Chapter 40: Don’t impress me much

“I love Janet!”

Wes spun around and gaped at Luke. “What?” he said, his guts twisting uncomfortably.

“Your girlfriend’s awesome,” Luke said, grabbing a carrot off a tray and dipping it into the ranch dressing before popping it into his mouth.

Wes gulped. “My girlfriend? Yeah, I kinda like her, too,” he muttered, suddenly losing his appetite.

Luke laughed. “No kidding! We should hang out more often,” Luke said, completely oblivious to the irritated muscle working along Wes’ clenched jaw.

“Why?” Wes asked, horrified.

“Just look at them.” Luke pointed to Janet and Alana who were on the other side of the long buffet table, Janet urging Alana to take more food and both girls giggling. “She gets along great with Alana. She really gets her out of her shell. They look like best buds already. Alana really needs someone like that.  I think you mighta noticed Alana is kinda shy?” Luke said, smirking.

Wes gulped again and relaxed. “Oh, for Alana, you mean…uh, cool,” he said.

“You feeling okay?” Luke asked, looking at him curiously.

“Yeah, sure,” Wes said.

“You better eat now,” Luke said, piling food onto his own plate. “Billy’s not gonna leave much for the rest of us.”

Wes laughed. “Yeah, gotta point there. So, um, you really like Alana?” he said, albeit casually.

“You can tell? I love her,” Luke said, completely unabashed. “She’s the best. Perfect, like she was made for me.”

“Really?” Wes said, unable to hide his astonishment.

Luke grinned and shrugged. “No one ever said love makes sense. On the outside we may look like total opposites, but on the inside…she’s so me, she gets me, you know?”

Wes nodded. “Yeah, I get it,” he mumbled. He just wished Janet would.

“She’s nothing like other girls, too. She likes me for me, not for…whatever,” he said. “She’s real. Like I said, perfect for me.”

“Yeah, sounds great,” Wes said following Luke to the girls. 

“So, can we sit with you or are ya just gonna do girl talk?” Luke asked.

Janet rolled her eyes. “Well, duh, we are girls, so of course we’re doing girl talk.”

Alana giggled and grabbed Luke’s hand telling him without words that he could sit by her. He kissed her cheek and she blushed bright pink.

“We don’t want to interrupt anything serious, is what Luke means,” Wes said as he sat by Janet. 

“Serious? When have I ever said anything serious?” Janet asked, looking at the plate in his hands. “Oh, what is that? I didn’t see that on the table.”

Wes laughed and held out the tiny stuffed mushroom cap to her lips. “Have it.”

“Wow, thanks,” Janet said before eating it. “That’s awesome!”

“Sure looked like it was serious,” Wes said.

“What does?” Janet said, licking her fingers.

“Whatever you and Alana were talking about before,” Luke said. “So, what were you talking about?” 

Alana gave Janet a look that clearly said, “Please, don’t tell him!”

Janet nodded slightly and grinned. “You, of course,” she said impishly. “She was telling me all your secrets.”

“Oh, yeah?” Luke said. “Like what?”

“Oh, just that you can play any instrument ever made,” Janet said, stealing something else from Wes’ plate. “Hmm, that’s yummy.”

Wes laughed. “Wanna trade?”

She giggled. “Sorry, I’ll stop.”

“It’s okay. You can have anything of mine that you want,” Wes said.

Janet grinned. “Even your car?” she said.

“Sure, if you can make the payments,” he retorted.

“Hmm, that takes the fun out of it,” she said pouting.

Alana and Luke laughed.

“So, yeah, Alana was singing your praises, Luke,” Janet said, as if the conversation hadn’t been derailed. “I get the feeling she kinda likes you.”

“Good to know,” he said kissing Alana’s blushing cheek.

After they finished eating, Luke and Alana went off to be alone leaving Wes with Janet. “So, what were you really talking about for so long?” Wes asked, taking both empty plates and setting them aside.

“Just…you know…girl stuff,” she replied, looking around for Alana who was way across the room with Luke and Billy.

“Janet, you can tell me,” he said, frowning slightly.

“Alana didn’t want me telling anyone. She said it would get her in trouble,” Janet whispered.

“But, I’m your boyfriend. You shouldn’t keep secrets from me,” he said.

Janet stared at him, her eyebrows raised. “Are you serious? You forget this isn’t real, Wes, and even if we were…real, that’s ridiculous. You think your parents didn’t have secrets?”

“Not from each other. They would never keep secrets. They loved each other above all else,” he insisted.

“Wow, you really are brainwashed,” she said, rolling her eyes and standing up.

