While the stylist trimmed and cut their hair, Dane asked Adam random questions, growing more and more comfortable with Adam. They talked about school, Adam’s running, and the paper that both Bas and Adam worked for. Dane even asked Bas about the college program he was in.
None of the word vomit of insults or shut downs appeared.Yeah, Tommy is a frickin’ genius, Bas thought as he watched Dane get transformed from the disheveled mental patient into a hotter blond than he’d ever been. Sure the guy could stand to put on a few pounds, but he was still good-looking enough to draw the eye of just about anyone who could appreciate a handsome man.
Dane was shaved down to a short boxed beard, hair trimmed on the sides and longer on top. The classic look fit him. After Dane’s hair was cut—removing a lot of dyed blond length—and thoroughly washed, Bas couldn’t help but notice. The piercing blue eyes and copper hair had him staring.
“You’re a ginger. Fuck me, that’s hot.”
Dane flushed and looked away.
“Don’t stare.”
“Sorry. But, wow. All these years you’ve been letting them bleach your hair?”
“It’s pretty. Sort of like red-gold,” Adam said. “And we can see your eyes so much better now that you’re not hiding behind all that hair. Eyes are windows to the soul. It’s hard to let people look that deep, but sometimes it’s just better to hang it out there up front rather than waiting for the fall. You know? At least then you know who’s true.”
Dane looked down at his lap.
“They wanted someone blond for the group. Two brunettes and two blonds. That’s what I heard one of the producers say when they were hosting tryouts. I bought some peroxide at a local drug store and bleached mine. I had to get in to the group. Had to get out of that life.” He shrugged. “Got used to keeping it up.”
“You should let it stay this color. It looks good on you. Lots of big names have red hair.” Adam smiled as he leaned back in the chair. A woman was working on his pedicure. “I never thought a spa day would be so much fun. But I really have had a good time, and I feel like a million bucks. I hope it’s been relaxing for you guys too.”
“Bet you can’t wait to rub up on Ru and show him how good your day has been,” Bas teased.
“For sure,” Adam said. “I miss being able to touch him all day. Especially since it’s a day off school. Those days are usually filled with us curled up watching a movie together or running at the gym. I’m sort of going through Ru withdrawal. Dunno what’s gonna happen when he has to go overseas in June.”
Ru had a dozen tour dates across the eastern continents. Bas knew he’d been putting them off because he didn’t want to leave Adam.
“Will he be able to travel between tour dates and home like he did for the American tour?”
“No. He only gets a day or so off before having another show, not enough time to fly home and then back. But he wanted it to be fast so he could just get it over with.”
“The overseas stuff was always wild,” Dane told them. “Fewer rules. And when you’re a celebrity, people let you break the few rules there are. People offer you drugs, alcohol, and sex everywhere you go. When you don’t partake, they get offended.”
Adam frowned. “I don’t like anyone pushing all that stuff on Ru.”
“Ru used to sit in the hotel room with me and just play his guitar. He was always writing music. I’d play solitaire. Sometimes we’d sing covers just for the hell of it. Tommy and AJ were the partiers. Everyone liked them. The production company thought they could keep a good face on the group. I just don’t like people much and I tend to say stuff I shouldn’t, so they never wanted me out where the public could hear me speak.”
With all their treatments finished, they returned to the locker room. A woman brought them each a bag of new clothes. Dane’s had the tags removed, but the cards said they were gifts from Tommy and Ru. Bas shoved their old clothes in the duffel he’d brought. Adam wasn’t shy at all about changing in the room with them, though he did use one of the little rooms to put his boxers on. But he’d had years in locker rooms on the football team. Bas pointed Dane toward one of the curtained changing rooms and took one himself. It had been a long day, and he was tired. Sad, ’cause he felt like he could have walked a red carpet and garnered massive applause.
Tommy had chosen well: boot-cut jeans that hugged Bas’s ass and a soft green cashmere sweater over a T-shirt. At least the guy had a decent fashion sense, even if he was straight. Bas left his little changing room to find Adam dressed very much the same, only he had a maroon button-up that brought out his tan skin and brown eyes. Dressy, yet casual.
“Do I look okay?” Adam asked. “Just got a text. Tommy is picking us up. But they have dinner ready at your house. I wanna look good for Ru.”
“Sweetie, you always look good. You could wear a paper bag and look good.” Bas did a little turn. “How about me? Never thought I’d miss a mirror so much. Do you think that means I’m a narcissist? Do I look good enough to hang out with a couple ex-boybanders and a hot runner and not stand out like the fat guy wearing horizontal stripes in a Where’s Waldo puzzle?”
“You look good. I think I like your hair like this. It’s not so made up. But it’s weird seeing you without makeup. I have a mirror in my bag somewhere. Ru uses it all the time.” Adam began digging through his bag.
Bas wondered where Dane was since he hadn’t appeared yet.
“Dane?” Was something not fitting? “Everything okay?” Dane shoved the curtain back but didn’t step out of the room. Bas couldn’t help but stare. Wow. Dane’s jeans fit well, hugging his hips and thighs. His shirt was a button-up, like Adam’s, and was blue like his eyes. It showed off that he was wide in the shoulders, narrow in the hips. His low weight wasn’t as noticeable. A few more weeks of good meals and he’d be swarmed by crowds of admiring fans. “Wow.”
Adam stepped up beside Bas. “You look great! You’re coming to Bas’s house with us, right? For dinner? I don’t know what the guys have planned, but you can come if you’re feeling comfortable enough. Maybe we can watch a superhero movie.”
