I see something flick behind Mae’s eyes, fear or anger I’m not sure, but she goes along with herself anyway. Reaching down for the hat that’s now on the floor, she dusts it off and speaks, “I know the label didn’t know if it’d be a seller, but we found out tonight.” She shoves the hat into Trenton’s hands and turns to me. We link arms and head for the greenroom. The pesky knotting in my stomach that’s been building since Trenton exited the encore in a misplaced rage finally starts to ease.
“You want to explain that one to me?” I whisper.
Mae sighs. “He’s just been at odds with the label lately, that’s all.”
She leaves it at that, and while I definitely need to get to the bottom of it all, tonight is certainly not the time. Instead, I help Mae begin to gather her things. The after show white noise buzz fills the space. I imagine it’s much worse for Mae who just spent three hours on stage. An announcement over the speakers fills the void, telling those present that the bar is closing and that concert attendees need to start clearing out.
Wanting some fresh air, I grab a roller bag and exit out the back where Mae’s ride is already waiting. There’s only one car which tells me that Trenton will be riding with her, and I will probably be walking. I can see the tippy top of my apartment building from this lot so it won’t be the worst walk I’ve ever taken.
I’m about to load the bag into the car when Trenton breaks free of the venue and leads Mae and his team into the back lot. Straightening, I meet Mae halfway. Our time together will inevitably be brief so I quickly run through her itinerary for the next week. A few days off and then a friend’s concert at the end of the week. She embraces me sweetly, and we share a quick hand hold before I step back and Trenton escorts her into the car. Someone takes the bag from my hand, and I take that as my queue to get a quick move on.
“You’re not walking.” I hear gruffly from behind me. The statement wasn’t posed as a question. Turning on my heel, I find the same burly security guard I’d seen multiple times in the past few weeks; the same one who had tears in his eyes earlier. He’s holding the door for Trenton, who has also turned to observe the conversation. It’s the last thing I want. After a brief faceoff with no reaction from me, the man closes the door in Trenton’s face which gets me to laugh. This may end up being an annoying conversation but at least I got to see that.
“Pardon me?” I ask with a grin. I like getting on this guy’s nerves. I did it earlier when he was looking at me from the crowd, and I’m about to do it again.
Unfortunately, his lips aren’t able to form words quickly enough because Mae is rolling down her window. “You’re walking?” she asks, incredulously.
“I live just down the street. You know that Mae,” I say. Trying not to scold, trying not to gather anymore attention.
“You shouldn’t be walking this late by yourself.” The statement comes from the same man yet again, causing me to put my hands on my hips and jut out a leg in annoyance.
“Listen Mr. Macho Man, I do it all the time, and I don’t mind it–”
Mae is practically hanging out the car window now, dead curls hanging over the door. “Raleigh, you don’t have to do that. Hop in with us!”
I hear Trenton laugh before his face appears next to Mae. They almost look cute together. “Don’t get too hasty, little miss.” Cuteness gone. “I’ll have one of the guys drive you.”
“How courteous of you,” I grit out. The guard I’ve become familiar with steps forward, but Trenton is already calling for someone else.
“Dalton, you’ve got the keys in your hand, I’ll have Mitch drive her!”
I watch Dalton take an unfortunate step backward before tapping the hidden piece in his ear and summoning this Mitch guy.
It takes a few seconds, but another blacked out SUV pulls up behind us and rolls down the window. A good looking man with straight, slicked back hair rolls down the window and smiles at me.
“See, now we’re all happy!” Trenton exclaims before retreating into the car with Mae and rolling up his window once again.
“You’re Mitch?” I call over the idled engine.
“At your service!” he says with an awkward little bow, the steering wheel stopping him from getting anywhere. Hardly wanting to waste any more energy, I throw open the door and hop inside. The immediate smell of leather and overwhelming cologne hits me like a freight train so I turn back to the window to mask my distaste. Dalton is standing there.
“Try not to breathe through your nose,” he mouths.
I feel one corner of my mouth lift as I mouth back, “I’ll try.”
Chapter 6
Dalton
MOST PEOPLE LIVING alone would expect to come home to complete silence, but I have a Merle. Leaping from the spot on the couch he’s not supposed to be on, my borrowed German Shepherd runs to greet me at the door. He knocks over his water bowl in the process, but I’m just happy to come home to something, even if that thing is already overweight at eight months old and sheds like crazy.
My rowdy brother Dustin is off galavanting on tour, rocking out on drums, and I’m here, not on the road, with a puppy who’s now slobbering all over me. I sigh and reach down to scratch between his ears before moving to clean up the spilled water.
Dustin, who lives in the same building but two floors up, enlisted me and my neighbor, Amanda, to help with the dog. Between the two of us and our busy schedules, we’re able to keep track of the energetic puppy named after the late and great country singer. I don’t mind the company, that’s for sure.
Seeing that nothing else seems to be disturbed, I twist around and fall haphazardly onto my couch. As my shoes fly from my feet, Merle is quick to pick one up. I reach for him but he runs off, so I let my arm flop down beside me. It’s far too late, and I am far too tired to deal with shenanigans caused by a German Shepherd puppy.
Rolling completely onto my back, I pull my phone from my front pocket. The bright light causes me to cringe, but I press on, seeing that I have multiple missed texts from my brother. I scroll past them down to the thread between Mitch and me. Having every intention of starting a conversation, my fingers hover the screen.
