“Yeah?”
“You … you have a pretty mouth.” I could see him blushing, and I wondered if he had ever said something like that to a girl before. “You do. It’s just like … yeah. It’s perfect.”
“James?”
“Yeah.” His voice was really quiet, like he was trying not to breathe.
“Do you …? Do you want to kiss me?” We were getting closer and closer, and then our noses touched once, twice, before our lips met.
I had my answer.
When we pulled apart, we were both gasping a little. “Wow,” I said.
“Is that okay?” he asked quickly. “I didn’t mean to—”
“No!” I said. “Don’t apologize, it was fine. I mean, it was better than fine, but … yeah. Good executive decision. Two thumbs up.”
He smiled, looking embarrassed. “We probably have to go back out there before Mr. Farris sends out a search party for you.”
I had completely forgotten that I was supposed to be working. “Oh. Right.” I tried to pat my hair down and smooth my shirt as we stood up, then realized that my knees were a little wobbly. Next to me, James put one hand on the freezer door and then, right before pulling it open, bent down and kissed me again, a quick impulse of a touch. “You ready?” he said.
I was still reeling from the second kiss, but I managed to nod before following him out into the fluorescent light of the back room. I had to squint against it, and then I went to the tiny employee bathroom to put water on my face while James went back to deal with customers and bosses.
In the bathroom mirror, I looked at my mouth. James thought it was perfect. Maybe it was. I smiled.
The girl in the mirror smiled back.
19 “Don’t let them tell you that there’s a right way to fall in love….
—Voxtrot, “Biggest Fan”
SO OF COURSE, the one time I really have to tell Victoria some-thing—kissage in the freezer with James, OMG!—I couldn’t find her. She had been out with Jonah that night, so she didn’t know anything about me and James, or about how I was now going to be forced to sit in the school office every day.
When I was driving to school, though, a phone call distracted me. My head was so in the clouds that I answered my phone without even looking at the caller ID, just assuming that it was Victoria because who else would dare call me at seven forty-five in the morning?
It was definitely not Victoria.
“Hello!” a voice said. “Is this the Audrey?”
“Um, sure,” I replied. “Why not.” Who’s this weirdo? I thought.
“Audrey! This is Jim Jenkster! Agent extraordinaire! Honey, we are going to change your life starting today! Starting this very minute!”
“Jim Jenkster?” I repeated. Jim Jenkster was the tool who was always in the back of C-level celebrities’ paparazzi photos, a slimy agent guy who had settled some sexual harassment lawsuits out of court. A real winner. But then again, anyone named Jim Jenkster is sort of set up to fail at life.
Still, I didn’t believe he was calling me. “Jonah, is this you?” I asked. “It’s ass o’clock in the morning—I didn’t even think you were awake at this hour. Did Victoria put you up to this? Because if she’s there I really, really, really need to talk to—”
“Oh, this is perfect already! That voice, your vibe! Honey, by the time all this is over, no one’s going to remember the Do-Gooders, but everyone’s gonna know who Audrey is!”
I sat in my car at the red light and openly gaped. This was so not Jonah. “Are you for real?” I said.
“As real as the sun in the sky! Or the UV rays in the tanning bed, heh heh!”
I started to laugh. I couldn’t help it. “Why are you calling me?” I asked between giggles. “Because seriously, dude, I don’t need an agent. Thanks, but go sell yourself to someone who’s buying.”
“I love it! Oh, darlin’, I absolutely love it! You’re so Audrey, Audrey!”
“No, I’m just Audrey.”
“No, you’re Audrey! Capital-A Audrey! Let me tell you what I’m thinking. We gotta start getting you to premieres, honey. That’s the first thing. The red carpet plus you equals dynamiteness.”
“Is that even a word?”
“Next, I’ve got a list of guys here. Hot ones. Hotties. All of them have pilots coming up for the spring. Big shows. Huge. We gotta get you seen with them.”
I took a deep breath. This guy was truly unhinged. All that tooth bleaching must have gone to his brain. “Look,” I told him, “I’m not interested in dating TV actors. Or rock stars. Or anyone who has a publicist or frequents a red carpet. Okay? Later, alligator.”
Then I hung up on Jim Jenkster. Agent extraordinaire.
And went to sit in the office.
By myself.
Sigh.
When Victoria walked past between first and second periods, she stopped short in the hallway. “What are you doing here?” she screeched, as three other students crashed into her. “Why aren’t you going to class?”
“Because my parents got called into a meeting with the principal yesterday and they decided it’d be less of a distraction to the other students if I did independent study in the office.” In light of the James kissing and that Jenkster nutcase, this news seemed a lot less exciting. “But look, Victoria, I have to tell you—”