Stilling Anna’s hand, I wrenched the sex toy away from her. “Step back, now!” I warned her. Anna was confused, naturally, but she did as I asked and stepped into the recess of the curtain, on the far side of the painting. I wasn’t able to move yet, and I didn’t have time anyway. The curtain opened, the crowd gasped, and me fondling my junk with a bright purple sex toy was the first thing everyone in the gallery saw. Needless to say, I instantly lost my climax. I couldn’t come right now if I was paid to.
Jenny’s eyes widened before she spun on her heel and looked away. Evan’s cheeks went bright red. “Griffin? What the hell?” With the fake * still securely around my cock, I reached down for my pants, but not before I noticed cell phones being whipped out and pointed in my direction. Awesome.
Matt had pulled Rachel front and center for the unveiling, and they were both staring at me like I was some mutation from another planet, then Rachel’s eyes glanced up behind me. She gasped and covered her mouth with her hands.
Hoping I didn’t see what I thought I might see, I turned to look at the painting. Yep. That was what I was afraid of. The piece that Jenny had been hiding, saving for last, was one gigantic question artistically splashed onto canvas. Rachel, will you marry me? Matt.
I had just fucked up his proposal. Again. He was going to kill me. Jenny too. She was crying again, but not happy tears this time. Evan glared at me as he took her into his arms. Great. He was pissed too. Perfect.
Chapter 4
Will the Real Mr. Awesome Please Stand Up
Everyone decided to call it a night after that. I tried apologizing, but no one would give me the time of day. Matt was too furious to even look at me. Evan just shook his head. Kellan was the only one who wasn’t completely angry, but he left with Matt. To calm him down, I guess.
I wasn’t too worried about it. Once we were on the road, everything that had happened tonight would be forgotten. Water under the bridge. Besides, Rachel said yes to the proposal, so what did it really matter. At least, I was assuming she said yes. There wasn’t a whole lot of talking after the incident. Just yelling. Mainly at me. Rachel dug Matt though; there was no way she’d say no to him.
Jennifer was surprised to see us back home so early. I didn’t feel like explaining what had happened, so I just told her, “It was boring so we bailed.”
She accepted that and started going on about her uneventful evening with Gibson. I was glad her night with my kid was nowhere near as dramatic as my night had been. And I was really glad I hadn’t caught her doing something sordid. If I had, it would have been the last time she watched Gibson. Some part of my mind tried to tell me how hypocritical it was for me to think that, but I ignored my stupid brain. Where Gibson was concerned, nothing I said or did could be used as a moral compass. She was on an entirely different level than me.
After I paid Jennifer and she left, Anna hopped on the nearest computer. It was a little early for leaks, but it wouldn’t surprise me if my schlong was all over the Internet by the morning. Oh well. At least it was an attractive schlong.
Anna let out a relieved sigh when she didn’t find anything. “Maybe it won’t get out. I mean, it was mostly friends and family there, right?”
“And the local paper.” I instantly remembered Kellan telling me to be on my best behavior for the press. Oops.
Anna cringed then bit her lip. With a shrug, I told her, “It doesn’t matter. The guys will get over it, Rachel will marry Matt, Jenny’s gallery will be a hit, and I’ll be headline news for a little while. It’s kind of a win-win.” I smiled, but Anna still didn’t look convinced that everything was okay. “Don’t even stress. This is nothing. It will blow over before you know it. I mean, that wasn’t the first time I’ve been caught in an awkward position, and I’m sure it won’t be the last. After a while, people will just expect me to do crazy shit like that.”
Finally, a slow smile spread over her lips. “Well, maybe next time I can share the awkwardness with you. I feel kind of bad that everyone’s blaming just you for this. It was my fault too.”
With a mischievous grin, I nodded. “Okay, next time we have sex in public, I’ll let you get caught too. Deal?” I held my pinkie out. Giggling, she clasped it with hers.
“Deal.”
A limo arrived early the next morning to take us all to the airport; Anna had to elbow me three times in the ribs to get me out of bed. I was not a morning person. Anything before ten was way too fucking early for me. We had a flight to catch though, so I made myself get up and get moving.
The tour was starting in Los Angeles and ending in Seattle. I had no clue where we were going to be along the middle of the tour, but I didn’t need to know. Someone would tell me where I was before I hopped onstage.