18
Pacey
“You want me to what?” I asked, putting a finger in my other ear so I could hear Adam on the phone.
I was walking by a Christmas parade that had blocked off the entire street.
“Come with me to the party at my mom’s house,” Adam said.
“Why? It sounds so random,” I said, maneuvering my way through the crowd trying my hardest not to bump into any children.
“She throws this huge Christmas party every year on the fifteenth. It’s crazy, she invites all these celebrities to her house and it gets pretty wild. Can you come?” He asked, his tone sounding desperate.
“Wait…the fifteenth? That’s in two days.”
“Yeah, I wasn’t planning on going. But my mom is forcing me now.”
“You want me to go with you?” I asked to clarify.
“Yes, I’d be so bored, and I’d be drawn into a bunch of small talk with people I don’t know, and I fucking hate that.”
“Where does she live even?”
“She bought a house near Midtown on the Heights a few years ago. It’s where she lives most of the time when she’s not with us on tour or in Los Angeles.”
“Wow, those houses are huge,” I said, thinking about that one-bedroom apartment in the social housing complex that she used to live in.
“Yeah, she’s living it up, that’s for sure. So can you make it?”
I was curious to see the lifestyle that Adam and his mom had now. “I have practice during the day, but sure I’ll—”
“Yes! Thank you so much, Pace. I owe you one. I’m at a radio station about to be on the air, I’ll catch you around soon.”
Adam had been busy with promoting Kingdom 4’s new Christmas album. Although he was still in the city, I hadn’t seen him since dinner with my parents a week ago.
He was pretty wound up that evening after the crazy encounter with the paparazzi. But we had a good dinner in the home that we grew up in.
I was on my way to a coffee shop to meet Amanda, who I hadn’t seen since our performance last week.
I arrived at the cozy café. I saw Amanda reading a book on a bright green chair near the window facing the Christmas parade. She had a steamy mug of tea in her hand.
“Hey, you,” I greeted.
She looked up and smiled, then got up to give me a hug.
“There you are,” she said, bringing me into her arms tight. “I’m glad you didn’t forget about me.”
“What? I’m sure it’s the other way around, now that you’ve been hanging out with that new man of yours,” I said.
I took off my beige overcoat and scarf, then sat down across from her in a bright blue chair.
“Shush, it’s casual. Don’t try to make it seem like it’s more than it is. I’m not even sure if he likes me,” she said, handing me a mug of coffee that was already sitting on the table.
“Ugh, guys are so hard to read,” I said, taking in the warm mug into my cold hands.
“Tell me about it. So, what’s happening in your life?” She smirked.
“Okay, so remember when Adam invited me to that concert?”
“Yes, the night I had food poisoning after my date?”
“Yeah, that one...when you ditched me. Well, something happened between us since then.”
“Oh my gosh. You hooked up with Adam Black of Kingdom 4?”
“Quiet down!” I whispered, eyes wide, looking around the café to see if anyone heard. But people were too busy paying attention to their laptops to notice. “We didn’t hook up…but we kissed.”
She gasped and put both hands over her mouth covering a smile. “What was it like?”
“The best kiss I’d ever had,” I said. “Better than what I imagined since I was a teenager.”
“I remember you talking about him in college. I can’t believe you actually kissed him. I always thought he was…straight.”
“He is, but after the last performance, he grabbed me backstage and pushed me up against the wall.”
Amanda squealed and moved erratically in her chair. “Man, your solo was amazing though. Like, I nearly dropped my violin to stand up and clap but I didn’t want to steal any attention away from you. I felt the energy in that room that evening, and it was a fucking beautiful thing. I’m proud of you, Pacey. You deserve that kiss from Adam.”
“It was crazy. I never expected that kind of response from the audience...or even Adam—but you know you can’t tell a soul about what happened, right?”
“Of course, I’m not stupid, Pacey. God, don’t you know me. I’m aware he’s the prince of rock music.”
“It’s so weird to think about it like that. Adam had always just been my buddy who can sing like an angel. Even when I see him perform, it’s weird to see so many people go absolutely crazy over him.”
“Umm, maybe that’s why he’s so into you. Because you treat him like a normal human being. Think of all the rabid fans who stalk him. It must get old after a while.”
