I’ll miss Joey later.
Right now, he’s next to me.
They all are.
Joey and Rambo and Dixon.
My friends, my bandmates, my brothers.
Tonight, I’ll do this for them.
For Wynter.
But most of all, for me.
Ross and Roll, my brother.
Chapter Nine
Wynter
My heart nearly stopped beating when Ross started to sing, but as he settled into the set, I was able to enjoy myself.
Then they played “Shooting for the Stars”.
My excitement is almost more than I can stand. The crowd is into it, the band is into it, and five seconds in it’s like no time has passed at all.
Ross’s voice is strong and steady, and as the crowd sings every word it nearly brings tears to my eyes. It’s kind of an odd feeling, but I’m so proud of him. On some level, I know how hard this has to be. But by the end of the encore, with that random bra still around his neck, I can already see the change in him. A subtle aura of confidence that wasn’t there before.
And it’s hot as hell.
It’s even hotter when he comes off the stage, walks right up to me and presses his lips to mine. “Thank you,” he says in a hoarse whisper.
I don’t know what I did exactly, but I smile and whisper back “You’re welcome.”
“Fuck yeah! That was awesome!” Pete comes over and gives him a high five.
“Way to save the day,” Tommy adds with a grin.
The crew ushers us back toward the dressing room and Ross slides his hand around mine. If thirty-three-year-old modern-day nurses were capable of swooning, I probably would have. Instead, I do my best to stay in the moment.
Kingston immediately walks over to Ross and extends his hand. He opens his mouth to say something, but Devyn immediately claps her hand over it.
“No talking!” she hisses.
He rolls his eyes and then pulls Ross in for a hug. I think he whispers “thank you,” but it’s hard to tell with all the chaos around us.
“This definitely calls for champagne,” Kellen says, popping the cork on a bottle that seems to have materialized out of thin air. He takes a pull from the bottle and hands it to Kingston. The bottle is almost empty by the time it gets to me, but I obligingly take one last swallow. Kellen’s just about to open another bottle when Pete slips into the room, closing the door firmly behind him.
“The backstage area is mobbed,” he says. “How do you guys want to handle the press? Because they’re here and they’re looking for Ross.”
“Guys, this isn’t about me,” Ross says quickly. “I just did that as a favor to you.”
“The crowd loved it.” Tommy says firmly, “And they loved you. We don’t have anything to hide. King has laryngitis and you stepped in.”
“People were totally rockin’ out to ‘Shooting for the Stars’!”
“Maybe, but I’m not prepared to talk to the press. I don’t know what I’m supposed to say. They’re gonna ask about Ross Rockit, and I really don’t want to talk about that.”
