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  “Really? What do you do?” Candy tucked her needle away. She had time. Even if she had to skip dinner, she could have one shirt done by the time Jody was finished.

  “Advertising and public relations.”

  “So you need something fresh.” She walked around the desk editing her original assessment of his potential. If he needed a new look for work, she might get him for a couple hundred, which would secure her lead over that bitch in juniors. “Let’s see what we can do.”

  Forty-three minutes later, Candy skidded through the doors of the salon. Tyler sat in a chair with highlight foils on his hair, green goo on his face, and a copy of People magazine in his hands, chatting with the little old lady next to him.

  Jody shuffled over, slouching as though she’d been breaking rocks all day. “I am a miracle worker. Next time you want me to rescue somebody, give me six months’ lead time so I can trim and style over time instead of doing damage control.”

  “I’ll do my best.”

  “He’s got an amazing voice though. He had the old cow in the chair next to him about in tears because he sang ‘Moon River.’”

  “Good, good.” Candy headed for the chair. “How’s it going, Tyler?”

  “Great. This is fantastic. I thought I’d be buying a shirt or something today.”

  “You need to look good for your big audition.” The lady next to him patted his hand. “He’s going to be famous. I know it. You better hang onto him, young lady.”

  Candy glanced at Tyler to see how he was taking the optimism, but the facial covered most of his reaction. He rolled his eyes, but that could be anything. “I’m sure he will be. Hey, I got this shirt done for you. Can you try it on under the smock to make sure it fits?”

  “I’ve got a T-shirt on. Is that okay?”

  Jody was right, next time they really needed a head start on these emergencies. “Okay, never mind. We’ll have to cross our fingers. I was kinda talking while I was finishing it up.”

  “Who were you talking to?”

  “A customer. He’s got me tailoring five shirts for him to pick up next week.”

  “Do you do this for everybody?” Tyler’s eyes narrowed under the mask. Already possessive. Good.

  “No, but he saw me working on yours and asked if I could do his. Decent money, too.” Really decent. The college fund was looking more hopeful all the time.

  A timer dinged and Jody pushed her out of the way to poke at Tyler’s hair. “Time to rinse. Cross everything that this works.”

  Gina edged in and touched the facial mask with her fingertips. “Try not to get this wet. It needs to dry completely before we take it off.”

  “I’ll do my best.”

  Candy checked her watch. Who needed food? “I better get back. Try the shirt on before you go so I can fix it if I have to.”

  As she hurried out, she took one last look back. Tyler was in the rinse chair with Jody washing the dye out of his hair while trying not to get the facial wet. Hopefully he’d look decent once he got all that stuff off. Jody was good. Still in beauty school at the county Vo Tech, but she had good instincts. Hopefully.

  * * * *

  Tyler slithered through the kitchen door as quietly as possible. He wished he could burst through the front crowing about how he’d met this great girl and got in the band all in the same day, but Dad was home. Probably should have climbed up the garage drainpipe and in through his bedroom window, but that would have meant not eating again tonight.

  His mother walked in while he was rummaging through the fridge.

  “How did it go?” she whispered. He stood up and her mouth fell open. “What happened to your hair this time?”

  “I got in the band.”

  “What happened to your hair?”

  Tyler touched his hair. It felt less like wire than usual. The girl at the salon had tortured him about using the right stuff when he washed it and conditioning regularly. Have to start using his sister’s shampoo. “I met this girl and she thought it would help and it did. I got in the band.”

  “That’s great, honey.” Anxiety bracketed her eyes. “Your father isn’t going to like it.”

  “He doesn’t like anything I do.”

  His mother made a noise. “I know.”

  “Oh my God!” Tiffany shrieked from the doorway.

  Tyler and his mother both jumped.

  “What’s going on?” His father lumbered into the room and the temperature dropped fifteen degrees. He wore a stained undershirt with saggy jeans. “You look like a faggot. What the hell are you wearing?”

