Take One

by Karen Kingsbury

  “Wait.” He took a few steps and caught up to her. “I felt like a jerk that night. I mean it was so awkward—getting caught by Dayne and his wife that way.”

  “It was. I never should’ve let things go that far.” She released an exasperated breath. “Look, Jake, I was okay with a kiss. One kiss and a nice walk around the lake. But that’s not what you had in mind.” Her smile was aloof, intended to dismiss him.

  But again he stayed at her side. “Can I have another chance? I mean, I think I underestimated you.”

  His eyes pierced hers, and the feeling made her knees weak. “Underestimated me?”

  “How good you are. In my business, there are almost no really good girls.” He slipped his hands in his jeans and took on a look that seemed meant to garner her empathy. “A guy like me can get out of practice, forget how to handle a girl who’s … you know, really a treasure.”

  Andi felt herself falling again. After the hour she spent talking with Cody at last week’s football game, she had no trouble forgetting Jake. All she wanted was a guy like Cody Coleman, a guy who would cherish her the way Tim Reed cherished Bailey. But here … with Jake standing inches from her, she felt her resolve giving way like a sandcastle at high tide. “Really?” She crossed her arms, still trying to save face. “You’re not just saying that?”

  “Not at all.” He motioned for her to follow him back to the tent. “It’s Friday night. I just thought maybe we could hang out again, that’s all.”

  “Not at Lake Monroe.” Her answer was quick and laced with a teasing if reluctant laugh.

  “No, not there.” His grin was full of more apology. “How ’bout somewhere out in the open, with lots of people around. So you won’t have to wonder about my motives.”

  The idea sounded better all the time. Andi tried to picture what it would feel like being seen with Jake Olson, the girl on his arm at some restaurant or party. Just then she remembered. “A guy in my math class told me about a frat party tonight. Right across from campus.”

  “That’d be great.” His eyes danced and he looked less dangerous than before.

  Andi wondered if she’d been too quick to write him off. Maybe he really was sorry for being such a jerk. Besides, after her talk with Bailey last Saturday she sensed her roommate wasn’t really excited about Andi spending time with Cody. Not only that, but Cody hadn’t called or texted, so he couldn’t have been too anxious to get to know her better.

  But Jake … Jake was very interested. The fact was more flattering than Andi wanted to admit. “I’m going to dinner with my parents, but I can head over to the party around eight.”

  “Perfect. Text me when you get there, and you can tell me where you are.”

  She flashed flirty eyes at him. “This is your last chance.”

  He produced a dramatic bow, like a renaissance man of old. “Your kindness and generosity overwhelm me, my princess.”

  “Jake!” she giggled. “You’re crazy.”

  “About you.” He made a few quick raises of his eyebrow and then he turned and headed toward the assistant director.

  Andi went into the tent and served herself a scoop of tuna salad and a side of steamed vegetables. But she barely tasted any of it, because she couldn’t believe the change in Jake, or the fact that tonight, for the first time in her life, she was going to a real party. At a frat house, no less. She’d seen those types of parties in the movies, and she figured this one would be the same—loud music, lots of laughter, and people drinking and hitting on each other.

  She wasn’t sure how much of the party she wanted to experience, but she was thrilled to be going. How could she understand what she was missing if she didn’t at least try living the way other people lived? And with Jake there, she wouldn’t have to worry about strange guys picking her up.

  Throughout her day of extra work, whenever Jake was near her, their eyes would meet and she could feel his admiration to the core of her being. She was surprised that her parents hadn’t noticed his attention, and she was grateful at the same time. The last thing she wanted was another lecture from her dad about the type of guy Jake Olson really was. Her dad meant well, but he didn’t know. Jake was a good guy, she could tell that after their talk today. His explanation about not having much practice with “good” girls made perfect sense.

