“Hey,” Owen said. “Are you okay? I have this weird feeling that something is wrong.”
For some reason hearing Owen’s voice made Kellen’s thoughts drift to the night Dawn had tied him. His cock twitched at how amazing it had felt to have that twine wrapped around his dick, those beads up his ass, and when he’d come, it hadn’t been Dawn’s name that had spilled from his lips. Heat flooded Kellen’s face as the image of Owen tied over a pommel entered his thoughts. What the fuck was wrong with him? He must be fucking bored. And horny. Why was he horny? He missed Dawn. It was the only explanation.
“I’m fine,” Kellen said. Well, mostly. “I’m stuck in traffic. Some accident has the entire highway closed. I hope I can get to the show in time.”
“You’re okay, though?” Owen asked.
“Of course. Other than being highly annoyed. Sorry to worry you.”
“Like I’d ever worry about you.”
Kellen knew he was lying, but he didn’t embarrass Owen about his concern. That big heart of his was what allowed their friendship to develop and stay strong through the years.
“I’ll let the guys know you might be late.”
“I refuse to be late, even if I have to hydroplane this rental car through the bayou.”
Owen’s laugh made Kellen smile. He missed the guy and couldn’t remember the last time they’d been separated for longer than a day. He wondered if now that they both had girlfriends, if they’d see each other less. Kellen guessed it was inevitable. While he was excited to build a future with Dawn, he’d likely never get over Owen. But maybe he didn’t have to. They could be couple-friends with Owen and Caitlyn; that was a thing. And he was sure Dawn would love Owen as much as he did once she got the chance to know him. Kellen had enjoyed what little time he’d spent with Caitlyn, and he could see the two women becoming friends just as he and Owen were friends. Caitlyn was busy with her company, but surely they could make this work.
Kellen was thinking about the future and all the fun times in store for the four of them long after Owen disconnected. The next time his phone rang, it was Dawn. And immediately the semi he’d been sporting became a raging hard-on. He glared at his crotch, wondering what was so stimulating about talking on the phone while stuck in traffic.
“I’m safe in L.A.,” she said. “And so nervous, I think I’m going to be sick.”
“You’ll be great. They’ll love you.”
“I’m not even sure why I want them to love me. I can’t believe Wes is being so tightlipped. He’s usually the type to brag about how awesome his plans for my future are.”
She laughed, and he had to admit that she sounded nervous. Or maybe he heard nerves in her voice just because they were speaking on the phone for the first time. She might always have that high-pitched edge to her voice on the phone.
“So do you think that means this potential deal is huge or embarrassingly small?”
“Oh,” she said. “You know, maybe that’s it. I never even considered that it’s something so small that he was too embarrassed to tell me about it.” She laughed—almost hysterically. “That must be it. And I worried over it the entire flight.”
Kellen didn’t have the heart to point out that they probably wouldn’t have flown her to L.A. in such a rush if it wasn’t a big deal.
“So how is New Orleans? We really need to spend more time there. I had so much fun.”
“I’m not quite there yet,” he said. “I ran into more traffic.”
“Oh no, will you make it to your show in time?”
He glanced at the clock, and his belly fluttered. “I’ll be cutting it close, but I’ll make it.” He hoped.
“I’d say you should have just dumped me off at the terminal, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t like your many marvelous goodbyes.”
He loved the way she made him feel. Not just in the bedroom—though that was pretty spectacular—but every single time she opened that gorgeous mouth of hers.
“If I’m late, I’m late,” he said. “The guys will get over it. I’ve never been late in my life. Adam’s the one that usually has us waiting.” Making people wait never gave Adam pause, but being late would bother Kellen.
“I hope you make it on time, but don’t be reckless. Get there safe.”
Not many people cared about Kellen enough to tell him to be safe, so her words hit him hard. Hell, everything about Dawn O’Reilly hit him hard. He was lucky to have found her. Lucky to have bought that stupid house on the Galveston shore. Lucky that she’d been playing that song—their song—that night when he’d been mourning on the beach. Their stars were aligned, perfectly aligned. His only fear was that something would fuck it all up.
“I’ll be safe,” he promised. “You be safe too. And promise you’ll let me know how your dinner meeting goes.”
She laughed. “I’m sure it will be lame.”
And he was sure someone in Hollywood had figured out that his girlfriend was amazing. “Have fun.”
“I’ll try. But I’d be having more fun there with you.”
*****
Kellen arrived at the venue just minutes before they were scheduled to take the stage.
He hurried through the backstage area, glad the roadies cleared a path for him, and found Owen standing near the stage entrance with his bass strapped on and hooked up to the sound equipment. Kellen had cut it really close.
“You made it,” Owen said, slapping him on the arm.
“Remind me never to drive from Galveston to New Orleans again.” At least not alone. Lord, he’d been ready to drive into the nearest moss-draped bald cypress by the end of it.
The technician handed Kellen his guitar, and he flipped the strap over his head, glad he didn’t have to worry about makeup and a costume change.
“Dawn didn’t come back with you?” Owen asked.
Kellen shook his head. “We’re trying to sort out where we go next.” Well, she was going places. He was mostly just worried he’d be left behind.
Owen scratched at a bit of beard growth. “Yeah, Caitlyn and I hit that point as well. Fortunately, we talked it out and are moving forward.”
Kellen smiled, the adrenaline rush of his near lateness waning and sapping his energy. “That’s great.”
Owen frowned and gnawed on his lip. “You ever get the feeling that something is wrong? Or that something bad is about to happen?”
“Sometimes,” Kellen said. Owen did look worried. Antsy even.
“I’ve been feeling like that for about an hour. I called a bunch of people, and everyone assures me they’re okay, but this feeling of dread won’t go away.”
Kellen opened his mouth to assure Owen that he was sure everyone was fine, but was interrupted by Jacob asking, “Where’s Adam?”
Owen glanced around, and then shrugged. “No idea.”
Jacob pointed out Adam’s guitar sitting untouched in its stand. “He left his guitar.”
“Maybe he had to go to the bathroom,” Kellen said. “Ever try to take a piss with a guitar strapped on?” He’d once had to throw away a perfectly good guitar because his aim had been off.