  Tyler looked down at the shirt. The colors were a little weird, but it fit like skin and made him feel finished in some way he couldn’t put his finger on. When he’d shown Candy before he left the store, she’d been very pleased.

  “You look like a faggot,” Dad repeated, louder this time.

  “Roger!” His mother snapped. “Leave him alone. It’s very nice. It’s good to see him taking an interest in how he looks.”

  “He looks like a faggot.”

  Tiffany giggled.

  “Shut up, Tiff,” Tyler snarled. Should have climbed in the window. Right now he could be lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling and thinking about Candy.

  “I think he looks more grown up and professional.” His mother set her jaw. “I’m going to give him my credit card so he can go get more clothes like those. Maybe he’ll be inspired to go to college.”

  Her credit card was still in his pocket, but Tyler figured this was a bad time to bring that up.

  “He doesn’t need to go to college. He needs to grow up and get a job instead of running around looking like—like a homo.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with how he looks and if he wants to go to college, he should. Better than getting stuck in some dead-end job he complains about every night over dinner,” his mother shouted.

  “What? Like teaching school so he can complain about how much money he’s not making for teaching other people’s brats?” his father shouted back.

  Tyler’s stomach contracted to a pinpoint. All they ever did was fight about him. He should chuck it all and go to the Vo Tech to learn something glamorous like engine repair. “Stop it! I hate you people. I hate this house!” Tyler stomped upstairs and slammed his bedroom door. His room was always clean, clothes put away, desk and dresser cleared, bed made. Never knew when Dad was going to pull a surprise inspection and confiscate anything he thought was out of place.

  Throwing himself on his bed, still dressing in the clothes Candy picked out for him, Tyler stared at the Rage Against the Machine poster on the wall. The whole day had been awesome until he got home. When he’d told Mom about the audition this morning on the way to school, she’d insisted he get some new clothes. Then he’d met Candy and she’d been so cool. The girls in the salon fussed over him as if he was important and that little old lady gave him ten bucks because he sang “Moon River” for her twice. The guys in the band were impressed with his voice and with the way he looked. They had a paid gig already for Friday and he’d have to rehearse with them every night at their manager’s house to get ready.

  The band had a manager. He’d never been in a band big enough to have a manager before. And Candy. Man, even if he hadn’t gotten in the band, Candy would have made the whole day worth it. So hot and smart. She planned to go to college. Maybe he should think about it too. Even if he ended up being a teacher like his mom, it would be better than driving truck like his dad. Anything would be better than being like his dad.

  His mom tapped on his door. Had to be his mom. His dad and Tiff just barged in.

  “Yeah?”

  “Hi honey.” She stepped through the doorway and scanned the room. “I wanted you to know I’m proud of you for trying this. You’ve worked very hard and even if it doesn’t pan out, you’ll know you did your best.”

  “Thanks, Mom.”

  She swallowed. “And I do want to you go
back to the store and get some more clothes like these. You look very nice. Even your hair.” She smiled a little. “It is shorter.”

  “Yeah.”

  She sat on the end of the bed and folded her hands in her lap. “So you met a girl. What’s she like?”

  Tyler shrugged. “She’s pretty. She works at the store and she helped me pick this stuff out.”

  “What’s her name?”

  “Candy.” He wanted to say, no Mom, I’m not gay, but that would be rude.

  His mother nodded, her expression relaxing. “Well, I hope she’s there tomorrow so she can help you pick out some more clothes like these. Try to keep it under two hundred dollars.”

  Two hundred bucks? His mother must be really relieved. “Thanks, Mom.”

  “Of course.” She patted his foot.

  “Hey, Mom,” he said as she stood to leave. “I told Candy I’d take her out to dinner if I got in the band.”

  “What do you need? Money, the car, or both?”

  “Both?” He grinned. If she was feeling generous, he should take advantage. Candy would be a lot more impressed if he took her out in a car instead of riding the city bus.

  She sighed smiling. “When?”

