The GEEKs

33. four and a half stars, fingers, and funk

PREVIOUSLY: Jerry's been unable to get Lizzy out of his head and one glance at her makes him realise that there's no point fighting that, that he's developed feelings for her and needs to figure out what his plan of action is; Jeff and Eva continue to get to know each other on perfectly friendly terms as they hang out after a MLB show, where Jeff – being the good co-worker that he is – makes it his mission to shield slightly intoxicated Eva from Bruce hitting on her; a few weeks into Mudhoney tour, Mark calls Kat; having left Seattle a couple of weeks after Kristine cheated on him, he's struggling to understand what happened there but says nothing of it to Kat; instead, they talk about European hostels, Kat's bet with Stone, Lou Reed tickets, and Mark promises to call her again.

I squint at the cake pan full of grey goo one last time and push it back into the oven, right as the phone starts ringing. I flinch at the sound of it at first, then sigh – force of habit – and go to answer it.

"Hello?"

"I said I'd call with a hostel review so I'm calling."

"Okay," my face splits into a grin, both at the sound of Mark's voice and the still very fresh memory of seeing Lou Reed, "but before that, let me tell you about last night! But I've got a cake in the oven so help me remember that..."

"Tall order."

"It was amazing."

"The cake or the show?"

"The show. The cake's not done yet."

"What flavour is it?"

"Uh..." I narrow my eyes slightly in thought. "Mystery."

"So it was amazing?"

"Magical, some would say."

"Did Lou Reed levitate?"

"He has a very unexpected presence."

"Did you not expect him to be there?"

"He opened with Romeo Had Juliette."

"He's really losing his edge..." Mark's voice comes through relaxed, tired maybe, and ever so slightly crackly, courtesy of transcontinental phone lines.

"He didn't look that short on stage, you know."

"Phew."

"Oh, by the way, that weird smell in your apartment," I begin, causing Mark to sprinkle me with an array of disapproving sounds and a couple of cuss words. "No, no, it's really gone now. Good job, whatever you did, it worked."

"You dick," Mark mumbles half-heartedly.

"What time is it over there?"

"Uh..." I hear some rustling on Mark's end of the line. "Not sure. Late. Or early, whichever way you look at it."

"Which way do you look at it, Mark Arm?" I ask. He sounds tired. It must be...what? It's almost nine here so... Four in the morning? Five?

"I think Lukin was falling asleep last I saw him so it must be early."

"Why are you up?"

"I had coffee..."

"No!" I gasp and then bite back a laugh at myself.

"Yeah..." Mark sighs. "Never again."

"Damn, I missed the once in a lifetime spectacle... Is that why you don't normally drink it?"

"Maybe. It also tastes bad. Not to mention coffee breath. The list goes on..."

"Should I stop drinking it around you? Is that too triggering for you?" I inquire facetiously as I drag the telephone cord towards the kitchen to double check that I set the oven to the right temperature. Why is Mark calling, again? I mean, he said he would, but...why?