surprises me.
I jump in anyway. “Alright,
fine, so I get it. You’re a super famous rock star in Night Shifts Black. Then
can I ask what you play? Or should I already know that, too?”
“Now, I get why you
like her. She knows nothing about us, does she?”
Luke’s grin returns.
“Nope.”
I don’t know if I’m
blushing, but still manage to give them a stern look. “So, what, I’m supposed
to grovel at your feet because you’re big rock gods? Sorry if I was the only
person on this planet who didn’t know that.”
“No, but now that you
know, you should be groveling,” Casey teases.
“Oh boy,” Luke mutters.
I raise my eyebrows.
“Really? What if I’m the princess of Tanzania? Maybe you should be groveling at
my feet.”
“If you’re really the
princess of Tanzania, I will. You’d have to prove it, though.”
“Prove you’re in Night
Shifts Black.”
Casey turns to Luke.
“Am I in Night Shifts Black?”
Luke holds up his
hands. “I’m not getting involved in this one. You’re on your own.”
“You’re not involved. You’re
just verifying a fact.”
Luke looks to me.
“It’s ok. He’s right.
You can answer his question.”
He sighs. “Fine. Yes, Casey
plays drums in Night Shifts Black.”
Casey leans back and
crosses his arms, a satisfied smirk on this face. “Ok, there you go. Now, it’s
your turn, princess.”
I clear my throat and
turn to Luke. “Am I the princess of Tanzania?”
This time I get Luke’s
real laugh, and my own grin breaks.
“Yes, she is,” he
replies, clearly amused.
I turn to Casey and
shrug. “There you have it.”
“Why do I feel like
I’ve been conned?”
“You haven’t been
conned, just out-voted,” I return.
“Ha, fine. This is all
breakfast club politics. I get it.”
“There are no politics
involved until you order. We only judge based on food selections here.”
Luke signals Darryn.
The servers at Jemma’s have learned not to bother us until we’re ready. We
pretend we’re being respectful of their time, but really they don’t want to
confront Luke before they get the all clear that he’s not nuts that day.
“Coffee, please,” Luke
says, and Darryn nods.
“What about you?” Darryn
asks Casey.
“Yeah, coffee’s good.”
“Tea for you?” he asks
me.
“Yes, please.”
“You guys eating
today?”
I notice Darryn asks
Luke, not me.
“Probably. Can we have
a couple minutes, though?”
“Of course. I’ll be
back with your drinks.”
We thank him.
“He knows you,” Casey
observes.
“He’s a breakfast club
regular,” I explain.
Casey smiles. “If I’d
known about breakfast club, I would have visited sooner.”
“Yeah, right,” Luke grunts.
“You don’t have time to visit. I still can’t believe you showed up last night.
Don’t you have to be in Richmond tonight? I thought you guys were playing the
Calisto Festival.”
Casey almost looks
hurt, and I’m surprised. “I would have stopped by as much as I could if you’d let
me. You just didn’t want me around. I didn’t even know where you were until TJ
called a few days ago. I got here the first second I could.”
I can tell Luke doesn’t
want to have this conversation. I think it’s more the subject itself than the
fact that I’m present, however. I can’t see him ever being comfortable with it.
“One of us needs to
try the French toast,” I say before we return to the uncomfortable silence.
“Why’s that?” Casey
asks.
“We’ve never ordered it,
and I think it’s time to diversify breakfast club. What do you think?” I ask
Luke who shrugs. He hasn’t recovered yet, and I turn back to Casey.
“So tell me more about
being famous rock stars. I want to hear about the groveling.”
Casey smiles, but the
humor is gone. “Well, it hasn’t been the same without your friend here, that’s
for sure. Luke was Night Shifts Black. Without him we’re basically just a sad cover
band.”
I realize this
conversation isn’t going
I jump in anyway. “Alright,
fine, so I get it. You’re a super famous rock star in Night Shifts Black. Then
can I ask what you play? Or should I already know that, too?”
“Now, I get why you
like her. She knows nothing about us, does she?”
Luke’s grin returns.
“Nope.”
I don’t know if I’m
blushing, but still manage to give them a stern look. “So, what, I’m supposed
to grovel at your feet because you’re big rock gods? Sorry if I was the only
person on this planet who didn’t know that.”
“No, but now that you
know, you should be groveling,” Casey teases.
“Oh boy,” Luke mutters.
I raise my eyebrows.
“Really? What if I’m the princess of Tanzania? Maybe you should be groveling at
my feet.”
“If you’re really the
princess of Tanzania, I will. You’d have to prove it, though.”
“Prove you’re in Night
Shifts Black.”
Casey turns to Luke.
“Am I in Night Shifts Black?”
Luke holds up his
hands. “I’m not getting involved in this one. You’re on your own.”
“You’re not involved. You’re
just verifying a fact.”
Luke looks to me.
“It’s ok. He’s right.
You can answer his question.”
He sighs. “Fine. Yes, Casey
plays drums in Night Shifts Black.”
Casey leans back and
crosses his arms, a satisfied smirk on this face. “Ok, there you go. Now, it’s
your turn, princess.”
I clear my throat and
turn to Luke. “Am I the princess of Tanzania?”
This time I get Luke’s
real laugh, and my own grin breaks.
“Yes, she is,” he
replies, clearly amused.
I turn to Casey and
shrug. “There you have it.”
“Why do I feel like
I’ve been conned?”
“You haven’t been
conned, just out-voted,” I return.
“Ha, fine. This is all
breakfast club politics. I get it.”
“There are no politics
involved until you order. We only judge based on food selections here.”
Luke signals Darryn.
The servers at Jemma’s have learned not to bother us until we’re ready. We
pretend we’re being respectful of their time, but really they don’t want to
confront Luke before they get the all clear that he’s not nuts that day.
“Coffee, please,” Luke
says, and Darryn nods.
“What about you?” Darryn
asks Casey.
“Yeah, coffee’s good.”
“Tea for you?” he asks
me.
“Yes, please.”
“You guys eating
today?”
I notice Darryn asks
Luke, not me.
“Probably. Can we have
a couple minutes, though?”
“Of course. I’ll be
back with your drinks.”
We thank him.
“He knows you,” Casey
observes.
“He’s a breakfast club
regular,” I explain.
Casey smiles. “If I’d
known about breakfast club, I would have visited sooner.”
“Yeah, right,” Luke grunts.
“You don’t have time to visit. I still can’t believe you showed up last night.
Don’t you have to be in Richmond tonight? I thought you guys were playing the
Calisto Festival.”
Casey almost looks
hurt, and I’m surprised. “I would have stopped by as much as I could if you’d let
me. You just didn’t want me around. I didn’t even know where you were until TJ
called a few days ago. I got here the first second I could.”
I can tell Luke doesn’t
want to have this conversation. I think it’s more the subject itself than the
fact that I’m present, however. I can’t see him ever being comfortable with it.
“One of us needs to
try the French toast,” I say before we return to the uncomfortable silence.
“Why’s that?” Casey
asks.
“We’ve never ordered it,
and I think it’s time to diversify breakfast club. What do you think?” I ask
Luke who shrugs. He hasn’t recovered yet, and I turn back to Casey.
“So tell me more about
being famous rock stars. I want to hear about the groveling.”
Casey smiles, but the
humor is gone. “Well, it hasn’t been the same without your friend here, that’s
for sure. Luke was Night Shifts Black. Without him we’re basically just a sad cover
band.”
I realize this
conversation isn’t going
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