“The hell do I know?”
Trey was kind of sad he’d missed that show. Drunk Dani was handsy Dani.
“Go wake up in the shower,” Bobby said. “I’ll make you more pancakes.”
She pulled a face as she crawled out of bed.
It was going to be an interesting day.
Trey spent most of the morning buzzing with nervous energy. They all knew the set backward and forward. The worst that could happen was a sound system failure or a guitar string snapping, but today’s performance was everything. He listened to some of the other performances, puttered around the tents, and generally tried not to look for Dominic all over the place. Around noon they headed back to the camper for a lunch of cold sandwiches. No one wanted to risk deep-fried food when they were all nervous as hell.
Even Bobby, who was rarely rattled by anything, couldn’t stop pacing until it was finally time to haul their equipment backstage. Trey listened as the talent coordinator, a perky lady named Emily, announced the start of the indie rock category and the first act of the afternoon, I Am Groot.
The band name made Trey cackle, but once they started playing, he had to admit that they were good. Really good. Not that he expected anyone at Unbound to be less than great. He simply wanted Fading Daze to be the best.
Each group had a max of twenty minutes to play, which gave them ten minutes to clear out and for the next act to set up. Trey was bouncing on his toes, his stomach curling tighter with each song the band played, nudging time closer and closer to their start.
I Am Groot finished out and thanked the crowd. The tech crew signaled it was okay to start bringing out their equipment. Trey tried to ignore the massive crowd beyond the stage and went about arranging mikes for him and Danielle, while Bobby helped Andy with his drums. He ignored the hoots and hollersdirected their way. He ignored the way his knees were trembling just a little bit when he strapped on his guitar. The set they’d put together didn’t require the keyboard, so that had been one less thing to haul.
Once they were settled, Bobby signaled Emily.
“After last night I don’t think these folks need any introduction,” Emily said to the audience. “But I’ll do it anyway. Straight from the Eastern Shore’s southern coast, give it up for Fading Daze!”
As planned, Bobby started off the first few chords of their opening number. Andy joined in a few beats later. Danielle belted out the lyrics, and Trey jumped in playing, pick-strumming his guitar strings like he’d done a hundred times before. The song was peppy and fun and a great way to get the audience going.
The next two songs went by in a blur, and their final choice, “Fading Daze,” was a solo for Trey. He pretended Dominic was out there watching him, and he sang for Dominic. He expressed every bit of longing and confusion and emotion he felt for Dominic, and the crowd went nuts as the band went silent.
For twenty minutes, Trey had been on top of the world, and his heart filled to bursting with the joy of competing today. Competing and being pretty fucking fantastic.
They took a bow, then disassembled their equipment. Adrenaline was still flooding Trey’s veins, making him shaky all over, and he loved it. More than anything he wanted to find Dominic and kiss him stupid, but that was off the table—at least until after XYZ performed.
His phone buzzed.
Dominic:You were fucking amazing. Couldn’t see but heard you.
Trey’s heart lurched at the compliment.Thanks. I’ll be there to see you.
Thanks.
He hauled ass back to the van with his and Bobby’s guitar cases, so he could stash them away and make it back before XYZ went on. Danielle gave him a knowing look when he begged off sharing a bottle of champagne with her and the guys. He claimed his stomach was a mess from nerves and the heat, and that he was in search of Gatorade or something similar.
“Good, more champagne for me,” Bobby said.
Trey practically ran back to the talent gate. The band before XYZ had just finished. Trey returned a handful of high-fives and fist bumps from fans as he nudged his way toward the front of the crowd.
Dominic was fiddling with his keyboard, bouncing from foot to foot in a way that betrayed his anxiety. He’d styled his black hair up in a wavy bouffant that would have made Elvis jealous, and he’d poured himself into skinny jeans so tight Trey probably could have seen his package if the keyboard wasn’t in the way.
Lincoln, Benji, and Tyson were dressed in a similar, sexy way, all four wearing cut-up sleeveless tees with “XYZ” in the middle, the letters filled in with rainbow colors.
Over the general roar of the crowd, someone shouted, “Fags!”
Trey’s blood heated, and not in the good way.
Lincoln peered out at the crowd—a death glare if Trey ever saw one—and flipped the bird. That earned him a shit-ton of cheers.
Emily introduced XYZ, and they launched into a very impressive cover of “Battle Born.” Trey watched Dominic, entranced by the way Dominic slowly morphed from tense to calm the longer he played. He wasn’t quite as uninhibited as he’d been while playing with Trey onstage, but he was less uptight than during XYZ’s Off Beat performance.
By the second cover, Dominic was smiling broadly, excitement glittering in his dark eyes even from a distance. Hestarted glancing past the stage, at the crowd cheering them on. Thousands of people listening and supporting them, and somehow Dominic found Trey. Trey felt it the moment their eyes connected—a deep surge of something amazing. Something built on their shared love of music and their intense attraction to each other.
