Chapter 11
ELEVEN
Trey waking up with a boner was nothing new. Waking up with a boner while sharing a bed with Danielle was a very special kind of awkward.
Despite the king-size mattress, she was curled up against his back, a pleasant warmth in the chilly air-conditioning they’d set way too cold, with only a thin blanket over top of them.
And if the bumps and clangs from the kitchen area were any indication, someone else was up.
Not like Andy or Bobby would give him a hard time over morning wood, but Trey didn’t like walking around in tented boxers.
Thoughts of last night’s rendezvous with Dominic flashed through his mind. Not only the serious part of their conversation, but the very happy endings they both got.
Yeah, not helping his erection. He desperately wanted to be home, alone in his room, so he could jerk off and be done with it.
Instead he rolled awkwardly off the mattress, one hand over his lap. Bobby was puttering around with pancake mix and a skillet. At the far end of the camper, Andy was still curled up on the bottom bunk.
“Morning,” Bobby said. “Thought we could all use a fortifying breakfast before we play.”
“We don’t play for hours yet.”
“Okay, so I need to soak up last night’s booze. Sue me.”
Trey had moderated himself last night so he was fairly sober when he met with Dominic.
He’d wanted a clear mind so he said things right.
His stomach was a little squirrelly, but only with anticipation.
He waited until Bobby had turned to concentrate on mixing the pancake batter, then made a break for the bathroom at the opposite end.
Even though he’d showered the night before to remove the day’s grime and sweat, and the lingering odors of Dominic, he got in a second time so he could take care of his woody. And he was about three strokes away from shooting when the bathroom door banged open.
“Sorry, dude,” Andy said, “but I gotta piss out this beer before my bladder bursts.”
The interruption paused activity, because no way was Trey jacking off with one of his bandmates on the other side of an opaque plastic door. He listened for the start and end of a long stream. Metal jangled.
“Don’t flush!” Trey said.
Andy flushed.
A blast of icy water hit Trey in the chest. He yelped, but had nowhere to go in the small tub. His hard-on died a fast death. He hit the water controls. The bathroom door shut on the sound of Andy and Bobby cracking up.
“Asshole!” Trey shouted.
He dried off, then wrapped a towel around his waist. Bobby was plating pancakes when he emerged. Trey flipped Andy off as he dug into his duffel bag for clothes. He’d long ago mastered the art of putting his briefs and shorts on underneath of a damp towel. He didn’t like flashing his scars.
“Wake up, Dani.” He threw the towel at her head.
Danielle grumped and rolled away from them. She never had been a morning person, especially after partying the night before.
Tension hung in the air all over them, even though no one was acknowledging it.
Trey plunked down next to Bobby at the dinette table and reached for a pancake, hoping the food would settle the nervous rumbling in his belly.
He didn’t like to drown his in syrup and butter like Bobby.
Even Andy had dumped a bunch of grape jelly over his.
Trey ate it dry, along with a big glass of cranberry juice.
“Dude, how can you drink that stuff?” Andy asked.
“It’s good for you.”
“So’s kale but I’m not gonna mainline that shit, either.”
Trey laughed. “Neither am I. That stuff is gross.”
“So’s cranberry juice.”
“It’s an acquired taste. Kind of like Dani.”
“I heard that,” she grumped.
“You were meant to.” All the easy banter didn’t totally ease the tension in the camper, but it helped. “Get up. We have to play today.”
“Trust me, I haven’t forgotten.” She rolled over and sat up. Her face was creased by the pillow and her hair was a mess. “Why don’t I remember coming home last night?”
Bobby snorted his coffee. “Because you had one too many Unbound Bombs and started feeling up a guy from a metal band.”
“Oh.” She scrunched his nose. “Was he cute?”
“The hell do I know?”
Trey was kind of sad he’d missed that show. Drunk Dani was handsy Dani.
“Go wake up in the shower,” Bobby said. “I’ll make you more pancakes.”
She pulled a face as she crawled out of bed.
It was going to be an interesting day.
Trey spent most of the morning buzzing with nervous energy.
They all knew the set backward and forward.
The worst that could happen was a sound system failure or a guitar string snapping, but today’s performance was everything.
He listened to some of the other performances, puttered around the tents, and generally tried not to look for Dominic all over the place.
Around noon they headed back to the camper for a lunch of cold sandwiches.
No one wanted to risk deep-fried food when they were all nervous as hell.
Even Bobby, who was rarely rattled by anything, couldn’t stop pacing until it was finally time to haul their equipment backstage. Trey listened as the talent coordinator, a perky lady named Emily, announced the start of the indie rock category and the first act of the afternoon, I Am Groot.
The band name made Trey cackle, but once they started playing, he had to admit that they were good. Really good. Not that he expected anyone at Unbound to be less than great. He simply wanted Fading Daze to be the best.
Each group had a max of twenty minutes to play, which gave them ten minutes to clear out and for the next act to set up. Trey was bouncing on his toes, his stomach curling tighter with each song the band played, nudging time closer and closer to their start.
I Am Groot finished out and thanked the crowd.
The tech crew signaled it was okay to start bringing out their equipment.
