Just his luck

After managing through the short set, Rosco thought he might throw up. He hadn't remembered how stage fright got to him. It all made him want to crap his pants because he didn't have an inkling what he was doing.

"It was great!" Carrie kept screaming. "You were great!" She wanted him to go to a party with her. He didn't want too, but she dragged him along, anyway.

"Come on, it'll be good for you." After all, he'd got a little cash tonight. And it felt good to have a little extra cash on him.

He was reluctant to go, but it was in one of the lofts in the old market area. It was nicer than he expected. And of course, Emily was there. Which was the most awkward thing about the ordeal. The guy owned the loft that she was with. He and his brother owned an independent record lavel, Hostile Bridges. He supposed Emily was moving up these days.

"You know him?" Rosco winced.

"I never slept with him." Carrie told him.

"Good to know."

"You think I sleep with a lot of people, don't you?" She was too the point.

"I hadn't really thought about it." He shook his head, no. There she was sitting in his lap as if she was afraid to be here alone.

"Why not? Don't you care?"

A chill of laughter ran through Rosco. His heart ached for someone who didn't even acknowledge he was there.

"Of course, I do." He thought he might puke. Thinking, all he really was was someone who put prices on macaroni and cheese with a price gun. He was way out of his league.

"I don't fall in love easy," she told him. "So I don't sleep with anyone."

"I see."

"But I would sleep with you."

"Uh." She made him sad to tell him so.

"If you were older. You're young." She giggled in his ear then. "Just seventeen. Right? I'm twenty-one. Could I get in trouble, sleeping with you?"

"We're not going to find out." He left it at that wondering if they could somehow get out of this party that kept filling up with people.

"Right? We did sleep together." Carrie smiled.

"Yeah, that's right, but it wasn't-"

"I was too tired. You were sad." She reminded him. She had her arm around his neck, and she was starting to feel heavy. He felt the moisture of her breath on his neck then. Just his luck, she would go to sleep on him.