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“Why are there blankets back here?” Paulie asked.

Barrett cursed and walked around to the back of the van. He’d completely forgotten to clean up the evidence of his and Nell’s . . . date.

The date he’d fantasized about alone an obscene amount of times in two days.

Sue him; he’d been too distracted to remember a few blankets and pillows.

He grabbed them, hoping to clear everything before they thought too hard about it. He probably could have played it off with Paulie, but then Dennis and Toni walked around to see what was going on.

They took one look, and their eyes lit up. Toni’s mouth rounded into a giddy circle, and Dennis coughed a laugh into a fist.

“Say anything, and I’ll take your sticks and shove them up your ass,” Barrett snapped. “And I swear to god, you better not say anything once she gets here.”

“Come on, Barrett. A little faith, please,” Dennis said, but he still grinned behind his hand.

“Yeah right.” Barrett rushed the blankets and pillows inside, smacking their hands when they tried to help him carry them in. He shoved everything into Toni’s bedroom to take care of when they got back.

He threatened them a few more times as they loaded in all the instruments—ones that he would leave behind if they pulled anything. They all knew he was bluffing, of course. He couldn’t do shit because he needed them as much as they needed him.

But he hoped they could hold it together for Nell. This trip would be difficult for her, and he didn’t want her to be embarrassed on top of it all.

She pulled up to Toni’s house a few minutes before they left. She waved and walked her bicycle into the garage for safekeeping. On her back was a pink backpack, probably packed with the weekend clothes Barrett had instructed her to bring.

Her hands rubbed up and down her arms like she had a chill, despite her wearing what looked like three different jackets layered over one another. Her teeth played with her lip as everyone double-checked everything.

He could see the nerves radiating in the air around her. She looked over the van, and Barrett watched her examine it the way she always did before she climbed in.

The last thing he wanted was for her to think she had to handle it alone. He stepped up as she opened the passenger side door and stared at the seat.

Arms brushing, he slid his under hers and intertwined their fingers together so he could hold her hand. It trembled slightly, undetectable if he wasn’t touching her. When their eyes connected, a red blossomed spread over her cheeks, and she bit her lips this time to hide a smile.

He could feel the guys’ eyes on them, but by some mercy, they said nothing.

They all piled in, Barrett and Nell in front and the other three sitting on cushions in the back.

“We good?”

Everyone gave a thumbs-up and yelp of agreement.

“I have a feeling”—Toni stuck his head in between Nell’s and Barrett’s seats and looked over at her—“that we’re gonna be very lucky this weekend.”

Nell huffed a soft laugh, and with that, Barrett put the van in reverse.

* * *

“Are you seriously staying with us?” Dennis asked, throwing his bag on one of the two motel beds and pulling out his concert attire for their gig that night. “Doesn’t Duncan have room in her bed?”

“I’m not just going to invite myself into her room,” Barrett said, drying his hair with one of the white bath towels. He’d shelled out a few extra bucks to get an extra room for Nell. No way was he making her stay in the same room as all of them.

“Is she alright, by the way?” Toni asked, lighting a cigarette and leaning back against the room window.

His eyes were ringed thick with black, and his hair was spiked and sprayed a too-yellow shade of white.

He fiddled with a set of fake vampire teeth.

He was dressed up as David from The Lost Boys this year.

“She barely said anything on the way here.”

So they’d noticed it too. Nell had smiled and talked a bit as they first left, but the moment they left Gemsburg she went quiet. She never looked out the window. She just stared at her feet, but occasionally, Barrett would look over and she would stare at him with an unreadable expression.

He held her hand the entire time. Admittedly, he’d lost feeling in his fingers multiple times, but if she needed it, he would let her break his fingers.

When they arrived, he walked her to her room and told her to rest for a few hours before they needed to go to bar. She nodded, kissed him, and then went into her room. He hadn’t heard from her since.

“She doesn’t love cars.” Barrett kept it vague. He’d never talked about it with them, but there wasn’t much to say that they couldn’t grasp for themselves. After so long of her skirting around anything that required her being in a car, anyone could put two and two together.

“What? Why not?” Paulie asked.

They all turned. He was in the middle of slicking back his hair to look like James Dean.

“Seriously, dude?” Dennis said, wearing his normal clothes, like Barrett. “Do you not read the news?”

“I mean, yeah.” Paulie wasn’t convincing anyone with that tone.

