by Max Hudson
“I don’t know. Why don’t we just see what happens?”
Chance smiled and put his hand back on Devlin’s thigh. “I would like that a lot.”
“So would I.” Devlin leaned in and stopped an inch from Chance’s lips. He didn’t close the distance.
Chance felt his heart jump up to his throat. He thought about what he was going to do for only a moment before he leaned in further to finish the kiss.
The kiss drew hands up to start running over each other. The warmth of their bodies mingling together as it suddenly felt like there were entirely too many clothes in the way.
Breath grew hot and heavy and Chance found himself starting to pull off his t-shirt, only breaking the kiss long enough to pull it over his head. He could hear soft moaning slipping from the painter’s lips. It was enough to make his body respond right away.
They were soon rolling around on the couch, in some sort of competition about who was going to be on top while their bodies rubbed together.
The feel of it was almost overwhelming and he wanted so much more of it. He wanted to feel more.
But that didn’t last very long. Because the door opened and both men pulled apart. “Sorry.” The door slammed closed. It had been the driver.
“Uh, I should go.” Devlin blushed.
“You really don’t have to.”
“I know. Look, next time you’re in town, will you look me up?”
“Do you think that I can get your number?”
“Sure.” Devlin reaches for a pad sitting on the counter. One of the things that Chance would scribble on when he was feeling artistic and wrote down his number. “Give me a call if you want. I get it if you’re too busy though.”
“I’ll give you a call yeah. Sorry about that.”
“There’s nothing to be sorry for.” Devlin made his way out of the tour bus and Chance hung his head in his hands. He should have done something to make sure that they were alone, but it was too late to change that. He couldn’t blame Devlin for being nervous. For even freaking out about the realities of his life. And that meant that things like this were bound to happen.
Chapter Six
Devlin hadn’t gotten much sleep when he got back home. His mind was racing out of control. He had almost slept with a superstar.
He knew that he would have gone through with it too, had the driver not walked in. There was something about Chance Bradford that called to him, but the truth was that he didn’t know if that was a life that he could ever live.
He finished unloading his truck in the early morning sun and shook his head. It would do no good to think of a future that had no chance of existing. “Stop it.”
He yawned and was soon hard at work, trying to sell his stuff. There weren’t enough hours to sleep these days, especially with the fact that there was a lot of selling to do.
Somehow, he made it through most of the day. Lunchtime approached and Devlin went to check the cooler that he kept in his truck on days like this. “Damn it.” It was empty. He had forgotten to pack himself a lunch.
He started to look around at the nearby stalls of the farmer’s market to see what kind of places were open. It was the same sort of stuff that was always there, but what he was looking for was something close enough to where he was that he didn’t need to pack too much stuff up so he could go get lunch.
He was distracted when the man walked up to him. He had barely turned around when he spoke. “How can I help you?”
The voice that answered was familiar. “I was thinking that I could bring you lunch.”
Devlin stopped. Then he finished turning. “I thought you were leaving town?”
“We had a day off, so I figured I would stick around.”
“Oh.” Devlin didn’t know what to say, the sound fell flat out of his mouth because of it.
“Did I do something wrong?” Chance’s voice dropped.
“No. I’m sorry.” Devlin moved up to the other man. “You just caught me by surprise.”
“Well, I hope that you like barbeque. This is what we had.”
“I never complain about someone buying me food.”
“I can’t say I actually bought this. I’m actually bringing leftovers.”
“You don’t save them?”
“It’s really hard to save leftovers. And I figured since I kept you up so late last night. I could bring you something to eat. And some coffee and energy drinks. I didn’t know what you take so I brought a selection.”
Devlin smiled as he looked at the basket in Chance’s hand. “That’s really nice of you. Thanks.”
“I’m just glad to see you again.”
“I really wasn’t expecting it.” Devlin smiled. “What brings you back around?”
“I was mostly worried about how you ran off after last night.” Chance sat down on the tailgate to the truck.
Devlin moved to sit next to him, the basket sat between them. “What kind of stuff did you bring?”
“Some brisket, beans, and coleslaw. All of that ok?”
“Any bread?”
“Yeah, why?”
“I like to make a sandwich with all of that stuff.” Devlin laughed. “It’s really good.”
“Coleslaw and everything?”
“Yep.” Devlin grinned. “You should give it a try.”
“All right, I’m game. Show me how this works.”
Carefully the painter grabbed some wipes and cleaned off his hands, passing some over to Chance. It would do better than nothing in a farmer’s market. Then he started to carefully pile the ingredients on the bread. “You have to be careful. It’s really easy to have a sandwich that falls apart.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” Chance started to copy the sandwich. He seemed to be eager to try what Devlin suggested.
“It’s really good.” Devlin took a huge bite and ended up spilling a large chunk of the sandwich all over his shirt.
Chance laughed. “I see what you mean about the mess.”