Trey tried to ignore the massive crowd beyond the stage and went about arranging mikes for him and Danielle, while Bobby helped Andy with his drums. He ignored the hoots and hollers directed their way.
He ignored the way his knees were trembling just a little bit when he strapped on his guitar.
The set they’d put together didn’t require the keyboard, so that had been one less thing to haul.
Once they were settled, Bobby signaled Emily.
“After last night I don’t think these folks need any introduction,” Emily said to the audience. “But I’ll do it anyway. Straight from the Eastern Shore’s southern coast, give it up for Fading Daze!”
As planned, Bobby started off the first few chords of their opening number.
Andy joined in a few beats later. Danielle belted out the lyrics, and Trey jumped in playing, pick-strumming his guitar strings like he’d done a hundred times before.
The song was peppy and fun and a great way to get the audience going.
The next two songs went by in a blur, and their final choice, “Fading Daze,” was a solo for Trey.
He pretended Dominic was out there watching him, and he sang for Dominic.
He expressed every bit of longing and confusion and emotion he felt for Dominic, and the crowd went nuts as the band went silent.
For twenty minutes, Trey had been on top of the world, and his heart filled to bursting with the joy of competing today. Competing and being pretty fucking fantastic.
They took a bow, then disassembled their equipment. Adrenaline was still flooding Trey’s veins, making him shaky all over, and he loved it. More than anything he wanted to find Dominic and kiss him stupid, but that was off the table—at least until after XYZ performed.
His phone buzzed.
Dominic: You were fucking amazing. Couldn’t see but heard you.
Trey’s heart lurched at the compliment. Thanks. I’ll be there to see you.
Thanks.
He hauled ass back to the van with his and Bobby’s guitar cases, so he could stash them away and make it back before XYZ went on.
Danielle gave him a knowing look when he begged off sharing a bottle of champagne with her and the guys.
He claimed his stomach was a mess from nerves and the heat, and that he was in search of Gatorade or something similar.
“Good, more champagne for me,” Bobby said.
Trey practically ran back to the talent gate. The band before XYZ had just finished. Trey returned a handful of high-fives and fist bumps from fans as he nudged his way toward the front of the crowd.
Dominic was fiddling with his keyboard, bouncing from foot to foot in a way that betrayed his anxiety.
He’d styled his black hair up in a wavy bouffant that would have made Elvis jealous, and he’d poured himself into skinny jeans so tight Trey probably could have seen his package if the keyboard wasn’t in the way.
Lincoln, Benji, and Tyson were dressed in a similar, sexy way, all four wearing cut-up sleeveless tees with “XYZ” in the middle, the letters filled in with rainbow colors.
Over the general roar of the crowd, someone shouted, “Fags!”
Trey’s blood heated, and not in the good way.
Lincoln peered out at the crowd—a death glare if Trey ever saw one—and flipped the bird. That earned him a shit-ton of cheers.
Emily introduced XYZ, and they launched into a very impressive cover of “Battle Born.” Trey watched Dominic, entranced by the way Dominic slowly morphed from tense to calm the longer he played.
He wasn’t quite as uninhibited as he’d been while playing with Trey onstage, but he was less uptight than during XYZ’s Off Beat performance.
By the second cover, Dominic was smiling broadly, excitement glittering in his dark eyes even from a distance.
He started glancing past the stage, at the crowd cheering them on.
Thousands of people listening and supporting them, and somehow Dominic found Trey.
Trey felt it the moment their eyes connected—a deep surge of something amazing.
Something built on their shared love of music and their intense attraction to each other.
Trey wanted to be up on that stage playing with Dominic—just the two of them, like that night at Off Beat. Trey on keys, Dominic making his violin sing. He clung to the daydream while Dominic played.
Dominic’s gaze returned to Trey time and again during the next two covers, all of them slight variations on the original, giving them a unique XYZ flair that the crowd ate up.
Trey couldn’t pretend they sucked because they didn’t.
They were really fucking good, and they could probably be great if they had original music.
Not that Trey planned on writing them any.
He snapped a picture of Dominic with his phone, because he didn’t have one yet.
He got a great shot, Dominic’s blinding smile on in full force, showing off both dimples.
The guy was probably wetting the panties and tenting the shorts of half the people in the audience.
He’d have had everyone wanting him if he’d played his violin.
Trey preened a little, knowing that no matter how many people here might want Dominic, Trey was the one who had him. They might not have labeled this thing they had beyond friendship, but it was more than that. It was indefinable, and that was okay.
He cheered and whooped when they finished, insanely proud of Dominic and wishing that he could race backstage to congratulate him.
Hating that he wasn’t brave enough to walk up to Dominic and plant a hard kiss on him in front of anyone around.
What if he never got to that place where he was comfortable with his queerness?
If he couldn’t be open about who he was like every single member of XYZ?
Dominic would dump his ass, that’s what.
And Trey would deserve it.
Until Dominic got tired of him, Trey would hold on tight. Do everything he could to make himself worthy of Dominic’s smiles, kisses, and attention.
Trey turned and headed toward the vendor tents, an idea sparking in his mind—something he knew Dominic would understand. Something Dominic could keep with him, even if he one day decided to let Trey go.