“Janet,” he said grabbing her hand. 

She yanked her hand out of his. “You know, we’ll get along far better if you stop cramming your romance crap down my throat,” she snapped. “You wanna know what Alana told me? Fine. I'll tell you. Your cousin’s marriage is doomed before it starts. Know why? Cuz she lets guys use her as a doormat and her fiancé is a jerk who’ll cheat on her first chance he gets. Won’t find a story like that in your mom’s fantasy book collection, will you?” 

She turned on her heel and stalked away, leaving him nonplussed. 

“Janet! Come on, we’re going into the family room,” Billy said putting his arm around her and turning her around.

“Uh, what for?”

“Karaoke. Where’s Wes?” he said looking around. “Hey, Wes! Come on!”

“Wow, I thought they were kidding,” Janet said, as she was practically dragged into the family room where all the younger party goers already were sitting around in comfy looking chairs and sofas.

Rebecca was sitting on her boyfriend/fiancé/husband’s lap kissing him.

Janet looked away. Whenever she saw them she got a sick feeling in her stomach which had nothing to do with the food she just had.

“Since you’re the new girl you can watch for a while til you... you know, get the hang of it,” Billy said. “Wes, you get to go first. Pick a song.” Billy shoved a song list into his hands before turning to pick up the mike and tested it. “Hello, hello! Okay, as soon as Wes picks his song we can start.”

“I’m not singing. You’ve got Luke here. Let him sing,” Wes said.

“Luke’s banned from this. He makes us all look bad,” Marc said, smirking.

“Don’t you mean sound bad?” Janet said. “Gimme that.” She snatched the microphone out of Billy’s hand and took the playlist from Wes then scanned it.

“I know exactly what I’m singing, and I already know the words, so I don’t need that,” she said, waving a dismissive hand at the screen which flashed the lyrics. “There, that one.”  She showed Billy who nodded in approval.

She pushed Wes into a chair. “Watch and listen, boyfriend. This song’s for you,” she said, before turning to Luke. “You know what? I’m singing this song for you, too, Luke.”

“For me?” he said, surprised.

“Yes, I suspect you do all the singing and nobody ever sings for you,” she said.

“That’s not true. Alana sings for me all the time,” Luke replied putting his arm around her and kissing her rosy cheek.

“Alana, come up and sing with me then. It’ll be fun. Come on!” Janet said, grabbing her hand and pulling her.

Alana shook her head. “No, I can’t sing,” she said, looking terrified.

Janet pouted. “You mean you won’t. Oh, well, maybe next time,” Janet said. She smiled at Wes before nodding to Billy.

 She started moving to the music and looked straight at Wes. “I’ve known a few guys that thought they were pretty smart, but you got being right down to an art, you think you’re a genius, you drive me up the wall, you’re a regular, original know-it-all, oh, you think you’re something special, you think you’re something else, okay, so you’re a computer wiz, that don’t impress me much....” she sang and everybody laughed. “You got the brains but have you got the touch, don’t get me wrong, yeah, I think you’re all right but that won’t keep me warm in the middle of the night...that don’t impress me much.”

Wes stared at her, stunned and delighted, until she turned to sing to Luke.

“Never knew a guy who carried a mirror in his pocket and a comb up his sleeve, just in case and all that extra-hold gel in your hair ought to lock it, cuz, heaven forbid, it should fall out of place...” she sang. “Okay, so you’re Luke Tramaine, that don’t impress me much....” 

Luke burst out laughing along with everyone else, except, oddly enough, for Wes, but Janet wasn’t done with him yet. 

“You’re one of those guys who likes to shine his machine, you make me take off my shoes before you let me get in,” she sang. “Can’t believe you kiss your car goodnight. Come on, baby, tell me, you must be joking right?”

Wes laughed so hard he barely heard the rest of the song, but he clapped loudly when she was done. She gave them all a little curtsy and handed the mike to Billy.

 Wes hugged her before she got a chance to sit down beside him. “That was amazing, Janet,” he said aloud, but in a whisper he added, “Please, don’t be mad at me, okay?”

She stared at him and shook her head. “I’m not,” she said and she went up on tiptoe and kissed him.

“Thank you, Janet. That was awesome,” Luke said when she sat down next to Alana.

“You sing great, Janet!” Alana gushed.

“Thanks,” she said. “I love singing!”

She sat back beaming and listened to the others sing. Wes, on the other hand, stared at her, wondering and wondering.

He might not impress Janet, but she sure did impress him, and looking around them he noticed several others were impressed, too.