The Real Score

Chapter 3: Use Somebody

"I can stay here while you get the CDs."

I found myself outside of Marcus' hotel room, arrested by a strange mix of excitement and fear. The hallway was empty, which wasn't surprising since we passed by a couple of security guys stationed at all the entrances and exits on the floor.

"Hell no. You're coming inside," Marcus said, reaching down and holding my hand. He managed to open the door with his free hand, and then he tugged at me. "Come on. I'm not going to jump you, I promise," he teased, and I wrinkled my nose at him.

Lorin's face flashed momentarily in my head, along with the words she said to me this morning: Grab the next chance for an adventure that the universe hands you. Be crazy.

Was going into a famous boy band member's hotel room an adventure?

No? I'm pretty sure it could be classified under "crazy." Or maybe under "one of the worst decisions I will ever make in my entire life."

Screw it.

I could relish Lorin's jealousy at how my night turned out when I tell her.

Be crazy, she said? Give Gezellig a chance?

Yes, to both counts.

I nodded at Marcus, and we entered his room. The lights turned on, the enormity of the room spread before me. He—along with his bandmates—probably had the biggest rooms in the hotel because this was a premiere suite. He helped me to the couch, depositing my things at the bottom of the seat. I sat there, amidst the chaos of Marcus' things, his suitcase overflowing with clothes laid open on one of the loveseats, his shoes strewn on the floor, and the bottles of soda and beer on the center table. He disappeared into the lone room in the suite.

"Where are your bandmates?" I called out, and he rounded the corner, tapping the CDs he was carrying against each other.

"Same floor. The whole floor is just us and the crew."

Marcus threw the CDs onto my lap, and I picked them up. The first one was Freaks, where Marcus and his bandmates were making wacky faces on the cover of the album. The other one, Time Stands Still, carries the same cover as the billboard I saw earlier.

"The second one's better—save for the one you hate, Roll with Me. We wrote some more songs in that one—" I opened my mouth to cut in, but he beat me to it. "And no, we didn't write Roll with Me." He flopped on the couch next to me, and the CDs bounced on my lap.

Marcus flashed me his popular smile. "Give us a chance."

I held the CDs and used them to point at his face. "That smile won't work on me."

"I was hoping it would, but if you're immune..." Marcus shrugged, his smile turning into a grin. He brushed his hair off his forehead, exposing some freckles, and I exhaled loudly, my resolve slowly withering away.

"Fine. I'll listen to these," I said, and he actually pumped his fist into the air.

"One day, I will call you a Gezer," he swore. "Lorin and I will claim our sweet, sweet victory when that happens."

I shook my head. "Oh God, I hope that will never happen."

Marcus laughed, a loud, carefree laugh, and I found myself smiling. A couple of beats of silence reigned between us, and I cleared my throat to break it.

"Thanks for these," I said, standing up. "It's getting late, I have to go." I gave him an uneasy smile, and I saw him hesitate. I took a step towards the door when he spoke.