Barrett dropped his towel on the back of the desk chair. “I’m gonna go check on her.”

He paused outside her room, leaning his ear against the door to see if he could hear anything, before knocking.

Seconds passed silently until there was a shuffle and the soft padding of footsteps on carpet. The knob jiggled and opened.

Nell’s hair was a mess. She yawned into her hand, and Barrett’s worry melted.

She blinked slowly, and Barrett leaned against the frame to take her in.

“Did I wake you?”

“Yeah.” She wiped a hand over her eyes. “How long has it been?”

“A few hours.”

Her eyes widened. “I slept that long?”

Barrett chuckled. “Can I come in?”

Nell stepped aside, and Barrett entered. The room was exactly the same as theirs: two beds, orange walls, orange carpet, and off-white bedding. The only difference was that it was much cleaner and a lot quieter.

“I didn’t think I would sleep that long,” Nell mumbled and sat on the edge of the bed, curling her feet up under her. “The drive was . . . exhausting.”

Barrett moved closer cautiously, waiting for her to stop him. They hadn’t talked much since their night together in the van, and truth be told, he was afraid.

Afraid that if he moved too quickly or touched her without warning, he might startle and scare her away. Holding hands in the car was one thing, but they were alone, in a motel of all places.

But as he brushed his leg against the edge of her bed, she didn’t flinch or tell him to go away. So he pushed his luck and sat down.

The mattress sank, making her slide into him so their thighs touched.

She still didn’t run.

“How are you feeling?” he asked.

She nodded. “I’m okay, I think,” she said, and one of her hands brushed his fingers.

He held his breath.

“I can’t wait to watch you guys tonight.”

Barrett’s other hand rubbed the back of his neck. “You watch us all the time.”

“But not like I used to. I haven’t seen you really perform in ages.”

“Then I’ll make sure it’s the show of your life.”

She gave him a small smirk. “You better.” She stood up and walked toward her pink bag. “I should get ready. I still need to shower.”

“Oh, what a coincidence.” He leaned back on his elbows. “So do I.”

Nell paused, turning to look at him, then started to walk to him.

He raised a hopeful brow, letting her take the lead as she grabbed his hand and pulled him to his feet.

With a twinkle in her eye, she stood on tiptoe and pecked his lips. “Bye, Scott.” Nell pushed him away gently, and he groaned in mock frustration.

“You’re wicked.” He stole her lips one more time before turning away.

Her sweet laugh followed him as he walked out and closed the door.

* * *

Toni was right. Toni was always—annoyingly—right.

Nell was their lucky charm.

Biggest crowd ever. Explosive energy. Perfect show.

You’re not supposed to say that—some myth or something—but it was true. No tech issues, no botched key changes or haphazard starts. Perfect.

And she was there, sitting on the side with her drink in hand. Perfect .

The minute he was off that stage, she was the only thing he wanted to see.

He only spared a pinch of his attention on the stagehands and crew members who complimented him as he passed.

The rest was designated to scanning the hallways as he walked past familiar giggling groupies, who didn’t look to be dressed up as anything in particular other than exaggerated versions of their usual selves, and waved to Ricky, who called his name and said something Barrett couldn’t make out.

He pretended he didn’t notice and continued forward.

Not yet.

Not until he saw those blue eyes and kissed those lips.

He pushed to the stage door and shoved it open, giving way to the crowd of people on the other side, who perked when they noticed him. A big man nodded, and it took Barrett an embarrassing amount of time to realize he was a bouncer .

He’d heard their after parties had become popular. “Exponentially,” Ricky had said. “We’re charging door fees now. There’s a fuck-ton of people waiting in line to hang out with you guys.”

Barrett hadn’t believed it until now. He thought Ricky was exaggerating.

He blinked, taking it all in. His stomach flipped between nerves and excitement, and he forgot for a moment why he’d come out.

Until he saw her—standing toward the back, peeking over the shoulder of some other people who blocked her way from getting in.

He saw her eyes widen as they made contact, and he pushed his way into the crowd.

It was a bit of a hassle, with more people trying to get his attention than there were backstage. Some cleared when he pushed past, and some were more insistent. They kept blocking his sight of her, and she kept getting lost behind their shoulders.

He was ready to yell out for everyone to back the fuck up when he felt soft fingers wrap tightly around his. He couldn’t see her, but he knew her touch.