  Throughout her day of filming, and on into dinner, her plans with Jake were all she could think about. She and her parents went to a steakhouse, and Chase and his wife joined them. Andi was glad about that too. The two couples kept getting into deep conversations about the filming and practically forgetting she was with them. Andi was glad because the talk kept the attention off of her.

  Toward the end of the meal, her mom reached across the table and took hold of Andi’s hand. “You doing okay, sweetie? You’re quiet.”

  “I’m fine.” Neither of them had found out about her date last Friday with Jake, and if things went well, they wouldn’t find out about tonight either. “School’s going great. My grades are almost all A’s.”

  “Good for you, honey.” Her dad’s smile was kind and laced with approval. “You’ve been doing a great job on the set too.” He didn’t say that she’d handled well the disappointment of not getting the part she wanted. But that’s what he meant, his tone told her that. “How are things with Bailey?”

  “Fantastic.” Andi smiled at the mention of her roommate. “She’s doing great at rehearsals for Scrooge. She’s the best Ghost of Christmas Past ever.” Andi pictured the two of them at rehearsal the other day with Tim. He was amazing as Scrooge, and since Andi had to dance with him in the first act, the two of them were becoming better friends.

  “I like Tim for you,” Andi had told Bailey the other day after rehearsal. “You two are so much the same it’s incredible. Like God made him just for you.”

  Bailey hadn’t looked overjoyed at the comment, but she agreed all the same. “Tim is good for me. I see that a little more every day.”

  There were a few bumps here and there—like the hurt she felt from Bailey after Andi’s talk with Cody that night. But that passed after a few days, and she and Bailey were becoming better friends all the time. Neither of them would’ve done anything to hurt the other, and they were opening up more about the deeper ways they thought about their faith and family, the guys in their lives. Bailey still worried about the way Andi was tempted to live a little on the edge.

  “Rachel would have told you to stay away from Jake,” Bailey told her this morning when they talked about their Friday night plans. Bailey was going home again, and she and Tim were seeing a movie. Andi mentioned the frat party, and Bailey had given her a doubtful look. “And she never would’ve gone to a party like that. You know it, Andi.”

  “Yeah,” she gave a sad look at the picture that hung on her wall. “Look where it got her.”

  The conversation around the dinner table turned again to the movie, and Andi felt her phone vibrate in her purse beside her. She pulled it out and discretely—so she wouldn’t be thought rude—she read the message. A thrill ran through her, the same thrill that always came when she saw his name. The message was from Jake. Don’t forget to text me when you get to the party. I’m sitting at the hotel … can’t wait to hear from you.

  She checked the time on her phone. Seven thirty. She needed to get going. As they finished dinner, the women suggested dessert. “We haven’t all been together like this in too long,” Andi’s mom said. “I could sit here catching up all night.”

  Andi took the statement as her cue. She spread her hand out on the table and leaned in, smiling at each of them. “I should probably get going. Still lots to do tonight.”

  “On a Friday?” Her mom looked disappointed again. “We love having you here.”

  “I know.” She managed to sound practically heartbroken that she wasn’t staying longer. “It’s been a great dinner.” She focused her attention on her mom. “We’re still meeting for breakfast, right? That little place just off campus?”

&n
bsp; “Definitely.” Her mom gave a questioning look to the others. “You guys are in a meeting, right?”

  “We’ll be in meetings all day, phone conferences with our team back home.” Her dad tried not to look worried, but his eyes showed his concern. “You girls should all go, all three of you.”

  “Great idea.” Kelly looked prettier than she had in a long time. She’d done her hair and makeup and she and Chase seemed very in love. “What time should we meet?”

  “Let’s say ten. In case I’m up late studying.” Normally Andi would’ve wanted the breakfast alone with just her mother and her, but in light of all she wasn’t telling her parents, she welcomed the addition of Kelly to their breakfast date.

  They all agreed that ten would work, and then Andi gave out hugs and goodbyes and headed for the parking lot. She texted Jake the minute she arrived at the party, even before she climbed out of her car. I’m here … it’s the big yellow house on the east side of the street.

