Free Crazy in Love by Cynthia Blair

to the kitchen.
    “Not at all,” she assured us. “These are the special ones, the ones with the extra chocolate chips that I put aside. Just in case you guys came up with a hit. See, I believe that creativity deserves material rewards, as well as spiritual ones.”
    Saul went home a while later, after we both promised each other that we would make lyrics the most important thing in our lives until we finished the song. One thing we were both sure of: we would have to come up with some pretty terrific words to go with the wonderful melody we had written.
    After he’d left, I happily retired to the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth. I was feeling really good, about our song, about Saul, about life in general. I even noticed that, thanks to Dr. Glass and his magic dermatolog- ical powers, my skin was looking as creamy as an English baroness’s.
    I was just about to climb into bed when the telephone rang. It was so late that I figured the call was for one of my parents, so I didn’t bother charging out into the hall the way I usually did. Instead, I got under the covers, ready to succumb to my growing tiredness and mull over the events of the day.
    So I was surprised when my mother came to my door and said, “Sallie? Are you still awake? Telephone. It’s Rachel.”
    I threw on my old turquoise chenille bathrobe and went out into the hall.
    “Rachel? What’s up?”
    “Were you asleep, Sallie? I’m sorry.”
    “No, no. I’d just gotten into bed.”
    “Because I could talk to you tomorrow in school...
    “No, no,” I assured her again. “It’s okay. Why? What’s up?”
    “Sallie, the weirdest thing just happened.”
    “Really? What?” I settled into the chair that’s next to the telephone table, prepared for some really hot gossip.
    “Saul just called me and asked me out for Friday night.”
    “What?” I couldn’t believe I was hearing her correctly. Surely there was some mistake! Perhaps I was sleepier than I’d realized.
    “You know, Saul. The guy you introduced me to tonight. He just called from a pay phone. He was on the way to the subway, he said, and he wanted to call me before it got too late.”
    “How did he get your number?” Although all my tiredness had vanished, I was feeling dazed.
    “In the telephone book. I mean, he knew my last name, and he knew that I live on East Seventy-seventh Street. Look, I’m as surprised about this as you are.”
    “Well, what did you say?”
    “Oh, nothing much. It was a short conversation.”
    “No, I mean about going out with him Friday night.” I was gripping the receiver so tightly that it was slipping out of my sweaty palm.
    “I said yes, of course. I don’t really know the guy, but I kind of like the idea of going out with him.” She paused, then added a bit dreamily, “We’re going to the movies.”
    I cleared my throat. “Well, that’s great, Rach. I’m very happy for you. Saul is a terrific guy.”
    There was a dead silence. Then Rachel said, “Oh, Sallie, you’re not interested in him, are you? I assumed that you guys were just working on songs together, but if you had something else in mind ...”
    “Oh, no,” I assured her. “My interest in Saul is purely professional.” I sounded so convincing that I almost believed myself. But the fact that my heart was beating a trillion times a minute was a dead giveaway. “I mean, he’s a nice guy, and he is kind of cute....”
    “Because if you want to go out with him, I certainly won’t.”
    “No, go out with him. He obviously likes you a lot. He even tracked down your phone number.” The hallway had become a total blur.
    “Gee, I’m glad you feel that way,” Rachel said, sounding all dreamy again. “Because I’m really excited about going out with him. Sallie, how well do you know him?”
    “Not very well at all. Why?”
    “Because I have this funny feeling that Saul is ... I don’t know, different from the other guys we know who are our age. Remember our double