Page 37 of Until the Last Star Fades

Man, she talks fast. Ben nodded politely. “Bagpipes, eh? And your name’s Piper?”

“I know! Funny, huh? My parents—wackos!”

“Piper’s playing sounds like she’s strangling a cat.” Riley munched her toast, raising her eyebrows at Ben.

“A neighbor once called the humane society on me—fact. And I did fail my audition with NYU’s Pipes and Drums band.” Piper kicked off her boots. “Whatever. I swear I have tartan blood. Last night, I watched my people taking no shit on Netflix.”

Ben crunched his crust and looked back at Riley, who chewed quickly. “I thought”—Riley mumbled through the mouthful—“you had a date? Some dude from work.”

“Yeah, cinnamon cupcake guy!” Scratching her arm, she looked at Ben. “I work at Sprinkles. It’s not exactly hookup central, but this guy stood out.” She turned to Riley. “Get this: he owns Twister bedsheets—the most awesome thing ever! I was about to go d—” She caught Ben’s peaked eyebrow and paused, swerving where her tongue was headed. “He…ah, he said, ‘Don’t freak out, but I think I have bed bugs.’”

“No way!” Ben shivered.

“Gross!” Riley joined his chorus of disgust. “God, you didn’t bring any with you, did you?”

“No!” Piper scratched her hip. “I hightailed it, showered twice, then stayed up until three with Lairds and Liars and Mark Keegan instead.”

“Mark Keegan?” Ben looked between Piper and Riley. “I know Keegs.”

“What?” Riley did a double take.

“No! Really?” Piper skimmed Ben from head to toe, her sweep totally obvious.

“Yeah, went to drama school with him.” He wiped crumbs from his mouth. “He was two years ahead of me.”

“Are you for real?” Riley pursed her lips.

“That. Is. Crazy!” Piper squeezed his arm. “He’s Riley’s favorite actor.” She motioned to the wall. “I gave her that Lairds calendar for Christmas.”

Ben grinned. “Small world.”

“But Josh gets jealous.” Piper pulled a red binder from the plastic bag. “He hates Riley swooning over actors.”

“That’s silly.” Ben met Riley’s gaze. “Besides, they’re eng—”

“So, Pip.” Ben noticed a ‘shut up’ glare in Riley’s eyes. She blinked and it vanished as she turned to Piper. “Are those the notes?”

Shit! Piper doesn’t know? Ben looked at Riley. Why hasn’t she told her best friend?

“Yep!” Piper dragged the bag along with her. “And I have candy—lots of it.”

Ben walked to the counter, set down his crumb-speckled plate, and retrieved his hoodie from the armrest.

Piper plopped down on the loveseat, bouncing Riley and sending her toast sliding across the plate. “I took three pages of notes. Fuck, talk about coma-inducing. You had the right idea, working a sneaky shift while the rest of us were bored to tears…” She opened the binder. “You know how he loves to drone on about camera positions and shit.”

I’m a third wheel now. “Erm.” Ben scratched his chin. “I’m gonna head off.”

Riley looked up from the page. “You don’t have to—”

“Stay!” Piper rooted through the plastic bag. “I’ve got enough for everyone: Nerds, Pocky, Fun Dip—”

“Mmm, Fun Dip!” Riley licked her lips.

Fun Dip? Ben put on his coat and cap.

Piper flashed a rectangular package. “Check it! A new PEZ present for Riley. It’s the one you wanted, right? Badtz-Maru from Hello Kitty?”

“Right, thanks,” said Riley tightly. She snatched the penguin PEZ and stashed it under a pillow.