Ch 136 Change things up a bit

          Luke absently smiled at the crowd and mumbled to himself, “I gotta change things up a bit,” as he waited for the applause to die down.

“What?” asked Janet, standing by his side.

He looked at her for a long moment, then towards stage right where Alana stood with Billy. All of a sudden he bolted from Janet’s side and went back off the dais.

          “Luke!” Janet shouted, as the applause died down and nervous mutterings started.

Luke looked around, saw Stevie milling aimlessly and grabbed him by the arm, whispering something in his ear. Stevie looked stunned at first, but he nodded and ran off seemingly on some secret mission. Then Luke returned to stand next to Janet and miraculously the crowd started cheering again.

          “What’s going on?” Janet asked, covering up her mic to speak.

          “You’ll see,” he said, then smiled again and addressed the crowd. “How we doing, folks? Having a good time?”

          The resounding response made him laugh, but after a few minutes of what he considered excessive cheering--especially for two people who hadn’t done anything yet-- he impatiently held his hand up trying to stop it from going all night. “Good! That ought to get you in the mood to break open those piggy banks and give to this great cause.”

          Giggling, chuckles and outright guffaws broke out, but Luke continued. “Mr. and Mrs. Adams plus the entire Adams family have always worked diligently to ensure the Adams Foundation is always there with a hand up for those who fall between the cracks. We should all follow their example. I know I am, right, Janet?”

Ch 135 As Good as Justin Bieber

             

 

As good as Justin Bieber

          “You’re as good as Justin Bieber!” the girl squealed.

         

           Luke gaped at her. “Did you just …” he started to say.

Janet grabbed his arm and forced a smile. “Sorry, girls, but we have to get going. We have to prepare for our next show,” she said, to the throng of teenaged girls closing in on them, all of whom were practically drooling over Luke, much to his distress and now he was royally insulted.

          “Oh, we’ll love to hear all the songs again,” the second girl said.

“I’d never heard them before,” the third girl said, jumping on her toes.

“Not even Justin Bieber sing them!” the first girl said again.

Janet felt Luke stiffen by her side and she clamped down harder, lest he do something stupid, like hit the girl upside the head. “Well, if you like them, you’ll love the next show. All new songs!”

The girls squealed with delight.

“You can always buy the CD of our performance, which should be out soon. You just subscribe to Luke’s new website and then you’ll get a notice when it’s available for purchase. Okay, thanks!” Janet said pleasantly and half dragged Luke away, steering him behind the bandstand.

“That girl did not just compare me to Justin Bieber!” Luke said, fuming mad.

“No, she didn’t,” Janet said soothingly, looking all over for Alana.

“I am not a spoiled brat Hollywood punk!” he yelled.

Ch134 That Girl could Sing

 

         

          “That girl could really sing!” the man said.

          “And the boy, too,” the woman beside him replied. “And is there a better looking guy around for miles? I don’t think so!”

          Jasmine rolled her eyes, muttered a nasty sting of curses and left the table in a huff.

          Cindy stared after her, aghast. “What the heck’s wrong with your sister?” she asked.

          Stevie smirked. “Jealousy,” he said. “She can’t stand it that for once Janet is getting all the attention and Jazz is getting none.”

          “Really?” Cindy said. “That’s it? I would be so happy for my sister if…”

          “If you had one?” he said, laughing at her.

          She giggled. “And if she sang as good as Janet.”

          “You know, I always thought she sang nice, but now she’s like really good!” Stevie said.

          “Of course she is,” Cindy said eagerly, her pretty, dark eyes dancing with excitement. “Luke probably taught her. He’s so awesome!”

Ch 133 What’s up with you

What up with me? The unbearable heat!

“What’s up with you?” Dawn asked.

“Nothing,” Jeff snapped, gulping the rest of his beer, slapping the empty glass down and asking the bartender for another.

“Forget it, he won’t be needing that,” Dawn said, grabbing his arm and pulling him away.

“How many times do I have to remind you that you’re not my mother, Dawn?” he snapped.

“Let’s say several million and we’re nowhere near that mark yet.”

“Getting close though,” he retorted. 

“That happens when you’re acting like a two year old. Now, what is going on?”

“With what?”

“With the moon, the stars, the bug up Uranus,” she said. “What do you think, you idiot? I thought you wanted to get back together with Wendy and all I see tonight is you ignoring her and her looking like she’s two second away from crying her heart out. She won’t even talk to me about it, so here I am asking you. So, what the hell is going on, huh?”

Ch 132 I should tell you something

I should tell you something

          Wes stopped short of the stairs, pulling Janet back.

          “What’s wrong?” she said. “I have to go. The car’s waiting for me.”

          “I know, but I think I should tell you something,” he said, looking worried.

          Her eyes widened as they always do when she expects bad news. “Don’t you dare, Wes! Don’t you dare tell me you’re not going, cuz I will kill you!”

          He shook his head. “I’m going, but…I never did tell you who my client was and why the project was so important and why it had to be done tonight.”

          “I thought the deadline was Monday?”

          “Got moved up.”

          “And you’re not done?” she shrieked.

