? Why did I jump on the stage? I didn’t have an actual plan. What would Trey think?
I suddenly became very aware of the fact that I was still in my pajama top, on stage, in front of a crowd of people.
I put on my best smile and pretended all of my doubts weren’t running on a loop in my head. “Ladies and gentlemen, we have a very special guest for you tonight.”
At the back of the club, Lucy stood, her drink still in her hand. I could swear her lips twitched.
I stared into the murmuring crowd. “A rising young star by the name of Trey Carter is in the audience. He’s going to come on stage and play for you.”
More murmuring.
“Just one song,” Lucy said. Somehow, her voice carried through the crowd.
“Just one song,” I agreed with a smile, like that had been my plan all along. “Trey, can you please come up to the stage?”
I looked over towards the bar, but he was gone. There was no movement
in the crowd.
My mind ran a mile a minute. Where was he?
Was he still in Prohibition? Was he hiding? I had cleared none of this with him. I hadn’t cleared it with anyone. I just acted, which was so unlike me.
Trey, where are you?
“Let’s give him some encouragement.” I clapped enthusiastically. Thankfully, as a cheerleader, I knew what it was like to force enthusiasm when you were on the wrong side of the scoreboard. After a moment, the crowd joined in. Their applause was polite rather than enthusiastic, but it was enough.
Now if only I could find Trey…
Lucy shook her head.
Came down from her booth.
Started to make her way through the audience towards the stage.
I pinned my smile to my cheeks and kept clapping. If Trey didn’t come to the stage, I would be a complete fool. Lucy was almost on stage —
Trey burst through the crowd.
Leaped on stage.
Waved.
The applause grew and I let out an enormous sigh of relief.
“What are you doing?” Trey said, his teeth gritted.
“Getting you on stage.” I jumped into the crowd and made sure I had a front row view.
“Hey everyone! Just give me one moment to get set up here,” Trey said, a calm smile on his face. He looked so composed, like he was born to be up there, but I knew he was seething underneath the act. He spoke in hushed tones to the band. Probably trying to decide on what song to play.
Oh man, I really didn’t think this out. What if he wasn’t ready? What if he was bad? No, I couldn’t afford to think like that. I put him in the spotlight. He needed to shine.
Trey finished conferring with the band, then took his place at the microphone. He winked at me. “I’d like to thank Hailey for getting me on stage. And as a thank you, I thought you might want to jump up here and sing with me?”
Me?
Sing?
In public?
Not. A. Chance.
I shook my head and instinctively backed away from the stage.
Trey shrugged, a wicked glint in his eye. “No? That’s okay. I like her better when she’s quiet anyway.”