  Ten seconds passed and her phone rang. It was Jake. “Hey.”

  “Hi.” Her mouth was suddenly dry, and she reached for a water bottle she had in the console between the two front seats. He’d said just one word, but his voice made her dizzy, overcome with anticipation for whatever fun the night held. “Did you get my text?”

  “I did. I know the place.” He had a way of making every conversation seem deeply personal, intimate. “I’ve passed it on the way back from the set a few times and seen kids hanging out there.”

  She laughed. “That’s the place.”

  “Okay, well, hey … so Rita stopped by for a minute. She wants to talk about our scenes for next week, run lines for a little while.”

  “Oh.” She felt like a child whose birthday balloons had suddenly all gone flat. “So you’re not coming?”

  “No, no. Nothing like that.” He sounded anxious to keep her happy. “I’ll have the driver drop me off in an hour or so at the most. Then later on you can drive me home or I can walk. The hotel’s only a few blocks away.” His tone told her he felt terrible about the delay. “I’m sorry, Andi. It’s business, you know?”

  “Sure.” She stared out the windshield at the crowd already gathering in front of the yellow frat house. “I don’t really know anyone. Maybe I’ll go back to my dorm and wait to hear from you.”

  “No, seriously, Andi. Go have fun.” His concern for her was refreshing. “You’ll see people you know. And I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

  The idea sounded better than sitting in her dorm by herself. Adrenaline coursed through her at the thought of walking up to the kids and heading into the frat house not knowing a single person. Like something daring the old Andi never would’ve done. “Okay. I might do that.”

  “I have one question.” Jake sounded like he was nervous to ask it. “Will there be drinking?”

  “Drinking? You mean alcohol?” She was surprised. “Jake, come on. I mean, it’s a frat party. Of course there’ll be drinks.”

  “So … will it … offend you if I have a few beers?”

  Again she was touched that he would think to ask. “Not at all. You can drink. I mean, you’re old enough, and as long as you don’t drive, I’m fine. You could just get a ride back from someone.”

  “True … but I wanted you to be okay with it.”

  “Sure … of course.” Danger and intrigue mixed together in her gut and made her a little breathless. Would that be okay, really? Jake drinking when he was with her? What if after he started drinking he forgot about his promise to be more of a gentleman? She sucked in a nervous breath through her teeth. “I’ll even pull you aside a few beers, so you’ll have some in case they run out.”

  He chuckled and there was a fondness in his tone that didn’t seem to want more than a nice night out with her this time. “What about you?”

  “Me?”

  “Yeah, are you going to drink? You could just walk back to your dorm.”

  She hadn’t considered the idea. Drinking wasn’t something she thought a lot about, but maybe this was the night to try it. Like he said, she didn’t have to drive or get a ride with anyone. She could hang out, have a few beers, and then walk back to her dorm to sleep it off. Her heart raced the way it had the first time she had flying lessons from her dad in the small single-engine plane that took them in and out of the jungles of Indonesia.

  “I’m not twenty-one.”

  “That’s only if you’re buying. Otherwise you can’t get in trouble.”

  That didn’t sound like the rule she’d heard before. Back in San Jose a group of kids got arrested and charged for being at a party where alcohol was being served to minors. “Only if you get caught.”

  “Right,” he conceded. “Which you won’t, because cops don’t go to frat parties. I mean, I’m not telling you what to do, but I’d say live a little, Andi. Isn’t that what you told me that first time we talked? That you were tired of being so sheltered?”

  “All the time.” What he was saying made sense. She felt goose bumps along her arms and again she stared at the growing crowd on the steps and front yard of the frat house. “Okay, maybe I’ll go in and have a drink.”

  “Good.” He laughed not in a mean way, but the way a big brother would laugh at his little sister’s naiveté. “Don’t be afraid of having two. A couple beers won’t hurt you, and I’ll be there as soon as I can get away.”

