Chapter 13
THIRTEEN
Trey sprawled out on his back on the king mattress, limbs askew, a buzz of joy lighting all of his nerves.
He never imagined he’d find a guy who made him feel .
. . right. Content. Whole. At peace with all of the shit in his past and present.
He had no way to define it other than “Dominic.” The whole package lit him up.
And now they were officially a couple. He wanted to scream it to the sky for anyone to hear.
Someday soon he would.
The camper door banged open. Trey jolted into a sitting position, then flopped back down when Danielle entered.
Alone. Their cover story was Trey had felt a migraine coming on—something he infrequently got when he was majorly stressed—so he needed some quiet time in the camper. Only Danielle knew the truth.
“Just making sure you’re alone,” Danielle said, “before I text Andy and tell him he can come back here to take a dump. Apparently he’s finicky about public toilets.”
“Blech.” Trey was definitely clearing out for that performance.
“What? Don’t tell me you like them?”
“Hell no. I was bleching over the future smell.”
She laughed. “Whatever. I’ll never understand what it is about guys and pooping. It doesn’t take thirty minutes, seriously.”
Trey shrugged, unsure if she even saw him, because he was not unpacking that particular male quirk on her. “How’s the competition?”
“Good. Really good. Okay, so really, really good.”
He sat up again, not liking the uncertainty in her voice.
She was actively typing on her phone while talking to him.
“Don’t you dare start second-guessing our performance, because if you start, then I’ll start, and we’ll be a pair of basket cases sitting on the floor eating that tube of cookie dough you stashed in the back of the fridge. ”
She stopped texting, eyes popping wide. “You stay away from my cookie dough, buster. I’m, like, two days away from my period, and I’m going to need the chocolate.”
“TMI.”
“Hey, at least I’m not badgering you for details about your afternoon tryst.” She made a show of sniffing the air. “Don’t tell me we went through all this trouble and he didn’t put out?”
Trey snickered. “We got that out of the way ages ago. Place aired out.”
“Guess so. So you had fun?”
“Oh yeah.” He crooked a finger, drawing her closer until she stood at the foot of the raised bed. Just in case Andy walked in. “We’re officially dating. And we’re exclusive.”
Her mouth dropped open. “For real?”
“Yeah. I really, really like him, Dani. A lot.”
“I can tell. You’ve got that young-love, sparkle-eye thing going on. It’s nauseating as hell, but also kind of adorable, since I’ve never seen it from you. I don’t think I’ve ever met any of the guys you’ve fucked around with.”
“They weren’t worth bringing around. Dominic is. He really is.”
“Then be careful, okay? I mean, Dominic is out, right?”
“Totally.”
“And you’re not.”
He knew where she was going, and he wasn’t going to lie to her. “Once we’re finished with Unbound, whichever way it goes, I’m done pretending to be straight. I can’t do it anymore and be true to us.”
She put her hands on her hips. “What about you and me? Our us?”
“I know, okay? I know coming out could lose us fans, I’m not an idiot. I don’t want to hurt anyone, least of all Fading Daze, but you and me is just an image. Me and Dom are real.”
“I get that, okay? You know I want you to be happy, but this band is everything to me and Bobby.”
“I know. I’m sorry.”
“And what do I tell people who ask me if I knew you were gay all along?”
“Tell them whatever you want. I’ll back you up. Me coming out affects how fans perceive you, too, and I don’t want to hurt you. Or the band. You guys are my family.”
“Stop, I’m drowning in all the feels.” She lightly punched him in the shoulder. “Whatever, I’ll tell the truth. It’s the easiest thing to remember, right? Besides, it’s not like we ever actually claimed to be dating.”
“Thank you. For everything.”
Danielle pretended to huff. “I only put up with you because of your amazing voice, you know.”
“Yeah, I know, and I love you too.”
The camper shook lightly as Andy charged inside and slammed the bathroom door shut.
Trey laughed. “Guess he had to go.”
Bobby came in a moment later, his white sleeveless tee plastered to his chest with sweat. He shut the door, then flopped dramatically onto the sofa. “It’s hotter than Satan’s asshole out there. Fuck.”
Danielle rolled her eyes, then did the dutiful sister thing and got Bobby a cold bottle of water. “Guzzle this, you big baby.”
“Thanks.” He pointed the bottle at Trey. “How’s your head?”
“Better,” Trey replied. “So do you plan on spending the rest of the festival holed up in here with the air-conditioning?”
