Wes loved traveling, but he vowed that thiswould be the last tour for a good couple of years.He needed timeto work on his new project and to unwind.
Good Morning Atlantawas a receptiveaudience, filled with lots of aspiring writers who were looking foradvice to help launch or pivot their creative career.Wes gave asummary of his top five tips for getting published to end off thesegment and taping was finalized.Then the lineup for thebook-signing part of the event began.Two hours later, he wasdone.
Wes glanced at the schedule Luca had updatedearly this morning.After this segment, he had to go to G145 FM fora radio interview, then a break, then a luncheon at the SouthernWriters Association.His afternoon was free, with a massage bookedat the hotel, and then over to an LGBTQ2S+ benefit at seven PM,where he would sign copies of his latest book and give a briefspeech.Hotel overnight and then a flight at nine forty-five AM toMiami.Miami for two days, then fly to New Orleans, etc…
Wes was tired just reading his itinerary.Tired and getting cranky as the morning wore on.He checked hisphone, but he still hadn’t received a text from Ryker yet, and itwas making him fucking antsy.Isheokay?Pissed off?And why do I care?He couldn’t take waitingany longer.
Wes:Did you get my note?
Ryker:Yup, thanks for taking Spock out.I was able to sleep in for once.And congrats on Rudy.He’ll be agreat addition to your family.
Wes:Thanks, I hope Peanut will be okwith a new brother.Will have to feed them bagels to keep the peaceLOL.
Ryker:Your bagel wish is mycommand.
Wes:Only bagel wishes?
What am I doing?Stop it.
Ryker:Bagels are all I can offer.Havefun in Atlanta.
Wes:Will do, take care.
Ryker:You too, chat soon.
Wes shouldn’t be disappointed by Ryker’sresponse, but admittedly it stung a bit.What, did he expect Rykerto say one night wasn’t enough and they should do it again?Yes,because it was that good.And not just the sex.I haven’t talkedand joked with anyone like that in a long time.Maybe it wasn’tthe same for Ryker.Wes wasn’t normally hung up on what his loversthought since he usually didn’t see them twice.And now I knowwhy.This line of thinking is pointless.Let it go.
He texted Grey to see how he was doing.Greyhad flownback to Toronto to deal with anoffice emergency and would guide Wes with any PR stuff as neededvia video conference for the rest of his tour.Wes hoped he wasgoing to take some time to rest and reminded himself to ask aboutthe mystery man leaving Grey’s hotel room in New York City.Greyhad been too quiet the morning he left, and Wes prayed thateverything was okay.
Finally, he called Luca.
“Hey, bossman.How’s it going?”Luca asked,upbeat as usual.
“Good.The TV segment this morning wentwell, and there were lots of great audience questions.I’m justabout to head off for the radio interview, so thought I’d call andcatch up.”
There was a silent pause until Luca spokeagain.“Mac Duran is the most uptight pain in the ass I’ve had thedispleasure of working with.He sent a draft agreement in the hopesthat you and Ryker will make it official.Then he called me twiceto make sure I got it even though I sent a receipt e-mail toconfirm.And he e-mailed me again.Then he called me again.Thatman needs a vacation and a good fuck, and not necessarily in thatorder.”
Wes couldn’t help but laugh at Luca’sobservation.“Please tell me you didn’t give him that advice?”
“No, but I hinted that all work and no playmakes for a very grumpy and stressed-out gay.He hung up onme.”
Wes laughed, heading outside and glancingaround for his car service.“Man, I wish I had been there to seeMac’s face.You really push his buttons.”
A black Mercedes pulled up to the curb, andthe front window rolled down.“Mr.Stewart?”the young driver said.Wes nodded.“Good day to you, sir.I’m Hayden and I’ll be yourdriver for the remainder of the day.”He leapt out of the car andopened the back door for Wes.
“I don’t want to go anywhere near Big Mac’sbuttons.He irks me with that icy attitude of his,” Luca said.“Anyway, enough talk aboutthatman.Did you read the notesI sent for the benefit tonight?You’ll be at the head table withthe mayor and Ashton Langley, the founder and CEO of PrideAtlanta.I sent you his bio and pic.Short dark hair, green eyes, dimples.”Luca sighed.“You are one lucky man, Wes Stewart.”
“Thanks, Luca.I’ll text if I havelast-minute questions.Later.”
“Good luck!”
And with that, Wes ended the call.He noddedat the driver and slid into the backseat.
While the car whizzed through the busystreets of Atlanta, Wes opened the e-mail Luca had sent and rereadit, familiarizing himself with the names and faces registered toattend.Besides the mayor and his wife, there would be some bigwigfrom the media and a few local celebrities at the head table.
He clicked on Ashton Langley’s photo andread his bio.Forty-five years old.Widower.His husband had passedaway six years ago from cancer.One adopted son, age eleven.Aventure capitalist and successful business owner, he’d started thecharity in memory of his husband, and it was now his primary focus.Ashton was a strong advocate in a region that still struggled withacceptance of the LQBTQ2S+ community.Wes was impressed and lookedforward to meeting him.
He glanced at the photo again.Luca wasright—Ashton was a very good-looking man.