Immediately, he closed his entire hand over hers and pulled her without another word back to the door.

The bouncer gave him another nod as he passed but raised a single brow at Nell.

“Who’s that?” he heard someone say as he pushed into the backstage door.

It wasn’t quiet back there, but for a moment, they weren’t being pushed by a crowd of people.

Barrett paused right inside the door, turning to her.

Her eyes were big, dazed and glazed, her cheeks a little red with a beaming smile. “I didn’t realize you were famous ,” she said.

He’d waited long enough.

He grabbed her cheeks and captured her smile, putting all his excitement and energy from the night into her. He could taste the alcohol on her breath, and that alone made him tipsy.

One of them pulled away—he wasn’t sure which—but he was glad for it. It gave him the perfect view of the way her dilated pupils darkened her blue eyes and sent a shock of desire into his chest.

“I didn’t think they’d even let me in with that line of people out there.” Her voice was low, and the feel of her breath on his mouth made him pull her tight against his chest.

Their faces were so close that their lips brushed as he responded. “If anyone ever tries to stop you, just tell them you’re my—”

“Barrett.”

Barrett cursed under his breath as Ricky called from down the hallway, forcing him to pull away from Nell—something he hadn’t planned to do all night.

“What?” He couldn’t help the annoyance in his voice.

He realized quickly that Ricky wasn’t alone. Dennis, Toni, Paulie, and a tall man stood next to him. Barrett raised a brow at the man. He was clearly out of place—clean cut, business casual. Barrett had never imagined someone like him hanging around this place.

His bandmates, however, didn’t look like they agreed. Their faces were alight, grinning as big as Barrett had ever seen. Toni mouthed, Holy shit , and Paulie rocked back and forth on his feet.

Okay. Now, Barrett was confused.

The man scanned him head to toe before holding out his hand. “Scott Barrett. I’ve been waiting to meet you all night.”

Barrett looked at the man’s hand for a moment before taking it. “And you are?”

“Rodney Heimer with Stagnate Records. Based out of LA.”

Barrett froze mid-handshake.

Luckily, Rodney seemed to expect it and graciously let go. “I’ve been in town on some business and overheard about some little metal band with lines out the door.” Rodney’s eyes jumped to the stage door to make his point. “How long you boys been playing again?”

Luckily, Ricky answered because Barrett’s tongue was lead. He still hadn’t comprehended past the words “Stagnate Records” and “LA”.

“They’ve been playing here four months.”

“Four months, and you’ve got this place packed with people who come not to drink but to see you. You understand how rare it is to see something like that?”

“No,” Barrett answered truthfully. Because he didn’t. They’d played in Gemsburg for years to half-assed applause, drunken hecklers, and the Christian resistance. If anything, it felt like it’d taken forever.

Rodney chuckled and nodded. “Let me put it simply to you, boys.” He turned to address them all.

They stared at him like he was a god. “I want to hear more. Then I want to share it with some colleagues. And then, what I really want to do is share it with more people in bigger venues in bigger cities. How’s that sound? ”

Perfect.

So. Fucking. Perfect.

Barrett couldn’t feel his legs, or his arms, or his brain. He was completely numb with the possibility.

“Is that even a question?” Toni answered, the rest too blank with excitement to form any response. “Give us the fucking word, Mr. Heimer. We’re in.”

Rodney smiled and pulled out four cards, handing one to each of them.

“Get me a demo by the end of the year. Anything you’ve got.

Doesn’t need to be perfect. Doesn’t even need to be original—we’ve got people for that.

Send to this address. Now, I can’t make any solid promises except for one thing: everyone I’ve ever worked with is someone you’ve heard of.

Keep that in mind.” He winked and pushed past them, waving as he headed toward the stage door to exit. “Give me a call.”

The door slammed behind him, and they were all still frozen in place. Toni stared at the card, Paulie stared at nothing, Dennis looked like he was going to pass out, and Barrett stared at where Rodney had just been standing.

About ten seconds later, they were screaming.

It was a shuffle of hugs and curses, and blurry exhilaration and disbelief.

Was it the universe aligning or pure good fucking luck?

Perfect. This night was perfect.

The best day of his life, and it was all because of their good luck charm.

He turned around to wrap his arms around Nell, and spin her and kiss her like no one existed but them.

But when he did, she was gone, nowhere to be seen. And Barrett realized he didn’t even know when she’d disappeared.