Camden

In the light of day, last night seemed categorically ridiculous. I went over and over the events of the previous evening as I sat in the lobby restaurant of the Peninsula Beijing, trying to enjoy a late breakfast before we departed for London a few hours later, which was in and of itself another source of anxiety for me altogether. Pushing that aside, however, I opted to take stock of how I had ruined a perfectly lovely night with Kate because I had let my emotions get the better of me. Kate unraveled me on a daily basis, and I couldn’t stomach the idea that she was upstairs packing her things, dreading yet another tense ride on the jet to our next tour stop.

Matt Castell must have been similarly preoccupied, though. He entered the restaurant and made a beeline right for me and plopped himself down in the empty chair opposite me, lounging back in his chair with a roguish grin.

“Did we almost get into a brawl last night at a cheesy karaoke bar in Sanlitun?”

I couldn’t help but laugh a little. When he put it like that, it sounded utterly moronic. “I’m afraid so,” I said as I took a sip of my coffee. While I had spent most of the last half hour pushing food around on my plate, the coffee felt very necessary.

“I was so wasted last night. You’re going to have to refresh my memory on what I was about to throw down over,” he laughed, seeming genuinely embarrassed.

“Let’s just say you take your karaoke very seriously.”

“Fuck. Was I being a mic hog? Total dick-move. I was in a garage band when I was a kid. Sometimes I get carried away. Was I on key, at least?”

“You’re actually not half bad, mate,” I said, the humor suddenly starting to return to me.

“Then what was your complaint, man?” Matt laughed jovially.

I looked him in the eyes for a moment, not sure if I should say more. “It wasn’t your singing. It was more so that I think we both wanted the same duet partner, so to speak,” I eyed him, hoping he had caught my meaning.

“Oh,” he said training his eyes on the salt shaker that he was worrying in his hands. “I wondered when we’d have to have this conversation,” he said, looking a bit more serious than I had ever seen him. “This is about Lizzy, huh?”

I furrowed my brow. “Lizzy?”

“Yeah, I’ll admit that I have a little thing for her, and from your reaction, I’m gathering that you’re not a fan of that idea.”

I paused for a moment, a bit puzzled. “I’m sorry, you’re interested in Lizzy? My sister, Lizzy?”

“Yeah. You seem surprised?” Matt said, now looking utterly confused.

I combed my fingers through my hair, now totally confused myself. “I…I guess I thought it was actually Kate you were after.”

“Kate? She’s like my little sister. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I adore the girl, but we’re just friends, man.”

“But you two have spent so much time together on this trip, and without fail, you’ve gotten in my way every time I’ve tried to…”

Realization finally crossed Matt’s face. “Oh, shit. You’re into Kate?”

“Was that not blindingly apparent to you?” I said, now getting more animated than was appropriate for a five-star hotel lobby, drawing stares from the more civilized diners.

“Honestly, man, I hadn’t even noticed. Kate and I have been trying to sort out her maybe repping me, and truth be told, I think she’s been trying to do a little matchmaking between me and Lizzy, which quite frankly suits me just fine—that is, unless, of course, you have a problem with it.”

“A problem with what?”

“Me and Lizzy, man!”

I just stared at Matt, shaking my head. Mind fucking blown.

“I—I guess I’m fine with you and my sister, Matt. I mean, I…wish you both the best.”

Matt seemed genuinely excited about the prospect, and I couldn’t help but think how thrilled this new development would make my sister, which in turn made me happy.

“That’s great! I was really worried that you wouldn’t be into this. I’m glad we had this talk, though. I was kind of thinking about maybe asking Lizzy out when we got to London. You know, do things right.”

I smiled at him. It was nice to see that Matt was determined to be a gentleman from the outset with my sister, a tactic I wish I had also taken with Kate. Perhaps we wouldn’t have had to buy a ticket on this interminable roller coaster that we’d been on.

“We’ve got so much downtime in London; maybe we could even make a day of it. Although, this is your home turf, isn’t it, man? I’m sure you and Lizzy probably have family obligations and stuff, right? I don’t want to get in the way of that.”

“Yeah, we weren’t really planning on seeing anyone. You make plans with one person and then someone else is hurt. I think we will try to slip in and out quietly. I’m sure Lizzy has Mum going to the premiere, though,” I said, shifting uncomfortably in my seat as I finished off my coffee, desperately wanting to change the subject.

Matt observed me, a smile blooming slowly on his face as he rapped the table mindlessly with his fingers. “So, you and Kate, huh?”

I sighed in exasperation as I folded up my napkin to prepare to leave. “And on that note…”

Matt laughed at my discomfort. “Hey, man, I think it’s great. You could do a lot worse. Kate is a goddess.”

Grinning, I knew that was a massive understatement.

“Just know that if you screw with her though, I’m coming for you, man,” Matt said sternly.

“I don’t think that will be necessary. Kate’s not exactly a shrinking violet. She handles my BS quite well all on her own.”

“Well—nonetheless…” Matt reiterated.

“Same goes for you with my sister, Castell,” I said with a friendly warning as I got up to leave the table. “I know you say Kate is like a sister to you, but Lizzy is my actual sister. Don’t make me regret giving you my blessing.”

“Should we hug it out, bro?” Matt said with his arms wide open and a big stupid grin on his face. All I could do was shake my head at him. He was ridiculous, but Lizzy would have fun with him, and she deserved that.