“When we were leaving the show, I got a taste of that. He looked stressed when photographers swarmed us, and he was on a verge of a breakdown.”
“Aww, that’s kinda sad…I feel bad for him. But then again, he’s a sexy multi-millionaire rock star...his life ain’t all that bad.”
“I guess you can say that. We’re all human, though, and I’m sure he has struggles too, just different ones.”
“Your heart is massive, Pace. I don’t want you to get hurt again, after what happened the first time. Promise me you’ll be careful. I’m saying this as a friend.”
“Well, what Adam and I have together feels different now that we’re both older now—we’re both more mature.”
“I hope so...just be careful,” she said, sipping more tea. “What else is going on in your life?”
“Well, Adam wants me to go to his mom’s party, at her house on the heights,” I said, scratching the back of my head.
“Damn, they really are living large, eh?”
“Yeah, I was hesitant at first. You know I don’t do well at parties, and I haven’t seen his mom since I was a teen.”
“Oh right, she was a crack whore, wasn’t she.”
“Well, I don’t know about that,” I laughed. “But definitely addicted to other stuff when we were growing up.”
“That’s insane that you’ll get to see such a contrast between their past and now,” she said. “Hell, if you don’t go, can Adam take me as a plus one? It will give me an excuse to buy a new dress. Oh man, and I’ll get to walk into the party looking all fabulous.”
“Relax, he asked me!” I said.
“So you should go then! It sounds like it’ll be a gay old time—gay as in happy, not as in homosexual.”
I smiled. “I guess I should.”
“Have you seen photos online of her party last year? Literally, every celebrity was there, it was the Christmas Party of the century, and I don’t know how she’ll manage to top it.”
“Ugh, thanks for making me that much more nervous.”
“Just want you to be prepared. You’ll be fine. Just go. And fucking Adam Black wants you there. Swoon!”
“Okay, okay, I’ll go. But that means I’ll need to get a new outfit or something—”
“Yes! Shopping trip, I’m there. Can we go today? I have nothing to do after this.”
“What was in your tea? You’re practically jumping out of your seat.”
“Sorry, I’m just high on life. It’s Christmas, I always love this time of year.”
We looked out the windows as the Christmas parade passed.
Elves tossed candy canes at the kids in the crowd. Each float was more extravagant than the last. Then, there was a grand finale where eight inflatable reindeer pulled a giant sleigh. Santa Claus and Mrs. Clause smiled and waved above the crowd.
“This is kind of giving me a headache,” I said, looking out at the screaming kids who were sucking on candy canes and going absolutely wild.
“Me too,” Amanda said. “Let’s go shopping for your big party!”
We put our coats back on and stepped out of the café. The crowd was starting to disperse as we made our way to the shopping district.
We walked into a department store, and as soon as we went inside, there was a poster of Adam hanging from the ceiling. The photo was cropped to show his face and torso, he had on a Santa hat, and a flirtatious wink. Written in red paint across his abs were the words, Merry Christmas.
I blushed seeing such a big photo of him there. It didn’t help that Amanda stopped walking and was just staring at it, giving me glances and raising her brows.
“Hey, Pacey. Take a look at this stud, I wonder who he is?” She winked.
“God, can we keep going?” I said.
“Why? Can you get a photo of me with him in the background? I want the whole poster in the shot!” She dug into her bag and pulled out her phone.
“No, I won’t take a photo of you.”
“Why not Pacey, come on.”
I rolled my eyes, and turned and kept walking, following the sign to the men’s section.
She eventually caught up to me, showing me the selfie she tried to take with him. I couldn’t help but smile at the goofy face she was making to the camera.
“Damn, for real, Pacey. I can’t believe you kissed him.”
“I can’t believe it either, now stop making such a big deal out of it,” I said.
I thumbed through a rack of clothes. “Should I go casual, or formal?”
“Semi-formal, so you don’t look like you tried too hard, but you’ll also look impressive.”
“I’m not really trying to impress anyone there,” I said.
I found a grey blazer with a subtle checkered pattern on it, next to it was a navy blue shirt with a floral print.
“That’s perfect,” Amanda said, when I pulled it off the rack. “Try it on, see if you like it.”
I went to the dressing room and stripped out of my sweater to put on the button up. Then, slipped the blazer over it.
It looked alright to me.