“No way, the party is out there. I needed a break to refuel.”
The word “refuel” made Trey’s stomach rumble. Now that his performance nerves were gone, and he’d had some time with Dominic, he realized how long ago his pitiful lunch was. “How do you guys feel about pigging out on barbecue ribs tonight? I’m starving.”
Danielle raised a single eyebrow in silent question. “I’m in.”
“Sure, why not?” Bobby said after he’d downed half the bottle in three long gulps. “Andy! Barbecue for dinner?”
“Okay!” was the muffled reply.
Bobby finished his water and tossed the bottle into the recycle bag. “We’re heading out. Light a match before you leave.”
“Fuck you!”
Danielle rolled her eyes. “Men.”
It took them almost an hour to make it to the barbecue tent thanks to their new legion of fans.
They were stopped every couple of feet by folks asking for autographs and photos.
A few people even had printed album covers and publicity photos for them to sign.
Trey almost felt like a celebrity, and he smiled so much he wasn’t sure his face remembered how to make any other expression.
Andy was with them by the end, and some of the fan attention lasted throughout their meal of ribs and coleslaw and other fixings. Trey ate his fill, a little disappointed he didn’t see Dominic or the other guys from XYZ around. And no texts from Dominic, either.
Maybe they weren’t feeling barbecue tonight.
The R&B category was in full swing onstage, and Trey really dug whoever was currently up, playing the six o’clock spot.
Lauren and Rose were set to compete tomorrow morning at eleven, and Trey had promised to be there to support them in exchange for their tent the night before.
He hoped to sweet-talk them into another rental so he could spend time with Dominic before the end of the festival.
They left the picnic tables for the general throng, chatting with the crowd and listening to other bands. Trey sent a three-question-mark text to Dominic around seven, disappointed that his friends hadn’t made it to dinner. Probably Lincoln. He was a prickly bastard.
Trey was on his second Unbound Bomb when his phone buzzed.
Seven seventeen.
Dominic: Sorry, had a family emergency. Had to leave festival. Might be back for last day. I’ll call you tomorrow.
Trey stared at the phone in his hand, his heart twisting unhappily—not only because Dominic had to leave, but because he was leaving over something urgent with his family.
An emergency could be anything from a minor car accident to a heart attack.
He wanted to be there for Dominic, and he fucking couldn’t be.
He typed back: Take care of yourself. Tell me if I can do anything to help.
Danielle grabbed his elbow and tugged him away, toward the periphery of the mob. “What’s wrong?”
He showed her the texts. “I have no idea what’s up.”
“So call him and find out.”
“He said he’d call me tomorrow. He needs to be with his family right now.”
“What if what he really needs is to hear a friendly voice, only he doesn’t know it yet?” Danielle plucked the phone from his fingers, punched some buttons, and then handed it back.
The screen said “Dialing Dominic B.”
“Shit, Dani.” Trey pressed the phone to his ear on the off chance that Dominic actually picked up.
And he did, after only two rings. “Hey, you.”
“Hey.” Trey had no idea what to say. In only two words Dominic sounded both angry and hopeful. “What’s going on? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Linc drove me to the train station. I’m on my way back to Philly.”
“Do you want to talk about it?” Lord, he sounded like a chick. Except he didn’t want to pry into Dominic’s personal life by asking too many direct questions.
“Not much to talk about yet.” Dominic let out a low, deep sigh. “Dad called a while ago, not long after I left your camper. Said my little sister Roxy was in the hospital.”
“Shit, is she okay?” Trey headed back toward the talent gate, needing to be away from the throng and the loud music. Roxy was the one heading off to college, and Dominic’s adoration of his sister had been clear the first time he talked about her.
“Physically, she’ll be fine. I just . . . I need to see her for myself, you know?”
He honestly didn’t know. “Okay. I mean, was she in a car accident?”
Dominic was silent for so long Trey checked to make sure he hadn’t lost the connection.
Then he grunted—a dark, angry sound. “She was at a friend’s house with some people.
She went into a room with a guy, and they started making out.
He got aggressive, she tried to leave, and he—fuck.
He attacked her but she fought like a fucking alley cat until a girlfriend came in and drove him off.
Roxy isn’t hurt bad, mostly scared, but my parents took her to the hospital to get examined.
