He turned to find a young boy, maybe thirteen or fourteen, carrying a pile of towels, looking starstruck.
“Hi!” Dean flashed a big smile. “What’s your name?”
He gulped, his eyes wide, and smiled. “Tommy.”
Colton came up to them and put his hand on Tommy's shoulder. "The Niners allow local kids in youth sports to help around the facility. Tommy here is one of our towel boys."
Tommy’s eyes went wide with excitement, the kid was practically vibrating. “I can’t believe it’s you! Can I take a selfie with you?”
“Of course you can.” Dean grinned at the boy. Being famous could suck sometimes, but meeting fans, especially the younger ones, was the best part of the job.
Colton offered to take the picture, and Tommy was beside himself, absolutely giddy.
They posed, Tommy looking like a miniature version of Dean with his short brown hair, brown eyes, and fair skin.
“What are you doing here?” Tommy asked.
“We’re filming my new music video here today, with the team.”
“That’s so cool!‘Lights up’is my favorite song.” Tommy looked admiringly at Dean, who smiled genuinely at the young man.
“It is? You know what? It’s one of my favorites too.” Dean patted him on the shoulder.
“When is your new album coming out? I can’t wait,” Tommy asked with a grin.
“It’s actually coming out in about a month.” Dean paused, bit his lip again, and shot a sly look at Colton. “Hey, Tommy. How would you like it if I gave you the album today?”
“Really? Yes, please! I would love it!” Tommy began bouncing on his toes.
“Okay, here, give me your Instagram handle.” Dean handed his phone to Tommy. “When I get home tonight, I’ll message you a link to download the whole album. I’ll even include all the remixes too.”
Dean dropped down on one knee, so he was on Tommy’s level and squeezed the kid’s shoulder. “But this is just for you, okay? You can’t share the link with anyone else. Deal?”
“Deal!” Tommy handed Dean back his phone and gave him a huge hug. “Thank you, DJ DVLN.”
“Hey, we’re friends now, Tommy, so you can call me Dean.” He winked.
Dean stood and patted the top of his head. “Alright, you better get back to work. I don’t wanna get you in trouble.”
Tommy ran off, turning once to wave to Dean, grinning ear to ear.
Dean turned back to find Colton studying him with a raised eyebrow. “What? What is it?”
“Nothing,” Colton responded. “It’s just, you’re totally not what I was expecting.”
Dean cocked his head to one side. “What were you expecting?”
Colton paused for a moment. “I don’t know. I guess, a self-absorbed musician with lots of tattoos.”
“Mmmm, no bumper stickers on this Ferrari.” Dean chuckled as he rubbed his hands down his chest and Colton laughed.
“And there are already too many of those types in the world! I’ve got no time for that shit. I mean, being nice to people isn’t that hard.” Dean motioned toward where Tommy had just left. “Who knows? Maybe that gesture won’t mean much to Tommy. Or maybe I just completely changed his life. Either way, I did something nice for another human being, and that’s what it’s all about.”
Colton smiled, and they shared a moment of awkward silence staring at each other. “Okay, let’s get you geared up. It looks like you're close to my size.” Colton jumped into motion, grabbed some pads off the wall, and began digging through some bins before turning back to Dean. “Um…are you ok with taking your clothes off?”
Dean grinned and began to remove his shirt “Yep! I have no problem with nudity!”
As Dean removed his shirt, Colton eyed his ripped, muscular chest, arms, and washboard abs. “Damn dude, you’re pretty jacked! How often do you work out?”
