Chapter 11 #2
Dean waved to them. “Sophie, Colton, I’d like you to meet my assistant, Jordan Kincaid. I couldn’t get out of bed without this guy.”
“So this is your fault?” Colton jokingly jutted a thumb toward Dean as he shook Jordan’s hand.
“Guilty!” Jordan laughed. “Everyone, this is my best friend Wyatt Spence.”
Wyatt stepped forward with a wide smile.
He was the same height as Colton and Dean, with gorgeous green eyes.
His perfectly trimmed brown beard and silver/platinum-dyed short, spiky hair created a stark contrast around his cute face.
His tight t-shirt and shorts clung in all the right places to his muscular frame.
It was clear he knew his way around a gym.
He was quite a handsome young man, and for some reason, that really annoyed Colton. He quickly greeted Sophie and Colton, then exuberantly shook Dean’s hand as he gushed.
“Oh my gosh. I’m a huuuge fan! It’s an honor to meet you DJ DVLN!”
Sophie hid a snicker while Colton rolled his eyes. Jordan smiled, shaking his head in slight embarrassment.
“Please Wyatt, call me Dean.”
“Okay, yes. Dean…thank you, Dean,” Wyatt stammered, still enthusiastically shaking Dean’s hand.
Dean chuckled. “Say…Wyatt…can I have my hand back?”
Wyatt quickly jerked his hand away, his cheeks turning crimson. “Oh God! I’m so sorry…I just…I really am a huge fan, and this is something I’ll never forget.” He shook his head. “I should stop…I’m making a huge fool of myself…”
“Yes you are, baby, and you’re embarrassing me in front of my boss.” Jordan smirked.
Dean planted a hand on Wyatt’s shoulder. “It’s fine, Wyatt. It’s always a pleasure to meet a fan. And anyone that can put up with Jordan is Okay by me.” Dean winked as Jordan rolled his eyes. “So what do you do for a living?
“I’m a personal trainer at Muscle Bunnies Gym. Well, technically, my first day is on Monday…so I will be a personal trainer at Muscle Bunnies.”
“Really? That’s awesome!” Dean smiled, nodding toward Jordan. “Our yoga instructor also works at Muscle Bunnies. Maybe you’ll meet Lenny one day soon.”
Colton tilted his head. “You have a yoga instructor?”
“Yep. Lenny comes to the rehearsal studio three days a week and teaches yoga for the whole staff.”
Dean patted Wyatt’s arm. “And you’re a trainer, huh? Maybe I can hire you to give me some new ideas for my workouts?”
Wyatt’s eyes traveled over Dean’s body like a ravenous wolf. Colton could have sworn the boy was drooling. It would make sense. Dean was exceedingly attractive, and this guy was clearly hungry for more. It made Colton’s skin crawl, Wyatt eyeing Dean like an all-you-can-eat buffet.
Wyatt swallowed hard. “Absolutely! Anytime. But would you want to train at a gym, being such a famous celebrity?”
Dean smirked. “Oh, no. I have a full gym in my loft. You could train me in my home.”
Wyatt’s eyes widened. This boy was in heavy swoon mode, and that made Colton want to punch him, hard and repeatedly, in that pretty face of his.
And why the fuck did Dean need him? Colton could show him any kind of workout he wanted.
And why the hell did this bother Colton so much?
Aside from the fact that Wyatt was eyeing Dean like a sleazy car salesman.
He’d only known the guy for all of five minutes and Colton was acting like a jealous boyfriend.
What the actual fuck is wrong with me?
Colton huffed and headed to the bar for another drink. He needed to separate himself from this little lovefest for a bit before he made a fool of himself.
Dean could talk to anyone he wanted. He could hire any trainer he wanted.
Hell, he could openly flirt with anyone he damn well pleased, and Colton had no say in the matter.
Why was he having these feelings? He couldn’t give Dean what he needed, so why be jealous when someone was eye fucking him?
They were friends, on their way to becoming really good friends.
Even then, he couldn’t be Dean’s only friend, that was unrealistic.
But something about this whole Wyatt thing was twisting his stomach in knots, so he slammed a shot of whisky, put on his happy face, and returned to the conversation.
Luckily for Colton, reinforcements arrived just in time. His teammates Greg and Bryce, along with their respective partners, Sarah and Chrissy. They'd make a great distraction from watching this Wyatt fella shoot heart eyes at Dean.
About an hour before showtime, everyone was relaxing and chatting backstage.
A frantic production assistant, Charlene, hurried backstage hugging her iPad within an inch of its life. Her glasses were slightly askew, her hair was mussed, and boy was she fucking stressed.
