That’s right,Quentin thought.That’s a picture of how the rest of this season is going to go.
The team celebrated that night and left for Boston the next morning. Quentin was excited to go home, but nerves twisted in his stomach because home meant that he’d have to see Joel again, very soon, at Joel’s concert.
Chapter 7
Joel & Quentin
Joel and his team stayed at the Ritz-Carlton in Boston. He liked that part of touring, always exploring new hotels and new cities, though he was, at his core, a homebody. The production crew had gotten to Boston the day before him to set up the stage, lights, and screens in the stadium where he’d be performing. In the days leading up to the first Boston concert, Joel felt a nervous buzzing beneath his skin. It was different than the normal pre-concert nerves. These nerves had to do with the fact that he’d see Quentin again soon. His annoyance with the hockey player had mellowed since he’d last seen him, but he wasn’t looking forward to having to make nice with Quentin after the concert, posing for photos and pretending to be friends, and the thought of performing with Quentin in the audience made him irrationally nervous.
Joel’s costumes for the tour had been designed by famous Japanese-Italian designer Mei Yamamoto, who had dressed many celebrities over the years, and whose work was often featured inVogue, Garde Magazine,and other similar fashion publications. She had a flamboyant, avant-garde style and favored fitted jumpsuits for Joel, often with bright colors, jewels, and sequins, which often left his chest bare or partially bare. Some of his costumes were completely shirtless. He had a good body, was something of a sex symbol, and had modeled for various famous brands, including underwear brands, and he knew that many of his fans lusted after him and his body, and harbored fantasies of him. Some of his choreography was implicitly sexual, to go along with his songs about love, sex, and romance, and the thought of performing that when Quentin was watching was awkward, to say the least.
He didn’t know why he cared so much. Thousands, millions of people had seen him shirtless or almost nude, and that didn’t bother him. He knew that his body was part of his brand, but it felt different, somehow, knowing that Quentin would be watching him. He knew Quentin already had opinions about him, and they weren’t favorable opinions, and he didn’t want to know what Quentin would think of seeing Joel gyrating on stage in nothing but sparkly bellbottoms—or, even worse, the bedazzled briefs that Mei had convinced him to wear for one of his sets.Onlybedazzled briefs. He said he felt like a stripper when he saw that costume, and Mei had looked sternly at him and said that there was nothing wrong with stripping. Sex work was an ancient and honorable profession, and she wouldn’t hear anything against it. That had shut him up real quick.
Joel was performing at the InTech Stadium in Boston, one of the biggest venues he’d played so far. He’d perform there for three nights, and every night was sold out. Shivonne had contacted Quentin’s agent to give him tickets to the show. Joel subtly asked Shivonne who, if anyone, Quentin was bringing. Not that Joel cared if Quentin brought a date. Of course, Quentin could bring a date!
“All I know is that he’s using all three tickets,” Shivonne said when he was getting his makeup done in his hotel room. “I don’t know who he’s bringing. But I have an idea.”
“Oh, no,” Joel said.
“Don’t ‘oh, no’ me. It’s a good idea.”
“Like having him come to one of my concerts?”
“Don’t be rude, or I’ll quit.”
“You’ll never quit,” Joel said. “You love me.”
“Do I?”
“Yes.”
“Hm. Well, I think you should have him join you on stage.”
“I was right, this is definitely an ‘oh, no’ situation.”
Shivonne rolled her eyes. “That’s it, let me look for my pre-printed resignation letter.”
“Please tell me you’re joking.”
“About bringing Hartley on stage, or about resigning?”
“Both?” The makeup artist finished with his eyeliner, and he turned in his seat to look balefully at Shivonne.
“I’m kidding about one, but not the other.”
“Hm.”
“You should have him onstage. It’ll cement that you’re friends. You’re in his hometown.”
“He’s from Colorado,” Joel interjected.
Shivonne raised her perfect eyebrows. “Someone read the file I sent him.”
“I may have skimmed it,” Joel muttered. “What’ll I even have him do onstage? I doubt he can sing or dance.”
Shivonne whipped her iPad out of her purse. “I have everything planned out here. He can come out during the interlude to ‘No One Like You.’”
Joel sighed. “No One Like You” was one of his most popular songs off theNorthern Sunalbum. It was an ode to friendship and to all of the people who had had a positive impact on his life. It had largely been inspired by his friendship with Ariadne Lake.