“I am done…sort of. Thing is, I have to work tonight…at the gala.”

          “What?!?!”

          “The website is for… it’s the official Luke Tramaine website, a fan page I guess we’re calling it.”

          Janet’s mouth fell open. “Luke didn’t tell me about that!”

          “Course not…since he doesn’t know about it…yet,” Wes said, bracingly.

Ch 131 Do not disturb

      Wendy led Jeff into the kitchen, and she fleeting wondered if she ought to put up a do not disturb sign. She stood before him nervously fiddling with her hands, and for several minutes they just stared at each other in silence.

      She noticed his tie was still undone, but with her shaking hands she knew she’d make a mess of it. “You look wonderful, Jeffery,” she finally said, in a voice barely above a whisper.

      He grinned and in a low voice said, “Why are we whispering? Do you not want anyone to know I clean up good?”

      She laughed. “Well, I’d hate for someone to snatch you away from me,” she said before she could stop herself. She could feel her cheeks glow pink.

      “Like that’s likely,” he replied, stepping closer and taking her hand. “You look so beautiful, Wendy. Every day more beautiful.”

      “It’s just the dress and makeup,” she said, shrugging.

      “No, it’s not,” he replied seriously.

Ch 130 Talk with Mom

          

          Janet stood outside her mother’s bedroom door drumming up the courage for this most important talk with her mom. At last she knocked softly. “Mom? Can I come in please?”

          “Sure,” came Wendy’s muffled voice from inside the room.

          Janet opened the door and was immediately treated to her mother’s nearly bare backside. “Really, Mom, a thong?” Janet said, rolling her eyes while closing over the door.

          Wendy laughed and continued slipping the stockings over her long, shapely leg, hooking it in place with the garter and proceeding to the other one. “I don’t want VPLs. The dress is so tight it’ll show everything!” she said, then looking over her shoulder she smiled. “You look stunning, Honey!”

          “Thanks,” Janet said, chewing on a thumb nail.

          “Oh, Janet, don’t bit your nails. You haven’t done that in years. It’s nerves, isn’t it? Well, don’t be nervous. You’ll be wonderful!”

          “Being biased again, Mom,” Janet said, but it helped calm her nerves slightly and she put down her hands, clasping them in front of her. “I’d like to talk if you don’t mind.”

          “About the birds and the bees?” Wendy said, half joking.

Ch 129 The Best Yenta deserves Jimmy Choo shoes

“Wes, are you listening to me?”

“Janet, come quick!” He grabbed her arm and pointed down to the ground “You see that? You did it! You got them together. You are the best yenta ever! Anything you want, Baby, it’s yours…even a pair of Jimmy Choo shoes.”

“Jimmy who? What are you…” She gasped. She suddenly spotted Wes’ father with her aunt and they were kissing…like right in the middle of the crowd of teenagers! “But I didn’t…”

“Sure you did! You just don’t know your own strength, cuz you’re that good. Oh, Janet, this is awesome! My dad’s in love! Come on, let’s go see them!”

“Wes, what are crazy?” she said, trying to hold him back, but in vain. Wes tugged her all the way down the bleachers, pushing passed people getting back to their seats. “Wes, listen to me. One kiss does not make you in love.”

Ch 128 The tired little man

“Mommy, can we go home now?”

May Lyn scooped up her tired little man and gave him a hug. “Not just yet, Honey. The game’s only half over and don’t you want to find Mr. Sebastian first? Stevie said he was going to be here with Cindy and…”

“Der he is!” Tristan suddenly shouted, squirming out of his mother’s arm. “Mr. Bashan!” He hit the ground running, sprinted forward and got instantly swallowed by the milling crowd.

“Tristan!” May shouted. In panic mode she ran after him, but the crowd closed around her and she couldn’t see him anywhere. She was trapped in a sea of people all pushing her further away from her baby.

“Oh, dear God! Tristan!” she shouted breaking free at last.

Ch 127 Glad we did this

Janet sighed contentedly. She loved the feel of Wes’ arms around her. Her head lay on his shoulder, so she was comfy-cozy as you please. She smiled and turned to kiss his neck. “I’m glad we did this,” she whispered.

“Me too,” he replied, kissing her temple and pulling her closer. When she looked up he kissed her sweet lips and they fell into bliss again.

Anyone seeing them like this would think they were miles from anyone in a romantic setting, perhaps sitting by a lake watching the sunset. Instead, they were high up on the bleachers at Orianco high school smack in the middle of a boisterous crowd of football fanatics, mostly West-Castillo fans alternately cheering and moaning as their team did well or poorly. They were mostly moaning and groaning.

Janet and Wes, however, were not in the least interested with the game. Neither did the noise bother them, not one bit. Even the kid next to Wes suddenly jumping up when a touchdown was imminent, and accidently stepping on his foot in frustration when Luke Tramaine himself ran the ball over the line, didn’t register. When they broke apart from their kiss, they smiled and continued ignoring the game, speaking softly amongst all that noise.

“I missed you so bad, Janet. I didn’t like sharing you with Luke,” he said.

She giggled and had been about to say something sarcastic about Luke being a