The badge made Trey feel kind of like a celebrity, and it helped settle the madness in his brain installed there by the hour-long drive. A Xanax had taken the edge off without making him too floaty.
After Bobby parked the van in their designated spot, they got to work setting up the trailer—which was pretty damned awesome. It had an extendable king bed in the rear that Trey and Danielle were sharing, and bunk beds in front for Bobby and Andy, plus a full-size sofa, a dinette, and an okay-size bathroom with an actual tub and a real door instead of a shutter.
Plus air-conditioning, which would be a blessing in the late-June high-eighties heat and humidity. The forecast wasn’t calling for rain, but tomorrow had a heat index of ninety-nine. Naturally the day Fading Daze was scheduled to perform. Trey didn’t mind sweating a little, but damn.
Andy set up the exterior awning while Bobby hauled folding chairs out and set them up. He’d even stashed a small charcoal grill in the van so they could make burgers and s’mores. The whole thing was as close to camping as Trey had ever gotten, and he wanted to get the most out of the experience.
More and more RVs, pickups, and SUVs arrived. Tents were pitched.
Trey grabbed a bottle of water and started wandering, introducing himself to anyone who looked friendly. Sure, everyone in his category was the enemy, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t hang out offstage. He even helped two girls in the folk music category pitch their tent, and they thanked him with a marijuana brownie. That went down easily and, combined with the Xanax, left him with a gentle buzz that carried him farther into the lot.
More people, more names he’d probably forget, but that was okay. It wasn’t as if he was using the meet and greet as an excuse to hunt for Dominic.
Not at all.
He didn’t find Dominic, but he did turn around and walk right into Tyson. “Hey, sorry,” Trey said.
“My fault.” Tyson’s arms were loaded down with frosty bottles of water. “We geniuses got here and realized we didn’t bring any water, so I was sent to buy some from one of the vendors.”
As much as Tyson’s betrayal still stung, Fading Daze was just as strong with Andy on the drums, and Tysonhadbeen his friend. “Need a hand? Those look cold.”
“They’re freezing. My arms are fucking numb.”
Trey took about half of them, and yeah, freezing cold. Fortunately, Tyson’s crew wasn’t far away. Lincoln, Benji, and Dominic were in the process of setting up a big square tent with three windows, and what looked like a screened-in front porch. Next to them was a yellow work van with the XYZ logo on it—nicer than their old van, but whatever.
Lincoln spotted Trey first and frowned. “Hey, Ty, why’d you drag that back with you?”
Dominic’s head popped up, and his eyes went adorably wide. Trey’s skin prickled with awareness, desperate to be rubbing all over Dominic. Stake his claim so Tyson wouldn’t get any ideas.
“I carried a watermelon,” Trey quipped.
Lincoln looked at him like he was crazy; Dominic started laughing. Trey and Dominic had already discussed their mutual love ofDirty Dancingand the sexy god that was Patrick Swayze. RIP.
“He helped me haul water,” Tyson replied. “Since you jokers forgot to bring it.”
“Hey, there’s four jokers in this crew, dude,” Dominic said. “Plus Joshua.”
“Whatever. C’mon, Trey.”
He followed Tyson to the back of the van and they deposited the waters in a heap. “You got ice for those coolers?” Trey asked.
Tyson’s face fell. “Fuck me.”
Trey laughed so hard his stomach hurt.
“I’ll go get the ice,” Dominic said. He’d come up behind them, and his intent stare clued Trey in fast.
“Need a hand?” Trey asked before Tyson could.
“Sure. You’re not gonna trip me so I fall and break a wrist before the competition, right?”
Trey rebelled against the idea of hurting Dominic on purpose, but he understood the need to joke about it. “Nah, we’re going to win because we’re better, not because of cheap tricks.”
“Yeah, good luck with that,” Lincoln said. He hadn’t lost his annoyed expression—or maybe that was the only face he knew how to make offstage.
Dominic handed Trey one of the two coolers out of the van. “Come on, let’s get this over with.”
Trey had a good idea of the lot layout by now, so he chose a route that kept them away from the camper. “Nice tent,” he said.