Dean chuckled. “Charlene, honey, you look frazzled. Would you like some wine?”
Charlene giggled, but it had a nervous I’m-on-the-verge-of-a-breakdown vibe. “No…I can’t…not until…we have…there’s a…” Her breathing became short and staggered, and she was teetering dangerously close to a full-blown panic attack.
Jordan, Wyatt, Colton, and Sophie all shared concerned looks, their eyes darting between one another, to Charlene, then to Dean.
Dean gently placed a hand on the side of her shoulder. “Charlene, look at me…now…take a deep breath with me.”
Charlene nodded and slowly inhaled with Dean. “Good…again.”
After her second breath, her shoulders released slightly.
“That’s good.” Dean patted her shoulder. “Now tell me what’s going on.”
Charlene exhaled deeply. “We have a problem. We need to delay the start of the show by thirty minutes.” She glanced at Dean, tension radiating off her body. “Please don’t be upset.”
Dean furrowed his brow. “Why do we need to delay the show? What exactly is the problem?”
“Well…” Charlene nervously shifted her stance. “The crowd for the show is significantly larger than we expected. We need a little extra time to adjust the perimeter fence and expand the concert area so we can accommodate all your fans.”
“Seriously?” Jordan stepped forward. “How much larger are we talking?”
“We estimate close to 2,500 over current capacity, maybe even 3,000, but we just need a little time to move the fence to be able to allow everyone entry.” Charlene looked to Dean. “The local news is already here reporting on the delay. I hope you’re not upset about this.”
Dean puffed out his chest and grinned. “Why on Earth would I be mad about that? Do what you need to do, honey. But honestly, I didn’t think we’d have that type of turnout.”
“Are you kidding?” Jordan smirked. “Dean, you have over two million followers and you’ve been posting about this for weeks. Of course your fans are gonna show up!”
He laughed. “Good point, J. Maybe I did stoke the fire a little bit. But I was so excited about this gig, and I didn’t want a half-empty field!”
Colton slapped his shoulder with a big smile. “Congrats, ya big dork. You broke Bayside Grooves. Are you happy now?”
The crackle between Dean and Colton was remarkable. It was playful and flirty, like two bros busting each other’s balls, but layered with a measurable edge of sexual tension.
Dean snickered as he bumped Colton’s hip with his own. “Dick! Damn right I’m happy! Okay Charlene, let us know when we can start the show. Jordan, let the dancers and stage crew know about the delay, and remind them of our brunch meeting tomorrow. Everybody else…we have time for another cocktail!”
Colton needed a moment alone with Dean. He had something he needed to say and he needed a bit of quality one-on-one time with his new friend. Once everyone had a fresh round of drinks, Colton nudged his elbow and whispered, “Hey. Can you show me the mixing deck?”
Dean cracked a huge smile. “Absolutely.” He touched the back of Colton’s elbow and led him to center stage, which was still hidden behind two huge video screens.
Wyatt and Jordan watched the interaction with obvious intrigue, but Colton gave zero fucks what they thought in that moment.
They stood close to one another as Dean explained the equipment on the mixing deck, probably too close. Occasionally, their arms brushed, or Dean touched his back as he explained something.
Colton wasn’t hearing a goddamn word Dean was saying.
Every time Dean brushed his skin or leaned close enough to catch his scent, his spine tingled.
His head was telling him this was all wrong.
Friends don’t do this. He should be with his fiancée, not there, doing whatever he was doing with Dean.
But Colton was inexplicably drawn to Dean…
his kind spirit, his infectious laugh, the sparkle in his eyes.
And Okay, his gorgeous face and buff body might be part of it too, but that was too much to process right now.
Although Colton’s head was screaming for him to pump the brakes, his heart and his body were telling him, "Fuck yeah, go for it! "
In that moment, all he could do was smile and enjoy the ride.
Colton swallowed hard. “So. I pulled you away from everyone because I wanted to say, what you did back there with Charlene…that was very kind, and pretty impressive. How did you know to do that?”
Dean flashed a sheepish smile. “Thanks, man.” He dropped his head.
“When my parents threw me out, I started having severe panic attacks almost daily. Just about anything, at any time, would bring on crippling anxiety. One of my teachers taught me how to handle it, how to recognize when it was about to happen, and what to do to stop it. So when I saw Charlene starting to spiral, I knew what it was and what to do.”
Colton’s heart ached for Dean. He hated that he had to deal with panic and anxiety. And he fucking hated his parents for doing it to him.
He could only think of one thing that might comfort Dean, make him feel a little better about his shitty past. He pulled Dean into a tight hug, with one hand gently cradling the back of his head.