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“After concerts, I usually do some small meet and greets for VIPs, like the owner of the football team or the execs of the company that has the naming rights to the stadium. A few of the athletes or wives might show up. I’ll take photos, sign autographs, eat, and then pass out. That’s my routine.”
“And sometimes you go to bars and pick up women?” Her hands fall to her shirt. She pulls at the end, which makes her tits stand out. I flick my eyes upward to her face so I’m not distracted. I don’t think she’d appreciate me drooling over her boobs while she’s trying to have a serious conversation.
“Technically, I just went to look for a bar, and I really wasn’t even looking for a bar, I just wanted to get out and do something normal.”
“Normal is drinking at the bar, not picking up a girl, hiding your identity, and then disappearing for a week.”
“All of it’s abnormal for me.” I decide to change the subject. “Your new outfit is cute. I don’t remember it being the one that Chris provided.”
“Your stylist came in and offered me some new clothes,” she admits. “I said no at first, but she was convincing. She said that no matter how careful you were, someone might take a photo of you and me, and wouldn’t I want to look my very best since a million plus people would be staring at it within hours of it being posted on the internet?”
“I’m going to protect you,” I repeat my earlier promise.
The small smile that appears on her face isn’t a happy one. “I looked you up while you were singing. Seems like you’re the topic of a lot of conversations. People track your dating history, where you live, and even your flights?”
It’s been part of my life. I’m numb to the lack of privacy. “People can be pretty intrusive, but you can’t focus on it or it’ll drive you crazy. There’s actually quite a few artists that suffer from anxiety because of it, if we’re honest. Before you were in my life, I wasn’t really careful, and by that, I mean I never cared to correct things that were inaccurate. One of the dating stories is that I’m having a love affair with a rapper because one drunken night, I lost my balance and fell against him. Someone snapped a photo and said we were a couple. The rapper and I thought it was hilarious, and we never made a big deal out of it because once something is in a photo, for a lot of people, it’s true.
“But it doesn't mean any of that is real. Truth is most artists—at least the ones without heavy drug problems—are really boring. When you’re on tour, all you see is your staff and the tunnels of stadiums or the basement of arenas or the back halls of theaters. You live with that because performing is the only time you feel alive. Or that’s how it used to be, and then I met you. I know I said this before and you didn’t believe it, but I do love you. I’ve never felt like this about anybody else. Knowing that you were waiting for me, that you were still here”—I gesture around the room—“made me feel more alive than ever before. And if you told me I can’t do this with you, I’ll shut it down and refund the tickets. I'll move to Loveland and help James carry kegs around. It’s hard to say what the future is going to hold, but I know for a fact I’m only gonna be happy if you’re part of that.”
CHAPTER 20
CLOVER
The last two weeks of my life have been crazy. James has been holding down the bar. I have some guilt because the place is overrun at the moment. It didn’t take long for people to find out who I was. They tracked me back to Loveland. The plan had been for me to go back after a week, but with how things are back home, we decided it would be better if I stayed close to Dylan. He was not a fan of me going back home alone while he had to head to his next event.
With him and his security team, they can keep people at bay. It is still all very overwhelming. The crowds and people screaming his name never cease to amaze me. I didn’t understand it until I’d gone to the second concert and actually watched him perform. I can see why they scream for him. The man doesn't only sing; he pours his soul into it. If I hadn’t been captivated by him before, I would have been then. In hindsight, I’m happy I had no clue who he was. It gave me a chance to get to know him in a way that I don’t believe many other people do.
