Christopher and I had been roommates since our freshman year in the dorms. He was one of my closest friends and easily the smartest guy I knew. And trust me, I knew a lot of smart people. He had a degree in aerospace engineering and was on his way to becoming a rocket scientist, like both of his parents. No doubt he’d be my boss one day at the Jet Propulsion Lab.
I was more than qualified for my upcoming gig at JPL, but I knew I owed Topher and his folks for the opportunity. According to Toph, his parents sort of adopted me. He was an only child and kind of an odd duck. You wouldn’t know that until you talked to him, though. He looked perfectly “normal.” Topher was thin with bright-green eyes, freckles, and curly light-brown hair that took on a reddish sheen in sunlight.
Did I mention that he was brilliant? The type of guy who could solve complicated equations in his head while making a gourmet meal as he asked after your sick cat. I had the opposite issue. I tended to push the real world aside when I was in the midst of a fascinating project. Toph could do it all. His Achilles heel was that he became painfully awkward around any man he found attractive. Even more so than me. Which was hard to believe after the other night.
“Oh, no. I forgot to quit.” I groaned, covering my warm face with both hands.
“Quit what?”
“The internship. I can’t do it.”
“What are you talking about? You don’t have a—the one at the record company? Why? You were excited about it. You said it was part-time, so it won’t interfere with your quest to broaden your horizons. Gee, think of how many more sunburns you can get and still make some extra cash while drooling over sexy musicians. You have nothing to lose. Now hold still.”
I obeyed as he slathered aloe on my skin. “I have a problem, Toph.”
“I know. You’re a lobster. But the redness will fade over the next five days. Just drink a lot of water and put a cool compress on the worst bits. And be grateful you didn’t go to a nude beach. Your poor pecker,” he clucked like a mother hen.
“Very funny.”
“I’m not joking,” he assured me, pushing his glasses higher on the bridge of his nose, then recapping the aloe bottle. “Can you imagine how painful a singed penis would be? I made coffee. Do you want some?”
“Yes, please.”
I grabbed a clean towel and my cell from my nightstand before meeting him in our living area. I draped the towel over a chair at our small round table and gingerly sat, hiking my Star Trek PJ bottoms up to expose my burnt calves. Once I was reasonably comfortable, I scrolled through my emails as if I didn’t have a care in the world. I stopped short at the one from Charlie Rourke, dated from last Tuesday.
“Congratulations. We’re thrilled to inform you that you’ve been selected to intern for Scratch Records effective Monday. As we discussed, this will be a part-time commitment. I need your analytical expertise twenty hours a week through summertime. Zero and Jealousy will be leaving to tour the East Coast in August. I may require full-time assistance at that time if you’re available, but we can chat about that later. Looking forward to seeing you at ten a.m. on Monday!”
I liked the way his personality shone through the correspondence in spite of the overall professional tone. Meeting Charlie at my interview last week had been…enlightening. I was as queer as they came and a lot of my friends, including Topher, were gay too. However, none of us were as fabulous as Charlie. He was colorful, excitable, and charming. I’d had a feeling when we met that he’d make a great “cool” influence. The fact that he represented two up-and-coming rock bands with a queer presence made the internship even more attractive. I was sure I’d set myself up for the best summer ever.
Fail. Total fail.
I started to type a regretful response, thanking him for the opportunity and—then what? I couldn’t tell him I quit because of a sunburn. That sounded worse than the truth. I flipped my phone over and smiled my thanks to Topher when he set a cup of coffee in front of me.
“Do you want an ice cube in it?”
“In my coffee?” I yelped. “No, thanks.”
“Here. Drink plenty of H2O instead.” He slid a glass of water to me and sat in the chair across the table. “So, how did this happen? You’re a freak about UV rays. I refuse to believe that you simply forgot to put on sunscreen.”
“I put some on. Not as much as usual, though. And I fell asleep. Now I’m a red raccoon. I can’t show up at a cool record studio looking like an extra from the remake of a Strawberry Shortcake movie,” I groused, lifting my mug to my lips. Thankfully, my lip balm held up yesterday. I would have cried without my daily dose of java.
Toph chuckled. “It’s not that bad. I mean, it’s not good either, but you’ll be fine by the end of the week. Just bring the aloe with you tomorrow. And maybe try an oatmeal, honey, cucumber salve. I’ll look one up online.”
“I can’t go, and it has nothing to do with my red…hue. You’ve been busy the last couple of days, so I didn’t have a chance to tell you about Wednesday night. And then I forgot about it when I threw myself into the spreadsheets your mom asked me to look at for the fluid dynamic systems class she’s teaching. That looks fascinating, by the way,” I commented idly.
“It is. I wish I could take that class again. What happened Wednesday night?”
“Ugh. I’m so embarrassed.” I covered my eyes briefly and blurted, “I kissed Bobby J.”
Topher squinted in confusion. “Who’s that?”
“Jealousy’s guitarist! That huge, hunky bear of a man bought me a drink, flirted with me, walked me to my car, and—I kissed him. Except, I didn’t just kiss him…I threw myself at him. I invited him home with me. He let me down gently and suggested exchanging phone numbers instead. Oh, my God.” I rubbed the heels of my hands into my eye sockets like the effort might erase the memory. “That’s what snapped me out of my trance. I tried to play it cool but almost took his foot off when I pulled out of my parking space.”
“Whoa. I’m not following. You went to a bar?”
“Yes, a seedy one. I thought it would be a good place to start my research, and I just happened to drive by the studio.”
“Sounds suspicious already,” he said, furrowing his brow.
“Yeah, it was. I hoped for a band sighting, and I got it. Members of Zero and Jealousy were right there…as close as the TV.” I gesture toward the flat-screen in the adjacent living room. “Justin and his boyfriend, Tegan and Declan…and Bobby J.”
“You know I have no idea who these people are,” he deadpanned.
“Well, you will soon. Their bands are both red-hot and—”
“As hot as your sunburn?”
“Yeah, something like that. When I spotted them, I mentally freaked before I pulled it together long enough to find a dark corner where I could just observe. I ordered a horrible drink and stared to my heart’s content. But then…Bobby J came to talk to me. Me! Out of the blue. I’m pretty sure my voice shook, but he didn’t seem to notice. He was very cool and…”
“And?” Topher prodded.
“We flirted and kissed and—now I’m a lobster. A lying lobster. I never told him I was the new intern.”