  “I’ll ask her tomorrow.” Tyler couldn’t stop the grin spreading up from his chest and across his face. It was as if the fight with his dad never happened. He’d gotten in the band and was going to see Candy again tomorrow. All was right with the world.

  * * * *

  When he walked into the young men’s section the next day after school, she was standing at the counter sewing and talking to some old guy who looked like he wanted to eat her up. Who wouldn’t? She had on this tight green top cut down to there and a tan skirt that showed off her fantastic legs. Tyler’s heart stammered. The way she was looking at the guy was exactly the way she’d looked at him yesterday. Like he was special. Important.

  All day he’d felt ten feet tall. Everybody at school was psyched about him getting into Touchstone and they were already making plans to come out to McGrudy’s for his debut. He’d planned to see if Candy could come too. Then he could introduce her to the band and watch them all pick their tongues up off the floor. But the sight of her with this old guy curdled Tyler’s stomach.

  He took a step back trying to escape the cloying stickiness of his own stupid fantasy. He should have known a girl like her wasn’t going to be alone. That guy was probably one of her many sugar daddies. How many of them did she kiss? He licked his lips trying to remember how she tasted, but could only taste the stale coffee he’d gotten at school while he was waiting for the bus to bring him here. Mom was going to be disappointed if he didn’t come home with some new stuff though. He’d have to suck it up.

  Candy glanced up from her sewing when he stopped by the desk. Her smile lit up. “Tyler! How did it go?” She dropped the shirt in her hand and reached for him. The guy at the desk scowled as he followed her movements. “Did you get in?”

  “Yeah.” He forced a smile. That coffee was burning a hole in his stomach.

  “That’s fantastic.” She threw her arms around his neck. “I’m so excited. When are you taking me to dinner? I expect to be paid for my services, y’know.”

  Tyler put his arms around her waist. Jeez, he was getting hard. “I was going to ask you if you were free tomorrow, but you looked busy.” He pulled away hoping she hadn’t noticed his boner.

  “Busy? Oh, this is another customer of mine.”

  Another customer. Nice.

  The old guy had held out his hand. “Joe Goldman. Didn’t mean to move in on your territory.”

  Tyler shook his hand. Was this guy shitting him? Move in on his territory? As if Tyler had any hope of competing against a guy like this.

  “Joe saw me working on your shirt yesterday and asked if I’d do some tailoring for him too. Then he decided to come in today to see if I’d skipped school so I could do it, even though I told him it would take a week.” She shot Joe a mock dirty look.

  “I didn’t think you’d skip school. I thought you might have stayed up all night. If you want to get ahead in this world, you have to go that extra mile.”

  They sounded so easy together. Like they’d known each other a long time. Joe’s clothes fit good. He stood straight but not like there was a steel rod down his spine. Confident, like a real man. The kind of man girls like Candy wanted to be with. Tyler tried to copy the pose, but his shoulders wanted to climb up his neck, so he eased back into his familiar slouch. The guy was watching him as if he could read his mind. Bastard.

  “For me, that extra mile means sleeping at night so I can get good grades and doing your tailoring on my day off.”

  “Unless you’re going out with him.” Joe Goldman nodded toward Tyler.

  Candy turned to Tyler with that bright smile lighting her face again. “I do have the night off tomorrow.”

  Dinner and the gig on Friday would have been great, but if he didn’t get her tomorrow, she might end up going out with this guy. “Great. I’ve got rehearsal at seven, but I can get you about five at your place and then you could come to rehearsal with me.”

  “That would be awesome.”

  Joe sighed. “My shirts will never be done.”

  Candy sneered at him. “Don’t you worry about your shirts. I meet my commitments.”

  “I’m gonna play my first gig with the band on Friday. Can you come?” Tyler asked before they got too cozy again. The band was the only thing he had going for him over the old guy.

  “Friday? Already? I work Friday, though.” She huffed. “Man. I wanna go.”