She’s pressing charges against the little prick. ”
“Good.” Pride swelled in Trey’s chest for how brave Roxy had been, even while he ached for Dominic’s obvious pain and anger. Someone had hurt his baby sister, and Dominic didn’t seem the type to let that kind of thing go unpunished. “I’m so sorry, Dom. I’m sorry that happened to her.”
“Me too. I hate leaving the festival, but I have to see her.”
“I understand.” Trey couldn’t imagine riding to the rescue of any of his sisters, but Dominic and his family were tight. It wasn’t in Dominic not to go where he was needed most. “I guess it’s good luck you already performed.”
“Guess so. Thanks for calling, Trey, I mean it. I was kind of sitting here going nuts imagining what-ifs and shit.”
“Don’t play the what-if game. Take it from me, it doesn’t make anything better. It’ll only make you feel worse.” Trey had reached the camper and he burst inside, grateful for the cooler air. He checked the bathroom to be sure, but he was totally alone. “Need me to distract you for a while?”
“Sure.”
“This morning I woke up in bed with a chick and a hard-on.”
Dominic’s muffled laughter made him grin. “Should I be jealous?”
“Hell no, the wood was all you, hot stuff. And I nearly made good use of it in the shower before Andy fucking flushed the toilet and I got sprayed with cold water.”
“Poor baby.” His voice was audibly lower when he said, “I had wood, too, but couldn’t really do anything about it with four other guys sleeping within twelve inches of me.”
“I’m guessing it’s impolite to jerk off in a shared tent?”
“Pretty impolite, yeah. But I don’t think Joshua and Benji got the message, because I’m pretty sure they were having sex in the wee hours of the morning. I was half asleep, but I distinctly remember moaning.”
Trey’s dick twitched at the sexiness of such a thing—having silent sex while other people slept nearby, no barriers but a sleeping bag.
“To be fair,” Dominic said, “they’ve been apart for weeks. I’m sort of amazed they didn’t spend the whole morning fucking in the van.”
“Sounds stifling.”
“When you’re horny, you’re horny.” Dominic snorted laughter. “Sorry, this guy in the other aisle just gave me the most wide-eyed look. I must be talking too loud.”
“Or he just caught sight of the hotness of you and can’t help it.”
“You never know.” Something leather creaked, as if Dominic was settling into his seat. “I hate that Roxy’s going through this. I want to kill the guy who did this to her.”
“I bet.”
“It’s not easy coming back once your sense of safety has been violated.”
The dark way Dominic said that made Trey’s stomach flip uneasily.
The tone spoke to personal experience with that sort of loss—the type that destroyed the kindness of the world and made every stranger a potential threat.
He wanted to ask, but over the phone while Dominic was on a train was not the time or place.
If something had happened, then Dominic would tell him about it when he was ready. “She’s going to need her big brother,” Trey said instead. “She’s lucky to have her family.”
“We’re all lucky. We were all chosen by our parents, and we know how lucky we are to be loved by them.”
He couldn’t stop a tiny flare of jealousy over the parent thing. It petered out quickly, though, because Trey had been chosen by someone. He’d been chosen by Bobby and Danielle, and they’d become his family. “How old were you when your parents adopted you?”
“I was still an infant. I’ve only ever known them as my parents.
” He could hear the smile in Dominic’s voice.
“Believe it or not, I was their first child, and the only one of my siblings who was adopted as a baby. Mom once told me that babies were blessings, but every child, no matter their age, deserves love.”
Trey’s eyes prickled.
“Shit, man, you can tell me to stop when I do that,” Dominic said.
“Do what?”
“Get all emotional about my family. I know it doesn’t make you feel great.”
Trey adored the fact that even while dealing with a personal crisis, Dominic was still in tune with Trey’s feelings. “It’s okay. My parents may not give a shit, but I have family. I have Bobby and Danielle. And Beatrice. And kind of Andy, too.”
“And me.” Dominic made a growly kind of sound. “You’ve got me, too, Trey.”
“I know. Thanks.”
They kept up a steady stream of nonsensical chatter for another thirty minutes, until alcohol and the heat of the day made Trey drowsy.
Dominic promised to keep Trey in the loop about his return to the festival, and they said their good-byes.
Trey stared at his phone, full of regret over his inability to be with Dominic when he was obviously hurting.
Dominic had his family waiting, sure, but Trey wanted to be the one comforting him.
Hugging him through the tough times. Being the rock that he needed in order to weather the storm.
And Trey had no idea what the hell to do with those feelings.