“Oops.” Devlin rushed to clean himself up, jumping up to pull a roll of paper towels out of the cab of the truck. “I can’t believe I did that.”
“It’s fine.” Chance was still laughing.
“I usually grab an extra shirt.”
“Not today?”
“Ugh, no. I forgot to replace it after the last time I made a mess.”
“Want me to keep an eye on the place while you go change?”
“No, I can just clean it up. It’s fine.”
“You sure?” Chance made the offer again.
Devlin didn’t know what to do. The last thing he wanted was to put Chance into more of a possibly bad situation, but his shirt was a mess. “No.” The decision was made. “I’ll be fine. It’s only a couple more hours anyway.”
“If you’re sure.”
“I’m pretty sure, yeah.”
Chance was still smiling as Devlin worked to make the mess as small as possible.
“Excuse me?” The voice came from over near the chairs that he had set out.
That caught Devlin’s attention and he watched as Chance made his way over. “What do you need?”
Devlin frowned as he watched Chance smile at the lady. “I can handle it.”
“Don’t worry about it.” Chance called back then turned back to the possible customer. “Devlin does some amazing work, doesn’t he?”
“Yeah, he does. I was just wondering how he comes up with his ideas.”
“From all over the place, actually.” Chance grinned at her. “Artists pull from a variety of sources and turn the combination into something new and amazing.”
“How does he do the work?”
“He has some specialized paintbrushes.” Devlin felt his heart catch in his throat as Chance seemed to remember the small details that the painter had explained to the singer. It was amazing to watch as his process was explained. It didn’t take long for Chance to charm his way to a deal with the lady, not having to negotiate much and Chance came back and han
ded over the money.
“Wow.”
“It’s all a performance.” Chance shrugged. “It just changes depending on the circumstances.”
“If you didn’t already have a job, I would hire you.”
Chance laughed. “Thanks. That means a lot.”
“I’m serious.”
“I’ll keep it in mind as a fallback plan.”
This was enough to get Devlin laughing along with the man. “I don’t think you need a backup plan like this. You could probably do reality television.”
“I probably could. Maybe judge some talent competition.”
“That’s what everyone else does, isn’t it?”
“Or maybe I could do one of those dancing competitions.”
“I don’t think singers are eligible for that.”
“Probably not. But it’s not something that I ever had to think about.”
“Why not?”
“Because someday I want to actually retire from it.”
“Really? Isn’t it still exciting?”
“Yeah, it is, but I put a lot of the money aside so that I don’t end up being some washed-up old hack trying to perform long past the point that people remember me.”
Devlin laughed. “That seems to happen a lot.”
“It’s all the partying.”
“That’s what I gathered whenever I thought about it. It gets pretty crazy when you’re famous. That’s got to wear on a person.”
“It really does.” Chance pulled off his cap long enough to run his hand through his hair then put his cap back on. Devlin noticed that one of the women in the crowd did a double take then turned to a friend before the friend began peering over and shaking her head.
He understood immediately that someone might have recognized the man. This made him frown. He didn’t like the fact that Chance couldn’t be in public without taking safety into account. “I was thinking that I might pack up a bit early.”
“You sure? You’ve still got people coming by.”
“I made pretty good sales yesterday and I’m kind of tired.” It was a lie, and he hoped it would work. It all depended on how good Chance was at spotting it.
His plan failed. “Is something wrong?”
Devlin sighed. “Sorry, I just saw one of the women in the crowd looking at you strangely.”
“Could it be because I’m so handsome?” Chance laughed, but he definitely looked worried.
“That’s possible.” Devlin wanted nothing more than to make the look on Chance’s face go away. It was that same pain once again. The one that he had run into the night before when they were trying to escort him safely wherever he needed to go. “I mean, you are a pretty good-looking man.”
“Or they could have been staring at you.”
“I’m nowhere close to that.”
Chance laughed. “You would be surprised how many heads you could turn on a daily basis. You’ve got a presence that just draws people to you.”
“You describe me like I’m some kind of salesman.”
“Aren’t you?” Chance glanced at the people around then seemed to be more relaxed. The crowd was starting to filter out of the farmer’s market. It was getting too hot in the afternoon for people to spend too long in the market. “You sell things every weekend.”
“I guess so.” Devlin thought for a second. “Why didn’t you call to make sure I was even showing up today?”
“I was hoping that I would be able to surprise you. If you weren’t here, I probably would have called.”
Devlin nodded along. “Yeah, it was a nice surprise.”
“I was hoping that I could give you my number too.”
“That would be great.” Chance pulled out his phone and buzzed a text over to Devlin’s phone. The process of saving the number didn’t take very long at all, but he already knew he probably wasn’t ever going to use it. Chance was too busy and too high a profile to bother with his life. Someone famous like that didn’t hang out with guys like him. He was an artist just trying to build a career, not someone who knew all the rules of the paparazzi.