  There was the sound of a woman’s voice in the background, and Jake muttered, “Just a minute. I’ll be right off.”

  “Rita?” Andi could hear now that it was her voice.

  “Yeah.” He sounded bored. “We have to get some work done. You go have fun and I’ll see you later.”

  “Text me when you get here. I’ll come out and meet you.”

  He agreed and they hung up. As Andi got out of her car and locked the doors, she could imagine the stress of trying to memorize lines and act out a scene without hours of rehearsal. Her dad had told her that sometimes the actors barely have time to run the scene immediately prior to the shoot. Andi figured that would be the most difficult thing about being in front of a camera. No wonder Jake and Rita were turning in such great performances, if they were working after hours to run lines. His work ethic underlined what she’d already figured out at the set earlier.

  That he was a nice guy after all.

  Twenty-Four

  ANDI CROSSED THE STREET AND AS she stepped up onto the lawn, she felt an almost electric rush. She was actually doing this, attending a frat party by herself. A number of guys turned around or looked over their shoulders to admire her, and the attention sent a rush through her. By the time she reached the door, two of them came up and introduced themselves.

  “You’re in my math class, right?” The guy was solidly built, well over six feet tall. He wore an Indiana football jersey and a baseball cap.

  She couldn’t remember seeing him before. “Uh … a guy in my math class told me about the party, but …”

  “That was Ben!” The guy laughed loudly. He was holding a beer and he sloshed it in the direction of his buddy. “I told you Ben had more—” he seemed to catch himself. He held up his hand in her direction, “More nerve than the rest of us.” He sloshed his beer again. “Good for ol’ Ben, asking you over. He’s inside. I can take you there if you want. I’m Lucas.”

  “What Lucas means is, I can take you.” The second guy was black with a nice build and friendly eyes. “You don’t want to waste your time on Lucas.” He held out his hand to her. “I’m Sam. And I’m available—in case you wondered.”

  Andi giggled at the spectacle they were making of themselves. “That’s okay.” She took a few steps from them. “I’ll say hi to Ben, and then I’ll come back outside.”

  The guys seemed harmless, and when she moved on without them they didn’t look too disappointed. It wasn’t easy getting up the steps and into the house. The place was packed with people squeezing past each other in every direction. As she worked her way through the living room she spotted B
en in the kitchen. Suddenly she could feel everything about the situation filling her senses. The loud Chris Brown music pulsing through the house, the laughter and multiple conversations, and the sense that this … this party and everything about it was what it meant to truly live.

  She felt the heat from so many bodies, and halfway to the kitchen a guy tripped near her and spilled beer on her sweater. Andi only laughed and helped him gain his balance again. She’d never been around drunk people or drinking of any kind, but she didn’t need experience to know that the guy was wasted.

  “Sorry,” he tried to touch her shoulder, but he missed and nearly fell again. “Wow, so sorry.”

  “Don’t worry about it.” She kept with the flow, and the drunk guy kept with his, moving toward the front door.

  “Hey,” he yelled at her when he was well out of reach. “You’re beau’ful … you know that?”

  Andi didn’t look back. She didn’t want the whole room to know he was talking about her. When she reached Ben, he looked beyond thrilled to see her. “Andi Ellison, I never thought I’d see you here.” He had to yell to be heard above the music and conversations.

  “Me either.” She looked over her shoulder at the packed house behind her. “A friend’s meeting me here.”

  “Good …” he put his arm around her and slowly led her to an enormous trash can filled with beer cans and ice. “This your first frat party, Andi?”

  “How can you tell?” She grinned at him.

  “You, uh … you look a little lost.” He snagged an icy can from the bin, popped the top, and handed it to her. “Here you go, beer’s compliments of the frat guys.”

  She took it, her heart pounding. This was as close to bad as she’d come. This and her time with Jake the other night. Was she really doing this? Standing in the kitchen of a group of guys she didn’t know, holding an open beer? She fought the urge to run from the house and throw the beer in the bushes on the way out.