Lovestruck Summer by Melissa Walker (best management books of all time txt) 📕

already see the beginning of major anger working its way across her face. Sebastian doesn’t notice. He’s still talking about his upcoming shows and the new samples he’s thinking of mixing into his set. “Just ignore them,”I say quietly to Jade, who’s watching Rick’s and the lady’s every move as they sit down at a table across the patio from us. I don’t think he’s seen us yet. “Quinn,”says Sebastian. “Are you paying attention to me at all?”“Sorry—Rick just walked in,”I say to him. “Oh, let’s go say hi,”says Sebastian.

241 “No!”Jade and I shout simultaneously. “He and Jade kind of had a . . . falling out,”I explain. Sebastian doesn’t know anything about the hookup—no one does. Jade and Rick have been okay around each other in the offi ce, but I know seeing him with some woman makes her cat-scratch mad. The look on her face is evi- dence of that. “Whoa,”says Sebastian, catching Jade’s expression. “Must’ve been a big falling out.”“We hooked up,”says Jade. “But it didn’t mean anything. To him.”“Rough,”says Sebastian. He looks over at Rick and the lady. “You can’t blame him though. She’s pretty hot.”I glare at Sebastian then, harder than I’ve glared in a while. “What?”He shrugs. “Let’s move,”says Jade. “I can’t watch them all night, but I’m not going to let them chase us out of here either.”The trouble is, the San Josépatio area is pretty small. We head over by the tiny pool and sit on a couple of deck chairs. There’s an old man swim- ming incredibly short laps in the blue water.

242 But our movement must draw attention to us, because soon Rick is coming our way. “Hey there, you guys,”he says, like we’re a gang of kids he knows or something. “Hey, man,”says Sebastian, standing up to fi st-bump Rick. Jade and I stand too, because it’s weird to be down low in a patio chair when Rick’s so tall above us. “Hi,”I say. But Jade doesn’t say anything. And when I look over at her, prompting her to just say hello, she has this wicked grin on her face. Before I can stop her, she shoots both arms out, full force, and pushes Rick right into the pool, clothes and all. He misses the lap swim- mer by a few inches and the old man gives him a dirty look. Rick is dumbstruck as he drags his wet head—and shirt and jeans and shoes—out of the pool. He’s completely soaked. Have you ever noticed that if you get mad while you’re wet, you just look cartoonish? Rick is fuming, which makes him look even sillier. Jade and I both crack up. I can’t help

243 myself—he looks like a sorry, wet dog, which, if you think about it, isn’t a bad metaphor. “Not cool,”says Rick, shaking a dripping fi nger at Jade as he walks back to his lady- in-waiting. I wish they’d stay so I could hear what’s sure to be a disgruntled intern explanation, but the lady’s already gathering her purse and staring back at us like we’re punk kids. “I think we’ve offi cially ditched the grown- up vibe of this place,”I say. Jade laughs some more. Sebastian, however, is frowning. “Not cool,”he says, echoing Rick. I look at his brow, furrowed and serious. That lovely mouth that talks only about music and his upcoming sets. Those deep green eyes that drew me in the fi rst time I saw him, but that never seem to really see me. That fl oppy dark hair that probably takes a while to style, even though it’s meant to look unkempt and casual. And before I know it, my arms spring out too. Sebastian, with his tight jeans, his olive-green glasses, and his soft DJ hands, is in the pool. Jade screams in delight and we both start up again, cackling our heads off. That’s when a

244 hotel manager comes over and asks us to leave—all of us. Outside on the street, Sebastian seems much smaller in his soaking-wet T-shirt, water drip- ping off his skinny jeans. But it’s his angry face that makes me fi nally see it: He doesn’t look like the guy for me at all. He storms off and hops on his Vespa, not even glancing back at me. I know it’s truly over now. And I think I don’t care. “There’s a great country bar right across the street,”says Jade. “Let’s go,”I say. And we link arms—dry arms—as we leave our all-wet summer fl ings behind. The bar across the street is covered in old wood, and there’s a small stage where a really old band is playing classic country tunes. There are mid- dle-aged people twirling around on the dance floor in high-heeled boots and high-waisted jeans (but not the trendy kind). It’s amazing. “I love this,”I say, settling onto a wooden stool beside Jade. I realize that if I had come

245 here at the beginning of summer, I would have dismissed the music and the setting. But things are different now. I sigh out loud, and Jade looks at me sym- pathetically. “I’m sure Sebastian will get over it,”she says. “He was just mad that he has to go home and restyle his hair.”We both laugh. “It’s not Sebastian,”I say. And I look at the couples dancing, thinking back to the night Russ and I spun around to “Can’t Help Falling in Love.”Why have I been so stupid? “Russ the cowboy,”says Jade, following my eyes. I smile sheepishly at her. “Remember how you described your dream guy to me at the beginning of the summer?”asks Jade. “Sort of,”I say. “I know Russ doesn’t fi t that description.”“Actually, I was thinking he does,”she says. “You wanted someone who could introduce you to new music, make you playlists, and fi nd songs that you’ll always remember from this summer.”

246 “You’re right,”I say. “He’s done all that.”“So what’s the issue?”she asks. “Go get your man.”“I tried,”I say. “He said no and left me in the