Page 87 of Play For Me

“Oh, I forgot to tell you,” Vega says, and I force my attention back to the conversation. I refuse to be the person who starts flaking out on her girls because she’s distracted by a guy. “Santana is going to be in town for the Ruby Roads show!”

“Nice!” It feels like ages since I’ve seen Vega’s older sister Santana but it makes sense that she would want to be here for the concert, since their other sister, Presley, will be on stage.

Ruby Roads is the band my brother Silas started with our cousins Lyric, Presley, and Phoenix. They’ve been having some decent success over the last few years. My brother Will’s wife Eva, who happens to be a huge pop star, invited them to open for her last tour, and ever since then they’ve been pretty much livingon the road. The LA concert will be the first time I’ve seen my brother in a few months.

“We should probably figure out plans for that, right?” Violet says, pulling out her phone to open the notes app. Vi is all about planning and I’m pretty sure the five of us would miss half our commitments if it wasn’t for her keeping our calendars for us.

She looks up from the screen. “I’m assuming we’re adding Solomon to the guest list? We’ll need to get him a backstage pass.”

“Oh.” I shift in my seat, suddenly uncomfortable. “I’m not sure if he’ll be there.”

“Why wouldn’t he be there?” Vega asks. “You’re completely obsessed with him.”

“I’m not completely obsessed with him,” I mutter, and they both laugh.

“Uh huh,” Vega says. “Sure.”

“Has a single day passed without you seeing him since you came back from San Jose?” Violet asks.

“No,” I mutter. “But that doesn’t mean he wants to come to my brother’s concert.”

“Well, did you ask him?” Vega presses.

I fidget with the sleeves of my hoodie—which is actually Solomon’s hoodie that I stole from his room a week ago because it smells like him. So maybe they have a point about the completely obsessed thing.

“It feels like a lot,” I blurt out. “Inviting him to a family thing. We’ve only been dating for a few weeks. And we’re not even technically dating because no one from school can know. So should I really be dragging this guy to a Ransome family event already?”

Vi studies me. “Why do you sound panicky about this all of a sudden?”

“I’m not panicking,” I say, then realize I’m still pulling at the hoodie sleeves. I might not be panicking, but I’m definitely agitated. I force myself to relax my hands. “I just don’t want to overwhelm him. Our family can be a lot.”

“Understatement,” Vega mutters. Then she brightens. “But I honestly don’t think it’s going to be a huge crowd. Everly and Bodhi can’t come. Fox and June are out of town, and Rose still isn’t home. I’m pretty sure I heard River and Jas are staying in.”

So not as many cousins. That helps. But there’s still the fact that my brothers will be there. And four of the most famous musicians in the country.

“He’ll meet your dad and the uncles eventually, right?” Vi asks, reading my mind. “I mean, you guys are already pretty serious.”

I don’t answer. I’m not quite sure how to explain my hesitation. It’s not that I don’t want Sol to meet the family—though preferably it would happen in small doses.

“Is that what you’re worried about?” Vega asks shrewdly. “You think it’s going too fast?”

That guilt that I had been thinking about earlier hits me again. “Bringing him around the family might stress him out,” I say. “And it’s also…” I rub a hand across my face, feeling ridiculous. “I don’t know. I’m so happy with him?—”

“We can tell,” Vega says encouragingly.

“But it’s also a big change.” I meet Violet’s eye and I can see the minute she clocks it. Vi has always been inconveniently perceptive.

“Ah,” she says, nodding.

“What do you mean,ah?” Vega asks, looking between the two of us.

“CeCe wasn’t expecting to be the first,” Vi says knowingly.

“The first what?” Vega asks, annoyed now.

“The first one of us to fall in love.”

I open my mouth to argue with her, then close it again. Now that she’s said it out loud, I’m realizing she’s not that far from the truth. And it kind of explains the whole guilt issue I’ve been feeling.