“I should get on the road again.” Chance offered him another smile. Devlin felt his chest tighten at the sight.
“You sure?”
“Yeah, but text me later. Maybe we can hang out.”
Devlin nodded. “I would like that.” It was a lie. He wasn’t going to text the man. And as Chance walked away, he knew that the man deserved much better than Devlin in his life. It was the way that the world actually worked. Famous people loved famous people. And he wasn’t exactly in the running for a Cinderella story.
Chapter Seven
Chance sighed heavily. Devlin hadn’t contacted him in days. “What happened? I thought we hit it off.”
“Some people get intimidated.” The driver spoke up. “I’ve seen it tons of times.”
“You sure?”
“Either that or he’s playing hard to get.”
“Why would he do that?”
“Because he’s a gold digger.” The driver frowned. “There are a lot of people that would get with you just for your money out there.”
“I’ve met a lot of them. I know.” Chance leaned back in the passenger seat. He liked to talk with the driver while he made the trip. “I don’t think he’s like that.”
“Then he’s scared of the life you lead.”
“Why?”
“You don’t even like it, and you have to ask why someone else wouldn’t like it?”
“But this guy is an artist?”
“He’s not a performer. Artists can hide up in the mountains and not have to talk to people once they actually make it. There’s a difference.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
“Why don’t you call him?” The man in the driver’s seat sighed heavily. Chance knew what the man was thinking. Since they had become friends, Chance had pushed away every single chance at feeling something more. Usually, it was out of fear that caused him to run away at the first chance.
Chance decided not to loiter on the thoughts that he knew his companion was having. He knew that the driver would never say much at all about it. It wasn’t something that they discussed in direct terms. “If you’re right, why?”
“Because it’s obvious you want to talk to him. I trust that you can figure out if he just wants your money.”
Chance sighed. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah. You’ve been watching your phone for days.”
He groaned. “I have been, haven’t I?”
“Yeah. And I know why.”
“Why?”
“Because you really like this guy.” The driver grinned and glanced at the man in the passenger seat. “And that means you are going to drive yourself crazy unless you know if it’s real or not.”
“What?”
“I’ve been working with you for a couple of years now. I’ve seen you. You don’t just fall for charm. You’ve had plenty of that.”
“Are you sure?” Chance still had his doubts.
“Just calm down. What’s the worst thing that can happen?”
“He could be a serial killer.”
The driver laughed. “You came up with that super-fast.”
“Doesn’t everyone think about that?”
“Pretty sure they don’t.”
“Huh, I mean, serial killers are pretty damn scary.” Chance shrugged. It was silly, but it was honest at the least. The worst possibility that could come of the phone call he was being asked to make.
“Are you going to call him or not?”
“That was sudden.”
“That’s because you’re trying to change the subject.” The driver pointed it out and Chance knew that he was right. The singer sighed and picked up his phone. “There you go. Go in the back and talk to him.”
“Why in the back?”
“Because I don’t want to hear all the kissy noises.”
Chance rolled his eyes. “I’m not going to make kissy noises.”
“You say that now.”
Chance walked to the back anyway, staring at his phone while he was walking. In the moving vehicle, it turned out to be a bad idea, because he almost fell down a couple of times.
He did get to the back, closing the door on the small bedroom in the back of the vehicle. This was the place that he always slept while they were on the road. And it was good enough to have some privacy.
But he couldn’t do anything. He sat there, staring at the phone. “Will he even want to talk to me?”
He groaned and leaned back on the bed.
Chance couldn’t have said when he fell asleep, but it was hours later that he woke up. They were still on the road.
He yawned and went back to staring at his phone and trying to work up the nerve. Instead, he walked back out to the front of the bus. “How did it go?” The driver didn’t turn as he heard Chance walk up.
“I don’t know.”
“You didn’t do it, did you?”
“I ended up taking a nap.” Chance felt a little guilty admitting that.
“Come on, are you really gonna be that way?” The driver scoffed. “You can’t just nap away your feelings.
“I can damn well try.”
“You have to live some time.”
“I know. I know.” Chance groaned in frustration.
“What’s the holdup then?”
“I don’t know. I guess. I just… I don’t know how to talk to him.” He groaned. “This whole thing. How do you talk to a guy like that?”
“The same way you talk to anyone else.”
“That’s easy for you to say.”
“Because it’s true.” The driver sounded smug. “Just text him if you don’t want to call.”
“Fine.” Chance pulled out his phone again.
Once again, he stared at it.
“Just text him.”
“I’m doing it.”
“You’re just staring at it. Just because I have to watch the road doesn’t mean I don’t know when you’re trying to pull one over on me.”
“I should have just lied when I came back up here.”
“Probably would have worked better for you.” The driver laughed.
Chance sighed and opened up his messages. He pulled up a new chatbox. He spent a while thinking about what to say, but things like that never really came easy.