  “The store closes at nine-thirty.” Joe checked his watch even though it wasn’t either Friday or anywhere near closing. “Where is your band playing?”

  Tyler paused for a minute to savor the words. Where is your band playing? His band. “McGrudy’s. It’s out on State Road.”

  Candy made a small noise in her throat. “It’s way out there. I’ll have to see. But tomorrow for sure. Come on and I’ll write down my phone number and address for you.”

  “My mom really likes your taste in clothes. She said I could get a couple more things.”

  “Fantastic.” Candy bent over behind the desk. Tyler glanced away before he started staring and caught Joe admiring her ass. Maybe it wasn’t such a horrible thing to do. “We need to get you into something for your show Friday, too. Joe, you’re getting bumped for an emergency order.”

  “I thought you met your commitments.”

  “I am giving you ample warning. It’s going to get done, but it’s going to take a little longer than expected.”

  “I knew it. I’m going to have to hire you to work in my office so I can get you to do my tailoring for me.”

  Candy laughed as she handed Tyler a piece of paper with her phone number and address.

  Chapter 2

  Candy paced around her room with the portable phone stuck to her ear. “He asked me to go see the band play Friday, but I have to work.” Being home in the afternoon was weird. Between her job and school, she didn’t have to spend much time here. Not really a bad thing, but a thing nonetheless.

  “So? Call in sick,” Jody said.

  “I’m not calling in sick.” Candy checked her look. Tight dark wash jeans. Filmy black shirt. Leopard print heels. Perfect hair and makeup. Dangling earrings. Slick and complete. And Joe’s shirts were finished and folded in a bag by the door so he could pick them up at the store tomorrow and pay her.

  “Why not?”

  “Because I’m not sick.”

  “You’re going to make me leave the club between sets to come get you.”

  “Would you?” Of course she would. Jody wanted to get backstage and get her hands on Jason Callisto. It was all she’d been able to talk about for months and that was before she had a valid opening.

  “If I have to, but you have to promise to introduce me to the band.”

  Bingo. “I’m go
ing to meet them tonight. I’m sure it’ll be fine.” The doorbell rang. “That’s him. I gotta go.”

  “You are so lucky.”

  Candy walked through her empty house. “Yeah. Lucky. See you tomorrow.” She set the phone on the charger on the table under the last family photo from seven years ago. Mom, Dad, and precious Candace. Six months after the picture was hung, Mom ran off, Dad started working all the time and, as soon as she could, so did Candy. “Hi, Tyler. Ready to go?”

  “If you are. Shouldn’t I say hello to your parents or something?” He was dressed in the green button-down shirt and straight leg jeans she’d picked for him, and even a couple of days on the skin and hair care regimen made a difference. Between her and Jody, they were going to make a rock star out of him if it killed them.

  “Nobody home.” She snatched her purse off the table before she closed the door behind her. “Where are we going to dinner?”

  “Mama Lena’s?”

  Next up on the hit list was his lack of confidence. Mama Lena’s was always good. The sit-down restaurant impressed her because half the time her dates thought McDonald’s bought them a park hopper pass to her body. “I love Mama Lena’s.”

  He also had a car. A dark blue Grand Marquis with bumper stickers that read “My Child Made Honor Roll at Fort Island Elementary” and “My Child Made Honor Roll at South High School.” Pretty nice part of town. No wonder his mom could hand him a credit card to go shopping. After they ate, he drove her to a residential neighborhood not far from the restaurant. A beat-up car sat in the driveway and the living room lights were on.

  “You’ll like the guys. They’re all really nice.” Tyler hurried her up the path. Before he knocked, he smiled at her. “You look really pretty tonight.”

  “Thanks. You look great, too.”

  “Thanks to you.”

  “You fill the clothes out good.” She grinned. He did. All through dinner she’d been wishing he’d sat on the same side of the booth as her so she could at least feel his thigh against hers. Wouldn’t have happened. Every time she’d brushed his leg under the table, he’d moved it as if he thought he was crowding her.