Part 19 (1/2)
She's sort of a world traveler, and right now she's a cook on one of those North Atlantic cruise s.h.i.+ps. He met her when the Flirts played that weekend cruise back in March.”
Sam was incredulous. ”Hold on a sec. Am I picking up vibes that you've agreed to let him keep seeing her once you leave?”
”Sam, I don't have the right to let or not let him do something. He's a grownup. He makes his own choices.”
”Hey, that's a little too New Age for me,” Sam snorted. ”If it were Danny, I'd deck him!”
”You're the biggest flirt in the Western hemi- sphere!” Carrie hooted. ”Who are you to talk?”
”Flirting is permissible, for your information,”
Sam said coolly. ”It's action that means war.”
Carrie crumpled up her napkin and laid it by her plate. ”I don't know what's going to happen. If he can last until June, at least we'll have the summer together. I've promised to be Graham and Claudia's au pair again.”
”Yikes!” cried Sam. ”I forgot to tell you what I did-yesterday! Danny and Kevin rented a boat and went sailing, so I got a bike and rode around. I ended up going past the Jacobs place, and Dan was there! He's having a new roof put on and wanted to check the progress.”
”Were the monsters along?” asked Carrie, referring to Dan's precocious thirteen-year-old identical-twin daughters.
”Only in spirit,” said Sam. ”The point is that he asked me back for the summer.”
”And?” said Emma.
”And I told him I'd think about it.”
”But what about Disney?” Carrie asked.
This was it. The big chance. The big opening.
Truth tune.
”I'm . . . having some problems at Disney,”
Sam ventured.
”Really?” Carrie asked, concern etched on her face.
”What is it?” Emma asked.
”It's ... it's ... oh, it's nothing,” Sam said, brus.h.i.+ng it off. She'd gotten so used to the lie, she just couldn't make herself tell them. She changed the subject quickly.
”Hey, listen, I picked up a magazine in the hotel lobby and there was an ad in there for dancers-dancers for an international touring company!” Sam said animatedly. ”Would that be totally happening, or what?”
”Would that be long term?” Carrie asked. ”You wouldn't be able to keep your job at Disney, would you?”
Sam sighed. ”Honestly, Carrie. Didn't you ever hear of thinking big?”
Carrie looked a little hurt. ”Well, how would you get in on it?”
”I have to send for more information,” Sam replied. ”I guess they have auditions. Just think- by next fall you two may be getting postcards from London, Paris-who knows?”
”Hi there!” came a low male voice.
The three girls looked up to see Kevin Logan standing at their table.
”Takeout,” he said, holding up a bag of m.u.f.fins.
”How's it going?”
”Great!” said Sam. ”We're about to move on to dessert.”
”Try the Chocolate Sacrifice,” Kevin suggested.
”I had it yesterday. It's incredible.” He glanced at each of them. ”See you!”
Emma, Carrie, and Sam watched Kevin saunter out of the restaurant.
”Tell me that isn't a world-cla.s.s b.u.t.t,” Sam murmured as they watched him walk out the door.
”You won't get any argument from me,” Carrie said.
”Does he have a girlfriend, or what?” Emma asked casually.
”From what Danny tells me, he has a harem!”
said Sam.
”Anyone for dessert?” the waitress asked cheerfully.
”Not me,” said Emma.
”Or me,” Carrie seconded quickly.
”Such misses!” Sam chided. She turned to the waitress. ”One Chocolate Sacrifice,” she ordered, ”and three spoons.”
”So Kevin's a heartbreaker, is he?” Carrie said, immediately resuming their conversation.
”Not really a heartbreaker,” Sam went on thoughtfully. ”I think he just sort of plays the field, and he's so nice about it that girls feel lucky just to have his attention.”
”He doesn't seem to have a big ego,” Emma commented.
”He doesn't,” Sam agreed. ”There's something so solid about him-you know, he's smart, ath- letic, thoughtful, fun ...”
”Maybe we should run him for president,”
Carrie offered.
The girls enjoyed a laugh, but Emma was thinking that she was glad Kevin was going to be around for the party. If Kurt was going to get on her case about her drinking, maybe she'd just spend time with Kevin. After all, he'd been really nice to her at her apartment. And he was very, very cute.
Emma sighed and stared into the distance.