“It’s okay, Damon. Slow down. It’ll be fine.”
He slowly eased up, and his shoulders dropped back to normal. “You’re right. I didn’t realize how psycho Chloe’s fans were. Did that girl call herself an…what was it?”
“Avanaddict,” Trihn filled him in. “It’s her fan club.”
“Yeah. I think I’ve heard Chloe mention them, but that was something else. I’m sorry again.”
“Don’t apologize. You can’t change how random people are going to react. As long as nothing is going on between you and Chloe, then it doesn’t matter,” Trihn honestly told him.
“And nothing is going on.”
He laced their fingers back together and pulled her into a diner. They ordered burgers, fries, and a salted caramel chocolate milkshake to split. Then, they chatted over their meal.
It was so nice to just be with Damon. Sure, there was madness all around them from the tour and Chloe and her Avanaddicts, but when it was just the two of them, it felt totally natural.
They spent the rest of the afternoon touring the more accessible parts of the city. If they’d had more time, Damon promised he would have taken her to the aquarium, but with the concert coming up, they only had enough time to wander around Centennial Olympic Park and the CNN Center, and then they rode the Ferris wheel.
They talked about the various tour stops so far, and Trihn filled him in on everything that had happened in New York. Damon looked like he was going to punch a hole through the Ferris wheel window when she told him what Preston had said in the kitchen.
Overall, it had been a totally relaxing day. It was just what she needed.
But when they made it back to the hotel, that all changed.
“WHY HAVEN’T YOU been answering your phone?” Chloe practically shrieked the minute she saw Damon.
“Hey, Chloe. Meltdown much?” he joked.
“We have to be at sound check in half an hour. No one knew where you were!”
“I was with Trihn.”
“Hey, Trihn,” she said before rounding on Damon again. “Why the hell weren’t you answering your phone?”
“Because I was with my girlfriend and didn’t need to be hounded by your incessant text messages. I see you every day. I don’t see her enough. I wanted to be present. So, get over your hissy fit. You could have gone on without me. I’m really only desperately important for two songs.”
Chloe narrowed her eyes and then stormed off.
“Diva moment,” Damon growled.
“Is she normally like this?”
“No,” he admitted. “She’s normally cool.”
They started to follow Chloe when she turned to face them again. “What did you two do this afternoon?”
“We walked around the city. Why?” Damon asked.
She thrust her phone into his face. “You met an Avanaddict, and I wasn’t even there for the picture. But more importantly, Trihn is now on everyone’s radar.”
“So?” Damon asked.
“Not that I care that everyone knows you’re dating someone, but I have a feeling the paps are going to get crazier after this.”
Damon took the phone from her and read the Instagram picture Chloe had just been tagged in.
@avanaddict1234 with @damonstone in #piedmontpark missing our queen @chloeavana! Don’t worry Chloe! We yelled at him for being with another girl. #chloeavana #queen #addict #dontmesswithourgirl #squee #OMG #didthatjusthappen #toorealforlife #nofilter #totallyafilter #ATLlife “God, that is hard to read,” Damon complained.
Trihn peered over his shoulder, reading the message. “Who cares about one girl?”
“The paparazzi who stalk me and now Damon. Everyone is going to be wondering who said girl was,” Chloe said. She swept her gaze over to Damon.
“But I don’t care if they know who Trihn is,” Damon said.
“Yeah, well, you might if the tabloids start calling you cheating scum because they have pictures of you two together. This is why we have a publicist. I’m going to message her now, so she knows what we’re dealing with.”
“It’s only an Instagram picture,” Trihn noted.
“Welcome to my life,” Chloe said. She sighed and took her phone back. “Sorry, I’m in ultra-crazy mode. I haven’t been sleeping, and this shit is just getting under my skin. It is good to see you, Trihn.”
“Maybe we should just go to sound check and not worry about one picture,” Damon suggested.
“You’re right. I hope it all just blows over,” Chloe said.
But the look on her face said she didn’t think it would.
Backstage was a chaotic mess.
Trihn was hanging out in Damon’s dressing room in Philips Arena. It was a sold-out show at a major venue, and everyone was running around like crazy, getting things ready. The opener was onstage right now, which meant they only had another half an hour before Chloe would go on.
Damon was alternating between tuning his already in-tune guitar and messing around on the piano. He would sing occasionally, but it was more to fight the nerves than to warm up.