“Hey, I’m Stone Tidwell, this is my boyfriend, Payden Walters.” I gave a nervous wave as the man eyed us, and not very happily I might add. I slid further behind Stone in case this went south.
The guy called over to someone and nodded, like they could see him. “Follow me.”
I hurried in behind Daddy, thankful when his firm grip tightened on my hand.
“You’re okay, sweetheart. You get to sit in the front row right where I can see you.”
There was another band on right now, Daddy got a spot filling in for one that cancelled.
“Stone!” Some guy hurried over to us. “Gotta say, I was surprised to hear from you.”
“Man, I can’t believe you’re still here, Steve.”
“Still here? I own the place now and trust me, if I have anything to say about it you’re a permanent fixture on the roster.”
Daddy smiled wide, so I guess that was a good thing.
“Steve, this is my partner, Payden.”
“Nice to meet you,” I said as we shook hands.
“Come on, I’ll show you where to set up. Got a packed house tonight and I’m sure the second you walk out on that stage, they’re gonna get rowdy.”
“Nah, they likely forgot all about me.” Daddy sold himself short. I’d been actively following his social media accounts since he shared them with me, and people were excited to hear from him. “Which table is for Payden?”
“I have him at a private table, but he has to share it with another couple.” Something in Steve’s eyes made me weary, until he winked.
“Private table, huh?” Daddy said. “Should I be scared?”
“Nope, I’d never steer you wrong, but you’ve woken a lot of sleeping bears as of late.”
I’d always heard waking, poking, anything to do with bears was a bad thing…
Steve took a call and Daddy whispered, “If at any point you don’t feel safe, you come to me. No matter if I’m on stage or not.”
“Do you have a lot of enemies?” Panic set in and I no longer felt safe.
“It’s possible, though I don’t really remember pissing anyone off to that point. Payden, you and you alone come first. Not a gig, not anything else but you. Remember that.” Daddy said before he kissed me. “I love you.”
“I love you too, Daddy. Now knock ‘em dead!”
“Okay, Stone, wait over there with the other bands and Payden, I’ll take you to your table. Anything you want is on the house tonight.”
“Oh, um, thanks?” I wasn’t much of a drinker and hoped they had 7-up or Sprite. Daddy waved then headed toward the rest of the groups while I followed Steve out.
“I’m so excited for tonight. We’ve all wondered where Stone has been. As soon as word got out he was playing here we sold out.” He brought me over to a table behind a roped off area where another couple was sitting. “Shadow, Lucas, this is Payden. He’s Stone’s partner.”
The huge man with hair down to his butt stood and extended his hand. I froze, staring from him to his hand and back up to his equally as hairy face. The guy beside him was about my size and far less intimidating.
The smaller guy grinned and rolled his eyes. “I’m Lucas Shane, this is my fiancé, Shadow. He’s not as scary as he looks.”
My head bobbed as I shook their hands, noting that Shadow kept his grip light on mine. “Drinks, guys?” Steve asked.
“Um, Sprite or 7-up please.”
“Same for us, please,” Lucas ordered. As we sat, Shadow wrapped an arm around Lucas. “Is this your first time here?”
“Yes, I don’t usually cover the entertainment section, though now that my boss knows who my boyfriend is he’s considered sending me to cover Stone’s shows.”
